Table of ContentsTable of ContentsSpecs and configurationDesignKeyboard and touchpadConnectivity and webcamPerformanceBattery lifeDisplayAnother in a strong line of business laptopsWhile HP has completely revamped its consumer laptops, with its budget, premium, and gaming laptops all falling under the new OmniBook brand, it has retained the EliteBooke lin to designate its commercial machines. The first was the EliteBook X G1a, which used a custom AMD chipset for enhanced performance and particularly fast on-device AI.The EliteBook Ultra G1i takes a different approach. It features the same enterprise features as all EliteBooks, but its built around Intels Lunar Lake chipsets for greater efficiency. I took a look at a preproduction model, and so I couldnt run the usual tests, but I came away suspecting that the EliteBook Ultra G1i might very well make our list of the best business laptops.Recommended VideosHP EliteBook Ultra G1iDimensions12.35 x 8.55 0.59 inchesWeight2.68 poundsDisplay14.0-inch 16:10 2.8K (2880 x 1600) OLED, 60Hz non-touch14.0-inch 16:10 2.8K (2880 x 1600) OLED, 60Hz touchCPUIntel Core Ultra 5 and 7 with vProGPUIntel Arc 130V and 140VMemory16GB32GBStorage256GB SSD512GB SSD1TB SSD2TB SSDPorts3 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 41 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 11 x 3.5mm headphone jackCamera9MP with infrared camera for Windows 11 HelloWi-FiWi-Fi 7 and Bluetoth 5.4Battery64 watt-hourOperating systemWindows 11 We dont have any pricing yet for the EliteBook Ultra G1i. Given its commercial focus with extra security and management features, its likely to garner a premium price.RelatedMark Coppock / Digital TrendsHP has had a distinct style with its laptops going back to the beginning of the older Spectre era. The overall design cues are subtle, but I can tell its an HP when I pulled the EliteBook Ultra G1i of the box. HPs EliteBooks have never been as decorative as Spectres, with more of the subdued lines and angles that business users might want, but the edges are a bit curved to be more comfortable, the keyboard has the same look, and its familiar from various directions. Its a good look, equal to any other premium laptop.The build quality is also excellent in all metal. Theres no bending, flexing, or twisting, which has become pretty much the norm for any laptop that costs more than $1,000. So while the EliteBook Ultra G1i is well-built, that aspect doesnt stand out quite as much. The hinge is a bit stiff, which means you need two hands to open the lid. That can either contribute or detract from the overall feeling of quality depending upon your point if view.In terms of size, the laptop has small enough bezels to remain nicely sized in width and depth, but not as small as Dells XPS lineup. The EliteBook Ultra G1i is thin at just 0.59 inches at its thickest point, but not the thinnest, and its around the 14-inch laptop average at 2.6 pounds. So, its highly portable, but again, it doesnt really stand out.Mark Coppock / Digital TrendsHP has always had great keyboards on its premium laptops, with large keycaps featuring bold, highly visible lettering, tons of key spacing, and quality switches. This keyboard maintains that trend with a new design thats been further refined in the EliteBook series. I did find the switches on this model to be a little less snappy than on the EliteBook X G1a, with a bit of an abrupt bottoming action. But thats being picky.The touchpad is a large haptic version thats excellent, as have been all of HPs haptic touchpads. It would be the equal of Apple Force Touch haptic touchpads except it lacks Apples Force click feature. Its as precise and responsive as any Windows touchpad, however.A touch display is optional for those who like that input option. I do like to have it, but its not a must-have for most people.There are three USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 ports, which is one more than usual and a plus given that one is needed for charging. Theres also a USB-A port for legacy support. Wireless connectivity is fully up to date.The webcam is HPs usual high-resolution 9MP version, and HP has a number of features that utilize the on-device capabilities of the fast Neural Processing Unit (NPU) included in the Intel Lunar Lake chipsets to enhance videoconferencing features.Mark Coppock / Digital TrendsI couldnt test performance, but we have some experience with the Lunar Lake chipsets used in the EliteBook Ultra G1i. Whether its the Core Ultra 5 or the Core Ultra 7, the Core Ultra Series 2 chipsets have provided solid but not outstanding productivity performance. Theyre good enough for demanding productivity users, but offer no real advantage for creators or gamers.That matters because the Qualcomm Snapdragon X chipsets have the same efficiency goals, but are considerably faster across the board. They run Windows on Arm, however, which might be more problematic for commercial users with applications written for Intel architectures.Note that the Lunar Lake chipset options include Intels vPro features, which provide for enhanced security and management system support. HP has its Wolf Security suite, along with a host of plug-ins for enterprise environments, and that makes the EliteBook Ultra G1i a great option for large companies. Any buyers looking for higher performance should consider the EliteBook X G1a that uses a custom AMD Ryzen 9 AI chipset thats bound to be a lot faster.Mark Coppock / Digital TrendsThe EliteBook Ultra G1i has a 64 watt-hour battery and a high-res OLED display. Those are matched up with Intel Lunar Lake chipsets that have demonstrated very good efficiency in other laptops Ive reviewed.In our testing, Lunar Lake provides battery life across both lightweight and demanding tasks thats closer to Apples highly efficient Arm-based silicon chipsets than Qualcomms Snapdragon X. Those are also more efficient than previous Windows laptops, but they lose some of their advantage when working the CPU harder.Youll still get overall better battery life with a MacBook. But the EliteBook Ultra G1i will likely provide good enough battery life that you wont be able to tell the difference.Mark Coppock / Digital TrendsTheres one basic display option for the EliteBook Ultra G1i, coming in touch and non-touch versions. Its a 14.0-inch 16:10 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED display running at 60Hz. Subjectively, its as good as any other OLED display Ive used and tested, with bright, dynamic colors and inky blacks.I couldnt use my colorimeter to test it, but I suspect that the display is as good as any other OLED panel. That would make it quite good, indeed. Is it necessary for a laptop that will likely be used for mostly productivity tasks? Maybe not. But its not like this would be a bargain laptop if the display was just IPS.It looks like HP has checked all the boxes for a premium commercial laptop. Performance and battery life should be more than good enough, the high-res OLED display will please every potential user, and HPs suite of enterprise utilities will be attractive for companies of all sizes.But we wont know for sure until we have a chance to run it through out benchmarks. And we dont know the pricing, which is likely to be relatively high given the business user target.Editors Recommendations