My largest gripe is the AI or lack thereof. You’ve acquired Microsoft Copilot aboard, however there aren’t sufficient AI applications to warrant all this hoopla, irrespective of how a lot the trade tries to make it occur. Sadly, the place the Elite lacks in AI options, it makes up in its bloated software program choices. There must be a method to consolidate a few of this, whether or not it’s particular enterprise app software program or not.

HP Elite x360 1040 G11 2-in-1 Design

A versatile silver fox with a port providing as slim as its body

One factor’s for positive. This isn’t your daddy’s EliteBook. The HP EliteBook x360 is refined, sporting gently rounded edges on its pale silver anodized aluminum chassis. HP has taken a decidedly minimalist method to its design. The one gildings are the 4 shiny metallic strips within the lid’s heart. Many of the laptop computer’s inside has extra of that mild silver end besides the keyboard, which is fabricated from darkish grey plastic.

Because the x360 within the laptop computer’s identify suggests, a very powerful design options are the 2 360-degree hinges. The hinges permit the laptop computer to seamlessly remodel from its conventional clamshell type right into a 14-inch pill and tent mode for watching movies or collaborating. The hinges are sturdy, requiring a little bit of elbow grease to maneuver the display screen out of its meant place.

Regardless of the Elite x360’s slim determine, HP didn’t skimp on the ports and slots. They’re much more vital in enterprise laptops, as most individuals could have a bunch of peripherals they’ll wish to join. For the Elite x360, you get a USB-A port, a USB-C port, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, a nano-SIM slot, and a safety lock slot.

At 3.1 kilos, the 12.4 x 8.7 x 0.41-inch convertible is in the midst of the ultraportable vary. I had no downside stowing it into my backpack and a quite giant purse. Even higher, I didn’t really feel any discomfort as I ran a bunch of errands all through the town, making for an extremely comfy commute (or as comfy as one will be on the NYC subway).

I actually loved typing on the Elite x360’s full-size, island-style keyboard. The keycaps are giant with good spacing. The keys are springy, and my fingers by no means bottomed out whereas typing the evaluation. Once I took the MonkeyType typing check, I simply hit my normal 70 phrases per minute with a 98% accuracy fee. 

For those who’re liable to spilling drinks in your laptop computer, you’ll be comfortable to know that the keyboard is spill-proof and pretty simple to wash.

The laptop computer additionally has a number of different protections, together with Intel vPro, which permits the IT group to wipe or lock laptops remotely. There’s additionally safety towards phishing and ransomware assaults. You even have a bodily shutter for the webcam.

The followers are mighty quiet, irrespective of your efficiency signature. After 20 minutes of taking part in Hades II, I measured particular spots across the laptop computer. The touchpad stayed at a cool 88 levels Fahrenheit, whereas the middle of the keyboard reached 93 levels. The underside vent’s left facet was the laptop computer’s hottest half, measuring 109 levels.

HP Elite x360 1040 G11 2-in-1 Show, Webcam, and Audio

An audiovisual trifecta

HP outfitted the Elite x360 with a 14-inch matte show, which is nice for minimizing glare however not so nice for colour vibrancy. Nonetheless, I used to be pleasantly shocked on the depth of colour when watching “The Deliverance” trailer. A portray in one of many scenes confirmed off a deep royal blue and wealthy reds and oranges. The element was so sharp I noticed the little nooks and crannies of the wall the image was painted on. Since it is a horror film, there have been loads of darkish scenes, however the person wisps of smoke that emerged from an individual doused in holy water in a single scene had been plain to see.

Once I measured for brightness, the Elite x360’s panel matched HP’s estimated 400 nits. Though I favor a minimum of 450 nits, 400 remains to be fairly good for a matte show.

It’s uncommon that you simply get a matte contact show; it’s been so lengthy that I almost forgot it existed till I noticed the HP Pen within the field. The stylus lasts a couple of week on a cost and opens up much more avenues of versatility as I began utilizing the laptop computer in pill type to take notes and doodle. The pen glides easily over the show, reacting to each stroke, irrespective of how mild or heavy. That was actually useful after I began doodling and wished to use a light-weight utility of the airbrush device in MS Paint.

The Elite x360’s 5-megapixel webcam is nice—virtually too good. It did an important job of capturing my pores and skin tone and declaring that it’s time for me to retouch my colourful dye job. The built-in shooter additionally did nice with the small print, capturing the glint from the metallic threads in my stuffed bull plushie.

Laptop computer audio system are usually a hit and miss. Within the case of the x360’s quad-speaker setup with its numerous amplifiers and Poly Studio software program, it’s successful. At max quantity, the audio system crammed my medium-sized front room. The soundstage was surprisingly spacious, making it simple to pinpoint each instrument, particularly the horns in Maxwell’s “Dangerous Habits (uncut),” which had been my favourite a part of the track after the singer’s sultry tenor.

