HP Debuts EliteBook X and Ultra Laptops With Latest Intel AI CPUs

We are now living in the post-Pavilion era. HP is retiring its Pavilion brand, along with the Envy, Spectre and Dragonfly lines, as it introduces its OmniBook line of consumer laptops and EliteBook line of commercial laptops.

You'll still find the remaining stock of Pavilions and other previous-gen models on HP's site and elsewhere, but HP's new laptops will fall into either the OmniBook or EliteBook line, with the exception of gaming laptops that will still carry the Omen name. (And there are also some new, low-end commercial models that will be called ProBooks.)

I reviewed one of the first OmniBooks last fall in the form of the Snapdragon-based OmniBook X 14: It was the longest-running laptop we tested last year, with a battery life of more than 25 hours. Today at CES, HP has announced a trio of new EliteBook models based on Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPUs, as well as a few OmniDesk and OmniStudio PCs. Let's have a look.

EliteBook X and Ultra

I originally thought the "X" in the OmniBook X 14 meant that it had a Snapdragon X processor, but that is not the case. The X signifies its place in the OmniBook or EliteBook line's hierarchy, with OmniBooks ranging from entry-level OmniBook 3 to X, and EliteBooks ranging from an EliteBook 2 to X. OmniBooks get odd number signifiers (with an exception made for X or 10, it would appear) and EliteBook gets even numbers. At the top of each line are Ultra models, with are one step above OmniBook X and EliteBook X units.

The HP EliteBook X G1i features a 14-inch display powered by an Intel Core Ultra 200 series CPU.

HP

At CES today, HP announced three new 14-inch EliteBook X models. The EliteBook X G1i 14 is based on Intel Core Ultra CPUs and features a 14-inch touch display with a modest 1,920x1,200-pixel resolution. HP's Sure View privacy is an optional feature, and you can choose it with a bright 400 or 500-nit rating or an exceptionally bright 800-nit rating if your work takes you outside. There is also a 2.5K (2,560x1,600) panel rated for 400 nits that offers 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB color gamuts.

The second model -- the EliteBook X G1i Flip -- is simply a two-in-one version of the EliteBook X G1i laptop.

The third model is the Intel-based EliteBook Ultra G1i that's lighter than the EliteBook X models while supplying a higher-resolution OLED screen, a higher-resolution webcam and a haptic touchpad. According to HP, the EliteBook Ultra G1i has a starting weight of 2.63 pounds, which is nearly a half pound lighter than the 3.06-pound starting weight for the EliteBook X. 

The EliteBook Ultra G1i features a 14-inch OLED display with a 3K (2,880x1,800) resolution that's available with or without touch support. It's rated for 400 nits of brightness and 100% DCI-P3 coverage.

The HP EliteBook Ultra replaces the Dragonfly at the top of the company's line of business laptops.

HP

The webcam gets a bump from the 5-megapixel camera of the EliteBook X to an even finer 9 megapixels. That will have you looking crisp and sharp on video calls.

Another upgrade with the EliteBook Ultra that shouldn't be overlooked is the touchpad -- it trades the standard mechanical touchpad of the EliteBook X for one with haptic feedback. If it's anything like the haptic touchpad that I used on last year's HP Spectre x360 14 and 16 models, then it will be a joy to use. Haptic touchpads offer a consistent click response across the touchpad's entire surface, and they can be customized so you can dial in the feel to your exact specifications.

The top-of-the-line EliteBook Ultra G1i has a top-of-the-line price. It starts at $2,019 and will start shipping later this month.

HP is calling these three models Next Gen AI PCs because they feature Intel's second-gen Core Ultra processors that have NPUs capable of 48 TOPS for local AI processing. These new Intel processors also mean that these EliteBooks can also be called Copilot Plus PCs, a label that Microsoft created to mean a thin-and-light laptop with an NPU capable of 40 TOPS or more.

New desktops, too

The new HP OmniDesk gives off family-room den vibes.

HP

It's not all laptop news from HP at CES. It also introduced the OmniDesk line of desktop PCs. These tower desktops feature a faux-wood finish on the front, and inside offer a mix of Intel and AMD CPUs and up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics and 500-watt power supplies. 

HP also introduced new models to its previously announced OmniDesk X all-in-one series. The latest OmniDesk X models feature Intel Core Ultra 200 series chips for greater local AI processing ability than the first models based on Core Ultra 100 CPUs. Like the previous models, these new all-in-ones are available with either a 27-inch or 31.5-inch display.