Last year, HP launched its stellar Elite Dragonfly laptop, which earned 4.5 stars and an Editor’s Choice rating for its eye-catching, lightweight design, lovely display and impressive power. The company is doubling up for CES 2021, announcing two new members to the line, the HP Elite Dragonfly G2 and the Elite Dragonfly Max.
Both laptops are super portable and are looking to surpass the original laptop in terms of performance. However, HP is positioning one laptop for collaborative productivity and the other as the heir apparent to the OG Elite Dragonfly.
HP Elite Dragonfly G2 design
The first thing that stood out to us about the original Dragonfly was the color. Dubbed Dragonfly Blue by HP, you couldn’t help but stare at the CNC magnesium finish. The G2 continues that tradition, sporting the same color. The Max, however, comes in what HP is calling Sparkling Black, but will also be available in Dragonfly Blue.
Both laptops are equipped with 360-degree hinges that allow for a seamless transition from a traditional clamshell to presentation and tablet modes. Plus, each laptop has undergone 19 MIL-SPEC 810H tests, which means these svelte beauties can survive drops, extreme temperatures, altitudes, shock and vibration.
Although both laptops which measure 12 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches are extremely light, the G2 can weigh less than 2.2 pounds depending on the configuration while the Max starts at 2.5 pounds. The Dell XPS 13 (11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches) and Apple MacBook Pro M1 (11.9 x 8.4 x 0.2~0.6 inches) in comparison weigh 2.8 pounds. The first Dragonfly measures 11.9 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches and weighs 2.5 pounds.
HP Elite Dragonfly G2 security
As business laptops, both Dragonflys come packed with security features, the most obvious of which is the fingerprint scanner. In addition, the notebooks have TPM 2.0, HP Sure Start, HP Sure Run Gen4, HP Sure Recover Gen4 which detects, stops and notifies IT admins of BIOS attacks as well as assist in data recovery. The laptops also have Tile integration, a Nano lock slot and an IR camera for facial recognition.
There are a couple of differences between the two systems: the cameras. The G2 has a 1.2-megapixel, 720p camera with a physical camera shutter. The Max has a 5MP shooter with HP Privacy Camera, a button that allows you to electronically disable the camera.
HP Elite Dragonfly G2 display
Both the G2 and Max have 13.3-inch touchscreens. However, where the Max only gives you one configuration: a 1080p HP Sure View, 1,000-nit panel, the G2 has several options; there are two 1080p panels: one is rated at 400 nits while the other is a 1,000-nit HP Sure View screen. The G2 also can be configured with a 4K, 550-nit display. No matter which panel you choose, rest assured that the touchscreens are durable thanks to the Gorilla Glass 5 treatment.
HP Elite Dragonfly G2 specs
Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake is the name of the game for these Dragonflys. Both the Max and the G2 can be configured with either a Core i3, i5 or i7 processor. There’s even an option for Intel vPro if you want to shell out the extra cash. For RAM, each notebook can support a maximum 32GB and up to 2TB of PCIe SSD storage. Since we’re working with Tiger Lake, we can expect an Intel Iris Xe Graphics GPU.
Despite their relatively slim chassis, the laptops have a full USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a full HDMI 1.4b port, a headset jack and a Nano lock slot. For connectivity, you get Wi-Fi 6, 4G LTE/5G and Bluetooth 5.0.
Bottom line
Although the Dragonfly G2 and Max are business laptops, they are seriously blurring the line between business and premium laptops. Not only are the laptops incredibly lightweight and slim, with their Tiger Lake processor, but there’s also the promise of powerful performance and long battery life. However, I’m going to reserve judgment until we get both laptops in for review.
