GadgetsNewsTechHP’s answer to the MacBook Neo is thinner, lighter, and comes with OLEDThe HP OmniBook 5 14 looks like a Neo wannabe right down to its 8GB of RAM and colors, but it seems a compelling competitor.The HP OmniBook 5 14 looks like a Neo wannabe right down to its 8GB of RAM and colors, but it seems a compelling competitor.by Antonio G. Di BenedettoOct 1, 2026, 1:00 PM UTCShareGiftDoes this range of colors look a little familiar? Image: HPPart OfThe Neo Effect: How Apple’s cheapest Mac is changing the PC gamesee all updates Antonio G. Di Benedetto is a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget.
He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.HP is announcing a new laptop that’s squarely aimed at Apple’s MacBook Neo. The 2026 HP OmniBook 5 14 starts at $699.99 with an Intel Core 5 315 “Wildcat Lake” processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Much of that sounds pretty familiar, being in lockstep with both Apple’s Neo and its recent competition from Dell, Asus, and Acer — the HP even offers a similar four color options in silver, pink, blue, and green. But one thing that separates the OmniBook is its inclusion of an OLED display on all configs.The OmniBook 5 14 can be configured much higher, with up to a Core 7 350 chip, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, but all models include a 1080p webcam, dual speakers, HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack, and just two 10Gbps USB-C ports.
And while the inclusion of OLED across the range is a major draw to the new OmniBook, the base config only has a passable 1920 x 1200 resolution and 300 nits of max brightness on its non-touch panel. A touchscreen version will be available when the OmniBook 5 launches in October, but a version with a 2560 x 1600 resolution OLED and 400 nits of brightness isn’t coming until March 2027.PreviousNext1/8The OmniBook 5 14. Image: HPWhile the OmniBook 5 14 doesn’t seem poised to best the MacBook Neo in raw processing power (based on our other reviews of Wildcat Lake laptops) or screen brightness, it’s quite thin, light, and colorful. HP even gave it the nicer, sleeker lid logo usually reserved for pricier models.
It starts at just 2.56 pounds, and it’s as thin as 0.46 inches / 11.7mm. That’s slightly lighter and thinner than a Neo. And I’d expect its Wildcat Lake chips to offer some good-to-great battery life. But we’ll have to see how it delivers in actual testing.Alongside the OmniBook 5 14, HP is also announcing a new ProBook 4 G2iS business laptop that it claims at 0.47 inches / 12mm is its “thinnest business notebook.” It’ll also start with Intel Wildcat Lake chips, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD when it launches in December, but there’s no price yet.PreviousNext1/3The HP ProBook 4 G2iS.
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