Price When Reviewed

$2,385

Best Prices Today: HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook

$2385

What springs to thoughts whenever you consider the phrase “elite”? Maybe it’s a flowery Bahamas-bound cruise or a smooth smartwatch that’s chock-full of options. Whatever photos your thoughts conjures up, the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook is about as luxurious as you may get. From the slick design and low weight to the highly effective {hardware} and nice typing expertise, this Chromebook has all of it and is an actual step up by way of high quality. That mentioned, you’ll pay out the nostril for all of that opulence. Read on to be taught extra.

Looking for extra choices? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best Chromebooks out there proper now.

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook: Specifications

Our take a look at configuration has an Intel Core i5-1245U CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD storage. It additionally has a 13.5-inch touchscreen show with a decision of 2256×1504. This particular configuration will set you again $2,385, which is wildly costly for a Chromebook. The base configuration, which has an Intel Core i3-1215U CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of SSD storage, prices $2,097. Yup, nonetheless costly for a Chromebook.

• CPU: Intel Core i5-1245U
• GPU: Intel Iris Xe graphics
• RAM: 8GB
• Storage: 256GB
• Display: 13.5-inch 2256×1504 contact
• Battery: 45 watt-hour
• Weight: 2.8 kilos
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E AX211, Bluetooth 5.2
• Price: $2,385 (as examined)

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook: Design and construct high quality

IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo

As far as Chromebooks go, you may’t actually get extra luxurious than this. The HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook undoubtedly seems to be the half with its matte blue chassis, rounded corners, and stylized HP emblem. The darkish blue colour scheme is sweet, however it’s not my cup of tea. It undoubtedly has a extra refined look than laptops which can be extra utilitarian in design. Basically, it’s extra attention-grabbing to take a look at than your normal plain grey sq..

I may inform the second I took the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook out of the field that it was an costly machine. You can really feel the aluminum bits whenever you slide your palms over the chassis, and the hinge that connects the show to the remainder of the laptop computer is each sturdy and agency. I didn’t discover any flex within the display screen or keyboard deck, and the physique is compact sufficient to suit into most backpacks or messenger baggage. The show can be lined in fancy Corning Gorilla Glass. At the tip of the day, it’s only a actually well-made machine.

By the way in which, the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook is a 2-in-1. That means you may swing the display screen round 360 levels and use the gadget like a pill. You may even prop it up like a tent for video calls, watching films, and so forth. This added versatility is ideal for younger professionals.

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook: Display, webcam, audio

IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo

The 1504p contact show is extra square-looking because of the three:2 facet ratio. That’s not a foul factor, because it supplies extra display screen actual property for issues like spreadsheet work, writing essays, and extra. It’s the form of show that basically boosts productiveness. The picture high quality is sort of good, too. My solely subject with the show is that it’s very reflective, which is barely an issue in case you’re ever going to make use of the laptop computer in out of doors lighting.

IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo

The 1080p webcam is sort of good even in pure lighting situations. As you may see within the nonetheless picture above, you may see the person folds in my gray hoodie. The solely supply of pure mild is coming in by the window behind me. The picture would possibly look a bit smooth due to the daylight streaming in, however general it’s nonetheless fairly crisp. You may even see the tree branches within the window behind me. There’s additionally a bodily privateness shutter that can be utilized to cowl the webcam when not in use.

The audio is surprisingly punchy for a laptop computer. I’m all the time shocked when laptop computer audio can fill a medium-sized room, which the Elite Dragonfly Chromebook can definitely do. When I listened to Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black, her sultry voice sounded fairly sharp. This is probably going due to the place of the audio system, that are top-firing. That mentioned, after I turned up the amount, it sounded a bit grating. If you’re simply casually listening to music or taking calls, the audio shouldn’t be an issue, although.

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook: Connectivity

IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo

The Elite Dragonfly Chromebook comes outfitted with a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port on both sides, which lets you cost up the laptop computer utilizing both port. There’s additionally one USB-A, one HDMI 2.0 out, one microSD card slot, and one 3.5mm combo audio jack. As far as connectivity choices go, that’s a fairly large choice — you most likely gained’t have to preserve an adapter with you.

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo

The keyboard is great to make use of. The butterfly keys are flat and supply some quantity of bounciness in addition to first rate journey. They even have a lightweight snap to them, which I actually favored. Occasional typos apart, I used to be in a position to get accustomed to it in a comparatively quick period of time. The keyboard has backlighting too, which suggests you’ll have the ability to see no matter it’s you’re typing in dimly lit environments.

I’m unhappy to say that the buttonless haptic trackpad left a much less favorable impression on me. But first, the professionals. It’s undoubtedly dimension and it sits within the middle of the keyboard deck versus being offset, which is a large sticking level for me. Although it registered my clicks simply high-quality in every single place on the floor, the suggestions it produces is form of faint. The haptic actuator is the factor that creates bodily sensations in a haptic trackpad, by the way in which. You’ll additionally discover a fingerprint sensor to the proper of the trackpad.

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook: Performance

Performance is fairly darn good on this Chromebook. It simply blitzed by 20+ open tabs with no noticeable lag, which is spectacular. Even the act of leaping from tab to tab didn’t hinder efficiency. Booting up the machine is lightning quick, too. It’s the form of efficiency I count on from a high-end machine, particularly one which prices effectively over $1,000. That mentioned, whereas efficiency is completely high-quality, it’s not all that completely different from inexpensive machines.

Here’s how the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook fared in our web-based benchmarks:

• CrXPRT 2: 167
• Speedometer: 249
• Basemark Web 3.0: 1432.86
• Kraken: 478.7ms
• Jetstream 2: 238.548

The Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus, which prices $499, had a CrXPRT 2 rating of 177, successfully outpacing the HP Elite Dragonfy Chromebook. The CrXPRT benchmark measures how briskly the laptop computer handles on a regular basis duties. That mentioned, the HP Dragonfly Chromebook’s processor is a technology behind, which can clarify the decrease CrXPRT 2 rating. In use, you most likely gained’t discover a lot of a distinction in efficiency between the 2 Chromebooks. They’re each snappy, however the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is much more reasonably priced than the Elite Dragonfly.

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook: Battery life

Battery life may undoubtedly be higher, however it’s not the worst outcome I’ve ever seen. The Elite Dragonfly Chromebook managed about seven hours in our battery take a look at, which loops by movies and varied duties till the laptop computer dies. Chromebooks are recognized for having lengthy battery life, so this can be a considerably disappointing outcome. If you decrease the brightness on this machine, you would possibly have the ability to get one other hour or two. However, it additionally is determined by what you’re doing. More intensive masses are going to eat up the battery quicker, for instance.

Is the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook value it?

The HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook has rather a lot going for it regardless of the excessive price ticket. The keyboard is great to make use of, the {hardware} chews by 20+ open browser tabs like a champ, and the spacious touch-enabled show produces sharp photos. The solely actual sticking level is the value, because it’s prohibitively costly for a Chromebook. The trackpad may present stronger suggestions, too. This machine is designed with particular of us in thoughts, specifically younger professionals. That mentioned, if cash isn’t any object, then this is among the most luxurious Chromebooks cash can purchase.