HP on Tuesday announced its first EliteBook-branded convertible, the EliteBook x360 1040 G5. Walking a fine line between an ultraportable laptop, a convertible, and a high-end laptop, HP has set out to meet these goals by putting together a 14-inch convertible tablet that also sports DDR4 support, allowing them to pack in up to 32 GB of RAM at a time when most ultraportables have 16GB. As a result of balancing these factors, the EliteBook x360 1040 G5 hybrid laptop is slightly bigger and heavier than its direct predecessor, but has a number of notable improvements when it comes to usability and performance.

The HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 combines elements of the company’s EliteBook 1040 G4 notebook as well as the EliteBook 1030 G3 hybrid. This is HP’s first EliteBook-branded convertible with a 14-inch display, which appears to be more compact than the said laptop, yet a bit bigger the aforementioned hybrid. In any case, the EliteBook x360 1040 G5 is the company’s top-of-the-range compact business convertible and is outfitted with virtually all premium technologies that HP has to offer, including optional SureView privacy screen, HP’s endpoint security controller, HP’s Sure Start self-healing BIOS, HP’s Sure Recover feature, HP’s Sure Click protection, and so on. In addition to the company’s endpoint security controller and a TPM 2.0 chip, it supports three-factor authentication (face, fingerprint, password), a rare capability.

Just like other 13/14-inch convertibles introduced this year, the EliteBook x360 1040 is based on Intel’s 8th Gen Core i5/i7 processors with four cores, and is accompanied by up to 32 GB of DDR4 memory and a PCIe/NVMe SSD of up to 2 TB capacity (select configs for government agencies use encrypted drives, SKUs with 2 TB SSDs will not be available at launch). When it comes to connectivity, the new EliteBook x360 1040 G5 hybrid PCs offer plenty of options. On the wireless side of things, the laptops are outfitted with Intel’s Wireless-AC 8265 module supporting 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2, an optional up to Gigabit-class 4G/LTE modem, as well as NXP’s NPC300 I2C NCI NFC controller. As far as physical ports are concerned, the the system has two Thunderbolt 3 connectors, two USB 3.0 Type-A headers (one used for data and charging), an HDMI 1.4 output, and a TRRS audio jack.

When it comes to displays, HP traditionally offers multiple LCD options with its EliteBook x360 1040. All the monitors are covered with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 (so, better than before) and are equipped with an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust brightness  depending on outside lighting. The higher-end SKUs come equipped with a glossy 4K Ultra HD (3840×2160) screen featuring a 500 nits luminance and covering 100% of the sRGB color gamut. Other premium models feature glossy or anti-glare Full HD (1920×1080) displays with HP’s Sure View privacy screen, and a 700 nits l brightness that can be used even under direct sunlight. As for entry-level models, they are equipped with a glossy or anti-glare Full HD LCDs featuring a 400 nits luminance.

As for multimedia capabilities, the EliteBook x360 1040 G5 packs four four Bang & Olufsen-badged speakers with amplifiers and a microphone array with noise cancellation software capability. Furthermore, the hybrid PC has a Full HD webcam with IR sensors for Windows Hello facial recognition. Obviously, as the EliteBook x360 1040 can operate in both laptop and tablet modes, it integrates an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, and a Hall effect sensor.

Moving on to weight and portability. Like other EliteBooks, the EliteBook x360 1040 G5 comes in CNC-machined aluminum unibody with a fingerprint resistant satin finish. The convertible laptop is 1.69 cm (0.66 inch) thick and weighs around 1.35 kilograms (2.99 lbs), which is around one millimeter thicker and 100 grams heavier when compared to the EliteBook x360 1030 G3 launched earlier this year.

Despite its larger footprint, the EliteBook x360 1040 uses the same 56.2 Wh Li-ion polymer batter as its 13.3-inch predecessor. What is noteworthy is that this battery is now rated for 17 hours of autonomous work based on Mobile Mark 14 benchmark. However it's worth noting that configurations featuring higher-end CPUs and the 700-nits display will have shorter runtimes, especially when the brightness is cranked up. Meanwhile, keep in mind that HP has to balance battery life, portability, reliability, price, and many other factors, so the said battery might be the best it has at hand right now.

HP plans to start sales of its EliteBook x360 1040 G5 convertible later this month at HP.com. Entry-level models will start at $1,499.

