HP EliteBook X G1i review: Sleek, efficient, overpriced

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Following the AMD-powered HP EliteBook X G1a, HP has introduced a new business laptop for workers who crave a bit of class and efficiency from a thin-and-light laptop. The HP EliteBook X G1i trims more than half a pound from the G1a and opts for low-power Intel Lunar Lake hardware, giving it less power but more portability. This model is still pricey, with all the markups of a business laptop and some really wonky pricing from HP, but it might be a good choice if you really need the enterprise features and want a machine that’s easily going to last all day.

HP EliteBook X G1i: Specs and features

• Model number: B85MSUT#ABA
• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 268V
• Memory: 32GB LPDDR5x-8533
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc Graphics 140V
• Display: 14-inch 1920×1200 IPS, Anti-glare
• Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Webcam: 5MP + IR
• Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 2.1 Alternate Mode, 1x USB-C 10Gbps with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4 Alternate Mode, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-A 5Gbps, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: Windows Hello fingerprint and facial recognition
• Battery capacity: 68 watt-hours
• Dimensions:12.36 x 8.66 x 0.72 inches
• Weight: 2.72 pounds measured
• MSRP: $2,283 as-tested ($2,399 base)

The HP EliteBook X G1i has a base price of $2,399 for a configuration with an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chip, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. Our test unit isn’t available as a pre-configured system from HP, but the closest match offers the same Intel Core Ultra 7 268V, 32GB of memory, and 1TB of storage (instead of our unit’s 512GB) for $2,869. CDW does have our test configuration for $2,283. 

Confusingly, despite being brand new, the HP EliteBook X G1i lineup saw huge discounts to the listed MSRP right away, cutting anywhere from 33 percent to 61 percent off the prices of pre-configured models. This lowered the base model to $1,599 (or a version that lengthens the warranty and Wolf Pro Security subscription for even less at $1,499), and the unit closest to our test model to $1,999.

HP also offers pre-configured models with 5G modems and customization options with alternate displays, including higher resolutions, 120Hz (VRR) panels, privacy protection, and non-touch options. HP’s custom configurations come with a lower base specification than pre-configured models and a higher starting price of $2,680.

HP EliteBook X G1i: Design and build quality

IDG / Mark Knapp

The HP EliteBook X G1i embodies cleanliness. It uses smooth, tight curves all around its design to make for a tidy package. Nothing stands out, but nothing looks overly plain. Simple, but elegant. The dark blue color scheme also has a neat effect: when viewing the laptop at an angle (like you would when using it), the trackpad and keyboard reflect light differently than the chassis, making them appear to shift to a subtly lighter shade of blue. 

The display has fairly thin bezels, though the top one is on the thick side. That space also houses the camera, which has a physical privacy shutter. The shutter is unfortunately situated right where a cutaway in the chassis guides you to open the laptop from. In my case, this has meant my thumb frequently touches the camera and shutter. Over time, all that finger grease will add up. And Windows Hello facial recognition isn’t as quick to unlock if I have to reactivate the camera every time. 

The chassis isn’t super thin, measuring 0.72 inches at its thickest point, but it’s still pretty lightweight at 2.72 pounds. That’s likely thanks in part to the magnesium used in the casing, which has just a faint roughness to its texture. The laptop feels sturdy, with minimal flex in the keyboard deck or display, though the hinge does wiggle for a couple seconds after repositioning the screen. 

The laptop sits on one wide rubber foot at the back edge and two small feet at the front. These keep it reasonably secure. When the display is open, its back edge ends up folding down low enough to touch the desk underneath it. This doesn’t raise the laptop much, but it does block off the exhaust. In this case, the wide foot smartly prevents the hot exhaust from heading right back into the intake fans. Instead, exhaust will head up over the hinge or out the sides of the channel created there. 

HP has a simple keyboard here. It’s compact and backlit. Even with its space constraints, it gets Page Up and Page Down keys squished in with the arrow keys, and HP has included Home (on the F12 key) and dedicated End, Insert, and Delete keys in the top right corner of the keyboard. 

On either side of the keyboard, two grilles actually house a pair of speakers, and those combine with a second pair of speakers inside slots along the front edge of the laptop. It’s not only surprising to see up-firing speakers on a laptop these days but also a surprise to see so many speakers on what’s plainly a productivity machine.

To power the HP EliteBook X G1i, you get a small 65W charger that weighs under half a pound. This comes in three parts — AC cable, USB-C cable, and the transformer — providing some flexibility and the ability to replace parts if any break.

HP EliteBook X G1i: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Mark Knapp

The keyboard feels decent and is easy to see with its white backlighting. It doesn’t have much contour to the keycaps, which can make it a little hard to keep centered on each key, but the stabilization is solid. The keys also have a decent resistance to them, which helps somewhat with tactility, though they don’t bottom out with a very noticeable feeling. That can make it more difficult to hit the same key multiple times while typing quickly. I found my accuracy quickly and consistently sank if I tried going much faster than about 110 words per minute. Meanwhile, I could reach 98 percent accuracy while typing at 108 words per minute in Monkeytype. 

The trackpad is a good size, not terribly wide but reasonably tall. Its glass surface is smooth and feels great to swipe around on. And it clicks with a short travel and gentle thunk when it actuates. 

HP EliteBook X G1i: Display, audio

IDG / Mark Knapp

You won’t get the most splendid display from the HP EliteBook X G1i, but you’ll get a very high-utility one. It’s only offering a 1200p resolution, which is fine but not impressive on a laptop these days. It also doesn’t get the fast refresh rate we’re seeing frequently. What the HP EliteBook X G1i has is a respectably colorful display able to hit 99 percent of the sRGB color space, strong contrast and brightness for an LCD at 1680:1 and 524.7 nits, and a wonderful anti-glare coating that makes it easy to see the display even with it set to lower brightness levels. The coating did a great job hiding the glare even from a brightly lit window. 

The screen offers touch functionality, which can be useful. It might have felt smoother with a faster refresh rate, but it’s still acceptably responsive. And I enjoy the feel of my fingers gliding across the screen. The anti-glare coating also helps reduce visible smudges from skin oils.

The HP EliteBook X G1i features a quad-speaker setup and can pump out a good deal of volume. Going much beyond 50 percent volume, the speakers can get too loud for comfort when listening at arm’s length. The speakers deliver surprisingly depth, hitting bass notes you can’t always count on from a laptop, and the sound is fairly clean. With the speakers cranked to full volume, they’re a bit too crisp, but without noticeable distortion.

HP EliteBook X G1i: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The webcam on the HP EliteBook X G1i is decent, capturing sharp footage from its 5MP sensor. But it still requires good conditions to look its best. With overhead lighting, the camera likely will still struggle some. You’ll want some bright light source (like a window) shining onto you to avoid noise in the visuals. 

The webcam comes paired with IR emitters, giving it Windows Hello facial recognition abilities. There are also a handful of presence-sensing options that can dim or lock the display if you’re not looking at the screen or sitting in front of the laptop. If you prefer fingerprint recognition, that’s also available with a scanner integrated into the power button. Either method offers quick and convenient way to sign in.

The microphone array leaves room for improvement. It captures my voice with a decent fullness, but it really struggles with background noise. There’s a lot of room echo that makes me sound further off than I should, and the mics will pick up any extra noises in the room, like fans, air filters, or air conditioners. I was shocked at the poor performance here considering how effective the mics in the HP OmniBook X Flip 14 were at cancelling out just about any noise that wasn’t my voice.

HP EliteBook X G1i: Connectivity