HP revamped its Elite Dragonfly enterprise laptop at CES 2022, refreshing its looks and performance for the upcoming new year.
The 13.5-inch HP Elite Dragonfly G3 is sleeker than most blocky, industrial business laptops. Built with a magnesium-aluminum shell, it weighs just under one kilogram (2.2 lbs), making it one of the lightest and most portable business laptops around.
For the third generation, HP has equipped the Dragonfly with Intel’s 12th gen mobile processors with vPro options. It also features up to 32GB of LPDDR5 and 2TB of PCIe 4 storage.
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 specifications
| Device | HP Elite Dragonfly G3 |
| Processor | Intel 12th gen mobile processors |
| Memory | Up to 32GB LPDDR5 |
| Graphics | Integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics |
| Storage | Up to 2TB PCIe 4 SSD storage |
| Display | 13.5-inch, 3:2, 1920×1280, 400 nits
13.5-inch, 3:2, 1920×1280, 1000 nits 13.5-inch 3:2, 3K x 2K OLED, 400 nits, touch only |
| Ports | 1x USB Type-A, 2x Thunderbolt 4 with USB4 Type-C, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x Nano SIM slot, 1x headphone jack |
| Battery | 45Whr or 68Whr |
| Weight | 1 kg (2.2lbs) |
| Colours | Slate Blue and Natural Silver |
| Pricing and availability | No official pricing, available March 2022 |
The device comes with the option of one of two battery capacities: a 45Whr battery and a 68Whr battery. This is a detail a buyer could easily miss, so review which one the device includes before checking out.
As with the previous generations, the HP Elite Dragonfly G3 is certified for Intel’s Evo platform. The Intel Evo platform requires a device to meet a number of experience indexes including responsiveness, battery life in real-world workloads, and instant wake.
The 13.5-inch display comes in either LCD or OLED options. The LCD display sports a resolution of 1,920 x 1,280 and up an astounding 1,000 nits brightness. The OLED display option peaks at 400 nits but has a higher resolution at 3,000 x 2,000.
The third generation also sees an updated keyboard with larger keys. The keyboard is spill-resistant and has a touch fingerprint sensor.
Another welcome feature is serviceability. HP has made the battery, storage and network card “replaceable by IT”. This not only increases its service life but also reduces e-waste, something HP has been focused on minimizing for many years.
Enterprise users will be glad to know that the Elite Dragonfly G3 has tons of ports, something often sacrificed by many thin-and-lights. The laptop carries a USB-A port, two USB-C ports, one HDMI 2.0 port, a nano-SIM slot for mobile internet, and a headphone jack.
Since the laptop is designed for travel, the Elite Dragonfly G3 is tested against 19 MIL-STD-810H tests to ensure its hardiness against bumps and drops. It has also undergone HP’s Total Test Process, including a sanitization test that guarantees it can withstand up to 1000 cycles of disinfection using household wipes.
HP hasn’t announced the laptop’s official pricing but has promised that it will be available in March 2022.
The publication has reached out to HP for comments and will update the article once it receives a reply.
Update Jan. 10, 2022 at 9:10 a.m. EST: HP clarified that the Elite Dragonfly G3 includes PCIe 4 SSD, not PCIe 3 as the press release stated. The article has been amended to reflect this correction.