- ✓Great battery life
- ✓Good connectivity, including LTE mobile broadband
- ✓Compact, robust chassis
- ✓Programmable Fn key
- ✕Mediocre speakers
- ✕Low screen brightness on the entry-level model
HP's EliteBooks are robust and well-specified laptops aimed at business users, and they compete with other premium devices such as Lenovo's ThinkPads and Dell's Latitude series. The 14-inch EliteBook 840 G7[1] starts at £1,074 (inc. VAT) for a Core i5-based model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. This is an attractive price, but it's worth noting that this range is powered by 10th generation (Comet Lake) Intel processors rather than the latest 11th generation (Tiger Lake) chips.
The HP EliteBook 840 G7 is a compact and solidly built 14-inch laptop. There is a smaller 830-series model if you prefer a 13.3-inch screen, but since the 840 has relatively narrow bezels and a generally slim design, many will opt for more screen space. The EliteBook 840 G7 will slip into a tiny backpack easily and it's not especially heavy.
The desktop footprint measures 323mm wide by 214mm deep, and the laptop is 17.9mm thick. It has a starting weight of 1.33kg and the chassis uses aluminium in a lid that I couldn't bow in my hands, while the base feels tough. The silver finish characteristic of the EliteBook range is attractive, although you might want to use a protective sleeve in transit to avoid unsightly scratches.
