HP Elite Dragonfly review: One beautiful business convertible

The HP Dragonfly Elite was designed specifically with professionals in mind.

Note: This article was first published on 3rd March 2020.

HP Dragonfly Elite

The Dragonfly Elite was made for business professionals.

Built for business

The HP Elite Dragonfly is probably one of the best-looking business notebooks I've seen. It doesn't even look particularly like one, sporting a deep cerulean blue finish that's absolutely gorgeous. The magnesium alloy chassis is slim and light, boasting an impeccable fit and build. It's rugged too, having passed 19 MIL-STD for drops, shocks, and vibrations. My editor has covered it in greater detail when it first launched, so I'll just be picking out the highlights in this review article before assessing its performance capabilities.

But while it looks great and feels wonderful in hand, its main selling point is really all the business-oriented design elements that are on display here. 

Here's an overview of the laptop's specifications:

  • 1,920 x 1,080-pixel display
  • Intel Core i7-8565U processor
  • 16GB LPDDR3 RAM
  • 1TB PCIe SSD
  • 56.2Wh battery
  • 304.3 x 197.5 x 16.1mm
  • 990g

This convertible won't come cheap though, and the above configuration will cost you a good S$3,319. But for the price, you get a really thoughtfully designed notebook that comes with just about everything you could want in your work laptop. The one downside is that the processor is an 8th Gen Intel chip rather than one of the newer 10th Gen ones, which does make the specifications seem a little dated. What's a bit odd also is that this particular unit comes configured with a consumer Intel chip, as opposed to the Core i7-8665U, which features vPro support.

Nevertheless, HP announced at CES that it was updating the Elite Dragonfly with the newer 10th Gen processors, so it should just be a matter of time before that becomes available to buy here. 

 

One versatile machine

HP Elite Dragonfly

The Elite Dragonfly doubles as a tablet as well.

This is also a 2-in-1 convertible that works as a tablet, and it ships with an HP Active Pen G3 that will allow you to quickly take notes on the go. The pen pairs with the Elite Dragonfly via Bluetooth, and it attaches magnetically to the top of the display so it won't just roll away when you set it down. It supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, and writing – and also shading – with it feels natural and responsive. The palm detection works well too, and I didn't encounter any unwanted inputs when writing in OneNote.

HP Elite Dragonfly

The pen attaches magnetically to the display.

The hinge feels fluid, possessing a reassuring amount of resistance that makes it feel really sturdy. However, my one gripe would be that the lid cannot be opened one-handed.

 

It's all about the details

This includes things like an oleophobic coating on the chassis to keep the fingerprints and other grease stains away. This is super useful, and the last thing you want is to take a dirty-looking laptop and display it at a board meeting. The coating seems to work pretty well in my time with the laptop, and it hasn't picked up any prints yet.

HP Elite Dragonfly

There's an oleophobic coating on the surface to keep away fingerprints.

Another feature I want to call attention to is the Sure View screen technology, which is basically a built-in privacy filter that you can toggle on and off. Hitting F2 activates the feature, drastically narrowing the viewing angle and making the screen look dimmer when viewed from the front. I could see people using this whenever they're viewing sensitive information, and it's an invaluable feature for corporate customers.

However, the display is highly reflective, but that can be mitigated somewhat by turning the brightness up. The screen can get very bright, ramping up to a good 1,000 nits. However, it seems like the built-in privacy filter has affected the viewing angles somewhat even when it is not active, and the screen appears just a tad dimmer than I'm used to when viewed from the side.

And then there's the webcam shutter, which you can just slide shut to block out the webcam. Again, this will earn you style points since you don't have to stick tape over the camera, assuming this is something you're really worried about. Unfortunately, the shutter also blocks the infrared camera, so you can't sign in using Windows Hello's facial recognition feature with the camera covered. There's still a fingerprint reader on the right palm rest though, so you don't have to tap out your password.

HP Elite Dragonfly

There's a mechanical shutter that you can slide over the webcam.

If you press F8, you'll also instantly mute your microphone with just a single tap as well, which can be pretty useful if you take a lot of conference calls on your laptop.

The keyboard is probably one of the most important aspects of any laptop, and HP has nailed it here too. There's deep and satisfying key travel, for a laptop of this size that is, and the glass trackpad is slick and responsive. The latter is also large enough so it never feels too cramped.

HP Elite Dragonfly

The keyboard offers nice key travel and feedback.

Elsewhere, the speakers have quite clearly been tuned to emphasise the vocals in audio sources, but that means they don't sound as good when playing music. Bass is really lacking, and the emphasis on the mids is overwhelming.

 

Ports and connectors

Finally, the Elite Dragonfly has most of the connectors that you'll need, including not one, but two, Thunderbolt 3 ports and even a full-sized HDMI 1.4 output. There's also a USB 3.1 (Gen 1) Type-A port and one 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack.

