HP ZBook Firefly 14 G7 review: A compact and durable entry-level mobile workstation Review

Mobile workstations don’t have to be major, significant seventeen-inch behemoths, and HP proves the point with its ZBook Firefly 14 G7 — its smallest and lightest ZBook machine. Powered by a 10th era Main i7 processor with Nvidia Quadro graphics, the ZBook Firefly’s 14-inch display screen can go up to 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution. 

If it ended up positioned between quite a few common 14-inch laptops, it would be complicated to pick out the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G7 as a cell workstation. It is somewhat slender and compact, even though it weighs one.41kg thanks to a sturdy MIL-STD 810H-analyzed create. I could barely bend the lid much more than a portion in my hands, for example.  

The ZBook Firefly 14 G7 occupies just 32.3cm by 21.forty six cm of desktop room, and is one.seventy nine cm thick. The styling is restrained, with mid-tone slate grey predominant the two inside of and out. It loosens up a little bit with the characteristic ZBook ‘Z’ on the lid, which is fairly reminiscent of a superhero’s marque. 

One more noteworthy styling point is the angled style of back again edge of the chassis and bottom of the lid. It is a delicate function, displaying very good focus to detail.

The laptop’s 170-degree display screen hinge doesn’t rather access flat to the desk, which is a pity but not a deal-breaker. HP instead optimistically calls the display screen bezels ‘narrow’ in its item facts, but no measurements are presented in the item requirements. The top rated bezel simply accommodates the 720p webcam which has its personal sliding privacy cover some styles, together with my evaluation unit, also have an IR sensor for Home windows Howdy authentication and an ambient gentle sensor. 

There are two configurations for the 14-inch display screen obtainable off the site in the United kingdom. My evaluation unit experienced a 4K (3840 x 2160) IPS panel with an anti-glare end. It does replicate a tiny little bit, but not ample to be irritating. At its highest 400 nits the display screen was too vivid for each day doing the job, but it would provide presentations wonderfully. 

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Conventional FHD (1920 x one,080) resolution is also obtainable, with either 250 nits or a thousand nits brightness. This lessen-resolution selection comes in touch and non-touch variations and can involve HP’s SureView privacy, which will make it in the vicinity of-unachievable for people to the remaining or appropriate of the laptop person to view the display screen. 

As nicely as a good webcam, higher-high quality audio is increasingly crucial in the distant-doing the job/video-phone era. The ZBook Firefly 14 G7 has speaker grilles flanking the keyboard, with the Bang & Olufsen speakers directing their output upwards and outwards. They provide lots of quantity, and spoken phrase audio is really crisp, even though I would have appreciated richer bass tones. 

The keyboard has nicely-spaced, nicely weighted keys that I identified straightforward to touch-form on at my regular pace. The sound is a little bit clacky, and instead loud for doing the job in peaceful areas if you don’t want to irritate these all over you. There is a pointing adhere amongst the G, H and B keys and two actual physical buttons built for use with it above the touchpad. The pointing adhere is responsive and straightforward to get the job done with, even though it takes some receiving made use of to the way the cursor accelerates the even further you force it. 

The Fn row contains a programmable essential that can accommodate up to four functions — on your own, and with either Shift, Ctrl or Alt. These array from opening an application, web site, file or folder, executing a predefined essential sequence, or getting into a pre-saved text. This is not a new notion from HP, but it’s pleasant to see it right here. A fingerprint reader on the considerably appropriate of the wrist relaxation offers an choice to the Home windows Howdy webcam for authentication. 

My evaluation unit did not match any of the four off-the-shelf configurations on HP’s United kingdom web site at the time of crafting. It experienced a 10th generation Intel Main i7-10610U processor with 32GB of RAM, discrete Nvidia Quadro P520 graphics with 4GB of dedicated video RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Pre-configured styles begin at £1,258.80 (inc. VAT £1,049 ex. VAT). All have the Nvidia GPU, with the entry-level specification together with a Core i7-10510U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 250-nits FHD touch-display screen. 

The top rated-conclude £1,558.80 (inc. VAT £1,299 ex. VAT) United kingdom configuration has a Main i7-10510U processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 400-nits 4K display screen. Bespoke configuration alternatives top rated out at 64GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage. 

Ports and connectors involve an optional SmartCard reader on the remaining edge, along with a 3.5mm headset jack and a pair of USB 3.one ports, a single with charging capacity. On the appropriate edge you will find a comprehensive-size HDMI port, a spherical-pin electric power connector and a pair of USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports. If the optional cell broadband is configured, there will be a Nano SIM slot on the appropriate facet too. 

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One particular place wherever this laptop could enable users down is battery lifestyle. HP promises ‘up to’ 14 hrs from the ZBook Firefly 14 G7’s 56Wh battery, but my evaluation sample experienced a 4K display screen, which may well have contributed to the battery falling from a hundred% to 63% in just a few hrs of somewhat gentle workloads for a cell workstation. I was doing the job into net applications and carrying out some video and audio streaming, instead than managing demanding inventive applications, for example.  

With gentle workloads, you may possibly get all-working day (8-hour) battery lifestyle, but you will have to expect less if you force this laptop tricky. The good thing is, fast charging is obtainable: HP promises 50% in about 30 minutes, and at a single point when the battery attained 37% I plugged in for 50 percent an hour and it lifted to sixty five%. 

Conclusions 

Modest, gentle and moderately nippy, HP’s ZBook Firefly 14 G7 has what it takes to be a very good entry-level cell workstation. But ‘entry-level’ is the essential phrase right here, with 10th era Intel Main i7 processors throughout the board and FHD screens on lots of styles. Battery lifestyle is disappointing too, at the very least if you decide for a 4K display screen, as on my evaluation unit.  

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