HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 review: A business laptop that aims high, but falls short in one critical metric

What should entrepreneurs and IT leaders look for in a good workstation laptop for their team members? Do price, security, and specs matter most, or should other factors, like display quality and battery life, be top priorities? 

These questions were at the top of my mind while testing the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11. It’s a 14-inch workstation laptop designed to give business users desktop-level performance in a portable laptop form factor. On paper, it looks like a powerful laptop featuring an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU and Nvidia graphics. However, when you dig deeper, benchmark results reveal a few critical drawbacks that could make or break an employee’s experience using the ZBook. 

No matter what industry you’re working in, a great laptop is vital for success. Is the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 that laptop? There are a few things you should know before deciding.

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Specs (as reviewed)

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Price and configurations

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 has a plethora of configurations with different CPUs, GPUs, displays, and RAM and storage amounts. The base model costs $2,090 and includes an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U CPU, Intel integrated graphics, 8GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, a 14-inch WUXGA Anti-Glare display, and Windows 11 Pro. 

There are eight CPU options, including the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U, Core Ultra 5 125H, Core Ultra 5 135U, Core Ultra 5 135H, Core Ultra 7 155U, Core Ultra 7 155H, Core Ultra 7 165U, and Core Ultra 7 165H. You can choose between Intel integrated graphics and an NVIDIA RTX A500 laptop GPU. RAM goes up to 64GB, and storage maxes out at 2TB. 

Additional upgrades include a backlit keyboard, NFC support, an Active SmartCard reader, and an IR webcam. 

It’s worth noting that since this is a business workstation laptop, HP designed the pricing with bulk pricing for businesses in mind. So, if you are considering buying the ZBook independently, you will likely have to pay that $2,000+ full price unless you wait for a sale.

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Design

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 has the polished, no-frills design language befitting a business laptop. It’s a workstation and looks the part with its steel gray aluminum chassis and thin, matte black plastic bezels. 

The keyboard features dark gray plastic keycaps with thin white lettering. It has a full function row with pre-assigned media keys for shortcuts like volume and screen brightness. Be careful reaching for the “delete” key in the top right corner, though. The tiny power button is nestled between the “delete” and “end” keys and has no special texture to differentiate it.

There’s also a built-in fingerprint reader and options for an Active SmartCard reader and IR webcam for businesses concerned about security. The keyboard deck also has a dedicated Copilot key, which can come in handy for anyone who wants to use Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant. 

It’s worth noting that the ZBook is not a 2-in-1, but you can add a touchscreen display for an additional upgrade fee. Our review unit does not include a touchscreen display.  

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Ports

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The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 has a variety of ports that should be plenty for most users’ needs. A headphone jack and a USB Type-A port are on the right side. On the left is an HDMI port, a USB Type-A port, and two USB Type-C ports (one for charging). For an additional cost, you can also get an Active SmartCard reader on the left side of the ZBook. 

That was all the ports I needed, but if you have many accessories you want to plug in, you can always expand your port selection with a USB Type-C hub or a docking station.  

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Display

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11’s display was one of my favorite features due to the anti-glare coating. Sure, the 14-inch WUXGA 2560X1600 LED display isn’t OLED, but the anti-glare coating made a world of difference in my experience. After all, few things are more frustrating when using your laptop than a bunch of reflections distracting you from the show or movie you’re trying to watch. 

The ZBook also scored well on our display benchmark tests. It reproduced 112% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and averaged 531 nits of brightness, higher than the scores from the HP EliteBook Ultra. The MacBook Pro M3 (14-inch) lagged behind the ZBook on the DCI-P3 benchmark but narrowly outscored it in our brightness test with an average of 558 nits.  

In my daily use, I found the ZBook’s display vibrant and responsive. Everything from scrolling to gaming on it is smooth, clear, and colorful. As expected, the anti-glare display was great for watching shows and movies. I could watch Survivor without having to crank up the brightness to wash out background reflections. You'll find the anti-glare coating a lifesaver if you often travel or work outside or in a brightly lit office. 

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Keyboard and touchpad

I found the keyboard and touchpad on the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 a joy to use. The keyboard has a satisfying amount of key travel and tactile feedback, which makes for a supreme typing experience. On the Monkeytype typing test, I scored 94 words per minute with 99 percent accuracy on the ZBook. That’s just above my laptop average of 90 words per minute with 97 percent accuracy. 

The touchpad is also responsive and features the right amount of travel and tactile feedback. It’s also a good size, not too narrow but not too big. The texture is smooth, and mouse movement never feels laggy or sluggish.

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Audio

I liked watching shows and movies on the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11, but I was disappointed by the speakers. They’re bottom-firing, meaning they can easily get muffled if you have the ZBook on your lap or a soft surface like a desk mat or sofa. I had to turn up the volume to around 75 to hear the dialogue in Survivor. 

Volume in games was better, but neither of the games I played included spoken dialogue. Khalid’s summer hit “Heatstroke” also sounded reasonably good, coming through plenty loud at around 50 percent of max volume. The mids came through loudest, with lows and highs about even with each other. 

The ZBook’s speakers struggled more with “Free If We Want It” by Nothing But Thieves. I noticed a vibrating background noise coming from the speakers now and then that blurred out some of the highs and mids, especially in Conor Mason’s vocal solo in the song's intro. The speaker quality is fine for casual watching and listening, but you may want to connect headphones for high-quality audio. 