HP Elite Dragonfly

The two Thunderbolt 3 ports are located on the right.

My review unit also comes configured with support for the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard and an LTE module for cellular connectivity on the road. The nano-SIM slot sits on the left, and you just push the slot in to pop it out.

HP Elite Dragonfly

The power button sits on the left.

Hardly anything is missing from the Elite Dragonfly, and the only thing I can think of is an SD card slot. That said, an SD card reader is arguably a feature more useful to creative professionals rather than the corporate types that the Elite Dragonfly was mostly intended for.

Performance

To evaluate the performance of the HP Elite Dragonfly, I'll be comparing it against other ultrabooks like the recently reviewed ASUS ZenBook 14 UX434, the Acer Swift 5, the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, and the HP Spectre x360.

Here's a look at how the Elite Dragonfly stacks up against the other ultrabooks: 

Model
HP Elite Dragonfly
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
Acer Swift 5
ASUS ZenBook 14 UX434
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1
HP Spectre x360

Processor

Intel Core i7-8565U
Intel Core i7-1065G7
Intel Core i7-1065G7
Intel Core i7-10510U
Intel Core i7-1065G7
Intel Core i7-1065G7
Memory
16GB
16GB
16GB
16GB
16GB
16GB
Storage
1TB SSD
512GB SSD
1TB SSD
1TB SSD
512GB SSD
1TB SSD
Graphics
Intel UHD Graphics 620
Intel Iris Plus Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce MX250
NVIDIA GeForce MX250
Intel Iris Plus Graphics
Intel Iris Plus Graphics
Price
S$3,319
S$2,688
S$2,398
S$2,098
S$2,898
S$2,899

 

Benchmark results

The Elite Dragonfly comes equipped with an older Core i7-8565U processor, instead of the newer Core i7-1065G7 chip that the other notebooks have. This means it also comes with the less capable Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated GPU, instead of the Iris Plus Graphics you get on the 10th Gen chips. The older hardware shows, and the Elite Dragonfly consistently lags behind in PCMark 10 and the other graphics benchmarks like 3DMark and Tomb Raider. Performance numbers actually line-up pretty well against a notebook with a similar previous-gen processing platform such as the LG gram 14 from 2019, so it's just not as competitive against notebooks that have already refreshed their hardware.

In Cinebench R20, the Elite Dragonfly is around 16 per cent slower in the single-threaded benchmark, and roughly 30 per cent behind in the multi-threaded test. And in 3DMark Sky Diver, it was a good 62 per cent slower compared to the Microsoft Surface Pro 7.

While graphics performance probably isn't the chief concern of someone looking to buy the Elite Dragonfly, it seems like it just makes more sense to wait for the 10th Gen update to roll out. 

 

Battery life

Battery life is a strong point of the Elite Dragonfly though, which is good news since professionals won't want to be tethered to a power outlet all the time. In the Modern Office workload, which tests how long the notebook lasts while performing general computing tasks like web browsing and spreadsheets, the Elite Dragonfly lasted a solid 447 minutes (7 hours and 27 minutes). That's behind only the Spectre x360, which also has a slightly larger battery and more power-efficient 10nm chip.

It was quite the winner in our Portability Index as well, which takes into account a mix of factors including battery life, weight, and dimensions. The Elite Dragonfly is slim and sprightly, weighing just under a kilogram, so it's not really surprising that it did well here. This is one of those notebooks that you can chuck into your bag and almost forget about. It still doesn't best out the LG gram 14 (2019), but apart from that, it's a clear contender where portability is key and you're looking for a smart-looking business notebook.

 

A truly excellent business convertible

HP Elite Dragonfly

Now you just need to wait for the 10th Gen processors.

The Elite Dragonfly has nearly everything a business professional could want. With thoughtful features like the Sure View privacy filter, webcam cover, and rugged MIL-STD-810G certification, it appears fully equipped to stand up against the tedium of board meetings and travel. The magnesium alloy chassis is super slim and light, but build quality is still unreservedly top-notch. What's more, it even has an oleophobic coating that keeps it looking pristine. You aren't left wanting in terms of connectivity options either, with two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a full-sized HDMI output, and support for Wi-Fi 6 and LTE

But above all, it boasts excellent battery life, which is probably one of the most important things for any professional.

The only problem is that it comes with an outdated 8th Gen Intel Core processor, which means it lags behind in terms of CPU and graphics performance when you start comparing with other options in the market. Even if raw performance isn't your priority (and you really can't tell the difference outside of benchmarking), it just seems like the sensible thing to do to wait for the Ice Lake update, especially since the more efficient 10nm chips could further improve its already great battery life.

Having said that, the Elite Dragonfly is still a superb convertible notebook if you can stomach the price, and it is an impressive showcase of both good design and aesthetics.

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