HP Elite x360 1040 G11 2-in-1 Software program

Slightly heavy-handed

HP has loaded this unhealthy boy with loads of branded software program, some extra helpful than others. The pocket book has the standard suspects: myHP, HP Help Assistant, and HP PC {Hardware} Diagnostics. The trio of apps means that you can preserve observe of your system well being, tweak quite a lot of settings, together with energy, video, and efficiency modes, and speak to tech assist in case of bother.

The corporate additionally added HP Privateness Settings, which helps you to decide how a lot diagnostic information you share with HP. System info that offers you a fast view of the product and serial numbers, together with the present BIOS model. HP Simple Clear means that you can wipe the laptop computer down with out unintentionally typing on the keyboard or interacting with the contact display screen. As I stated, some software program is healthier than others.

HP Wolf Safety is extra on your IT division because it offers with malware prevention and menace containment. It additionally has OR resiliency, which detects and stops assaults. Then, it recovers through a self-healing reboot. HP Certain Click on is among the finest apps, letting customers browse the net with a safe browser that protects towards malware and phishing assaults.

HP Elite x360 1040 G11 2-in-1 Efficiency

A robust workhorse

HP’s not pulling any punches with the Elite x360. The laptop computer comes out the gate swinging with a 1.4-GHz Intel Core Extremely 7 165H processor with 16GB of MLPDDR5x-7500 MHz RAM, a 512GB PCIeGen4 NVMe TLC M.2 SSD, an built-in Intel Arc GPU, and an Intel AI Increase NPU. The processor is geared in direction of efficiency as an H-series chip, in contrast to U-Collection chipsets tailor-made to effectivity. Which means the pocket book can deal with all types of productiveness duties and a few mild content material creation with a touch of gaming (inside purpose).

To begin, I pitted the Elite x360 towards my typical workload. That’s about 80 open tabs in Google Chrome (a mixture of G-Suite apps, social media, movies, spec sheets, and information and leisure websites with some mild picture modifying and batch resizing in Adobe Photoshop. I even managed to edit two movies. The HP didn’t falter even after I began modifying content material.

The laptop computer additionally stood agency after I ran some artificial benchmarks. On Geekbench 6, as an example, the enterprise laptop computer delivered a rating of two,358 on the single-thread check and 13,167 on the multi. These scores are effectively inside what I count on from this chipset. The Elite x 360 additionally did effectively on the Cinebench R23, Blender, and Handbrake benchmarks. On the latter check, the pocket book solely took 4 minutes and 57 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p.

With its built-in Arc Graphics, you’re not about to leap right into a scorching and heavy firefight in video games like Cyberpunk 2077 or ripping across the stunning vistas in Forza Horizon 5. Older titles or indie video games like Hades II will play with nice body charges. Once I ran the 3DMark Time Spy check, the Elite x360 hit 3,838, which is fairly good for built-in graphics.

HP Elite x360 1040 G11 2-in-1 Battery

Nearly half a day of endurance

I put the Elite x360 and its 6-cell, 68Whr battery by way of their paces all through the evaluation interval. With the brightness at 100%, I squeezed 11 hours and 27 minutes out of the HP Elite x360. Throughout that point, I typed out this evaluation, jumped in a couple of video convention conferences, watched far too many Brad Mondo movies, performed a few run-throughs of Hades II, lurked on Fb, X, and Threads, and browse a bunch of articles in my RSS reader.

Verdict

The HP Elite x360 1040 G11 2-in-1 is a lean, imply, business-ready machine. It’s filled with software program and {hardware} to assist chase away all kinds of malware and ne’er-do-wells with unhealthy intentions towards your delicate knowledge. It’s ultimate for companies with an IT division or cell professionals whose high precedence is safety.

However past safety, the Elite x360 is equally outfitted to place in a tough day’s work after which some with its endurance, which lasts virtually 12 hours on a cost. The laptop computer has an Intel Core Extremely 7 processor and might deal with most productiveness and lightweight content material creation duties. And relying on the sport, you’ll be able to play with respectable body charges. Plus, you have got a vibrant, responsive contact panel, potent audio system, and a snug, spill-proof keyboard.

However $2,300 is a bit expensive. For those who can cope with a slight downgrade in efficiency, I’d advocate testing the configurations of the x360 with Intel Core Extremely 7 155H processors, as you will get financial savings between $450 – $700 relying on different specs. Nonetheless, if you happen to’re available in the market for a complicated, sturdy laptop computer with nice efficiency, almost 12 hours of battery life with a stunning show, and highly effective audio in addition, the HP Elite x360 040 G11 2-in-1 ought to sit on the high of your record.