HP's 2-in-1 impresses with portability and security, but I can't ignore the cost

Price When Reviewed

$2,869

Best Prices Today: HP EliteBook X Flip G1i

$1849

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i joins the EliteBook X G1i in HP’s new lineup of enterprise laptops. The firm has accomplished a formidable job retaining the 2-in-1 remarkably near the non-flip mannequin in look, although 2-in-1s all the time include some trade-offs. This 2-in-1 laptop computer is a heavier model of the non-flipping EliteBook X G1i, and it comes with the next worth alongside (usually) barely decrease efficiency. It’s nonetheless a good laptop computer, however when you issue within the added price of HP’s enterprise options, it received’t make sense for anybody who doesn’t want the entire company package deal.

HP EliteBook X Flip G1i: Specs and options

• Model quantity: B89B7UA#ABA
• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 268V
• Memory: 32GB LPDDR5x-8533
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc Graphics 140V
• Display: 14-inch 1920×1200 IPS, Anti-glare
• Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Webcam: 5MP + IR
• Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 2.1 Alternate Mode, 1x USB-C 10Gbps with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4 Alternate Mode, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-A 5Gbps, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: Windows Hello fingerprint, facial recognition
• Battery capability: 68 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 12.36 x 8.66 x 0.7 inches
• Weight: 3.17 kilos measured
• MSRP: $2,869 as-tested ($2,689 base)

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i has a base worth of $2,689, and this comes with an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chip, 16GB of reminiscence, and 512GB of storage. Our take a look at unit upgrades the CPU to an Intel Core Ultra 7 268V and doubles the reminiscence whereas bumping the worth as much as $2,869, although it’s additionally obtainable from CDW for $2,449.

HP additionally affords configurations with 1TB of storage and 5G modems. The costs get greater than slightly complicated as you dig deep although. The costs talked about thus far are the “MSRP” for pre-configured fashions.

HP additionally permits customization, however this comes with an excellent decrease beginning spec and a a lot greater beginning worth of $3,755. To make issues much more complicated, the pre-configured fashions are already steeply discounted regardless of having simply launched. Though our take a look at configuration exhibits an MSRP of $2,899, it was simply $1,699 on the time of testing (and an in any other case identically spec’d 5G modem-equipped mannequin was someway even $200 cheaper), and the bottom specification sat at $1,349, nearly half of its MSRP.

Just so as to add a pinch of additional spice, HP additionally affords separate configurations which are technically the identical as different configurations however include three-year warranties and Wolf Pro Security packages (as an alternative of the one 12 months that comes with different fashions).

HP EliteBook X Flip G1i: Design and construct high quality

IDG / Mark Knapp

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i has a little bit of sleeper design that received’t stand out in a piece setting however does provide some delicate magnificence. It combines clean curves and a constant colour scheme, trying polished however not extravagant. It principally seems thoughtfully accomplished whereas in its laptop computer mode, although the additional little bit of show under the display screen bezel and thicker high bezels detract considerably from the design.

HP designed a number of issues thoughtfully for the laptop computer being utilized in pill mode, as effectively. The lid and base snap collectively magnetically to forestall them from flopping round. The stylus also can latch magnetically to the lid or over on the left edge when not in use. All that stated, the bottom and lid don’t line up when the laptop computer is folded open. I believe 2-in-1s all the time look slightly odd folded open anyway, however this solely makes it look slightly bit weirder. 

The building is properly accomplished with aluminum throughout a lot of the construct. The show is surprisingly sturdy, flexing far lower than I see on most laptops. The keyboard deck additionally has surprisingly little give. Underneath, the laptop computer stands on easy rubber toes to supply clearance for the underside grille, which covers up two followers — stunning to see paired with a low-power processor. 

It’s additionally satisfying to see a laptop computer that doesn’t play methods. The grilles beside the keyboard have audio system in them (even when it’s only a small part, as do the slots on the entrance of the bottom. The vents within the rear additionally truly exhaust warmth (principally). After testing an HP laptop computer that had aesthetic grilles and a Dell that had a fake exhaust port, I can’t take any of that with no consideration.

HP additionally made strong use of the obtainable house. Though the arrow keys are crammed in, HP squeezed in Page Up and Page Down keys. It additionally saved the perform row compact to create space for Home, End, Insert, and Delete keys (although F12 and Home must share an area).

The webcam on the high of the show is considerably sadly positioned. I discover I’m all the time touching it after I open the laptop computer. And with a built-in privateness shutter there, I usually handle to shut the shutter by mistake, too. On the plus aspect, HP made slightly cutout to assist with opening the lid — one thing it omitted on the current OmniBooks a lot to my dismay in makes an attempt to open these laptops. The base of the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i isn’t heavy sufficient to make one-handed opening doable, although.

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i measures 0.7 inches thick and weighs in at 3.17 kilos, so it’s not ultra-thin or ultralight, however it’s not terribly heavy, and it nonetheless stays skinny sufficient to slide simply into baggage. It provides a little bit of weight subsequent to the usual mannequin, which makes use of magnesium in its building and weighs simply 2.72 kilos, but it in any other case has nearly the very same measurements, even ending up a hair thinner. 

