HP EliteBook

HP EliteBook is a line of business-oriented high-end notebooks and mobile workstations made by Hewlett-Packard (HP Inc.). The EliteBook series, which fits above the lower-end ProBook series, was introduced in August 2008 as a replacement of the HP Compaq high end line of notebooks. The EliteBook brand included mobile workstations until September 2013, when they were rebranded as HP ZBook. The EliteBook mainly competes against computer lineups such as Acer's TravelMate, Dell's Latitude and Precision, Lenovo's ThinkPad and Toshiba's Portégé and Tecra.
Features.
The HP EliteBook line is engineered to meet military MIL-STD-810 standards for reliability and performance under extreme conditions, namely for temperature, altitude, humidity, dust, shock and vibration. The notebooks feature a magnesium alloy chassis, anodized aluminum lid and palm rests, spill-resistant keyboards, active hard-drive protection and dual pointing devices (touchpad and pointing stick). Earlier EliteBook models featured the HP Night Light keyboard light, while in subsequent generations HP has added a backlit keyboard option to some 15" and 17" workstation models. Select models have SSD storage options.
History.
Announcements:
Models.
The first generation of EliteBooks was the xx30 series. Before that, HP's p- and w-class ("professional" and "workstation", respectively) notebooks were not branded as EliteBooks, nor did they have the EliteBooks' distinctive anodized aluminum styling.
First generation.
The xx30 generation comprised the following notebooks:
All models used Intel Core 2 CPUs and aspect ratio displays. The 6930p model was notable for being claimed by HP to be the first notebook to break the 24-hour battery life barrier.
Second generation.
The xx40 series comprised the following models:
The xx40 series brought several changes and new features, including upgrading to the new Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors and DDR3 SDRAM, new semi-chiclet keyboard and for the 14.0" and 15.6" models the switch from 16:10 to 16:9 displays. HP also added DisplayPort and USB 3.0 ports. Appearance-wise, the workstation models were changed to a darker "gunmetal" finish while the non-workstation models retained the brighter "silver" finish.
Models with quad-core CPUs supported up to 32 GB of RAM. Workstation models could be configured with ISV-certified professional graphics cards such as the ATI FirePro M7820 or the Nvidia Quadro FX 5000M (at the time of release the most powerful workstation-class graphics card on the market).
Third generation.
The xx60 series, announced on February 23, 2011, comprised the following models:
The xx60 series featured second-generation Intel Core i series processors, a choice of Sandy Bridge integrated or AMD Radeon HD 6470M discrete graphics and chiclet-style keyboards. All models except the 2760p used 16:9 displays. Mobile workstation models featured Nvidia Quadro or AMD FirePro graphics. The notebooks were also completely redesigned, with a more boxy shape and less plastic used on the surfaces, as well as a larger glass touchpad. The multiple access panels on the bottom of the notebooks were replaced with a single panel enabling access to all of the internal components.
The 8460p model was claimed to have battery life in excess of 32 hours using an external ultra-capacity battery.
Fourth generation.
The fourth generation, announced on May 9, 2012, comprised the following models:
The xx70 series was largely an incremental update to the previous xx60 series, updated with Intel Ivy Bridge processors and new integrated and discrete graphics processors. New additions to the EliteBook family included the 11.6" 2170p and the 14.0" Folio 9470m ultrabook.
ElitePad 900 G1 was introduced with this generation in October 2012.
Fifth generation.
This generation of EliteBook notebooks feature Intel Haswell processors or AMD Steamroller Kaveri processors. EliteBook 800 Series G1 products with Intel processors were announced in October 2013. EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 and Revolve 810 G2 were announced in December 2013. EliteBook 700 Series G1 products with Intel processors and 700 Series G2 products with AMD processors were announced in June 2014. This generation brought changes to nomenclature on most products. Models ending with 0 use Intel processors and models ending with 5 use AMD processor. The second last digit relates to the screen size, and the remaining digits indicate the series. G number indicates generation of the product. The external design was also refreshed, resulting in a less boxy shape and overall thinner chassis. Workstation models were split into a separate ZBook brand. AMD based models were added into EliteBook product line-up for the first time. Previously, ProBook product line-up had featured AMD APUs.
ElitePad 1000 G2 tablet with Intel processors was introduced with this generation. The product was announced at WMC 2014 in February 2014.
Sixth generation.
This generation of EliteBook notebooks feature Intel Broadwell processors. EliteBook 700 Series G2, Revolve 810 G3, 800 Series G2, Folio 1020 G1, and Folio 1040 G2 were announced in December 2014. EliteBook Folio 1020 Bang & Olufsen Limited Edition was announced in July 2015.
HP Elite x2 1011 G1 tablet with Intel processors was introduced with this generation. The product was announced in January 2015.
Seventh Generation.
