A new name and a reset of the model numbers: it almost seems as if HP sees the new EliteBook series as an important new start. We review the EliteBook 8 and 6, along with the ProBook 4.
Last year, HP announced that the naming convention for laptops and desktops would undergo a major overhaul. We now only talk about Elite and Omni, gone are Envy, Dragonfly, Spectre, or other brand names. Elite is the business segment, while Omni focuses on consumers and, in the higher range, on creative professionals.
New name, new generation. Every new HP device this year gets G1 as a suffix with a letter after it indicating whether it has an AMD, Qualcomm, or Intel inside. If you see G1a, it has an AMD chip. EliteBook models with G1i at the end have Intel on board. For an EliteBook G1q, you guessed it, there’s a Qualcomm chip inside.
During HP Amplify, the brand’s major spring conference, we get to see the EliteBook 8, 6, and ProBook 4 for the first time. EliteBook X and EliteBook Ultra were already introduced last year.
HP EliteBook 8 G1
The biggest innovation takes place in the EliteBook 8 G1 series. Here you can choose between Intel or AMD chips and three screen sizes: 13 inch, 14 inch, and 16 inch. HP filters the new EliteBook 8 G1 into two categories:
- Next Gen AI PC: these laptops have an NPU on board that delivers between 40 and 60 TOPS. This meets the Microsoft Copilot + standard and comes with a Copilot key on the keyboard
- AI PC: as long as there’s an NPU on board (less than 40 TOPS), the laptop gets this label. There’s room for a Copilot button on the keyboard.
With this knowledge, you now know that the HP EliteBook 8 G1a 13” AI PC has a previous generation AMD chip on board and that the HP EliteBook 8 G1i 14” Next Gen AI PC has the latest Intel Lunar Lake chip on board with more than 40 TOPS.
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There is one model with a 360-degree hinge: HP EliteBook 8 Flip G1i 13” AI PC. As you have learned by now: with an ‘old’ Intel Meteor Lake chip on board. The laptop also comes with an active stylus that you can store in the chassis.
The main innovations compared to the previous EliteBook 800 series are a thinner chassis, USB-C on both sides, larger trackpad, and a slightly ‘whiter’ silver color.
Finally, the HP EliteBook 8 G1 focuses heavily on repairability thanks to the renewed chassis. The battery, fans, SSD, RAM, WLAN, and mobile M.2 network cards are more easily accessible. You can now also replace the screen yourself thanks to an innovative system that automatically centers the screen during installation, according to HP.
Lastly, something not unimportant for Belgium and France with their AZERTY keyboards: the grid in the housing is disappearing. From now on, there’s a large compartment so you can replace keyboards much more flexibly regardless of localization.
HP EliteBook 6 G1
As you could already learn above, HP sorts the new laptops into two categories. From the EliteBook 6 G1 series onwards, a third category is added:
- Notebook PC: No NPU on board, no Copilot button.
Within the HP EliteBook 6 G1 series, you can choose between Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD. The 13-inch version is only available with an Intel chip. For the 14-inch version, you have the choice of all three processors. Only AMD and Qualcomm fit within ‘Next Gen AI PC’, Intel is only found from ‘AI PC’ onwards.
For the 16-inch version, you have a choice of Intel and AMD, each within ‘AI PC’ or ‘Notebook PC’.
The HP EliteBook 6 G1q gets the cool premiere of launching HP Go. This is an eSIM that HP pre-configures with the correct provider profiles, pre-activation, APN, and roaming. This means IT no longer needs to go through many steps to set up a telecom subscription, match it with the user, and load it within InTune.
From the summer of 2025, the US will get the premiere. Extra handy: HP claims that the eSIM dynamically switches between the three major US operators for the best performance. A global rollout of HP Go is expected by the end of 2026.
HP ProBook 4 G1
We don’t find a 13-inch option in the HP ProBook 4 G1 series, only 14-inch and 16-inch. Those who want an energy-efficient Qualcomm chip only have the choice of the 14-inch model. This is, by the way, the only version that carries the ‘Next Gen AI PC’ label. For Intel and AMD, you can choose between ‘AI PC’ or ‘Notebook PC’ in both 14-inch and 16-inch.
Why HP still calls this ProBook, while the rest is called EliteBook? It would seem logical to us to transfer everything, but possibly HP wants to make a clear distinction within the business segment with the lower end of the segment.
Prices and availability of the announced new devices are not yet known.