Cell workstations will not have to be huge, heavy 17-inch behemoths, and HP proves the point with its ZBook Firefly 14 G7 — its smallest and lightest ZBook gadget. Powered by a tenth era Core i7 processor with Nvidia Quadro graphics, the ZBook Firefly’s 14-inch screen can go up to 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution.
If it have been placed amid a number of conventional 14-inch laptops, it would be tough to choose out the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G7 as a cell workstation. It can be comparatively slender and compact, despite the fact that it weighs one.41kg many thanks to a sturdy MIL-STD 810H-examined develop. I could barely bend the lid extra than a portion in my palms, for instance.
The 14-inch ZBook 14 G7 weighs from one.41kg and has gone through MIL-STD 810H durability tests. The screen will come in FHD and 4K resolutions with touch operation available, together with optional HP SureView display privacy. It can be run by tenth era Intel Core i7 processors with up to 64GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage.
Photos: HP Inc
The ZBook Firefly 14 G7 occupies just 32.3cm by 21.46 cm of desktop space, and is one.seventy nine cm thick. The styling is restrained, with mid-tone slate grey predominant both within and out. It loosens up a little bit with the characteristic ZBook ‘Z’ on the lid, which is relatively reminiscent of a superhero’s marque.
One more notable styling point is the angled design of back edge of the chassis and base of the lid. It can be a delicate function, showing great interest to element.
The laptop’s back edge has a fashionable angled appear.
Picture: Sandra Vogel / ZDNet
The laptop’s 170-diploma display hinge will not very access flat to the desk, which is a pity but not a offer-breaker. HP fairly optimistically calls the display bezels ‘narrow’ in its product or service facts, but no measurements are provided in the product or service technical specs. The top bezel very easily accommodates the 720p webcam which has its very own sliding privacy address some versions, such as my assessment unit, also have an IR sensor for Windows Hi authentication and an ambient light-weight sensor.
There are two configurations for the 14-inch display available off the web page in the British isles. My assessment unit had a 4K (3840 x 2160) IPS panel with an anti-glare end. It does mirror a tiny little bit, but not sufficient to be irritating. At its greatest four hundred nits the screen was much too dazzling for daily performing, but it would supply shows wonderfully.
Common FHD (1920 x one,080) resolution is also available, with either 250 nits or 1000 nits brightness. This reduced-resolution alternative will come in touch and non-touch versions and can include HP’s SureView privacy, which helps make it around-impossible for individuals to the still left or right of the laptop computer user to see the display.
As nicely as a first rate webcam, superior-good quality audio is progressively critical in the remote-performing/online video contact era. The ZBook Firefly 14 G7 has speaker grilles flanking the keyboard, with the Bang & Olufsen speakers directing their output upwards and outwards. They supply a good deal of quantity, and spoken word audio is seriously crisp, despite the fact that I’d have appreciated richer bass tones.
HP’s Top quality Silent Keyboard is backlit and spill-resistant, with speaker grilles to either aspect. You will find a pointing stick as nicely as a touchpad, and a fingerprint reader beneath the keyboard, to the right.
Picture: Sandra Vogel / ZDNet
The keyboard has nicely-spaced, properly weighted keys that I observed uncomplicated to touch-type on at my standard velocity. The audio is a little bit clacky, and fairly loud for performing in silent spaces if you will not want to irritate these all-around you. There is a pointing stick between the G, H and B keys and two bodily buttons designed for use with it previously mentioned the touchpad. The pointing stick is responsive and uncomplicated to do the job with, despite the fact that it normally takes some acquiring utilised to the way the cursor accelerates the more you force it.
The Fn row features a programmable critical that can accommodate up to 4 functions — alone, and with either Change, Ctrl or Alt. These vary from opening an application, web-site, file or folder, executing a predefined critical sequence, or moving into a pre-saved textual content. This is not a new concept from HP, but it is really pleasant to see it here. A fingerprint reader on the significantly right of the wrist relaxation features an alternative to the Windows Hi webcam for authentication.
My assessment unit did not match any of the four off-the-shelf configurations on HP’s British isles web-site at the time of producing. It had a tenth generation Intel Core i7-10610U processor with 32GB of RAM, discrete Nvidia Quadro P520 graphics with 4GB of committed online video RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Pre-configured versions commence at £1,258.80 (inc. VAT £1,049 ex. VAT). All have the Nvidia GPU, with the entry-amount specification such as a Core i7-10510U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 250-nits FHD touch-display.
The top-close £1,558.80 (inc. VAT £1,299 ex. VAT) British isles configuration has a Core i7-10510U processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a four hundred-nits 4K screen. Bespoke configuration possibilities top out at 64GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage.
Right aspect (top): Nano SIM, 2x USB-C/Thunderbolt three, HDMI, electrical power. Still left aspect (previously mentioned): 2x USB three.one, three.5mm headphone jack, SmartCard Reader.
Photos: HP Inc
Ports and connectors include an optional SmartCard reader on the still left edge, together with a three.5mm headset jack and a pair of USB three.one ports, one particular with charging capability. On the right edge there is certainly a whole-dimension HDMI port, a spherical-pin electrical power connector and a pair of USB-C/Thunderbolt three ports. If the optional cell broadband is configured, there will be a Nano SIM slot on the right aspect much too.
Just one region in which this laptop computer could permit users down is battery lifetime. HP statements ‘up to’ 14 hours from the ZBook Firefly 14 G7’s 56Wh battery, but my assessment sample had a 4K display, which may perhaps have contributed to the battery falling from a hundred% to sixty three% in just 3 hours of comparatively light-weight workloads for a cell workstation. I was performing into world-wide-web apps and undertaking some online video and audio streaming, fairly than running demanding resourceful apps, for instance.
With light-weight workloads, you may well get all-working day (eight-hour) battery lifetime, but you ought to anticipate considerably less if you force this laptop computer difficult. The good thing is, speedy charging is available: HP statements fifty% in about 30 minutes, and at one particular point when the battery reached 37% I plugged in for 50 percent an hour and it lifted to 65%.
Picture: HP Inc
Conclusions
Small, light-weight and fairly nippy, HP’s ZBook Firefly 14 G7 has what it normally takes to be a great entry-amount cell workstation. But ‘entry-level’ is the critical word here, with tenth era Intel Core i7 processors throughout the board and FHD screens on a lot of versions. Battery lifetime is disappointing much too, at the very least if you opt for a 4K display, as on my assessment unit.
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