Thebest business concern laptopsare very well - made and full-bodied , conservatively attractive , tight , and have slap-up battery life-time . Those are feature that consumers look for , too , but maker like HP add a ton of feature that make business laptops more attractive to enterprise that ask great management and security .
That makes them more expensive , which sometimes crowd them out of the range of many consumer vendee . That ’s a shame with the HP EliteBook Ultra G1i , because it ’s a great14 - inch laptopthat all kinds of user would bonk — if only its cost was a bit more palatable . But for businesses users , it ’s one of the better choices .
Specs and configuration
As a patronage laptop computer , the EliteBook Ultra G1i is more likely to be buy on a mathematical group contract . So , its prices listed in its web store ( which are heavy discounted from lean already ) are n’t of necessity as indicative of what the target business client will pay . However , powerful now , the EliteBook starts at $ 1,849 for an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chipset , 16 GB of RAM , a 256 GB SSD , and a 14.0 - inch 2.8 K OLED display ( the only option ) . For $ 2,432 , you get a Core Ultra 7 268V , 32 GB of RAM , and a 512 GB SSD . That ’s the ratification I reviewed . There are other form available within that range .
So , that makes the EliteBook Ultra G1i a very premium line laptop computer . The likewise configuredHP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 , which is aimed at consumers , is quite a spot less expensive set about at $ 1,100 on sales agreement and maxing out at $ 1,730 ( also on sale ) . TheApple MacBook Air 13 ( M4)is also less expensive , starting at $ 1,000 and maxing out at just over $ 2,000 .
Design
I of late wrote an editorial about howApple ’s attention to detailhas resulted in some of the best ironware around . But Apple is n’t the only company that manages to make a laptop computer that feel really great in paw . The EliteBook Ultra G1i is another . It ’s one of those laptops that gives me an immediate stamp of quality the moment I pull it out of the box .
First , it ’s nicely sized . Its display bezel are n’t the smallest I ’ve see , but they ’re minuscule enough that the EliteBook Ultra G1i is quite compact with its 14 - column inch show . It ’s also very thin , come in at a maximum of 0.48 in in the can that ’s almost as thin as the dementedly thin Apple MacBook Air 13 ’s 0.45 inch ( and the HP is even thinner up front at 0.36 inch ) . The EliteBook is also almost the same weight as the MacBook , so it has that kind of density that avert a really faint laptop feeling flimsy . And 2.63 pounds is plenty lightness enough to make it eminently portable .
The weight is also very well - equilibrate , so it ’s comfy to carry around , capable or closed . The rounded edge also feel great — better than the MacBook ’s edges that border on being a little sharp . The EliteBook ’s hinge is n’t quite as smooth , though , and requires two bridge player to open up the lid . Overall , the all - Al structure is solid with no bending , flexing , or twisting in the physical body , keyboard pack of cards , or lid . This is a really well - designed and well - establish laptop computer .
esthetically , the designing is quite elegant with the usual contemporary minimalism but enough identity that it ’s not mundane . The rounded sharpness assist here , too , and HP has done a slap-up occupation with the morose blue color fashion . My only ailment is the lighter grim colouration depute to the subprogram keys , and then the mogul button ( with embedded fingerprint reader ) that has a rather undimmed LED and yet another light blue color . That might be good for accessibility , something that HP has paid a lot of attention to in their late invention . But I do think it takes by from the look a bit .
Beyond the EliteBook Ultra G1i ’s physical intention , it ’s also a business laptop with several feature that make it a great selection for businesses . principally , that centers around various utilities that can plug into enterprise direction systems to provide enhanced fleet direction capacity and security . HP ’s Wolf Security serves the latter function , propose up a host of capability that interlock the EliteBook down on both a software and hardware point . I wo n’t go into the details here , but suffice it to say that if you ’re looking for a laptop that ’s easy to cope and extremely dependable , then the EliteBook Ultra G1i provides what you ’re looking for .
Keyboard and touchpad
HP has been making great keyboard for a while now , starting with their Spectre laptop computer that were some of my favorites . That ’s express that over to its OmniBook and EliteBook lineups , and HP has peradventure even made them a little better given the attention to accessibility I bring up above . That ’s reflected in the bold inscription and careful colour system that will help the visually afflicted .
But even more so , the EliteBook Ultra G1i ’s keyboard is just about complete for me , equally as good as Apple ’s Magic Keyboard that ’s been my overall favorite . The keycaps are large and yet there ’s plenty of fundamental spacing with a very comfortable layout . And the switches are exactly as I like them — brightness level and snappy yet with a accurate bottoming action . I could typewrite on this keyboard at full upper for hours ( as in writing this review ) without getting fatigued . Another elementary keyboard test for me is whether I can type passwords from muscle - store on the first try , and the EliteBook ’s keyboard passed with take flight colour .
The touchpad is evenly as ripe . It ’s a large haptic version that takes up all the available space on the palm residual , just like with Apple ’s MacBooks . And it ’s excellent , with antiphonal and logical “ clicks . ” Windows 11 affords a short ton of customization with tactile touchpads , and it ’s all here . Apple ’s Force Touch tactile touchpad has long been the industry criterion for excellency , and it benefits from the Force Click feature where press a little “ harder ” kicks off additional functionality . But otherwise , the EliteBook ’s touchpad is just as dear .
you’re able to also choose for a trace - enable display . A cracking haptic touchpad makes that less attractive for me , in person , but it ’s available if you want it .
