HP Elitebook Ultra G1q Review: A Compact and Sleek Windows on ARM Laptop
HP is one of the early adopters of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite platform. The company has recently introduced the HP Elitebook Ultra G1q, a business laptop that brings the latest Qualcomm chipset coupled with some interesting set of features for the Indian market. The laptop comes with a price tag of Rs 1,68,999, offers a sleek design, and comes equipped with some interesting AI features. This, coupled with a long-lasting battery life, a decent 2.2K display, and efficient performance, makes it stand out from the crowd. However, is it enough to make a lasting impression? I got the chance to spend some time with the device, and this is what you need to know.
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HP EliteBook Ultra G1q Laptop Design: Sleek and Lightweight
- Dimension – 312.9 x 223.5 x 11.23mm
- Weight – 1.349kg
- Colours – Atmosphere Blue
Talking about the design, the HP EliteBook Ultra G1q offers a stylish look and is surely one of the sleekest laptops available in this price segment. The device comes with an aluminium finish, which the brand claims is crafted with 50 percent recycled material.
The HP Elitebook Ultra G1q comes in a Atmosphere Blue colour option.
The design is surely one of the strong suits of this machine, and I liked the Atmosphere Blue colour option, which gives a premium look and feel. Most of the business laptops offer a boring tone of silver, but this machine is meant to stand out from the crowd. That said, the blue option attracts some fingerprints, so you need to clean it regularly.
The laptop is also among the slimmest and lightest laptops in the segment. The laptop weighs roughly 1.349 kg and measures 11.23mm, which makes it highly portable. You will face no problem keeping it in your backpack or carrying it in your hands as the weight distribution is on point. The laptop is also MIL-STD-810H certified, meaning that it can withstand some level of vibration and temperature fluctuations with ease.
The laptop comes with two USB Type-C ports (left) and a 3.5mm jack along with a USB Type-A port (right).
As for the ports, the laptop offers limited ports. You get two USB Type-C ports on the left side. It also features a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and a 3.5mm audio jack on the right side. So, you need to get a USB hub if you require an HDMI connection or to transfer data from a microSD card.
HP EliteBook Ultra G1q Display: Workable
- Display – 14-inch IPS touchscreen
- Resolution – 2.2K (1400×2240 pixels)
- Refresh Rate – 60Hz
Coming to the display, the HP EliteBook Ultra G1q packs a decent display in a compact form factor. The device is packed with a 2.2K (1400×2240 pixel) resolution and offers a 14-inch IPS touch display. Although it is an IPS panel, the colour reproduction is fairly good, and you will get some sharp and crisp colours. That said, the saturations are not as good as the ones you get with an OLED screen. Moreover, I was disappointed with the 60Hz refresh rate, which could have been better.
The HP Elitebook Ultra G1q comes loaded with a compact 14-inch IPS panel with a standard 60Hz refresh rate.
HP claims that the display can achieve a peak brightness of 300 nits, which is frankly a bit weak as compared to the competitors. The display is reflective in nature, making it a bit difficult to see the screen outdoors. The same can be said for the brightness in these conditions. So, features a large 16-inch display with thin bezels around the edges.
HP EliteBook Ultra G1q Keyboard, Touchpad, Speakers, and Webcam
- Keyboard – Backlit keyboard
- Webcam – 5-megapixel Hi-res camera
- Speakers – Four Speakers
The HP EliteBook Ultra G1q offers a backlit keyboard. The keyboard comes with a slightly different layout, with top function keys offering lighter-coloured keys. The power button also comes with a light shade of blue to help you distinguish promptly. The LEDs are decent enough to give a comfortable typing experience in low-light conditions.
The keyboard comes with a shallow key travel, which could have been better. I would have liked it if the keyboard offered slightly stronger feedback. Moreover, the height difference between the up and down arrow keys and the left and right keys makes it a bit difficult to get used to it.
The laptop comes with a backlit keyboard and a large touchpad.
The laptop also comes with a large touchpad slab, which works well during the review period. The touchpad handles all the gestures, like swipes and taps, effortlessly. And you don’t feel any rattling with the physical clicks.
In terms of security, the laptop does not come with a physical fingerprint sensor, but you do get an IR-based camera for Windows Hello support. The IR-based Windows Hello feature works effortlessly, and you also get a physical privacy shutter, which is good. However, the star of the show is the new 5-megapixel Poly camera that offers good quality during video calls.
The audio output is sound on this one. The stereo speakers at the bottom delivered decent results, though, at high volumes, you might miss a bit of a punch.
HP EliteBook Ultra G1q Software: Useful AI Features
- Operating System – Windows 11 Pro
- Other Features – AI Companion, Wolf Pro Security
The HP EliteBook Ultra G1q runs the Windows 11 Pro operating system. The device also comes with a Copilot AI along with a dedicated Copilot button, which is now becoming a standard in the laptop segment.
