HP ELITEBOOK X360 G2 REVIEW

We found the perfect keyboard, and it belongs to HP's EliteBook X360

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Read more: DaveAY

HIGHS

• Elegant design and superior build quality
• Excellent keyboard and touchpad
• Strong business features and value
• Solid performance
• 3-year standard warranty

LOWS

• A little expensive
• Dim 1080p screen with only average quality
• Uncomfortable heat exhaust port

DT EDITORS' RATING

8.0

DT Recommended Product

Scores Explained

Read more: DaveAY

BY MARK COPPOCK

Posted on 05.10.17

Intel’s Ultrabook initiative and Microsoft’s Surface have raised people’s expectations of what qualifies as an acceptable high-end Windows 10 PC. Nowhere is this truer than with business-class notebooks, where employees expect the same qualities in employer-provided machines as they do in the consumer devices they would buy for themselves.

Simply put, it’s no longer acceptable for a company to buy cheap, bulky notebooks to distribute to employees. Rather, today’s workers appreciate thin and elegant designs, quality displays, and other features just as much as anyone else. At least, that’s HP’s position — and judging by its most recent business-oriented 2-in-1, the EliteBook x360 G2, the company is taking it seriously.

Of course, the combination of quality and business chops make for an expensive machine. We looked at an EliteBook x360 G2 equipped with a seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7600U CPU with Intel vPro technology, 16GB of DDR-2133MHz RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD, for $1,979. Has HP managed to produce a premium business machine that’s worth its premium pricing?

Built both beautiful and robust

HP has incorporated just enough similarity between its high-end machines to maintain the brand, but included just enough differentiation to please different target markets. The EliteBook x360 G2 is no different.

The machine has the same diamond-chiseled lines found in the company’s Spectre machines, and many of the same general design cues. Nevertheless, it retains its own understated professional look, with a silver chassis that offers an attractive mix of class, elegance, and business demeanor.

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Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Build quality is excellent, as is the case with many Windows 10 PCs lately. The chassis is constructed from machined aluminum, the 360-degree hinge is smooth and reliable throughout its entire range, and the machine feels supremely solid. It’s clearly in the same class as the best-built notebooks being produced today.

The EliteBook x360 G2 is in the same class as the best-built notebooks produced today.

Proving that beauty isn’t only skin deep, HP also designed the EliteBook 360 G2 to pass the MIL-STD-810G suite of tests for things like drop, vibration, and temperature resistance. That doesn’t mean that HP is selling the machine for use in military duty, exactly. Rather, it means that HP took pains to ensure that the machine will stand up to any abuse that business professionals are likely to dish out.

That’s not to say the EliteBook 360 G2’s design is perfect. HP missed out a bit on thermal management, specifically in terms of how hot air is vented. The input vent is on the bottom and towards the front, which isn’t that unusual, but it does mean that the machine needs some clearance to make sure sufficient air can be sucked in.

However, the exhaust vent is more problematic. It lines the rear edge underneath the display, and points downward. The machine was never more than very warm during testing, and fan noise was at a minimum. Nevertheless, what heat the EliteBook x360 G2 does produce is exhausted down onto a user’s legs when used in a lap, which made things a bit uncomfortable.

Just enough connectivity

For such a thin machine, at just 0.59 inches thick, the EliteBook x360 G2 has a decent selection of ports. There’s a USB Type-A connection for legacy support, a 3.5mm headset jack, and a smart card reader along the left side. The right side offers up a second USB Type-A connection for even better legacy support, a full-size HDMI port, a USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 for future support, and a microSD card reader. A Kensington lock slot is also provided for anyone who wants to keep the machine secure, another business-oriented bonus.

Interestingly, HP went with an old-school power adapter rather than adding a second USB Type-C port, which was a disappointment, but might make IT departments happy if they have compatible AC adapters in their inventories. We plugged in a USB Type-C adapter from another machine and it charged the EliteBook, although a warning popped up recommending an HP power supply.

Wireless connectivity is provided by Intel dual-band 8265 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. WWAN connectivity is also an option, though it wasn’t provided on our review unit. A near-field communications (NFC) chip was included in our configuration, and located to the upper right of the touchpad.

A plethora of input options

HP’s designers paid serious attention to the keyboard, and it shows. The EliteBook x360’s Premium Collaboration Keyboard is indeed excellent, maintaining the theme of strong attention to detail that pervades the machine’s overall design. The keys are a bit shallow at 1.3mm, which is slightly less than the 1.5mm travel we usually prefer. However, HP uses a mechanism that activates at just the right amount of force. It’s crisp, without any hint of bottoming out.

We thought the keyboard on HP’s Spectre x360 15 one of the best available, but this one beats it by a country mile. Not only do the keys feel great individually, but HP also took pains to make sure that keystroke is uniform throughout the entire keyboard. The keyboard is also quiet, and even spill-resistant.

We don’t usually gush over a keyboard, but HP knocked this one out of the park.

We don’t usually gush over a keyboard, but HP has knocked this one out of the park. If you type thousands of words a day, then you should consider the EliteBook x360 G2 for its keyboard alone.

The touchpad felt equally excellent. It’s large enough to be comfortable, fits well into the available space, and has a smooth glass surface that provides just the right amount of friction. In addition, the physical buttons have a nice click, but aren’t unnecessarily loud. HP used an Alps touchpad, and in an interesting twist built in two modes, Windows Precision Touchpad mode, which works just as well as all touchpads supporting that protocol,

In another nod to flexibility, Microsoft supports Windows Hello via infrared camera, and facial recognition via a built-in fingerprint scanner. Both work reliably, so it’s a matter of user or organization preference. For companies that are still using the older smart card technology, HP has built in that security option as well.

Read more: DaveAY