Connectivity and webcam
Connectivity is pretty good , with three USB - C port with Thunderbolt 4 support and a USB - A larboard for legacy devices . I say that ’s just pretty safe because some 14 - column inch laptops have more connectivity , with an HDMI connection being fairly common . There ’s also no SD card support , which I ’d like to see . Wireless connectivity is fully up - to - date with Wi - Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 .
The webcam is HP ’s usual 9MP version , so it provide fantabulous image quality . It ’s back up by a degenerate Lunar Lake Neural Processing Unit ( NPU ) that runs at a very fast 48 Pidlimdi operation per 2nd ( TOPS ) , easy exceeding the 40 TOPS requirement for Microsoft ’s Copilot+ PC AI opening move . That means it will power on - equipment artificial insemination processing more efficiently than rely on the slower central processing unit or GPU components . HP partnered with Poly Studio to proffer the Poly Camera Pro suite of videoconferencing feature article with enhanced scope , spotlight , auto - frame , and other functionality , much of it AI - powered using the NPU . There ’s probably not another laptop useable with quite the same breadth and depth of AI - powered feature film in addition to what ’s provide via Copilot+ .
Performance
you may select from several Intel Lunar Lake ( Core Ultra Series 2 ) options with the EliteBook Ultra G1i , all of them 8 - core/8 - thread chipsets run at 17 watts . Lunar Lake is focused more on efficiency than pure execution , with speeds falling between the previous - generation 15 - James Watt U - series and 28 - watt H - series Meteor Lake chipsets . As a business enterprise laptop , Intel vPro is a natural alternative that enables the EliteBook ’s first-class manageability and security .
All Lunar Lake versions give similar performance in C.P.U. - intensive task , because they only vary by clock speed . And , they ’re considerably slower than Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon X chipsets , the other Windows efficiency choice . AMD;s Ryzen AI 9 and Apple ’s M4 chipsets are also considerably faster . The Core Ultra 5 226V has a slower Intel Arc 130V integrated graphics , but the faster Intel Arc 140V in the Core Ultra 7 268V is n’t much of an improvement .
Overall , the EliteBook Ultra G1i is a fast laptop for demanding productiveness users , include business substance abuser , but gamers and creators will need to look elsewhere .
Battery life
As I mentioned above , Lunar Lake is aspire more at battery liveliness than everlasting public presentation . And generally speaking , that ’s been the event in the laptop computer I ’ve tested . Some are impacted by power - hungry in high spirits - ray OLED display , while those with more efficient IPS exhibit compete better with Apple ’s highly efficient Apple Silicon chipsets that remain the most efficient overall .
The EliteBook Ultra G1i has a comparatively small 64 watt - hour battery to go with a 2.8 green OLED display . That should n’t be a formula for the best shelling life , even with Lunar Lake . But , the EliteBook does surprisingly well . Its results in our telecasting looping test was very good at over 15 hours , and it was competitive at almost 2.5 hours in the involve Cinebench R24 examination . It did n’t do as well in our WWW range test , but I lately had to change the prick we expend for examination due to our previous tool being vilipend by Google and recent laptop computer have n’t done as well . Using our older tool , the EliteBook would in all probability have scored nigher to the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 with essentially the same chipset , video display , and stamp battery capability and that negociate two hours longer .
These are very strong results for a laptop with such a gorgeous display . You ’ll get a full day ’s work , which is n’t quite as unspoilt as Apple MacBook Air ( M4 ) , but still much safe than previous Windows laptops .
Display and audio
There ’s just one display option for the EliteBook Ultra G1i , and it ’s a 14.0 - in 16:10 2.8 K ( 2880 x 1800 ) OLED presentation run at up to 120Hz . Like almost every OLED show , it ’s striking out of the box , with bright , dynamical colors and inky-black Black . As I mentioned above , there ’s a penalty in battery liveliness , but the EliteBook still manages very expert longevity .
My tintometer liked this video display quite a morsel . It ’s not the infrangible brightest at 397 nits ( most show I ’ve screen lately are neat than 400 nits ) , but it ’s till a passel bright than display were a few years ago . It has pure blacks with extremely high dividing line at 27,780:1 . And its colors are very extensive at 100 % of sRGB , 97 % of AdobeRGB , and 100 % of DCI - P3 , with excellent color accuracy with a DeltaE of 0.58 ( less than 1.0 is indistinguishable to the human eye ) .
It ’s a big display no matter what you ’re using it for . It ’s not immobile enough for demanding creativity work , but it provides a bully media experience to go .
Audio is render by a quad - speaker setup , and it sound pretty good . There ’s good volume and well-defined mids and highs , while basso is somwhat miss as is typical with laptops . I ’d rate the MacBook Air ’s sound recording to be full , but it ’s not a nighttime and solar day difference .
An excellent laptop for businesses, but a little expensive for most consumers
If you ’re a business user appear for a well - built laptop computer that feels majuscule in hand and looks just as good , with decent productiveness performance and great battery animation , the EliteBook Ultra G1i is a great choice . Toss in a spectacular OLED display for skilful measure .
In fact , those are qualities that many consumers are wait for . However , the EliteBook comes with a host of business features that most consumers do n’t need , which pumps up the price . So , if you have money to cut , then it ’s a smashing laptop computer for consumers — but I surmise most vendee will be businesses .
