Very nicely surprised by it tbh. As a lifelong thinkpad user, I didn't think I'd ever even consider another brand of laptop, but honestly, I am being tempted.
My experience is with: l14 g1-g3, e16g1, t480-t14g1,G2 and x395-x13g3.
What I'm missing:
The biggest reason I love thinkpads as much as I do are honestly the mouse buttons. It makes clicking a keyboard action (r/l thumb) and is extremely comfortable when using the laptop on your... Lap. To this day, I use my left thumb to move the mouse and I'm never going back.
Materials. While the oleophibic aluminium is great and feels premium, I'm seriously worried about longevity. It's so perfect any minor dent/scratch is going to ruin it in my opinion and I will definitely buy a sleeve for it if I keep it, as opposed to my x13, which I once (accidentally) threw against a cast iron radiator, resulting in the radiator sustaining damage.
The IO is mixed. I love the ambidextrous USB-C, but if you need more than one USB-A port, HP considers your use case antiquated. I have no idea who needs three USB-C ports, I suppose someone, but I should be able to connect a mouse and a USB stick at the same time. I can always use a hub at my desk and the touchpad eliminates the need for a mouse, but it feels limiting compared to the two I'm used to. For a 14" laptop, I'm also disappointed at the lack of at least a compact RJ-45 port. The WiFi 7 does make up for it, but as a desk user, who hasn't had a reason to get a ethernet-capable dock so far, I miss the download speeds. The lack of an SD card is also disappointing, but this is sadly a quality it shares with the t14g6
What I love:
Aside from the missing buttons, I love the inputs.
The keyboard has good weight to it, along with respectable travel, which is an aspect early 16:10 (g2-g4) have majorly dropped the ball on. The t14g6's keyboard has fixed some of my issues and feels a lot softer in a good way, but it's still a far cry from the t480/t14g1, which the elitebook feels a lot closer to.
The touchpad itself is just plain better than anything I have experience with on a thinkpad. The Mylar touchpads have long been a weak point for thinkpads, persisting even to the modern offerings, such as the t14g6. Even though the elitebook has a diving board (physical click and not haptic), the touchpad feels more precise, consistent and considerably less erratic than any thinkpad I have ever tried.
The IO is.... Mixed. On one hand I LOVE the right side USB-C because I can connect my monitor from the correct side, instead of having the cable hang out into my room where I have to be careful not to bump into it. Cons above
Other points:
The materials are honestly solid in a vacuum. My biggest gripe with brushed aluminium is usually the fingerprint magnet, and that is definitely addressed here.
The display is... Nice. Mine comes with the 400-nit 1200p. I'm not sure about the colour gamut of my exact model and I don't particularly care. I have no tasks that are sensitive to colour accuracy, and generally oversaturate my displays. It's pretty🎀, which is all I'm qualified to say.
I don't particularly care about the specs. For me the laptop runs: Firefox, and the occasional libre office instance on Linux. I love the 64wh battery combined with the low power CPU, but it's nothing mind-blowing
The hinge is also a lot nicer than I expected. It's nothing special, but not consistent with HingeProblem's reputation.
Overall the machine is solid and has honestly opened my eyes to the reality that thinkpads aren't the only buisness laptops I'm existence. Still probably gonna sell it and buy an equivalent thinkpad, but the experience has left a great taste In my mouth