This generation of EliteBook notebooks feature Intel Skylake processors or AMD Excavator Carrizo processors. EliteBook 725 G3, 745 G3 and 755 G3 with AMD processors were announced in September 2015. EliteBook 820 G3, 840 G3, 850 G3, 1040 G3 and Folio G1 with Intel processors were announced at CES 2016 in January 2016. EliteBook 1030 G1 was announced in May 2016.
HP Elite x2 1012 G1 tablet with Intel processors was introduced with this generation. The product was announced in November 2015.
Eighth Generation.
This generation of EliteBook notebooks feature Intel Kaby Lake processors or AMD Excavator Bristol Ridge processors. EliteBook 725 G4, 745 G4 and 755 G4 with AMD processors were announced in November 2016. EliteBook 820 G4, 840 G4 and 850 G4 with Intel processors were announced in December 2016. EliteBook x360 1030 G2 was announced at CES 2017 in January 2017. EliteBook x360 1020 G2 and 1040 G4 were announced in September 2017. A refresh model, EliteBook 840r G4, was released in April 2018 with Intel Kaby Lake R processors as options.
HP Elite x2 1012 G2 tablet with Intel processors was introduced with this generation. The product was announced in May 2017.
Ninth Generation.
This generation of EliteBook notebooks feature Intel Kaby Lake, Kaby Lake R and Coffee Lake processors or AMD Zen Raven Ridge processors. EliteBook 830 G5, 840 G5 and 850 G5 with Intel Core processors were announced in February 2018. EliteBook 735 G5, 745 G5 and 755 G5 with AMD processors were announced in May 2018. EliteBook 1050 G1 with Intel Coffee Lake processors was also announced in May 2018. One of the two lightweight convertibles, EliteBook x360 1030 G3 was announced in May 2018, and followed by EliteBook x360 1040 G5 announced in October 2018. Another convertible, EliteBook x360 830 G5, was announced at CES 2019 in January 2019. The EliteBook x360 1020 model was discontinued in this generation.
HP Elite x2 1013 G3 tablet with Intel processors was introduced with this generation. The product was announced in May 2018.
Tenth Generation.
This generation of EliteBook notebooks feature Intel Whiskey Lake processors or AMD Zen+ processors. EliteBook x360 830 G6, 830 G6, 840 G6, and 850 G6 with Intel Core processors were announced in April 2019. EliteBook x360 1030 G4 and x360 1040 G6 with Intel Core processors were announced in May 2019. Elitebook 735 G6 and 745 G6 with AMD Ryzen Pro processors were announced in June 2019. New features introduced in this generation include optional 1000-nit display, privacy camera shutter, 802.11ax WiFi and Bluetooth 5.
Other HP Elite notebook and tablet products introduced with this generation include Elite x2 G4 and Elite Dragonfly. Elite x2 G4 was announced in May 2019 with EliteBook x360 convertibles. Elite Dragonfly was announced in September 2019.
Eleventh Generation.
This generation of EliteBook notebooks feature Intel Comet Lake and AMD Zen 2 Renoir processors. New features introduced in this generation include 5G NR WWAN. Elitebook 805 series G7, 800 series G7, 1030 G7 and 1040 G7 were announced in May 2020.
Elite Dragonfly was updated with Intel 10th Generation processors at CES 2020 in January 2020.
Twelfth Generation.
This generation of EliteBook notebooks feature Intel Tiger Lake processors. EliteBook 800 series G8 was announced in December 2020. EliteBook 840 Aero G8, x360 1030 G8, and x360 1040 G8 with Intel processors, as well as EliteBook 805 G8 series with AMD processors were announced on CES 2021.
Other HP Elite notebook, tablet and accessory products are introduced at CES 2021.
Reception.
The HP Elitebook line has been positively received, with PC Mag giving the 6930p notebook a four out of five star review, noting its performance in all-around computing, but giving higher praise to the Thinkpad T400. The 2730p Tablet PC was well received by GottaBeMobile, but noted shortcomings in its speakers, buttons, and latches. Notebook Review called the 8530w mobile workstations "one of the most impressive workstation-class 15.4" notebooks", and Desktop Engineering found that, "In terms of price, performance, and portability, the HP EliteBook 8530w is a winner."
Geek.com commented: "In summary, you can’t go wrong with the EliteBook 8540p (or the 8xx0 series for that matter). With this flagship business line HP has combined good looks, ruggedness, high performance, and tons of features into one extremely attractive package." IT Reviews said that the 8540p's "relatively high screen resolution is a real draw, and we found the keyboard to be well made and easy to use at full touch-typing speed". However, the site also noted that "it is big and heavy and so not designed for portability, though. And it is expensive too."
The EliteBook 8440p received praise from V3.co.uk for its "attractive and robust design" as well as a "powerful processor" and "good range of features", but the review also noted that the overall appeal of the laptop was diminished by "poor battery life" and HP's choice of 32-bit Windows.
A review by AnandTech gave high scores to the HP EliteBook 8740w with the DreamColor 2 LCD, but noted a somewhat high price tag on built-to-order machines.