HP 14z-ec000 Laptop: Ryzen 5 5500U, 14" IPS 400 nits, 16GB DDR4, 256GB SSD Expired

The website doesn't even list the ports. Is there a thunderport?!

I'm going to say it, because somebody needs to. Those silver-on-silver keyboards are tough to see in general, and impossible to see at night if you're using your laptop on the couch or in bed without much ambient light. Backlighting can only help so much. Like how 250-nit screens are a deal-breaker for many, these silver keyboards should be too. You'll see it commonly noted by reviewers on many sites (Amazon, BestBuy, etc.) as to something they hate or the reason they returned it.

thanks for mentioning this. as someone who is shopping for a mid-level laptop with a highly visible keyboard for his poor-of-sight dad, this is valuable information. Do you know what the best type of keyboard color combo would be for visibility?

thanks for mentioning this. as someone who is shopping for a mid-level laptop with a highly visible keyboard for his poor-of-sight dad, this is valuable information. Do you know what the best type of keyboard color combo would be for visibility?

Largest contrast is best (typical dark grey and near-white markings...green on black is pretty good too on my son's HP gaming laptop). Some backlit keyboards have illumination through the letter markings themselves, while others just have lighting around the keys. The former would be best, but can't say which of all laptops have it. An older Dell 2-in-1 I have only has it around the keys, my daughters new Lenovo from the other recent Costco 15.6" deal has dark grey/white keys with illumination through them, and the latest 5700u iteration of that would too (only 300 nit matte touch-screen display though, vs. this one with 400 nits and 16gb ram which are both pretty nice for the price).

It depends on why he has poor sight. BTW I'm both legally but correctably blind, need a reading prescription, and have some incidental macular degeneration expected at my age. BUT I am also am a pretty good touch typist. If I am working at a desk, table, etc. the keyboard makes no difference. At night laying in bed I normally use a touchscreen.

1) No touch-typing Then a touchscreen may be best, unless his eye-hand coordination is poor. Then you may want to consider good voice recognition, and I haven't played with Windows for years, Apple never, and my SD Pixel 3 XL has amazingly useful voice recognition.

2) He will do a fair bit of surfing in bed - touchscreen may be a really good idea, especially if he isn't writing very much during the day.

3) Hunt and peck - high contrast is usually best, but it depends on which vision cells of your eyes have aged the most. For example I have found in general I can read white text on a black screen best. Take him to a store like Bestbuy, Target, or a Super-Walmart to see what he likes. Remember, though for in bed input at night I recommend a largish touchscreen, on the order of 10" but I have XL hands and I don't have pianist hands.

A bigger problem could be reading the screen in high lighting, and the 400 nits means that this should be a standout for the price range. Also, don't underestimate the lure of games for your dad, if he has more leisure time you might be surprised what he wants to play.