Road warrior, hybrid worker, business traveler. There are countless terms for people who work on the move rather than sitting at a desk. HP is targeting this target group with the Dragonfly G4. In the 4th generation, HP equipped this lightweight laptop with the Intel Raptor Lake generation Core i7, but other than that, little has changed.
The Dragonfly weighs at least 999g and is housed in a sturdy blue-gray case made from a mixture of magnesium and aluminum. The surface of the material is slightly rough, providing a good grip. The corners and edges are rounded so it does not bother you when you hold it. The display can be opened 180 degrees with one hand.
Small laptop, rich connectivity
Dragonfly has a variety of functions despite its compact form factor. Other lightweight laptops often have fewer ports and only provide Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C, but Dragonfly has a large number of ports and a variety of types. There are two 40Gbps ports for connecting power supplies, as well as HDMI 2.1 and USB-A terminals.
HP laptops offer a variety of additional features that businesses need. In addition to WLAN with Wi-Fi 6E, you can access the Internet while on the move through the built-in 5G module. The nano SIM card slot on the left side of the case can be conveniently opened without using tools.
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You can log in with your finger using the sensor button at the bottom right of the keyboard or the full HD camera. You can close the lens with a special button, but the laptop’s automatic log-in/log-out via HP’s Auto-Lock and Wake feature, which recognizes the user via a proximity sensor, still works. You can also limit the viewing angle of the display using the F2 key. The Sure View privacy filter is a feature designed to prevent people next to you from seeing your laptop screen on a train or plane.
The bottom of the laptop housing can be easily opened by removing four screws. The battery, SSD, and cellular module are replaceable, and the RAM and WLAN hardware are soldered on.
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Also suitable for multimedia work
Dragonfly’s Core i7-1355U is an economical processor from the U-series that provides average speeds. It is sufficient for office applications and most multimedia programs. It is not suitable for demanding video editing and rendering applications. This is because hybrid CPUs cannot properly increase speed due to overheating of the compact case. For example, compared to a 15-inch laptop larger than the Dragonfly, calculation speed is about 10% slower in Cinebench R23.
It is about 10% faster than the previous model, Dragonfly G3 (equipped with Alder Lake CPU). Specifically, it is a little faster when using multimedia and a little less fast when working in an office. But compared to professional multimedia laptops with GPUs like the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i, the slowdown is only significant when the CPU and graphics card are working together, such as for rendering. Because Dragonfly is equipped with a generous 32GB of RAM, lag is only about 10% during normal photo and video work.
The two small fans installed in HP laptops are quiet even under heavy load. However, because the line speed changes frequently, the noise also changes and may be bothersome for sensitive users.
Right port configuration ⓒ Foundry
Battery that lasts even long distance travel
Ultra-mobile business laptops are defined by weight and battery life. The Dragonfly impresses in both areas. In addition to its light weight, it boasts an excellent battery life of 17.5 hours in the WLAN test. Battery capacity is 68Wh.
Display suitable for office use
The 13.5-inch screen has a width-to-height ratio of 3:2. The addition of vertical pixels allows more text documents and website content to be viewed than 16:9 or 16:10, making it practical for office use. The resolution of 1920×1280 is not very high, but it is sufficient for standard office applications.
In tests, Dragonfly demonstrated very high brightness and excellent contrast ratio. The contrast ratio makes working with text and spreadsheets pleasant, and the high brightness, combined with the anti-glare display surface, makes image content easy to read even in dim lighting. Dragonfly can also use sensors to automatically adjust brightness according to changing lighting conditions.
Left port configuration ⓒ Foundry
However, because the brightness decreases significantly from top to bottom, the luminance is not evenly distributed, but this is not easily noticeable on a small screen. However, the Dragonfly’s display is highly dependent on viewing angle. Even if Sure View is not activated, the contrast and saturation of the image will decrease if the user is not sitting in the optimal position. The screen can be flexibly tilted, allowing all users, regardless of height, to find the ideal viewing angle.
Pleasant feeling of using the keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard and touchpad complete the identity of the Dragonfly G4, which is suitable for office use. It is relatively tall compared to its form factor. What’s particularly pleasing is that all keys, including the space bar, have very distinct pressure points across the entire surface. As is common in ultrabooks, the arrow keys are not placed separately, but the up and down keys are combined into one key.
The clear pressure feedback from the touchpad was also impressive. It is also very quiet when clicking the mouse. The Dragonfly’s surface strikes the perfect balance between grip and speed. You can position the mouse pointer precisely or move it quickly across the display as needed.
Key benchmarks and features
- office program speed : 90 points (out of 100)
- multimedia program speed : 62 points (out of 100)
- 3D Mark Performance : 37 points (out of 100)
- Cinebench R23 : 6886
- Display brightness/brightness distribution/contrast value : 474 / 81% / 1820:1
- Anti-glare : O
- display color space : sRGB 100%, Adobe RGB 77%, DCI-P3 78%
- Display color fidelity : 2,45
- Battery life (WLAN test) : 17 hours 30 minutes
- Noise under load : 38dB(A)
- Upper/lower plate temperature : 40/46 degrees
Detailed specifications
- processor : Intel Core i7-1355U
- clock speed : Standard 2.0GHz (P-core), 1.2GHz (E-core), up to 5.0GHz (P-core) and 3.7GHz (E-core)
- core/thread : 10/12 (2 P cores, 8 E cores)
- RAM : 32GB LPDDR5-4800 (non-replaceable)
- graphics card : Intel Iris Xe (integrated into CPU)
- drive : NVMe SSD SK Hynix PC801 (PCIe 4.0×4)
- storage space : 952.6GB
- format : M.2 2280
- Network (LAN/WLAN/Bluetooth/Mobile) : -/WiFi 6E (Intel AX211)/5.3/5G
- operating system : Windows 11 Pro
- display size : 13.5 inches/1920×1080/3:2
- Pixel density/refresh rate : 171ppi/60Hz
- Weight (including battery/power supply) : 1,176g/302g
- battery capacity : 68.4Wh
- Right port configuration : 1 Type A USB 3.2 1st generation, 1 Type C Thunderbolt 4, 1 audio input/output terminal, 1 security lock
- Left port configuration : HDMI 2.1 x 1, Type C Thunderbolt 4, Nano SIM card slot x 1
- Other features : Camera for Windows Hello (1080p), fingerprint recognition sensor
