HP has been getting a lot of attention lately, and most of it has been great. The company’s investment in I have a computer The craze helped HP stand out from the crowd, and its laptops began to match it. I recently reviewed the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 (2024).and it’s one of the best laptops I’ve tested in a while. On the other hand, HP’s corporate efforts have begun to pull me away from these consumer-focused devices.
Ahead CES 2025HP sent me a pre-production sample of the HP EliteBook Ultra 14 (G1i), one of three professional laptops announced at the latest Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. All three devices, including the EliteBook Ultra 14, run on Intel Core Ultra (Series 2)making them powerful work machines with serious artificial intelligence capabilities. My first experience with the EliteBook Ultra was extremely positive, and in some ways I’m honestly more excited about the EliteBook than the OmniBook lately.
I first got this feeling when HP sent me an early sample of their EliteBook X 14 (G1a) after the HP Imagine 2024.but this laptop ticks even more boxes for me.
This hands-on test was made possible by a pre-production sample provided by HP. HP had no knowledge of or seen the contents of this review prior to publication.
Impressive hardware package
The obviously premium HP EliteBook Ultra 14 (G1i) is housed in a sleek, dark blue magnesium chassis. You won’t find the cut corners found on HP’s high-end OmniBook devices here: the EliteBook Ultra is clearly divided between rounded edges and sharp corners.
HP EliteBook Ultra 14 (G1i)
• Price: From $2019 at HP
• Display: 14″ OLED, 16:10 aspect ratio, 2.8K resolution (2880 x 1800), 48-120Hz dynamic refresh rate, 400 nits peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, non-touch and multi-touch.
• PROCESSOR: Up to Intel Core Ultra 7 (series 2)
• GPU: Intel Arc
• NPU: Intel AI Boost (up to 48 TOPS)
• RAM: Up to 32 GB LPDDR5X
• Storage: Up to 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD
• Battery: Fast charging USB Type-C 64 W/h, 65 W
• Dimensions: 313.7 x 217.3 x 9.1 – 14.9 mm (12.4 x 8.6 x 0.36 – 0.59 in)
• Weight: 1.2–1.22 kg (2.63–2.68 lb)
These small changes make this one of my favorite HP laptop designs, with excellent build quality and obvious attention to detail. That polish continues when you open the lid, thanks to HP’s new two-tone keyboard and solid glass design. tactile touchpadand a stunning OLED display with thin bezels all around. To be fair, it’s thin all around, with a maximum thickness of 14.9mm, a weight of around 1.22kg with touchpad, and a screen-to-body ratio of over 90%.
The premium feel doesn’t compromise HP’s sustainability commitments: 90% of the magnesium chassis is post-consumer recycled, 50% or more of the keycaps, bezels and speaker cabinets are post-consumer recycled, and plastic ends up in the ocean. and 100% of the packaging is fully recyclable.
EliteBook Ultra 14 is not only premium, portable and eco-friendly, but also has a practical design. You get a combined three USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports with Power Delivery and DisplayPort capabilities, a USB Type-A port with a flip connector (not my favorite design, but it’s an optional port), a 3.5mm audio jack, and a Kensington lock slot Nano for added physical security.
Inside, the EliteBook Ultra 14 is similar to the latest generation of flagship Windows laptops. You get an Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) chipset, which means incredible gains in endurance and AI performance, but at the cost of some multi-core performance. However, this is not an issue for this laptop and it runs very smoothly (though I can’t share benchmarks for this pre-production unit).
Of course, the latest Intel processor means dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) up to 48 TOPS and this, in turn, means that the HP EliteBook Ultra 14 (G1i) is Co-pilot+ PC. In addition to the growing list of artificial intelligence features inside Windows 11The EliteBook Ultra 14 benefits from HP’s investments in artificial intelligence, including the evolving AI Companion, improvements to background power and performance management, and huge performance improvements to HP’s robust Wolf Security suite.
As expected, the full HP Wolf Security platform is also featured here, giving businesses enhanced, multi-layered security and additional management features. Wolf Security is starting to appear on HP’s high-end consumer laptops (which is great), but EliteBooks are still the most secure. Of course, the EliteBook Ultra 14 will also come with Intel vPro And Windows 11 Professional configurations for even more remote management and security features.
Rounding out this premium experience is a 9-megapixel front-facing webcam tuned by Poly Studio and supported by AI features, a quad-speaker system, two noise-cancelling microphones, and two noise-cancelling microphones. Windows Hello biometric authentication options with facial recognition and built-in fingerprint sensor. HP continues to impress me with their keyboards, and this haptic touchpad is amazing. You get the point; I really like this laptop.
HP EliteBook Ultra 14 (G1i) is expected to go on sale sometime this month at a starting price $2019 at HPwhich monitors a corporate PC with advanced security features.
I’ve become a big fan of HP’s EliteBook offerings.
I never thought the day would come when I would truly care more about a company’s enterprise offerings than its mainstream consumer versions, but I’m starting to lean more in that direction with the HP EliteBook family. Of course, everyone benefits from greater security, but the last two HP EliteBooks I’ve used have also boasted some of the most attractive laptop designs I’ve ever encountered.
Of course, my full thoughts on the EliteBook Ultra 14 (G1i) are saved for when I can (hopefully) test the final device, since I only used an early pre-production sample. Either way, HP is quickly making me an EliteBook fan. I particularly like the EliteBook Ultra 14 because of its thin design, OLED display, and haptic touchpad. The Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) has impressed me so far as well, although its multi-core performance is actually a step back from the first-generation Core Ultra platform.
It’s still worth noting that AI computers in general haven’t really captivated me, but of all the companies investing time and money in AI for personal computing, HP seems to be on the best path to success. A universal AI Companion that everyone can benefit from, truly noticeable improvements in efficiency and security, and a growing platform for safe and secure AI development make HP a promising player in this space.
The HP EliteBook Ultra 14 (G1i) capitalizes on all of this and is future-ready to take advantage of HP’s upcoming advancements in artificial intelligence. Of course, this also applies to the other HP EliteBooks announced at CES 2025.
Two more Intel-powered EliteBooks worth checking out
In addition to the HP EliteBook Ultra 14 (G1i), we’re also getting two new EliteBook X variants: the X 14 (G1i) and X Flip 14 (G1i). As the model name suggests, both are still powered by Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) chipsets and have much in common with the EliteBook Ultra. However, there are some fundamental differences.
First, the EliteBook X devices here are slightly less premium than the Elitebook Ultra, with a thicker and heavier design, different LCD display options, and lower-resolution 5MP front-facing cameras. The trade-off is a more varied port selection and optional 4G LTE connectivity, which is an extremely valuable feature for some users. It’s hard to pinpoint specific differences between the X 14 and X Flip 14, except that the Flip apparently boasts a 360-degree hinge and multi-touch support across all of its displays.
I didn’t have any hands-on experience with either of these devices before CES 2025, so I can’t comment much on how to use them, but their more practical design and feature set are sure to appeal to many. Of course, like the EliteBook Ultra 14 (G1i), both of these EliteBook X models benefit from being Copilot+ PCs in addition to all of HP’s AI enhancements. Wolf Security is also built in by default.
Both HP Elite Book X models are expected to go on sale in February 2025. HP EliteBook X 14 (G1i) starting from $1999 at HP And HP EliteBook X Flip 14 (G1i) starting from $2,249 at HP.