There was a time in recent years when Apple was the company to beat. Be it smartphones, laptops, tablets or accessories, Apple was always just a little ahead of everyone else. But lately, it seems like they’ve been slacking. In all honesty, they have made more headlines in the last year by not reinventing the wheel than by the cutting-edge, innovative design and components they were once known for. Which means, for the first time in a long time, there are a lot more crowns up for grabs for the little guys. So HP is stepping up and is making the most of the lull. In addition to revamping their line of Envy laptops, the computer giant opted to unveil the newly redesigned line at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the most notoriously media-saturated and star-studded events of the year. If they weren’t already nailing it in the computer game, their media strategist at the very least would get a five-star review from me.

The smaller of the new laptops, the Envy 13, seems to be marketed almost directly as a replacement for the MacBook Air. It includes Intel’s 7^th Generation Kaby Lake processors in your choice of a U-series Core i3, i5, or i7, and up to 16GB of RAM memory and a 1TB PCle NMe M.2 format SSD. The Envy 13 comes standard with Intel’s integrated HD graphics, which can be upgraded to an optional Nvidia GeForce MX150 discrete GPU with 2GB DDR5 video memory. The 13.3-inch Full HD display is now nearly bezel-free, and can even be upgraded further to provide touch and/or 4K UHD resolution. And best of all, it is built to take on the go. The entire rig weighs less than three pounds, and thanks to HP’s Fast Charge technology, a quick 90-minute charge promises to deliver a battery recharge of 90%. And of course, you’ll get a full-sized backlit keyboard and a wide trackpad hosting a fingerprint reader for security. It’s even aesthetically pleasing when not in use, courtesy of its silk gold machined aluminum with dual matte and polished finishing.

The HP Envy Laptop 17 has been redesigned to be slimmer and lighter than before, while still promising more power than its predecessor. Aesthetically, it looks strikingly similar to the last model – with one minor but oft-requested change. On the new Envy 17, the connectors and SD card slot have now moved to make room for an almighty optical drive. Many of the specs on the 17-inch model mirror the updates to the Envy 13 – slim bezels, Fast Charge technology, and 7^th Generation Kaby Lake processors. But due to its larger size (and HP’s campaign to design a laptop that could actually function as a desktop PC replacement), it is able to house just a few more niceties. Like that optical drive, an FHD IR web camera for Windows Hello, and much larger Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers with discrete amplifiers. Also due to size, the 17 hosts ports galore, with an HDMI port, a single USB Type-C port, three USB Type-A ports, and an Ethernet jack.

Both new laptops will be available mid-summer, and range in price depending on configuration.