HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 First Impressions

HP’s business-focused EliteBook x360 line has always impressed. But this latest 14-inch wonder is already a personal favorite. And that’s saying something in this golden age of premium PCs.

HP’s naming conventions are a little tough, so let’s step through the mouthful you see in the title of this article. The EliteBook line sits at the top of HP’s various families of business-focused laptops, much like Spectre does in its consumer offerings. The 1000 series, in particular, is an impressive set of premium thin and light portable PCs, and it consists of three members: The 13.3-inch EliteBook x360 1030, the 14-inch EliteBook x360 1040 (which is the focus of this write-up), and the 15.6-inch EliteBook 1050. The two “x360”-branded models are convertibles, meaning that the display wraps around the back of the PC, enabling multiple form factors. (While the 1050 is a traditional laptop.) And the G5? That means that this is the fifth generation of the product. It is the stablemate of the HP EliteBook x360 1030 G3 I wrote up last October.

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EliteBook x360 1030 G3 (top), EliteBook x360 1040 G5 (bottom)

If you’re familiar with my personal laptop preferences, then you’ve probably already guessed that I was pretty excited to finally get my hands on a 14-inch model in the EliteBook 1000 series. The 13.3-inch 1030 is a fine portable PC, for sure. But there is just something special about the 1040 and its roomier 14-inch display. It’s my sweet spot, from a form factor perspective. It’s just right.

Aesthetically, the EliteBook lineup isn’t going to blow anyone away at first glance. It’s obviously of high-quality, is, in fact, made of a single piece of aluminum, but it’s just your standard bland gray business box. Aside from some polished edges, there’s nothing here to draw attention. It’s certainly not daring from a color or form factor perspective as are HP’s most recent Spectre laptops.

And that is almost certainly by design. But for those who purchase an EliteBook—or for those who are lucky enough to be assigned one at work—the excitement here is very real. It’s just a slow boil, and not an immediate and visceral thing. The more you learn about this PC, and the more you use it, the more you start to appreciate what HP has delivered. The EliteBook x360 1040 may look bland, but it is anything but.

For example, the 1040 is actually smaller than the previous-generation EliteBook x360 1030—remember, that’s the 13.3-inch model—and at 2.99 pounds and 16.9mm of thickness, it cuts a svelte figure compared to other 14-inch premium laptops. It is, in fact, the smallest and lightest 14-inch business convertible. (The current generation EliteBook x360 1030 and 1040 are shown below.)

EliteBook x360 1030 G3 (top), EliteBook x360 1040 G5 (bottom)

Compared to its own predecessor—yes, it was called the EliteBook x360 1040 G4—the new 1040 is 10 percent smaller, with 41 percent smaller display bezels. The “chin” (bottom) bezel is fully 39 percent smaller than that of its predecessor, which is a big deal: Thanks to its use of widescreen displays, the chin on most portable PCs is humongous. This one is far less objectionable. (That said, a 3:2 display would solve this problem and be more useful. And no, I will never stop hammering on that.)

Amazingly, HP still claims 17 hours of battery life, despite shipping a much smaller battery inside of the PC. I’m not sure how it did that—both devices utilize 15-watt U-series Intel Core processors—but HP claims it’s done a lot of work on the thermals to ensure smoother performance and battery life. As important, fast charging capabilities mean you can gain over 8 and a half hours of additional battery life with just 30 minutes of charging. Yes, that’s the best in the market.

As noted, the 1040—like the 1030—utilizes Intel Core U-series processors, and there are i5-8250U, i5-8350U, and i7-8650U options available. (The 1050 ships with more powerful H-series Core processors.) RAM runs from 8 GB to a full 32 GB, and the SSD storage can be had all the way up to 2 TB (!).

Expansion is excellent, and a step up from 1030: You get a full-sized USB port and the SIM card slot on the left and a full-sized USB, full-sized HDMI, and two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports on the right. Power and the volume rockers are on the outside edges too, because it’s a convertible PC.

The display is insane, at least on the review unit. 1040 customers have a choice of Full HD and 4K displays, in both matte and glossy finishes, and with or without HP’s vaunted Sure View privacy technology. What you choose there will, of course, impact battery life. But the 4K version of the display delivers an astonishing 700 nits of brightness, so you should have no trouble seeing it, even outside on the brightest possible day. (Other display types land at 400 to 500 nits, depending on which you order.)

HP has you covered biometrically as well: The 1040 ships with both a fingerprint reader and an IR camera for Windows Hello, so you can choose which you prefer. (Or use both.) And as a business-class offering, the 1040 also comes with HP’s suite of security technologies, like Sure Start, Sure Run, and a unique option by which you can store a restore partition on a separate, encrypted, and hidden storage device for those times when something does go wrong.

