Here’s a business laptop that ticks all the boxes, and then some

With the RAM crisis hitting the world of personal computing, choosing the correct laptop for your workers has become more important than ever. You need a top quality, business laptop that offers the power, portability, business-friendly features, robustness, onboard AI smarts and reliability that will ensure it lasts for years to come – thus reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The good news is that HP’s new 14-inch, convertible EliteBook X Flip G2i ticks every box.

HP’s EliteBook X Flip G2 has the power of Intel Inside

Now more than ever, mobile performance and battery life are critical in a business laptop. The latest Intel Core Ultra X7 processor (Codenamed “Panther Lake”) provide outstanding performance with low power use that leaves other laptops running out of steam while you power on. The new processor range offers excellent CPU performance, a powerful neural processor (NPU) that facilitates onboard AI processing and integrated Intel Arc graphics that are powerful enough to (and don’t tell the boss this) play most games.

This is backed up with a rapid SSD for quick storage, along with plenty of fast DDR5 RAM to keep everything ticking over smoothly. The resultant performance is leagues above what users have traditionally expected from ultraportable business laptops, and this is the foundation upon which the EliteBook X Flip G2i is built.

Built to go the distance

Portability is another core tenet for high-quality business ultraportables, and the EliteBook excels in this regard. First off there’s the 65Wh battery which provides all-day battery life away from the mains. What’s more, the AI smarts in the HP app learn how you work and optimise power and thermal performance to further extend operating time and reduce heat accordingly. If you do run low, HP’s fast-charging mode can get you back to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.

On top of that, the premium magnesium chassis has undergone 120,000 hours of testing and has passed 19 of the difficult military-grade MIL‑STD‑810H tests. This means it’s designed to withstand the drops, vibrations, liquid spills and fluctuating temperatures that are particular to mobile professionals. It’s also less than 1.5cm thick and weighs only 1.29kg, so you’ll barely notice it when on the road.

AI that really makes a difference

HP’s AI augmentations are impressive, and this is something any business laptop today needs to excel at. If yours doesn’t, you‘re falling behind. The EliteBook is a fully fledged AI PC that can potentially reduce expensive online AI cloud costs by performing workloads locally using its 181 TOPS-capable processor. By running open-weight Large Language Models locally on-device, users don’t need to eat into token budgets for AI cloud costs on simple tasks. This saves frontier model usage costs for the work that really matters, also known as Edge Computing. This capability also affords full Windows CoPilot+ functionality to organisations that don’t want users inadvertently sending company secrets to non-authorised AI services.

Of particular note is the Poly Studio web-conferencing technology that’s derived from HP’s acquisition of unified communication specialists, Poly. This works with the efficient NPU to enhance clarity for the dual-microphone array, speakers and high-resolution 5MP camera to ensure online calls are as clear and free from distractions as possible (the AI will also recognise when you’re on a call and keep the EliteBook operating quietly). The quad stereo speakers do the opposite by offering-up enough volume, bass response and studio-quality fidelity to playback high-quality multimedia at high volume. They also enable executives to communicate in conference calls without using ugly (unprofessional) headsets.

Poly Studio also offers other enhancements including automatic framing, automatic eye-contact engagement, frame customisation (with company logo, business card details, social media handles, etc) in addition to lighting enhancements and audio tuning. It can even provide live captions and translations during web calls.

The EliteBook is also a fully fledged AI PC that can potentially reduce expensive online AI cloud costs by performing workloads locally using its 181 TOPS-capable processor. This also affords full Windows CoPilot+ functionality to organisations that don’t want users inadvertently sending company secrets to non-authorised AI services.

Keeping critical data safe and secure

Of course, the data on a business laptop is likely more valuable than the laptop itself, and so HP provides a plethora of security features to defend against everything, from the most ardent remote (human or AI bot) hacker to snoopers sitting behind you in a café. First up is HP’s Wolf Security which protects a lost laptop against hackers, from the BIOS level to the Operating System. It also secures users’ web browsers and, if you’ve a WWAN model, it works with track and trace technology. It also supports Windows Hello secure login via IR camera and fingerprint reader.

The webcam has a hardware privacy cover to provide certainty that you’re not being snooped upon, and AI uses it to check whether anyone behind you is looking at your screen. Ultimately, it’s an AI PC without security compromise providing utmost reassurance to both users and procurement teams.

Clever design for a practical and enjoyable experience

Of course, a good business laptop must provide ergonomics that make users both want to use it and take good care of it, and the EliteBook X Flip G2i excels in this area, too. The keyboard has improved, deeper-dish keycaps for added comfort and accuracy when typing and the large, accurate haptic trackpad provides multiple gesture support.

The 14-inch FHD+ touchscreen display is a work-friendly monitor that’s also colourful and very bright (800-nits) to suit multimedia. It uses HP Eye Ease technology to prevent eye fatigue during all-day work sessions and it’s coated with Gorilla Glass for toughness. It also folds completely to transform into a tablet that works with touch and HP’s optional Pen for accurate hand-drawn designs and note taking – it also has a built-in Pen holder to keep it secure when not in use. It can also be used in tent configuration or laid flat to suit presentations to people sitting opposite you.

It sports cutting-edge Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity plus HDMI 2.1 ports and USB-A ports for the legacy peripherals that still adorn most modern offices. No dongles necessary, but they definitely help!

The EliteBook can be pre-configured by suppliers to suit particular user requirements and there are multiple service and support options for bulk buyers and MSPs. Organisations can even leverage HP’s sustainability-in-manufacturing initiatives to augment their own ESG figures. Individual buyers can make use of HP’s three-year on-site warranty.

The right tool for important jobs

All in all, the EliteBook X Flip G2i, like HP’s other business-class AI PCs, is designed to be uncompromising when it comes to delivering reliable technology that doesn’t require regular maintenance or kid-glove usage from users. This affords it a relatively low TCO across its lifespan (it’s still built to be easily serviceable which can suit future-proofing upgrades).

At the end of the day, users, office accountants and IT managers alike will appreciate the EliteBook X Flip G2i so contact your supplier or get yours here, now.