Specifications of the HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5
  EliteBook x360 1040 G5
LCD Diagonal 14"
Resolution | Brightness | Features 3840×2160 | 500 cd/m² | Glossy
1920×1080 | 700 cd/m² | SureView | Glossy/Anti-Glare
1920×1080 | 400 cd/m² | SureView | Glossy/Anti-Glare
Color Gamut 100% sRGB
Touch Support Yes
Protective Glass Corning Gorilla Glass 5
CPU Core i7-8650U (4C/8T, 8MB, 1.9/4.2 GHz)
Core i7-8550U (4C/8T, 8 MB, 1.8/4 GHz)
Core i5-8350U (4C/8T, 6 MB, 1.7/3.6 GHz)
Core i5-8250U (4C/8T, 6 MB, 1.6/3.4 GHz)
Graphics UHD Graphics 620 (24 EUs)
RAM 32 GB DDR4-2667
Storage 512 GB - 2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SED SSD
512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SED SSD
256 GB M.2 SATA SED SSD
128 GB M.2 SATA SSD
118 GB Intel Optane M.2 NVMe SSD
Wireless: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LTE, NFC, and GPS options Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2x2) Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.2 Combo, non-vPro

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2x2) Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.2 Combo, vPro

Intel XMM 7360 LTE-Advanced (optional)

HP lt4132 LTE/HSPA+ 4G Mobile Broadband Module Cat 4 (optional)

Intel XMM 7560 LTE-Advanced Pro Cat 16 (optional)

NXP NFC Controller NPC300 I2C NCI (optional)
USB 3.1 2 × TB 3
3.0 2 × Type-A (with charging)
Thunderbolt 2 × TB 3 (for data, DP displays)
Card Reader -
Cameras Front Full HD webcam + IR camera for face authentication
Fingerprint Sensor Yes
Other I/O Microphone, 4 stereo speakers, audio jack, HDMI 1.4
Other Sensors Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, Hall effect sensor, ambient light sensor
Battery 56.2 Wh
Dimensions Width 32.14 cm | 12.65 inches
  Depth 21.5 cm | 8.46 inches
  Thickness 1.69 cm | 0.66 inches
Weight 1.35 kilograms | 2.99 pounds
Launch Price Starting at $1,499

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  • timecop1818 - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - link

    Please tell your boss to make something with:
    3:2 display 3K+ display
    Proper thermals
    MX150/gtx1050/entry level quadro
    13", ~1.3kg
    Keyboard with home/end/pgup/down keys (i.e. keep the current x360 keyboard, dont macfagify it)
    I have x360-13t with 4K screen and everything about it is great except the garbage intel graphics.
  • toomanylogins - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - link

    Why are they sticking with 1.77 aspect ratio. I need a new laptop but as I am longsighted would have to run this at 1080 in order to read. Means the screen is a letterbox. My only options are apple/surface (too expensive) or the matebook x. This whole 1080 screen size is nonsense for productivity.
  • PixyMisa - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - link

    HP does make 3:2 ratio notebooks. I have two of them.
  • WatcherCK - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - link

    the elitebook 840s and 1040s (whatever generation is the latest) X360s (had one of two G4s require a new screen as the digitizer decided to keep resetting to a particular screen position randomly, but replaced under warranty) have been good value so far. I can get them though procurement channels at government pricing which comes in quite a bit under retail, the build quality is excellent especially with staff routinely taking them offsite and subjecting them to bumps and scrapes (CNC body comes in very handy when this happens) the ultraslim docks have for the most part been reliable, I have only had two usb-c charging docks to play with so far and occasionally they can be a little glitchly (i think this could be fixed with a bit more user training on docking procedures)... with the 840 G5 and the ultraslim dock there was a problem with the laptop going into powersave randomly after a minute, this was fixed with a recent BIOS update.

    But yeah, very happy with them so far ... they have held up much better than other fruily flavored laptops (I work in an academic environment where that brand has around 50% client buy in :/) out of 11 mbp touches purchased this year two needed full bottom case replacements (one needed two bottom case replacements!! out of the box and this on a 15" w 16GB/1TB $3k plus machine)...
  • Prestissimo - Friday, October 26, 2018 - link

    I'd like one as a Thinkpad, 80 Wh battery and MX150. Make it happen Lenovo.

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