Superior business performance meets consumer productivity

When HP unveiled its Dragonfly Pro notebooks at CES 2023 earlier this year, we were pleased that the company brought many of the great qualities of premium business-class notebooks to the consumer productivity arena. I have been a fan of Dragonfly devices since the launch of the product line. In this article, I would like to share his impressions after using the HP Dragonfly Pro for 4 weeks. It also explains why it has already become one of my favorite devices he.

HP took a unique approach to developing Dragonfly Pro in close partnership with AMD, optimizing the device for better battery life and performance per watt (PPW). After speaking with HP management, I can confidently state in my first article (which you can read here) that this new notebook could be a thorny challenge for Apple. I made it.

Market positioning of HP Dragonfly Pro

Why should this be a concern for Apple? Because it brings comparable performance to a wider audience. Apple’s core notebook market includes serious multimedia creators such as professional video editors and graphic designers. The HP Dragonfly Pro, on the other hand, is aimed at a wider audience, including professional content he creators and productivity users. Despite these differences, PPW is a big indicator for both audiences, and Apple’s silicon offers unrivaled PPW. Everything from the chip to the desktop application is done in-house by Apple, which definitely optimizes battery life and his PPW over the competition.

However, this close partnership between HP and AMD has improved the optimization of Dragonfly Pro, making it comparable to Apple’s PPW. This review isn’t just about the Dragonfly Pro’s raw performance, but the device does PPW better than Apple notebooks for its target audience, especially when used with Windows 11 version 22H2, a touch display, and myHP. I think you are making good use of it. For HP support.

Having used every Dragonfly device since HP started making Dragonfly devices, I can confidently say that each generation is better than the last. If you’re interested, you can read my reviews on the Dragonfly Folio G3, Dragonfly G3, Dragonfly G2, and the original his Dragonfly by visiting the Moor Insights & Strategy blog. While using the new Dragonfly Pro, I noticed a few design cues and features that carry over from its roots as a business notebook. give it a specific character, allowing it to function as a single device for all your work, creation and play needs.

HP Dragonfly Pro design features

The Dragonfly Pro’s backlit keyboard has good key action, a satisfying click to the keys, and an overall excellent typing experience. Key travel is slightly longer than the Surface Laptop 5 or Surface Laptop Studio keyboard. HP has also placed the fingerprint sensor and power button side by side. I prefer using Windows Hello via the infrared camera, but the fingerprint sensor is reliable and fast.

Similarly, the haptic touchpad is large and very responsive, and the intensity of haptic feedback can be adjusted in settings. I much prefer the haptic touchpad over the classic “diving board” touchpad design.

Tuned by Bang and Olufsen, the device’s quad speakers sound great and can fill a room. and I attribute this to the fact that my device is a pre-production model. The myHP app includes both built-in input and output audio, as well as a built-in equalizer for connected devices. He really appreciates this level of control and the presets HP offers for users who don’t know how to use equalizers but want the best sound in different settings.

The Dragonfly Pro has a sharp 5-megapixel camera that can also be configured through the myHP app. Like when I tested the Dragonfly G3, I had a great experience with the webcam. HP very carefully incorporates features such as background effects, lighting enhancements, and auto-framing. A webcam is an important tool in today’s era of hybrid work, and I think HP has done just that with his Dragonfly Pro camera. There’s also a privacy button to the left of the fingerprint reader for easy access.

The Dragonfly Pro’s chassis is made from premium recycled aluminum, similar to the premium feel of other Dragonfly notebooks. It has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels (162 pixels per inch, or PPI) at 60 Hz and is capable of 400 nits of brightness. 162 PPI is pretty low for a premium device, but the display is still crisp. I believe HP decided to keep the resolution low and the refresh rate relatively low to save battery life.

Besides the few issues we experienced with the pre-production review device, one design feature of the Dragonfly Pro is most concerning. HP has decided to put his four hotkey buttons on the right edge of the device. That meant we had to shorten the Backspace, Enter, and Shift keys. My concern is that many people, like me, will accidentally hit the hotkey instead of the Backspace, Enter, or Shift key, which is going to be big on most standard keyboards. I’m all for easy access to these hotkey functions, but the design placement makes for a frustrating typing experience. And considering everyone has a different experience. For me, I wish HP had put those keys elsewhere.

performance and battery life

I don’t think it justifies the HP Dragonfly Pro by running it in all performance benchmarks and comparing it to all modern notebooks. Performance optimizations by HP and AMD are based on the amount of power, noise, and heat generated by a given task. This load management approach is driven by AMD’s Adaptive Performance Management Framework. This framework optimizes your system’s profile based on your specific task to give you the best possible experience.

We loaded Microsoft 365 (i.e. Office), OneNote, Signal, WhatsApp, and Zoom on our review device, synced all our apps, and performed our daily workflows on the device while on the go or remotely. While setting up, syncing, and loading these applications, I found it impressive that I didn’t notice any significant delays or many performance issues. It didn’t get in the way.

I was able to work 4 hours at a time with breaks in between, for a total of 12 hours without having to recharge the device. This was when I was running apps like OneNote, Microsoft Edge, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom all at the same time to be more productive. I was always confident in Dragonfly Pro’s ability to handle my workflow, even with video streams and 40+ tabs running simultaneously in Edge.

The Dragonfly Pro also charged quickly. I got a 50% charge in about 35 minutes and that charge gave him 6 to 7 hours of use. The included charger is quite large compared to other 96-watt chargers, but it’s USB-C compatible and feels like a premium component.

The Dragonfly Pro is not a gaming device, but I was able to download Steam and try out some games. The Dragonfly Pro’s game compatibility is another testament to its versatility and ease of use. Especially if you’re running the latest version of Windows 11 Moment 2, you can play more games than a MacBook Pro while doing similar PPW for productivity tasks (My thoughts on the new Windows 11 release can be read here)

summary

After testing the HP Dragonfly Pro for the last four weeks, taking it to Spain and using it for most of my remote work, it has become one of my favorite devices for productivity and everyday use. I think I’m finally getting used to the hotkeys on the right. In some cases, it has saved me during video calls by quickly changing audio and video settings.

At the same time, it’s got great battery life and performance for a notebook, handling countless tabs and opening apps without skipping a beat. I think the partnership between HP and AMD really paid off with this device. Combined with the new Windows 11 updates, I think the HP Dragonfly Pro is one of the best productivity and professional notebooks out there.

Note: Jacob Freyman of Moor Insights & Strategy co-op contributed to this article.