Communications is modern, as you should expect, with HP’s Connection Optimizer and improved Wi-Fi range and throughput. And you can opt-in to gigabit-class 4G LTE for always-connected computing. Like other HP business offerings, the 1040 also ships with the firm’s premium collaboration keyboard—basically a handful of Skype for Business/Teams-compatible hot keys—plus an improved Full HD webcam and a new, world-facing microphone for clear calls from up to 12 feet away. The speakers offer more bass oomph, driven by four discrete amplifiers.

All of that is amazing. But what really got me going is the new and improved keyboard, which appears to split the difference, perhaps perfectly, between the dead-feeling new Apple MacBook keyboards and the squishier island-style keyboards we see on most other portable PCs. In keeping with my own preferences, HP has actually reduced the throw of each key while delivering less wobble and slant when keys are pressed off-center. The result is what Apple was trying to achieve with its butterfly design, but without any of the problems. And the keyboard is actually twice as quiet as before too. This may be a miracle.

Those with a smart pen inclination can also opt-in to the new HP Rechargeable Active Pen, which delivers all-week battery life and can obtain an additional 1.5 hours of life via just 15 seconds of charge. Like other modern smartpens, it’s tilt- and pressure-sensitive, with 4096 levels of sensitivity.

Pricing is about what you’d expect for a premium, business-class laptop: A base configuration with a Core i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of SSD storage, and a 400 nit Full HD touch display runs about $1500. Step up to an improved i5 processor, 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD, and a 700 nit Sure View anti-glare Full HD touch display, and you’ll pay $2080. A model with Core i7, 16 GB, 512 GB, and a 400 nit Full HD touch display with anti-glare comes in at about $2350. The HP Rechargeable Active Pen is an additional $76.

I have a meeting in New York on Tuesday, and my wife and I decided to make a night out of it, so I’ll have some good travel time with the EliteBook x360 1040 over the next few days. I’m looking forward to seeing how it fares out in the real world.

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Conversation 25 comments

  • jaredthegeek

    Premium Member
    10 February, 2019 - 5:39 pm

    <p>Seems like an excellent device, I really like having LTE on my portable devices.</p>

  • pbrischetto

    10 February, 2019 - 5:57 pm

    <p>What's the fan noise like? My 1030 G3 has the fan running constantly when docked. Fan will even run for 10 minutes after I've put it to sleep</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      11 February, 2019 - 7:56 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#403976">In reply to Pbrischetto:</a></em></blockquote><p>I'll be monitoring that (just got the device). Nothing objectionable so far.</p>

      • typhon

        01 May, 2019 - 1:42 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#404046">In reply to paul-thurrott:</a></em></blockquote><p>Hello, that would be for me also very interesting. I'm using a X360 1030 I7 and on the dock the fans are annoying. On battery they also running most of the time. It would be great if you can give an update. Thx!</p>

  • brettscoast

    Premium Member
    10 February, 2019 - 6:40 pm

    <p>Good write up Paul. Its quite amazing how they have reduced the bezel on this system, that keyboard looks amazing a guilty pleasure to type on. Assuming you will be doing a more comprehensive review on these down the track.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      11 February, 2019 - 7:55 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#403979">In reply to brettscoast:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yes.</p>

  • IanYates82

    Premium Member
    10 February, 2019 - 8:33 pm

    <p>Looks nice.</p><p>Keyboards *really* matter. </p><p>Could you please possibly post a photo of it open, not at an angle, where we can see the keyboard keys clearly? Keen to know how the arrow keys are spaced out, if at all. Also very important to see where insert/delete / home/end / page-up/down are (or if they're shared with other keys!! – despise this intensely). Knowing if the F1-F12 keys are overloaded with other functions, and whether they can be put in regular function key mode or if I'd always be having to hit Fn+F6 when all I want is plain F6.</p><p><br></p><p>Thanks :)</p>

    • iantrem

      Premium Member
      11 February, 2019 - 4:15 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#403987">In reply to IanYates82:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>My HP laptop (though it's an older model) had a setting in the BIOS where you could set the function keys back to their default way of working ie. without the Fn +. I'll be surprised if their other models aren't the same.</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      11 February, 2019 - 4:15 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#403987">In reply to IanYates82:</a></em></blockquote><p>Looking at the images, the cursor keys are the terrible half-height up/down between the left and right in a single row. At least the home, delete, end and paging keys are in a column at the far right of the keyboard.</p><p>Looking at it, it also seems to provide a Fn-Lock (Fn+Caps Lock, by the look of it), which is a nice feature, given that I spend 99% of the time using "real" function keys and not the overloaded settings.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      11 February, 2019 - 7:55 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#403987">In reply to IanYates82:</a></em></blockquote><p>The Home, PgUp, DpDn, and End keys are in a vertical row on the far right, not shared. This is the only major difference between this keyboard and the one on the 1030. There is a toggle-able Fn key.</p>