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Gaming and graphics

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 scored fairly well on our graphics tests. It’s not a gaming laptop, but it can manage casual gaming. The ZBook scored 6,793 on the 3DMark Fire Strike graphics benchmark and averaged 31 frames per second in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. 

That’s noticeably higher than the HP EliteBook Ultra’s scores (5,334 and 20 fps, respectively). Graphics is also one category where the ZBook’s Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU has a significant advantage over the EliteBook’s Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite CPU since Qualcomm’s chips have compatibility issues with many games. 

However, the MacBook Pro far outscored both HP laptops in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, averaging 51 frames per second.  

I spent a few hours playing Enshrouded and Death’s Door on the ZBook and found both games fully playable. I ran Death’s Door at full native resolution (2560x1600), averaging 39 frames per second. That’s not a lot, but the performance was smooth. Similarly, Enshrouded ran at full native resolution at an average of 30 fps in the “Balanced” graphics preset. 

I immediately noticed how bright and colorful the graphics were in both games. The ZBook’s DCI-P3 color gamut score (112 percent) isn’t especially high, but the anti-glare display coating helps accentuate colors by keeping reflections out of the picture. 

Overall, I had a good gaming experience on the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11. Heat is the only significant drawback. The keyboard deck got noticeably hot while running games, which became uncomfortable after half an hour or so. Unfortunately, the right side of the keyboard deck around the WASD keys warmed up the most during gaming, so your best bet might be connecting a Bluetooth controller rather than using the built-in keyboard and a mouse.

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Performance

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 managed decent scores on our performance tests, but failed to keep up with the competition. The ZBook scored 2,271 on the Geekbench 6 single-core test and 12,340 on the Geekbench 6 multi-core test. While it outscored the MacBook Pro M3 on the multi-core test, the MacBook scored almost 1,000 points higher on the single-core test. The HP EliteBook outscored the ZBook in both benchmarks. 

Similarly, the ZBook lagged in the HandBrake video transcoding test. It took nearly seven minutes to export a 4K video into 1080p. The HP EliteBook was just 11 seconds faster on the same test, but the MacBook Pro M3 completed it in just five minutes and 38 seconds.

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 performs fairly well overall, but I was expecting better considering its price and processor. 

The ZBook’s performance scores are strong enough to handle everyday tasks like word processing and web browsing without trouble, but it may struggle to keep up with more demanding tasks like video editing. That’s disappointing, considering the ZBook is marketed as a workstation, meaning it aims to deliver desktop-level performance in a laptop form factor. 

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Battery life

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 trailed its rivals in our performance benchmarks but was thoroughly trounced on our battery test. The ZBook lasted a mere five hours and 52 minutes, hardly enough to get through half a workday. 

In stark contrast, the HP EliteBook Ultra lasted just over 16 hours, and the MacBook Pro M3 survived for an incredible 17 hours and 16 minutes. Both times are over 10 hours longer than the ZBook’s time! The competition isn’t even close here.

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Webcam

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 has two webcam configurations: a standard dual array microphone camera and an infrared (IR) camera. Our review unit includes the IR camera, which allows you to use facial recognition to sign in with Windows Hello. 

The webcam video quality isn’t the worst I’ve seen, but it’s not the best, either. It’s a bit grainy, but the mic quality is clear and loud. This webcam would be fine for most users’ video conferencing needs, but if you’re looking for crisp 4K image quality, you would be better off investing in an external webcam. 

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Heat

The ZBook puts the “fire” in Firefly 14. I noticed it running hot more often than not during the days I spent testing it. I expected it to get a bit warm while gaming, but the keyboard deck was noticeably hot while doing some basic web browsing with just a handful of tabs open. It warmed up while charging but didn’t cool down much after I unplugged it. 

Our thermal tests reflected these high temperatures. The center of the keyboard deck averaged 98 degrees, the underside averaged 87, and the peak temperature we recorded was a whopping 100 degrees.

That’s on par with the temperatures I experienced in my hands-on testing. The spread of all that heat is noticeably uneven. The lower left side of the keyboard deck remained comfortably cool, while the upper right corner stayed uncomfortably hot during seemingly any task.

HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11: Software and warranty

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 includes a one-year limited warranty, which you can extend or upgrade through an HP Care Pack protection plan. 

The ZBook comes with Windows 11 Pro and has a few standard apps preloaded, including Microsoft Edge, the Microsoft Store, Spotify, Xbox, myHP, and HP Wolf Security. The myHP app is where you can view your device and warranty info and adjust system settings, such as battery performance profiles. 

Bottom line

The HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 offers a vibrant, anti-glare display and solid performance scores but struggles significantly with heat and battery life. For most users, the ZBook’s price does not match the performance it offers, making rival laptops like the MacBook Pro M3 a better deal. However, if you’re a business owner, you may be able to take advantage of bulk order pricing to get the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G11 down to a price that matches its performance scores. 

The ZBook has merits, like a stellar typing experience, surprisingly strong graphics performance, and a wealth of customization options, particularly for security features. Depending on what you’re looking for in a business laptop, those strengths could make the ZBook the perfect match. However, it’s important to be aware of the ZBook’s poor battery life and thermal behavior, which are significant trade-offs. 

The ZBook is a mid-range business workstation laptop that aims high but falls short of perfection. See our guide to the best business laptops for top-rated alternatives to compare it to some rivals. 

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