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i additionally comes with a compact 65W charger that weighs underneath a half pound and separates out into three items, basically letting you select your individual USB-C cable (or substitute it if one thing goes unsuitable). 

HP EliteBook X Flip G1i: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Mark Knapp

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i doesn’t precisely boast my dream keyboard, however it’s nonetheless good. The keycaps don’t have a lot contour to them, so it may be slightly tough to ensure I’m centering my fingers on them. They additionally really feel slightly comfortable, failing to supply a lot tactile sense of getting pressed them. That stated, they’re fast and poppy, making speedy typing pretty straightforward. They’re additionally stabilized effectively, which helps counteract their largely flat design. I used to be rapidly in a position to rise up to hurry typing at 118 phrases per minute, which is about as quick as I get with no really distinctive keyboard. Occasionally I’d botch my hand place after shifting round, however more often than not my accuracy was on level. 

The trackpad is lots massive for a 14-inch laptop computer. It’s not tremendous vast, however it’s tall and fills a lot of the obtainable house. The gliding floor is splendidly clean, and there’s a mild bodily click on that doesn’t really feel low-cost in any respect. 

HP EliteBook X Flip G1i: Display, audio

IDG / Mark Knapp

HP hasn’t opted for the prettiest or sharpest show, however the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i will get a really helpful one. One of its highlights is the anti-glare end, which is extremely efficient and makes viewing the display screen very straightforward. The 1920×1200 decision isn’t too unhealthy on a 14-inch panel, however loads of techniques are providing better decision. It would have been good to see a quicker refresh price to clean out visuals although. On the brilliant aspect, the display screen hits an admirable 424 nits and bests most IPS panels with a 1460:1 distinction ratio. It’s additionally a respectably colourful display screen with 100% protection of the sRGB colour house. 

Since it is a 2-in-1, the display screen additionally helps contact and stylus enter. The contact is responsive, however not as responsive because it may need felt with a quicker refresh price. The anti-glare end of the show helps give the display screen a pleasantly clean really feel to swipe throughout, and it helps disguise finger oils. The stylus also can show a strong enter device, providing correct enter with stress and tilt sensitivity, although how helpful it’s will depend upon the software program you utilize. How effectively you’ll be able to keep away from palm inputs whereas inking may also rely in your software program. Unfortunately, there’s no fast toggle to lock out contact controls. 

HP has squeezed surprisingly good audio system into the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i. It has a set of 4 audio system, giving it greater than sufficient quantity (an excessive amount of for shut listening when maxed out) and stunning depth. The audio system put out extra bass than I’ve come to count on from most laptops. They could be a little harsh with overly crisp high-end, however are typically nice to take heed to with the amount saved under 50%. 

HP EliteBook X Flip G1i: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The 5MP webcam on the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i can look good, however it’ll take a bit of labor. Regular lighting will nonetheless depart you coping with a grainy, noisy picture because the digicam struggles with something lower than a vibrant, straight lit topic. If you arrange in entrance of a vibrant window, you have to be trying nice although. 

You also can use the digicam for simple sign-on with Windows Hello facial recognition. Since this laptop computer could also be folded over into pill mode with out the keyboard instantly accessible, that may show particularly helpful. There’s additionally a fingerprint scanner built-in into the ability button. Both choices show fast and simple. 

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i has an ideal pair of microphones for dealing with video calls. They seize my voice very clearly whereas eliminating background noise from followers or air conditioners and even eradicating the sound of me clapping in the midst of a recording. This was a pleasing shock after the mics on the non-flipping model of this laptop computer carried out a lot worse. 

HP EliteBook X Flip G1i: Connectivity

IDG / Mark Knapp

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i affords respectable connectivity. It doesn’t squeeze in a ton of ports, however it has sufficient. On the left aspect, you’ll discover a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and an audio combo jack. Both Thunderbolt ports can deal with video output and charging as effectively. Surprisingly, the best aspect of the system additionally has a USB-C port, although it’s only a 10Gbps port. But the perk of that further USB-C port is that you should utilize it for charging, too, letting you conveniently cost the gadget on both aspect. The proper edge additionally features a 5Gbps USB-A port and slightly lock slot. If you get one of many 5G fashions, there’s additionally a SIM card slot over there, although that house is crammed in on our take a look at unit. 

Wireless connectivity is strong with Wi-Fi 7 on deck and Bluetooth 5.4 Both have confirmed quick and dependable in testing. Even in less-than-ideal situations, with 5GHz Wi-Fi having to undergo a number of partitions, the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i was in a position to take good benefit of my fiber web connection. And Bluetooth was fast to pair and re-connect to gadgets.

HP EliteBook X Flip G1i: Performance

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i is constructed to be a modest however not mind-blowing performer. That simply comes with the terrain when utilizing a low-power processor. But the worth of the machine actually provides up, and at $2,899, it’s vast open to competitors from all kinds of machines.

