Weighing less than three pounds and featuring a first-of-its-kind vapor chamber, HP’s latest flagship ultraportable matches top-tier design with clever performance enhancements. I went hands on with the new OmniBook Ultra 14 for a few weeks before its CES 2026 reveal.
As the next-generation AI PC race heats up, HP’s next play for the premium ultraportable laptop crown is an aggressive push. The newly unveiled HP OmniBook Ultra 14 laptop is a slim, productivity-focused machine that also makes a statement, aiming directly at premium industry leaders like the Apple MacBook Air and Microsoft Surface Pro.
HP loaned me a pre-production model a few weeks ahead of its CES 2026 launch for an extended hands-on session with the system. While it may not make sense to benchmark a pre-production laptop, I can already see that the OmniBook Ultra 14 lives up to its „Ultra“ moniker, with enough power (on paper) and a design that competes with Apple and Microsoft’s standard-setting products.Design: Impressively Slim, Actively Cooled
HP positions the OmniBook Ultra 14 as the peak of portable luxury. Its slim, light frame is forged anodized aluminum, weighing just 2.81 pounds and measuring only 0.55 inch thick, making it one of the lighter laptops today at its size. Despite that featherweight design, this OmniBook holds up well against flexing and hard typing without the bending you’d see on a cheaper system made of plastic.
My hands-on unit’s „Stone Blue“ color looks deeply high-end with cool accents like the OmniBook name engraved on the bare metal of the laptop’s rear hinge. The blue-toned finish is available on HP’s Qualcomm-based models, while Intel configurations come in the exotically named „Eclipse Gray“ and „Silk Sand“ options. Plus, thanks to an anti-fingerprint finish, handling the laptop doesn’t leave it noticeably smudged.
HP streamlined connectivity on the laptop with a trio of USB-C ports. All of them are 40Gbps connections with USB power and DisplayPort connectivity, but only the Intel-powered models can claim true Thunderbolt 4 capability. The laptop also has a 3.5mm headphone jack. After seeing a few premium laptops opt for Bluetooth-only for headphones, I’m always happy to see a physical connection offered.
