I Examined the HP EliteBook Extremely G1i. Its Deluxe Design and Options Are Excellent for On-the-Go Execs

The EliteBook Extremely G1i could also be a brand new mannequin with a brand new identify, nevertheless it comes with a well-known design. With its skinny and lightweight, well-built chassis, the EliteBook Extremely G1i is the clear successor to the HP Dragonfly G4, which I actually appreciated as a premium enterprise laptop computer. The show facet ratio has modified from a boxy 3:2 ratio to the extra frequent 16:10 format, and the colour of the laptop computer went from a matte black to a deep blue, however in any other case, the EliteBook Extremely G1i is principally a rebranded Dragonfly G4. It lives as much as its Extremely billing — from its design to its options and efficiency — and is a good choose for touring executives or anybody who appreciates a small, light-weight premium laptop computer for work. Simply you should definitely watch for it to go on sale if your organization does not qualify for a volume-pricing low cost.

In the event you’re attempting to make sense of HP’s new laptop computer nomenclature, you then first must know that the OmniBook model is the brand new residence for the corporate’s shopper fashions, with EliteBooks making up the business facet of issues. After that fork within the highway, you will subsequent encounter a wide range of fashions inside every line, from entry-level models as much as the flagship programs tagged with the Extremely suffix, such because the EliteBook Extremely G1i right here.

Because the “i” signifies, the EliteBook Extremely G1i is an Intel-based laptop computer. It options Core Extremely Sequence 2 processors from Intel’s Lunar Lake collection that energy the 14-inch clamshell with a 2.8K OLED show with a variable refresh charge of as much as 120Hz and contact assist. HP rotates reductions by all of its laptop computer strains, and the financial savings will be sizable for the EliteBook Extremely G1i. 

The entry-level EliteBook Extremely G1 has a Core Extremely 5 226V, 16GB of RAM, Intel Arc graphics, a 512GB SSD and a 2.8K OLED show. The total worth for this mannequin is $2,419, however I’ve seen it on sale for as little as $1,599. Our take a look at system includes a Core Extremely 7 268V and 32GB of RAM. Whereas it lists for $2,909, you possibly can usually discover it on sale for as little as $1,899.

As a enterprise laptop computer, the EliteBook Extremely G1i comes backed with a one-year guarantee that features a 12 months of HP’s Wolf Safety suite. With that, you get hardware-enforced menace detection, malware isolation, BIOS and browser safety and the flexibility to remotely lock and wipe the system if it is misplaced or stolen. You possibly can prolong the guarantee to a few years and in addition embody on-site service; the usual one-year plan contains depot service.

The same EliteBook Extremely G1i to our take a look at system prices £1,752 within the UK and AU$3,870 in Australia.

HP EliteBook Extremely G1i efficiency 

The EliteBook Extremely G1i’s Core Extremely 7 268V processor is sort of an identical to the extra fashionable Lunar Lake providing within the Core Extremely 258V. You will discover the 258V chip supplied broadly, and I’ve examined quite a few laptops with it, together with the Acer Swift 14 AI, Asus Zenbook S 14 and Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14 Gen 10. The one distinction between the 2 is that the 268V has barely increased max CPU and GPU frequencies, together with a pair extra GPU TOPS. Each processors have eight bodily cores (4 efficiency and 4 low-power environment friendly cores) and do not characteristic Intel’s Hyper-Threading expertise that permits a bodily core to behave as two digital cores.

The EliteBook Extremely G1i’s outcomes on our lab exams have been practically an identical to these of the aforementioned trio of laptops with the Core Extremely 258V — sturdy single-core efficiency and fewer spectacular multicore efficiency due to the dearth of Hyper-Threading. Graphics efficiency from the Intel Arc 140V GPU is powerful amongst built-in GPUs, however to not the purpose of forgetting that the EliteBook Extremely G1i is constructed for enterprise and never gaming or demanding graphics work. On Procyon’s AI Pc Imaginative and prescient benchmark that measures integer math proficiency for AI workloads, the EliteBook Extremely G1i’s efficiency was on par with different laptops that characteristic trendy AI processors.

Battery life was good however not nice. On our YouTube streaming battery drain take a look at, the EliteBook Extremely G1i ran for 13 hours and 39 minutes, which is lengthy sufficient to get by practically any workday however nonetheless hours and hours lower than laptops with an ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X collection CPU, a few of which may run for greater than 20 hours on a single cost.

Extremely good design

The EliteBook Extremely G1i shares the identical skinny, inflexible body and chic matte end because the Dragonfly G4, however now is available in a darkish navy blue — a glance I favor over the Dragonfly’s jet black.The EliteBook Extremely undoubtedly has a premium feel and appear. The all-metal chassis feels MacBook Air-like in being exceptionally skinny and lightweight with out feeling flimsy. The construct high quality is great, with strong rigidity and the matte end is pleasant to each the attention and contact.

