HP EliteBook Ultra G1i Review 2025: Intel's AI-Powered Business Laptop That Rivals MacBook Air

The EliteBook Ultra G1i showcases HP's mastery of premium laptop design, delivering a remarkably thin and light chassis that feels substantially more expensive than many competitors. The magnesium construction provides excellent rigidity without flex, while the distinctive Atmosphere Blue finish offers a welcome departure from typical business laptop aesthetics. At 2.6 pounds, it's lighter than the 13.6-inch MacBook Air and most 14-inch Windows competitors.

The keyboard delivers a MacBook-like typing experience with shallow but responsive keys and excellent backlighting. The oversized haptic trackpad rivals Apple's offerings with precise tracking and customizable click feedback. However, users preferring deeper key travel may find the keyboard less satisfying than traditional ThinkPad designs.

HP's commitment to sustainability shows through the use of up to 90% recycled magnesium and 50% recycled plastic in keycaps, though this doesn't compromise the premium feel. The laptop's thin profile does require some compromises - the USB-A port uses a clever spring-loaded design to fit within the chassis, expanding when devices are plugged in.

The major design flaw lies in repairability and user access. HP misleadingly lists Philips P1 screws in the manual when the actual screws are tiny T5 Torx variants that most users won't have tools for. This appears to be a deliberate attempt to discourage user upgrades, which is disappointing for a premium business laptop where IT departments may need easy access for maintenance.

The 14-inch 2.8K OLED display stands as one of the EliteBook Ultra G1i's most compelling features, delivering visual quality that rivals premium consumer laptops while maintaining professional color accuracy. The OLED technology provides infinite contrast with true blacks and vibrant colors that make everything from spreadsheets to streaming content look exceptional. The 2880 × 1800 resolution hits the sweet spot for a 14-inch panel, offering crisp text and detailed images without the battery drain of 4K.

Color performance is outstanding, with 100% coverage of both sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces, making it suitable for professional photo editing and content creation. The variable refresh rate up to 120Hz provides smooth scrolling and reduces power consumption when high refresh rates aren't needed. Touch responsiveness is excellent, with accurate palm rejection and intuitive gesture support.

The 16:10 aspect ratio offers more vertical space than traditional 16:9 displays, improving productivity for document work and web browsing. HP's decision to move from the boxy 3:2 ratio of the previous Dragonfly series to this more standard format makes the laptop more versatile while still providing ample workspace.

The main limitation is brightness, with a peak of 386 nits being adequate for indoor use but potentially challenging in bright outdoor environments. However, OLED's superior contrast means the display remains usable in moderate lighting conditions where LCD panels might wash out. The edge-to-edge glass gives a premium seamless appearance, though it can be prone to fingerprints with heavy touch use.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 268V represents Intel's strategic pivot toward efficiency and AI integration rather than raw multi-threaded performance. Built on TSMC's advanced 3nm process, this Lunar Lake processor excels in single-threaded tasks with exceptional power efficiency, making it ideal for typical business workloads like Office applications, web browsing, and video conferencing where responsiveness matters more than parallel processing power.

Intel's removal of Hyper-Threading technology becomes apparent in multi-threaded benchmarks, where the EliteBook Ultra G1i trails behind AMD's Ryzen AI competitors. However, for most business users, this trade-off delivers tangible benefits: significantly improved battery life, lower heat generation, and consistently responsive performance under typical workloads. The 48 TOPS NPU enables local AI features like Windows Studio Effects and Copilot+ functionality without relying on cloud processing.

Graphics performance from the Intel Arc 140V integrated GPU represents a meaningful step forward for Intel, handling light gaming, video editing, and creative applications adequately. While it can't match AMD's Radeon 890M for GPU-intensive tasks, it provides smooth 4K video playback and supports multiple external displays through the three Thunderbolt 4 ports.

Storage performance disappoints with the WD Blue SN5000 SSD delivering modest speeds compared to premium competitors. With sequential reads around 6,352 MB/s, it's adequate but not exceptional for a laptop in this price range. The single M.2 slot allows for user upgrades, though the T5 Torx screws create an unnecessary barrier.

Real-world performance testing reveals the EliteBook Ultra G1i's strengths in typical business scenarios. Excel spreadsheets load quickly, Teams video calls remain smooth with background blur enabled, and the system maintains responsiveness even with dozens of browser tabs open. The 32GB of soldered LPDDR5x RAM ensures smooth multitasking, though the lack of upgrade options may concern users planning to keep the laptop for several years.

Battery life represents one of the EliteBook Ultra G1i's strongest selling points, with Intel's Lunar Lake architecture delivering exceptional power efficiency that translates to real-world endurance. In typical office scenarios involving document editing, email, web browsing, and video calls, the laptop consistently achieved over 16 hours of runtime – enough to power through even the longest workdays without reaching for a charger.

The 64Wh battery capacity might seem modest compared to some competitors, but Intel's advanced power management and the efficient OLED display's variable refresh rate technology maximize every watt-hour. During our video streaming test, the EliteBook Ultra G1i ran for nearly 14 hours, while lighter web browsing extended runtime to over 18 hours. These results significantly outpace most Intel-based competitors and approach the efficiency levels traditionally associated with ARM-based systems.

Charging performance is solid with the included 65W adapter, reaching 50% capacity in approximately 30 minutes during our testing. The flexibility of charging through any of the three Thunderbolt 4 ports adds convenience, allowing users to charge from either side of the laptop. The system also supports higher-wattage USB-C chargers up to 100W, though the included 65W adapter proves adequate for the laptop's power requirements.

Power management intelligence shines during mixed workloads, with the system seamlessly transitioning between performance and efficiency modes based on demand. Background tasks consume minimal power, and the laptop can remain in standby for days with minimal battery drain. The combination of Intel's Thread Director technology and Windows 11's power profiles ensures optimal battery allocation across different usage scenarios.

