HP Omen Photon review: A wireless gaming mouse from HP I can finally recommend

HP Omen Photon Source: Rich Edmonds / Windows Key

HP is better known for selling pre-built PCs, be it notebooks or desktops. The company besides makes mice, keyboards, and a whole host of other hardware, but HP gaming mice really haven't been up to scratch compared to the competition. That is until HP launched its Omen sub-make for gaming, and the HP Omen Photon is one wireless mouse I can recommend.

A Good Omen

HP Omen Photon

$104 at HP

Lesser line: A great mouse from HP for gamers that needs only a little more refining.

Pros

Loftier-quality build
Long battery life
Low latency wireless
Qi charging
Accurate sensor

Cons

Slightly likewise narrow
Optional thumb grips awkward to use

HP supplied Windows Cardinal with a HP Photon and HP Outpost mousepad to actually see how the mouse performs with the uniform Qi wireless charging pointer surface. While the two products are offered separately, it's clear HP designed the Photon with the Outpost in mind.

You'll love how the HP Omen Photon performs

HP Omen Photon Source: Rich Edmonds / Windows Cardinal

There are plenty of good gaming mice available, especially for gamers who prefer wireless pointers. Both the Razer Basilisk Ultimate and Logitech G502 Lightspeed are astonishing, but HP thought it could give it a shot and released the HP Photon. It has a lot to get right to take on the competition.

Luckily, HP designed the mouse to match its existing Omen collection of gaming peripherals. It'south a sleek-looking black plastic shell with a giant illuminated Omen logo on the palm residuum, besides every bit a secondary RGB calorie-free located within the scroll wheel. Information technology'south difficult to pattern a mouse that doesn't expect like other mice without ruining the ergonomics.

HP fabricated a sleek-looking, high-functioning wireless mouse.

While the Photon may look pleasant to the eye, the mouse has some handy features that arrive intriguing. The most of import feature here is the ambidextrous nature of the design. HP managed to create a mouse for both right- and left-handed gamers without making it feel awkward to employ for either.

This flexibility is achieved by including optional magnetic buttons for the side. In total, there are four side buttons, two on either side, but you lot tin utilize a cover instead to prevent you from misclicking. For lefties, you may want the left 2 buttons covered, also on the right for right-handed gamers — or you can have all 4 active. To make a genuinely ambidextrous mouse, HP had to make the Photon a trivial on the slim side.

Category	Spec
Sensor	Optical PixArt PAW3335
CPI	1000-16,000
Poll charge per unit	1000Hz
H/west acceleration	-
Materials	ABS plastic
Bombardment	50 hours
Weight	140.1g
Buttons	11
Storage	-
Grips	Claw Fingertip Palm

With the iv buttons installed, you have up to 11 programmable buttons in total. That's a fair collection of buttons to map for all your games, making the Photon a contender every bit an MMO mouse.

As well equally the four magnetic side buttons, HP also bundles two different types of side grips. I plant the ones preinstalled to be a trivial uncomfortable to use, much preferring the flat side grips to allow your thumb and little finger to glide forth the mousepad, but having the selection is first-class.

For raw specifications, the HP Photon has a solid sensor in the PixArt PAW3335. The mouse performs well in-game at various CPI settings, depending on personal preference. It's a lilliputian on the heavy side, beingness a wireless mouse, coming in at simply over 140g, though the built-in bombardment is capable of lasting for up to fifty hours on a single charge.

HP Omen Photon Source: Rich Edmonds / Windows Fundamental

For gaming, the mouse performs very well with the PAW3335 sensor from PixArt. Whether yous enjoy strategy games, RPGs or shooters similar Apex Legends, the HP Photon is more than upward for the chore. It'due south not the most comfortable pointer, especially compared to the SteelSeries Rival 600 or Razer Viper, but it's non and so bad as to crusade RSI.

Where the HP Photon sets itself bated from other wireless gaming mice is the included Qi charging capability. Should a Qi charging pad be located nearby, the HP Photon can be placed upon information technology to draw power. This is incredibly handy, non having you remove batteries or mess around with any USB cabling — though at that place is a micro-USB port if you lot want to charge using a cable.

The HP Photon makes use of the Omen Command Center, which is required to toy around with polling rate, CPI settings, programmable buttons, RGB lighting (disabling extends bombardment life to a whopping 72 hours), and more than. The software suite isn't anything special but does permit y'all to arrive and change settings and is available through the Microsoft Shop.

The software suite even has handy tutorials to walk newcomers through various settings and macros that can be configured from within — a nice touch to forbid anyone truly messing up their mouse (though you can easily reset everything to manufactory settings).

Where the HP Omen Photon needs improving

HP Omen Photon Source: Rich Edmonds / Windows Central

I'1000 unsure equally to what causes this mouse to be slightly bad-mannered to use. It could be how narrow it is, but afterwards using other mice, yous demand to spend a decent amount of fourth dimension getting accustomed to how the Photon feels in paw. Information technology'south not uncomfortable, only compared to other mice at this price signal or lower, information technology would be cracking to come across the ergonomics altered.

I found the side grips installed by default a petty besides bad-mannered to employ as they added to the overall dimensions of the mouse and prevented my thumb and little finger from resting on the mouse surface. It would too exist dainty to see HP add internal storage to the Photon too. Being able to save all your settings for utilise at LAN events on other PCs or your gaming laptop would exist a welcomed addition.

Should you buy HP Omen Photon?

HP Omen Photon Source: Rich Edmonds / Windows Central

The HP Photon is a stellar wireless mouse if you're all well-nigh operation. It has a high polling rate, an first-class sensor, solid build, and is weighty enough to get y'all through each session, it just isn't the most comfortable mouse out there, and at this cost point, information technology actually should be. Nevertheless, on the flip side, the Photon is ambidextrous and works for all gamers.

While you don't technically require the HP Outpost mousepad to savor using the HP Photon to its maximum potential, the built-in Qi charging of HP's mousepad does brand it more convenient to charge the wireless mouse after a heated gaming session. Fifty-fifty if you don't buy the Outpost, this is still an splendid mouse.

Wireless Gaming

HP Photon

HP Omen Photon

HP's beginning decent gaming mouse

Whether y'all own an HP Omen gaming desktop or desire a wireless gaming mouse with Qi wireless charging, the HP Photon is worth because.

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