As the battle for laptop workplace domination rumbles on, HP is hoping its latest release will help it continue its success in the space.
The company recently revealed its all-new HP Elite Dragonfly model, part of the long-running Elitebook series, as the latest business-focused hardware.
Featuring an all-new design, colour scheme and improved portability, HP sees the Dragonfly as a major step forward in its B2B offering, and TechRadar Pro got the chance to go hands-on at the recent Microsoft Future Decoded event in London.
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Disruptive
"This is something very different for us,” Simon Barlow, HP business development manager, tells us. “With Dragonfly, what we wanted to do was have something a little bit disruptive and memorable.”
The most noticeable thing about the HP Dragonfly is its colour. HP wants its device to stand out from the crowd, and has created an all-new Dragonfly Blue colour scheme to do just that.
The company says that blue is the most trusted colour in the world, and the Dragonfly’s colour scheme will certainly make it stand out from the greys and blacks seen in most traditional business laptops.
The device is made from a single piece of magnesium alloy, making it incredibly light at just under 1kg for the lowest-spec model. Barlow adds that the device has been “tested to destruction”, fitting the requirements for the MIL-STD 810G military standard.
The screen has been re-engineered from previous generations, with a 13.3in display that has allowed HP to reduce the top bezel by 42 percent, and the side bezel by 14 percent.
This results in an 87 percent screen to body ratio (up from 83 percent on the previous 1030) generation, helped by an inbuilt 3.5mm hybrid camera with integrated webcam blocker and HP’s own Sure View technology for greater privacy.
It’s not all about technological progress, however, as HP says that the Dragonfly is its most sustainable laptop to date, right down to using water-based rather than lead-based paint.
The company notes that the device is the world's first notebook made with ocean bound plastic material, with up to 50 percent recycled plastic material used in the keycaps, and no metal components within the keyboard array, with rubber and plastic used instead. These keycaps also come alongside a redesigned trackpad and mouse that are quieter than previous generations.
Under the hood, there’s your choice of a quad-core 8th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, and either a two- or four-cell battery, the latter of which HP says can offer up to 24 hours of battery life. HP Fast Charge tech is also included, allowing the HP Elite Dragonfly to charge 50 percent of its battery in just 30 minutes.
When it comes to connectivity, the Dragonfly sports HDMI and two USB-C Thunderbolt ports, reflecting the trend of more businesses using PC docks in the office. HP has also included a USB-A port for those users whose office hardware may be a bit older, but the move will also allow the device to apply to more customers.
As for networking, the Dragonfly sports the option of gigabit-class 4G LTE wireless broadband connectivity, allowing workers to stay online on the go, with Wi-Fi 6 ensuring they stay connected whilst in the office.
The HP Dragonfly will go on sale from October 25, with prices starting at $ 1,549 / £1,099.
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