The EliteBook Ultra G1i takes a bold approach to connectivity, betting heavily on Thunderbolt 4's versatility while sacrificing some traditional ports. The three Thunderbolt 4 ports deliver exceptional flexibility, each capable of 40Gbps data transfer, 4K display output, and power delivery up to 100W. This configuration theoretically provides 120Gbps of combined bandwidth – more than sufficient for the most demanding professional workflows involving multiple high-resolution displays and fast external storage.

The inclusion of a single USB-A port with an innovative spring-loaded design demonstrates HP's commitment to maintaining legacy device compatibility while preserving the laptop's ultra-thin profile. This port expands when devices are inserted, a clever engineering solution that maintains the laptop's aesthetic while providing 10Gbps connectivity for older peripherals, flash drives, and accessories.

Wireless connectivity excels with Intel's BE201 WiFi 7 module consistently delivering speeds exceeding 1400 Mbps in testing environments with compatible routers. The 2x2 antenna configuration provides robust signal strength and range, while Bluetooth 5.4 offers improved audio quality and connectivity with modern peripherals. During testing, the laptop maintained stable connections even in congested wireless environments.

The strategic omission of HDMI, Ethernet, and SD card slots reflects HP's philosophy that modern business users will rely on docking stations or adapters. While this approach maximizes portability, it creates dependencies on additional accessories for common business scenarios. Users frequently connecting to projectors, wired networks, or transferring photos will need to invest in adapters or a comprehensive docking solution.

The 9MP webcam represents one of the EliteBook Ultra G1i's standout features for remote work, delivering video quality that significantly surpasses typical laptop cameras. The high-resolution sensor captures sharp, detailed images with accurate color reproduction, while the IR sensor enables fast and reliable Windows Hello facial recognition even in low-light conditions. The physical privacy shutter provides peace of mind for security-conscious users, sliding smoothly without obstructing the view when open.

HP's Poly Camera Pro software suite elevates the video calling experience with AI-powered features that rival dedicated video conferencing systems. Auto framing intelligently keeps users centered in the frame as they move, while eye contact correction creates the illusion of direct eye contact even when looking at the screen rather than the camera. Background blur and replacement effects work reliably without the green screen artifacts common in lesser implementations.

Audio performance impresses with the quad-speaker configuration delivering surprisingly full sound for such a thin laptop. The speakers produce clear dialogue for video calls and adequate music playback for casual listening, with enough volume to fill a small meeting room. The dual-microphone array with AI noise reduction effectively filters background sounds, maintaining clear voice pickup even in noisy environments during testing.

The Poly Studio audio tuning provides professional-grade voice enhancement that makes the laptop competitive with dedicated conference phones for small group calls. During extended video conferences, both the speaker output and microphone input remained consistently clear, with automatic gain control preventing volume fluctuations that often plague business laptops.

The software experience on the EliteBook Ultra G1i presents a frustrating contradiction between genuinely useful AI capabilities and excessive promotional notifications that undermine the premium user experience. Microsoft's Copilot+ PC certification delivers meaningful functionality through the 48 TOPS NPU, enabling local AI processing for features like real-time translation, background effects, and voice commands without cloud dependency – a significant privacy and performance advantage.

HP's AI Companion, while still in beta, shows promise with its three-pronged approach: Discover for general AI chat, Analyze for document comparison, and Perform for system control. The ChatGPT-powered backend provides competent responses, and the local processing emphasis aligns with enterprise privacy requirements. However, the interface feels less polished than mainstream web-based AI services, and some features remain incomplete or inconsistent in execution.

The major software weakness lies in HP's aggressive promotion of its ecosystem services. During our review period, HP Support Assistant generated nine separate notifications covering everything from driver updates to promotional offers, while HP Wolf Security repeatedly prompted for registration despite being a paid inclusion. This notification spam creates a "Groundhog Day" experience that detracts from the laptop's premium positioning.

HP Wolf Security itself provides comprehensive endpoint protection with hardware-enforced threat detection, BIOS protection, and browser isolation. For enterprises with existing security infrastructure, these features may be redundant, but smaller businesses will appreciate the integrated approach. The self-healing BIOS and credential protection offer genuine value, though setup requires navigating through multiple promotional prompts.

The EliteBook Ultra G1i's upgrade and repairability story reveals HP's concerning shift toward restricting user access, despite marketing claims of business-friendly serviceability. The most egregious issue involves HP's deliberate misrepresentation of the required screws in official documentation, listing "Philips P1" when the actual screws are tiny T5 Torx variants that most users and even many IT departments won't have tools for. This appears to be a calculated move to discourage user maintenance and drive customers toward HP's service ecosystem.

Once inside, the upgrade options are severely limited by modern ultrabook design constraints. The 32GB of LPDDR5x memory is permanently soldered to the motherboard, eliminating any future RAM upgrade possibilities. While 32GB should suffice for most current workflows, users planning to keep the laptop for 4-5 years may find themselves constrained as software demands increase, particularly for content creation or development work involving virtual machines.

Storage represents the one bright spot for upgrades, with a standard M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 slot accepting drives up to 2TB. However, the single slot configuration means users must clone their existing drive to upgrade, requiring a USB-C M.2 enclosure for the process. The included WD Blue SN5000 performs adequately but represents a cost-cutting measure inappropriate for a premium laptop, making storage upgrades almost mandatory for users requiring top-tier performance.

The WiFi module can be replaced, though Intel's BE201 already provides cutting-edge WiFi 7 support that should remain relevant for years. Battery replacement is technically possible but requires full disassembly and careful handling of ribbon cables. HP's use of proprietary components in some areas may limit repair options and increase costs when components eventually fail.