If long battery life and portability are key priorities, the LG Ultra 16 is the better choice, as it's significantly lighter and offers nearly twice the battery life of the HP Envy 17. However, if a larger screen and better general use and 3D/machine learning performance are more important to you, the HP Envy 17, despite being heavier and having shorter battery life, may be preferable. Both laptops have similar storage, RAM, and are in the same price range, with the LG usually being less expensive. Neither laptop is ideal for intensive gaming or engineering tasks, but the HP has a slight edge in these areas due to its performance. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the HP Envy 17
Good overall build quality
Good keyboard
Advantages of the LG Ultra 16
Excellent battery life
Good speakers
Key differences
Screen Quality
6.8/10
6.2/10
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
329.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
270.0 nits
The HP Envy 17 has a better screen than the LG Ultra 16 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The HP Envy 17 boasts superior resolution and brightness, making it great for general use and viewing fine details in engineering designs, and its wider color range benefits professional design work. However, its lower refresh rate limits the smoothness of graphics, which is crucial for gaming and 3D applications. The LG Ultra 16, while offering decent resolution and suitable brightness for everyday tasks and design projects, doesn't excel in any specific area and also falls short for gaming due to similar refresh rate limitations.
Battery
8.0 Hours
17.0 Hours
The HP Envy 17 has 8 hours of battery life. The LG Ultra 16 has 17 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Good
Good
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
5.4 lbs
WEIGHT
3.6 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The LG Ultra 16 and HP Envy 17 both have good portability, though the LG Ultra 16 has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2/10
6.5/10
The HP Envy 17 has good build quality, while the LG Ultra 16 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The LG Ultra 16 and HP Envy 17 are both good for general use.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
6.2/10
3.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
10.0/10
The HP Envy 17 and LG Ultra 16 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The HP Envy 17 and LG Ultra 16 are both fair for gaming and 3D because they share similar mid-range integrated graphics capabilities, with the former using Intel Iris Xe and the latter equipped with AMD Vega 8, neither of which are specialized high-end gaming GPUs.
Engineering and Design
7.4/10
7.0/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
3.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The HP Envy 17 and LG Ultra 16 are both good for engineering and design.
The HP Envy 17, equipped with a powerful Intel processor and Iris Xe graphics, is well-suited for engineering and design tasks due to its capable CPU and GPU, substantial RAM, and a large screen with high brightness. On the other hand, the LG Ultra 16 offers similar RAM and a vibrant screen but shines in portability and has significantly longer battery life, along with a silent operation, making it a great option for on-the-go engineers and designers who favor less weight and noise.
Content Creation
7.5/10
7.7/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The LG Ultra 16 and HP Envy 17 are both good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.5/10
7.5/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
The LG Ultra 16 and HP Envy 17 are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Cost
$1,000
$1,000
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The HP Envy 17 has a price of $1,000 and the LG Ultra 16 costs $1,000.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the HP Envy 17 and the LG Ultra 16 compare to other laptops
"In our test, the HP Envy 17-cr0079ng presents itself as a balanced multimedia laptop. Thanks to its solid CPU performance and dedicated entry-level GeForce, it can also be used for playing video games, as long as the demands aren't too high. Those looking for more can find it in the Dell XPS 17 for example."
"Unlike the gram, the Ultra PC isn't designed to be as lightweight as possible. The 16-inch laptop is a whole 400 g (0.88 lb) heavier than its 16-inch gram counterpart partly because its chassis is not made of magnesium. Other than that, the Ultra PC seems like a copy of the gram – but with longer battery life, lower noise levels, and a clean, delicate look."
Get a great deal on the HP Envy 17 or the LG Ultra 16
About HP
HP, also known as Hewlett-Packard, is an American technology company that develops personal computers and computer peripherals. In the laptop industry, HP is known for its entry level Essential series laptops, its mid-range Pavilion, Envy, and Victus series, and high-end Omen and Spectre series, in addition to its business-oriented EliteBook, ProBook, and Dragonfly series laptops. HP laptops generally undercut other mainstream competitors in terms of price, placing itself as the value-oriented mainstream brand.
About LG
LG is a South Korean conglomerate company. While LG is mainly known for various products outside of technology, LG also develops laptops. Within the laptop industry, they are known for their thin-and-light Gram series, as well as their value-oriented Ultra series. LG laptops offer very thin and light laptops with phenomenal battery life, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.