This fantastic 2-in-1 laptop I tested comes highly recommended for office workers (and is on sale).

What’s the matter?

Some EliteBook x360 models saw a significant reduction in prices on the HP storefront. The biggest discount belongs to the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H with a 1TB configuration, priced from $3,437 to US$1949.

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Let’s say you are a business professional and are looking for a laptop. What will you get? MacBook? However, of course, there are better options, such as the new HP. Laptop Elitebook x360 1040 G11 2-in-1. It’s certainly a big name, but don’t let it scare you away from an excellent device primarily aimed at enterprise users. There are three features that make the Elitebook x360 so good, and I’ll talk about them below.

Also: Best Laptops for Graphic Designers: Tested and Reviewed by Experts

First, battery life. The HP laptop lasted more than 14 hours on a single charge before I had to rush to the charger. Keep in mind that this number was achieved through ZDNET’s standardized battery tests. And without turning on battery saving mode. I’m confident that with the latter activated it will be able to last up to a 20 hour HP rating. All this means is that you can take the HP Elitebook x360 to and from work, as well as to a third place, without worrying about whether the laptop will die on you or not. Feel free to leave your charger at home while you go about your business.

What surprised me was that the model doesn’t run on Snapdragon X Elite hardware, a chipset known for its durability. Instead, it runs on an Intel Core Ultra 7 165U processor. No power was sacrificed to ensure long battery life, as the hardware managed to post impressive numbers during our graphics tests. I didn’t experience any dips in performance. Even when I had 60 tabs open and multiple videos playing simultaneously, the HP Elitebook x360 handled it all without issue.

I ran benchmark tests several times to get a better idea of ​​what the laptop was capable of. Geekbench showed me that the laptop performs well under normal workloads, scoring a perfect score of 12,059. It performs at about the same level as a computer with a more powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, which is impressive.

In terms of design, the HP laptop passes the eye test. It is relatively thin and light, weighing about three pounds. Thanks to the aluminum construction, the device is also quite durable. I’m also a keyboard fan; Each island-shaped key is soft to the touch, with plenty of space between them. And all this stands on a solid foundation. All together provides a very comfortable typing experience.

The HP Elitebook x360 has seven inputs throughout its body. What I like about its array is that it has USB-C ports on both sides: two on the left and one on the right. This setup is ideal because you won’t have to wrap the charging cable around the device to charge it. Convenience is highly commendable.

There is one drawback, and this is my nitpick: the laptop did not pass the one-finger lift test. If you lift the display, the device will roll back.

Also: the tablet I recommend most for business travel is not the iPad or ThinkPad.

I also found the touchscreen to be quite tolerable. The display outputs images at a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200, so the image quality is not the best. Moreover, the display is not very bright, with a maximum brightness of 400 nits. HP coated the glass of its latest Elitebook with an anti-reflective coating to maintain clarity. This is normal when indoors. However, due to its low brightness, the screen does not perform well in direct sunlight. On the plus side, the display supports the full sRGB gamut, so colors are very vibrant.

Finally, the audio system of this car is one of its highlights. The hardware was provided by HP’s PolyStudio brand and was created specifically for video calling. The speakers produce immersive sound powerful enough to envelop you in a bubble of sound. They consist of four separate drivers with “discrete amplifiers” to further increase power output.

Also: one of the best lightweight laptops I’ve tested, it made me forget about the MacBook Air.

Next to them are a pair of separate microphones that can pick up the best sounds. The camera has a 5MP lens that typically shoots at 1080p resolution. Normally I would criticize this by saying it’s too low resolution, but as it turns out, the camera can actually record much better 1440p resolution.

Thus, high image resolution combined with powerful audio and recording features makes the HP Elitebook x360 one of the best laptops for video calling on the go.

ZDNET Buying Tips

The HP Elitebook x360 is easy to recommend to business users, especially those who can buy the laptop in bulk, as it is quite expensive at the starting price. US$2029. My review unit costs $2,299. Again, it’s not intended for the average consumer, but I recommend it for adventurous users and people who need a rugged, secure, and reliable laptop for work.

For more traditional users I would recommend Acer Swift 14which has similar display size, battery life and performance, but at a more affordable price.