The non-flipping HP EliteBook X G1i is offered for $2,283 with the identical inner specs. The $1,749 Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is probably not designed as an enterprise laptop computer, however it’s nonetheless equally geared up. HP’s personal OmniBook X Flip 14 boasts the same design and a a lot decrease $1,509 price ticket. And for heavy workloads, the $1,699 Asus ProArt PX13 features a high-performance AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and a discrete Nvidia RTX 4050. Aside from that different EliteBook, all of those opponents additionally function 2880×1800 OLED shows and 2-in-1 designs to match the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i. 

IDG / Mark Knapp

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i affords good total efficiency. PCMark 10 is a holistic workplace benchmark that duties the system with all kinds of widespread workloads, and a rating above 5,000 is mostly indicative of a well-rounded machine that can sustain with on a regular basis computing. As good because the system performs right here, it’s not main the group by any means. It performs neck-in-neck with the non-flip mannequin, and it lags behind the opposite three techniques. The key wrongdoer in that shortfall seems to be the storage used within the system, as the opposite three techniques all carried out considerably higher within the App Startup and Spreadsheets parts of the take a look at, the place SSD velocity may give a leg up. 

IDG / Mark Knapp

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i’s CPU efficiency isn’t serving to it a lot. The Intel Core Ultra 7 268V isn’t unhealthy, providing glorious single-core efficiency and modest multi-core efficiency, although it falls effectively behind the multi-core speeds provided by the AMD chips within the OmniBook and Asus ProArtwork techniques. The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i additionally tends to get much less out of its chip than its non-flipping counterpart, and it even manages to fall behind the Lenovo system utilizing what ought to be a slower Core Ultra 7 258V. Across 4 variations of Cinebench, the Yoga 9i leads the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i in multi-core efficiency regardless of trailing in single-core efficiency, suggesting it’s higher in a position to deal with the warmth of all-core workloads than the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i. 

Handbrake can hammer a CPU within the massive encoding take a look at we conduct, particularly in thin-and-light machines that are likely to battle with the warmth a time-consuming multi-core workload produces. Sure sufficient, we see the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i lag behind the pack. Its non-flipping sibling once more pulls forward, persevering with to verify one of many shortcomings of 2-in-1s in comparison with conventional laptops. And the Lenovo Yoga 9i as soon as once more will get one of the best of the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i. The AMD chips within the OmniBook and ProArtwork techniques once more present their nice uncooked efficiency right here. 

Intel nonetheless has the sting in built-in graphics, and that helps the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i claw again some floor towards the OmniBook at the least. It carried out much better than that system in our 3DMark exams. But it continued to lag behind the Lenovo Yoga 9i, a shortcoming that’s laborious to excuse greater than as soon as. And although the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i might have a lead on the built-in graphics of the OmniBook, it doesn’t get the same lead towards the Asus ProArtwork PX13, which wields its RTX 4050 (a weak GPU, thoughts you) to point out that there’s nonetheless an enormous gulf between built-in and discrete GPUs.

HP EliteBook X Flip G1i: Battery life

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i recovers a few of its credibility on the subject of battery life. I all the time hope to see a weaker-performing machine flip issues round within the battery life division, and the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i largely does. Offering over 20 hours of runtime in our 4K offline video playback take a look at, it trounces the AMD-powered OmniBook and ProArtwork laptops. It retains tempo with its non-flipping sibling on this take a look at as effectively, which ought to come as little shock because the two machines have the identical processor, identical battery capability, and provide very related shows.

Shamefully, the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i loses to the Yoga 9i but once more, and by nearly three hours. It’s value noting that the Yoga 9i’s OLED show provides it some benefits on this particular take a look at, as OLEDs don’t use a lot energy to show the black letterboxing within the video.  

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i fares effectively in on a regular basis use as effectively. You most likely received’t get away with working for 20 hours on a cost whereas retaining the show at 250 nits, however it’s straightforward sufficient to get by means of a full workday searching, replying to emails, and drafting up paperwork. Better nonetheless, due to the anti-glare show, I discover I can get away with further battery conservation by decreasing the show brightness significantly whereas nonetheless having fun with straightforward visibility of the show.

The identical cannot be stated of the Lenovo Yoga 9i’s shiny OLED panel, which not solely will should be run brighter to supply the same degree of visibility but in addition received’t get the identical black-pixel benefit it had within the video playback take a look at. So, relying on ambient lighting situations, the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i might regain some floor in real-world battery life. 

HP EliteBook X Flip G1i: Conclusion

When you’re paying almost $3,000 for specs you may look forward to finding in a $1,000 laptop computer, you most likely ought to count on that the system will pull out all of the stops and take advantage of what it packs in. While the HP EliteBook X Flip G1i performs decently, it nonetheless lags behind considerably cheaper techniques in lots of key areas. I really like the show, 1200p and bezel-flanked although it could be. But a display screen alone received’t save this technique from being powerful to advocate. If it have been vastly discounted, I’d hop on it, however so long as the Yoga 9i and ProArtwork PX13 are cheaper, they’ll make much more wise buys for folk who don’t want the enterprise extras however want extra efficiency or far more efficiency (at the price of battery life), respectively.