As a journalist, I’m constantly running around with a laptop in my bag. Unfortunately, when worrying about the size of the laptop I’m running around with, I also need to worry about sacrificing power for convenience. Luckily, with the HP Elite Dragonfly G2 Notebook, I don’t have to worry about it anymore.
This laptop is teeny. I love it. The HP Elite Dragonfly G2 features a 13.3 inch, FHD (1920 x 1080), touchscreen display and weighs in at under 1 kg, but still packs a punch with 16 GB of RAM, and an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor. The laptop runs on Intel Iris Xe Graphics, and let me tell you, all of that wasn’t easy to figure out.
These are just the specs for my little guy, personally. The HP Elite Dragonfly G2 Notebook is highly customizable! It took a bit of work to find out just what model I had. The laptop can come with one of five different processors, four different storage capacities, and three different display options. Chances are, if you need something specific from your Notebook, the HP Elite Dragonfly G2 can make it happen.
With all those options though, comes a hefty price tag. HP’s website currently has two options listed, an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB PCIe NVMe TLC SSD for $2499.00 and one with an i5-1145G7 for $2749.00. You’re looking at a compact device, with a touch screen, a decent processor, and the ability to switch between laptop and tablet mode, so the price tag can be justified. But with the price going up from there, you could easily spend a small fortune on this notebook.
“Chances are, if you need something specific from your Notebook, the HP Elite Dragonfly G2 can make it happen.”
I was reluctant when it came time to switch back to my regular laptop. The versatility of a notebook really is ideal. Being able to use it for work at my desk, writing while on the couch, or flipping it back into tablet mode while I lay in bed watching Netflix really makes this an all-in-one device for me. I loved that the charger for the notebook was so small as well, it beats lugging massive cords and blocks around from work to home.
I found the laptop wouldn’t last me from morning to night, clearly, but it did handle my full workday when writing or answering emails. Watching Twitch and Netflix only lasted around 5 hours for me before I needed to charge. The HP Elite Dragonfly G2 can fast charge to around 50% battery power in about 30 minutes, which is a huge bonus. One downside is that the HP Long Life battery is not replaceable by the customer, so if there are any issues down the road, you will need to have it serviced.
This device is best suited for productivity and simple media. Though the graphics are decent, you wouldn’t want to watch the latest blockbusters on the 13-inch screen with Intel Iris(R) Xe Graphics. I’ll also note that I wouldn’t recommend this laptop for any real gaming. I tried to jump into a few rounds of Fortnite, just to see how the Dragonfly would fare. It was less than ideal, but it’s not what it was built for, so I can’t complain. It did fairly well running games like Hades though, so all isn’t lost.
“The HP Elite Dragonfly G2 can fast charge to around 50% battery power in about 30 minutes, which is a huge bonus.”
The HP Elite Dragonfly G2 Notebook excels at what it was meant to be. Working, browsing, and binge-watching were made comfortable and easy, with switching between tablet and laptop mode seamless. I found the device to work well in tablet mode, with the screen being very responsive. The notebook is compatible with the HP Rechargeable Active Pen G3, but we weren’t able to test the two together, so I can’t speak to how well it responds to the pen.
Though it couldn’t be my go-to for gaming, I did love listening to music on it. The HP Elite Dragonfly G2 comes built with 4 stereo speakers made by Bang & Olufsen, who are renowned for their high-end audio devices. I normally don’t care for audio from laptops, and I usually bring my JBL Pulse 4 around with me instead.
During my time with the HP Elite Dragonfly G2 Notebook, it was my primary source of music at work or at home. The sound was so rich and full, and even though the laptop is small, the speakers packed a punch. After telling a few people about the sound behind this laptop, they were genuinely surprised when they heard the quality it produced. By far the best sound quality I’ve heard from any laptop.
I usually dread switching over to a new laptop, I hate being bothered with the whole Microsoft set up, getting used to a new keyboard and layout and just change in general. With the HP Elite Dragonfly G2 Notebook, I dreaded switching back, and I really do like my current laptop!
I found this device so versatile, well-functioning and easy to use, it may have even swayed me to the notebook style of laptop in the future. If you’re looking for something compact, with great sound, and aren’t afraid to spend a pretty penny, the HP Elite Dragonfly G2 Notebook is the right choice.