At 2.6 kilos, the EliteBook Extremely G1i is only a hair heavier than the two.5-pound Dragonfly G4, which isn’t shocking for the reason that 14-inch, 16:10 show is barely bigger than the Dragonfly G4’s 13.5-inch, 3:2 show. For its dimension, the EliteBook Extremely G1i could be very mild. Most 14-inch laptops weigh nearer to three kilos, and it is lighter than the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, which weighs 2.7 kilos. In the event you’re in search of a good lighter 14-inch laptop computer, take a look at the Asus Zenbook A14, which weighs solely 2.16 kilos. And amongst enterprise laptops, Lenovo’s flagship ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 weighs solely 2.4 kilos.

The keyboard is extra MacBook than ThinkPad, which is to say the keys provide shallow journey and snappy suggestions. In the event you favor a deeper keypress with a extra plush really feel, then a ThinkPad might be the way in which to go. However in the event you’ve used a MacBook and appreciated the typing expertise and need a Home windows laptop computer for work, then the transition to the EliteBook Extremely G1i might be fairly seamless.

The touchpad, too, is MacBook-like. It is large — even bigger than the touchpad on the Dragonfly G4 — and affords a full of life and customizable haptic response.

The EliteBook Extremely G1i’s audio output is surprisingly good. The quad audio system produce a transparent and outlined sound discipline with sufficient energy to fill a small room. I may hear separation between the highs and mids, together with some bass response. At full quantity, there was some degradation within the readability, however solely a bit. The sound can be spectacular for any leisure laptop computer — and much more so given the EliteBook Extremely’s enterprise focus.

The show is excellent. For starters, it is an OLED panel, so that you get vibrant colours and wonderful distinction with deep black ranges. Subsequent, its 2.8K decision affords the right stability between pixel depend and battery life for a 14-inch show. Pictures and textual content look crisp to the purpose {that a} 4K decision is not wanted for this dimension panel and would solely shorten battery life. (The extra pixels a battery should energy, the faster it will get drained.) Additionally providing a fantastic stability between show efficiency and battery life is the variable refresh charge that lets the show run at 120Hz for clean motion however at a decrease charge when it is not wanted to increase battery life. 

HP scrapped the boxy 3:2 facet ratio of the Dragonfly G4 for the standard 16:10 panel that is discovered on most trendy laptops. There is a good cause it is so fashionable: It affords the very best stability between an old-school 16:9 widescreen and the boxy 3:2 ratio that by no means actually caught on. At 14 inches, a 16:10 offers sufficient room for most individuals to work comfortably with no need to hook up with an exterior show. And mixed with the EliteBook Extremely G1i’s skinny bezels and skinny design, you get this roomy-enough show in a light-weight, very transportable package deal.

It is also a touchscreen, which is a pleasant possibility since most individuals have grown accustomed to tapping on screens. And it has edge-to-edge glass for a phenomenal, seamless look befitting of its premium worth.

I examined its shade efficiency and brightness with a Spyder X Elite colorimeter and the show carried out effectively. It coated 100% of the sRGB and P3 areas and 94% of AdobeRGB whereas additionally hitting a peak brightness of 386 nits. That brightness determine won’t wow you by itself, however an OLED show does not must get as vibrant as an LCD panel due to its wonderful distinction and successfully zero-nit blacks.

Above the show is a crisp, 9-megapixel webcam with an IR sensor to be used with Home windows Hey. HP’s Poly Digital camera Professional app is effectively designed and affords AI-assisted choices for computerized framing and blurring your background, amongst different results. 

Poly Digital camera Professional ought to allow you to join an exterior webcam and use it concurrently with the laptop computer’s inner digital camera, however I used to be unable to get a two-camera shoot going as I may with the Dragonfly G4, which was the primary laptop computer I’ve examined with dual-webcam assist. It is a area of interest characteristic — good for many who want to present on-line tutorials or create different content material the place a second digital camera might be helpful — however I’ve requested HP for steering on the right way to use two cameras on the similar time on the EliteBook Extremely G1i. I will replace this evaluate with what I discover out.

The port choice is minimal however helpful. You get three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, which ought to suffice for many customers. There’s additionally a USB-A port, so there is not any want to fret about an adapter for any of your USB units. You will want an adapter for an HDMI connection, nevertheless, for the reason that USB-C ports are the one show output. Similar goes for Ethernet.

Ought to I purchase the HP EliteBook Extremely G1i?

At its sale worth of $1,899, the EliteBook Extremely G1i is a wonderful worth and a fantastic alternative on your subsequent work laptop computer. With a spectacular 14-inch, 2.8K OLED show powered by an Intel Lunar Lake CPU wrapped up in a chic and compact enclosure, the EliteBook Extremely G1i is befitting of its Extremely label. Our take a look at configuration is more durable to advocate at its full worth of practically $3,000, so it is best to attend for HP’s revolving and sizable low cost to land on it in case your buy does not qualify for a quantity low cost.