CES 2021: HP Elite Dragonfly Lightweight Laptops

Today at CES, HP is announcing some updates to their Elite Dragonfly series, which are targeted at business users who need portability. Improving on the original Whiskey Lake based model is the new convertible HP Elite Dragonfly G2, powered by the latest Intel Tiger Lake platform with vPro, and the HP Elite Dragonfly MAX, built to be the ultimate for collaboration and conferencing.

HP Elite Dragonfly G2

Improving on the original in almost every way, yet without drastically changing the form factor, the new G2 version of the Elite Dragonfly maintains its ultraportable status with a starting weight up 989 grams. The CNC Magnesium comes in Dragonfly Blue, and moves from Intel’s 8th gen Core to the latest 11th gen Tiger Lake platform, bringing about significantly more performance, and much improved graphics. With LPDDR4 support, the new G2 model can also be outfitted with up to 32 GB up RAM, which as is likely expected on such a thin and light machine, is soldered down. Storage is M.2, up to 2 TB.

HP has stuck with the traditional 13.3-inch 16:9 aspect ratio for the displays, with both 1920x1080 and 3840x2160 offerings, with 400 or 1000 nits brightness on the lower resolution panels, and 550 nits along with HDR 400 certification on the UHD display.

The previous model was rated at 24 hours of battery life, and although HP has not yet rated this model, Tiger Lake has shown itself to be very efficient at idle, so expect another excellent result here.

Despite the 16.1 mm thickness, HP has still managed to fit in a keyboard with 1.3 mm of travel, which is also spill resistant, and of course backlit. Audio is powered by Bang & Olufsen, and HP has included three microphones, with two facing the user and a third facing out for noise cancellation. There’s a 720p webcam, with IR capabilities as well.

The new Dragonfly series also features cellular connectivity options, with LTE from an Intel XMM 7360 modem, or 5G with the Qualcomm X55 modem. There is a single USB 3.1 port, as well as two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and as a business device, there is also an HDMI 1.4 output for connecting to a projector.

Pricing has not been finalized yet, but the new Elite Dragonfly G2 will be available this month.

HP Elite Dragonfly MAX

Although in the same chassis as the G2, the Dragonfly MAX is targeted towards people who do a lot of video conferencing and collaboration. Powered by the same Intel Tiger Lake platform, the MAX model sticks with the 13.3-inch Sure Video Reflect IPS panel with 1000 nits of brightness and 1920x1080 resolution.

The MAX differs in that it includes a 5 MP webcam with IR, and adds a fourth microphone for even better noise cancellation. It also comes in both the same Dragonfly Blue as the G2, but also a Sparkling Black option.

The HP Elite Dragonfly MAX will be available this month as well, with pricing TBD.

Source: HP