      • ecumenical

        11 February, 2019 - 12:18 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#404043">In reply to paul-thurrott:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>It's a bit non-standard but fwiw I came to really enjoy this layout on a Lenovo Yoga. I find it easier to hit a full size key to right of the main keyboard than to reach a half-height one in the top row. And for some reason PgUp and PgDn just feel better stacked :)</p>

  • bluvg

    11 February, 2019 - 12:01 am

    <p>Do they have a decent one-cable ThunderBolt dock? Is it reliable?</p><p><br></p><p>What's street pricing look like? </p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      11 February, 2019 - 7:56 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#404016">In reply to bluvg:</a></em></blockquote><p>HP does sell various TB-based docks, but I don't have any here for review. </p>

    • a5ehren

      11 February, 2019 - 8:37 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#404016">In reply to bluvg:</a></em></blockquote><p>The Thunderbolt Dock G2 (120W) is what I think you'd use with this laptop. I have one at work, and it's…fine. </p><p><br></p><p>Does its job, but street price is like $325 so I would never buy one for personal use.</p>

    • gabeburke

      Premium Member
      11 February, 2019 - 11:41 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#404016">In reply to bluvg:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>My experience with thunderbolt docks has been a sordid one – HP has several that don't work with all of their laptops. Be prepared to be disappointed and frustrated, but they are out there.</p>

  • jdmartin74

    11 February, 2019 - 12:36 pm

    <p>Better than a Dell XPS 13?</p>

    • William Clark

      11 February, 2019 - 2:13 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#404128"><em>In reply to jdmartin74:</em></a><em> It's 1 inch better! LOL</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

  • David L. Berger

    11 February, 2019 - 1:10 pm

    <p>You should really look at the Acer Swift 5. It only weight 2.2lbs and has "10 hours" of battery life. Comes in i5 and i7 with 16G of DRAM and 512G NVME SSDs for $1400.</p>

  • christian.hvid

    11 February, 2019 - 1:13 pm

    <p>Paul, could you please stop making me want stuff I can't justify buying? Thanks in advance.</p><p><br></p><p>Seriously, with a 700 nit display I could work outdoors all summer. My Nokia 8 has a 700 nit display, so I know just how blindingly bright that is.</p>

  • ejuly

    11 February, 2019 - 1:51 pm

    <p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I have a meeting in New York on Tuesday, and my wife and I decided to make a night out of it, so I’ll have some good travel time with the EliteBook x360 1040 over the next few days.&nbsp;"</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">So are you saying you will or will not be ignoring your lovely wife?</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Given that 90% of the laptop users I work with want an extra monitor is there a dock that is recommended for it?</span></p>

  • William Clark

    11 February, 2019 - 2:12 pm

    <p>I currently have an HP Pavilion x360 2-in-1. It's a decent machine though it doesn't wow me in any particular way. A couple of things are not impressive at all. First, the boot time is terrible on this thing. It's literally 3-5 mins. I know this is partly because of the slow 1TB spinning disk they use. </p><p><br></p><p>The second, and perhaps larger, issue is the keyboard. I am not a fan. I often mash more than one button at a time and it seems like when this happens it seems to move the cursor position, usually to the beginning or end of a line of text. </p><p><br></p><p>Last but not least I have seen some issues with various software. Now some of this might be a Windows issue but at times it appears almost like there is a memory leak. Apps will behave poorly and I have to reboot (which is painful, see above). When OneDrive sync is turned on and I am running Teams and Excel, Excel will fire-off what appears to be an auto-save on the document but it will hang for several minutes using between 45-60% CPU. The app won't respond. But eventually, it comes back to life. I have taken to turning off auto save for this reason.</p>

  • BizTechSherpa

    11 February, 2019 - 5:06 pm

    <p>Great review. The article says "<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">the 1040 is actually&nbsp;</span><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">smaller</em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">&nbsp;than the previous-generation EliteBook x360 1030</span>" but the picture below that shows it as larger. Can you clarify?</p>

  • simon0222

    12 February, 2019 - 4:51 am

    <p>Great first impressions, thanks for those!</p><p>Would you mind running Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit Loop benchmark, to get a feeling for the performance, especially when you stress the system for a longer time? It would be quite interesting, as the laptop is quite small and older HP models had quite some trouble keeping up a good performance due to cooling issues.</p><p>Thanks in advance!</p>

  • szad

    12 February, 2019 - 10:27 pm

    <p>Great review, <a href="http://www.indiakabest.in&quot; target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Best</a></p>

  • Being

    19 February, 2023 - 10:15 pm

    Overall, the HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 is an excellent laptop for both work and entertainment. It has plenty of power and features, and its design is stylish and professional. It’s a great choice for anyone looking for a powerful and reliable laptop. Also Read:-https://techtalkshindi.com/2023/02/top-mobile-se-tv-connect-karne-wala-app-ki-jankari-hindi.html

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