HP EliteBook x360 G2 Review: The Business Laptop You've Been Looking For
Don’t let HP’s EliteBook heritage fool you—even though HP’s EliteBook x360 G2 comes with a business pedigree, this year’s laptop isn’t a boring black box that’s meant to be stowed at your desk. The 2017 EliteBook x360 takes its inspiration directly from the Spectre x360 beautiful convertible notebook that arguably is one of the best laptops for the year—which makes this business notebook exciting to use whether you’re at work in the boardroom or at home in the living room.
So why should you choose an EliteBook x360 over the Spectre? For one, the EliteBook x360 is a commercial device and ships with an excellent warranty. It’s also “purpose-built for business,” says Mike Nash, Vice President Customer Experience and Portfolio Strategy at HP, featuring “enhanced security, rugged testing and IT manageability.”
Sleeker and more secure than even a MacBook Pro, the EliteBook x360 G2 marries seductively good looks with cunning intelligence. Speedy and powerful, this convertible combines HP’s refined design, the performance of Intel’s 7th Generation Core i7 processor and smart security features for data protection. Whether you want to shield your screen from prying eyes or get alerted when an offender tries to login to your system or insert an unauthorized flash drive, the EliteBook comes with a variety of different HP-developed security technology to keep your device and data safe.
In designing the EliteBook x360, HP claims that it has merged the design of several different products to create the ultimate business convertible. Most evident is the 360-degree hinge and slim Ultrabook form factor that’s part of the Spectre x360, but the company also borrowed and improved the integrated SureView privacy screen from the EliteBook 1040 and the built-in conference call keys from the EliteBook Folio series.
Design
Like its consumer cousin in the Spectre, the machined aluminum construction gives the EliteBook x360 a premium feel. The silver, all-metal design is elegant and minimal, helping to keep the laptop slim, light and solid. The brushed aluminum lid is only interrupted by HP’s modernized logo, and a discrete strip that runs along the top housing the antennas for the wireless radios. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are supported on all models, with select configurations also shipping with an optional 4G LTE modem.
A small magnet keeps the lid closed when the EliteBook isn’t in use. Fortunately, despite its 2.82-pound body, the EliteBook x360 is well balanced, so you can open the laptop with just one hand—a feature that will likely delight Apple aficionados looking to switch. Measuring just 12.5 × 8.6 × 0.6 inches, HP claims the EliteBook x360 is the thinnest business convertible. This makes the EliteBook lighter than the 2.9-inch 13.3-inch Spectre x360 and just 0.1-inch thicker. The EliteBook shares the same thickness as Dell’s prosumer XPS 13 2-in-1, which comes with the same 360-degree hinge, but HP’s model uses a more powerful Intel 7th Generation Core i7 processor, rather than the power efficient Core M on the XPS.
Even though you can also charge the EliteBook x360 over the USB Type-C port, HP ships its proprietary barrel-type charger out of the box, a compromise likely made to accommodate enterprise users. Unlike the Spectre, HP is a bit more selective with the USB Type-C chargers that will work with the EliteBook. While the Spectre was able to charge off of my Dell USB Type-C power companion, the EliteBook refused and a warning message popped up.
While the EliteBook shares the same 360-degree hinge from the Spectre, the EliteBook takes a more angular approach with a flatter rear edge, compared to the more curvy Spectre. With the 360-degree hinge, you’ll be able to use the EliteBook as a laptop, in tent mode for presentations, with the keyboard facing down to consume media, as a tablet, or with the screen and keyboard flat on a table collaborate with colleagues.
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