The laptop comes equipped with a special HP AI Companion app that is quite useful in daily worklife.
However, what makes the laptop stand out from the crowd is the new HP AI Companion application. The application is one of the most useful AI-powered applications I have seen recently. The app is a one-stop solution for all your needs. From analysing documents to optimising performance to getting some quick responses, the app is built to help you on these fronts.
The app is basically divided into four main features: Ask, Analyze, Discover, and Perform. The Ask feature is a ChatGPT-like chatbot that answers your queries. The Analyze feature is my personal favourite. The feature allows you to upload documents and create a repository of information. One can retrieve, compare or even summarise data, which is quite useful. The only limitation here is that it only supports 100MB in storage.
The Discover feature gives AI-powered recommendations for other tools, while the Perform feature helps monitor the performance of the machine. The AI companion helps download the drivers automatically and gives you a good graphic representation of your PC performance.
HP EliteBook Ultra G1q Performance: A Double-Edged Sword
- Chipset – Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
- RAM – 16GB LPDDR5X 8400
- ROM – 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD
- GPU – Qualcomm Adreno
The HP EliteBook Ultra G1q is a leap towards the ARM-based chipset. This shows the company’s commitment to adopting the new ARM architecture. The latest machine from the brand is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite ARM processor, which makes it one of the few laptops in this segment that powers the new chipset.
The laptop is among the few that packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor.
Coming to the performance, the HP EliteBook Ultra G1q is a double-edged sword. The laptop gives you a pretty good performance when it comes to daily productivity tasks like web browsing, making PowerPoint presentations, or playing some casual games. The ARM architecture delivers smooth performance in daily tasks, and efficiency makes it easier to manage the cooling systems. I have compiled some synthetic benchmarks to give you a glimpse of its performance while comparing it to some Intel and AMD-powered laptops:
| Benchmark | HP Elitebook Ultra G1q | Asus Zenbook S 16 (2024) | Dell Latitude 7450 2-in-1 | Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 360 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinebench R23 Single Core | 1096 | 1917 | 1,683 | 11752 |
| Cinebench R23 Multi Core | 7457 | 15,776 | 9024 | 10,961 |
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 2417 | 2,712 | 2,339 | 2,380 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 14226 | 12732 | 9630 | 12571 |
| PC Mark 10 | NA | 4451 | 6127 | 6640 |
| 3DMark Night Raid | 26844 | 27,358 | 19,557 | 25,726 |
| 3DMark CPU Profile | 8779 | 7,446 | 5,031 | 7,234 |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Light | 2096 | 3,287 | 1,696 | 1,721 |
| CrystalDiskMark | 6673.20 MB/s (Read)/ 4920.12 MB/s (Write) | 5066.63 MB/s (Read)/ 3609.52 MB/s (Write) | 4946.10 MB/s (Read)/ 916.91 MB/s (Write) | 3754.35 MB/s (Read)/ 2641.51 MB/s (Write) |
That said, the laptop can be seen struggling when it comes to more intensive workloads that rely on the x86 architecture. So, suppose you are someone who is using emulated software or apps like Adobe Creative Cloud or any other custom enterprise software that does not support ARM architecture. In that case, you might face some bottlenecks in the performance. That said, that might change as multiple companies work to bring ARM compatibility to their apps.
This is where you will face some differences in the graphics performance. The Adreno GPU is good but not as powerful as the Intel or AMD GPUs. So, if you are someone who is into 4K video editing or wants to play some recent games, then you might not get favourable performance on this laptop.
HP EliteBook Ultra G1q Laptop Battery: Impressive
- Battery Capacity – 3 Cell, 59 Wh (Typical)
- Fast Charging – 65W USB Type-C Adapter
This is one area where the HP EliteBook Ultra G1q excels from its Intel or AMD-powered counterparts. The efficiency of the Snapdragon X Elite processor makes it a great choice for those who want a long-lasting battery life.
The laptop offers an impressive battery, which can easily beat some traditional Windows laptops.
During the testing period, I easily got almost 12 to 14 hours of battery life with moderate usage. This makes it an ideal choice for those who are on the go. Interestingly, the laptop also comes with 68W fast charging support, which can rapidly charge the laptop from 10 percent to full in about two hours while you are still working on it.
HP EliteBook Ultra G1q Laptop Verdict
The laptop offers a sleek and lightweight design, a huge plus for those who are always travelling. The display is good, but you will find OLED panels in a similar price segment if you want better performance. The laptop is a decent alternative to the Intel or AMD-powered machines, though it faces stiff competition from its rivals. Also, the limited support of ARM makes it a difficult choice for enterprise customers who heavily rely on x86 architecture. The HP EliteBook Ultra G1q offers a promising future for ARM-based Windows laptops. However, you still have a lot of laptops that provide superior performance and compatibility at this similar price range.
