HP’s EliteBook laptops compete with other high-end devices such as Lenovo’s ThinkPads and Dell’s Latitude line of business laptops. The price of the 14-inch EliteBook 840 G7 with Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD storage starts at 1,074 euros. Although this is a competitive price, it should be noted that this series uses tenth-generation Intel CPUs (Comet Lake), rather than the newer eleventh-generation chips (Tiger Lake). Sleek and well-made, the HP EliteBook 840 G7 is a 14-inch laptop. If you prefer a 13.3-inch screen, a smaller 830 series model is available, but many users will choose the larger 840 model for its relatively small bezels and slim design.
The EliteBook 840 G7 is lightweight and can easily fit into a small backpack. The laptop measures 17.9 mm thick and has a footprint of 323 mm wide by 214 mm deep. The starting weight is 1.33 kg, and the chassis incorporates aluminum in the lid, which we were unable to bend with our hands but feels sturdy. Although the EliteBook line’s distinctive silver finish is eye-catching, we recommend applying a protective case during transport to avoid visible scratches.
Design
The EliteBook 840 is about as sleek and business-class as you can get in a laptop computer, with its elegant silver body. But if you look a little closer, you will notice some details and improvements over previous generations of EliteBook 800 series PCs, some of which have been carried over from the more expensive EliteBook 1000 series, whose products we have long admired. The EliteBook 840 has an all-aluminum body, like its more expensive siblings, and has been anodized for abrasion resistance rather than color, so it should prove quite durable over time.
The company claims that all surfaces, including the keyboard keys, can withstand 1,000 disinfection cycles with common household wipes. In addition, HP tests for stains and fading using substances such as alcohol, crayons, ink, and lipstick. With this iteration, HP has also adopted a more edgy design aesthetic, but not as radical as that of the consumer-facing Specter x360 line. The improvements also bring some usability benefits The keyboard top and display lid now have tapered front edges, making it easier to open the display with a single finger and creating an eye-catching impression of slimness.
Keyboard and Touch pad
The EliteBook’s keyboard, with effective and quiet short-throw keys, is one of its best features. It also offers a nice backlight with three adjustable brightness levels. A less noticeable dark gray dot in the center of the keyboard can be used in place of the trackpad. Although it is not as sensitive as the one on Lenovo laptops, it makes the computer easier to use because the cursor does not move erratically across the screen.
We didn’t use the pointing stick very often, but when we did, it was always up to the task and almost convinced us that it was better than the trackpad. Overall, we had no problems at all. As for the trackpad on the EliteBook, it was easy to use and fairly error-free. It has left and right click buttons at the top and generally accepts clicks on its surface, but not always. When we clicked on one of the pad’s outer corners, the Click Pad occasionally decided to ignore us. Despite this minor flaw, we found the combination of keyboard and trackpad entirely adequate and pleasant to use.
Display
The Full HD IPS display of the HP EliteBook 840 G7 has the product number AUO AUO068B. It has a diagonal size of 14 inches (35.56 cm) and a resolution of 1920 x 1080. In addition, the screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio, a pixel density of 157 ppi, and a pixel pitch of 0.161 x 0.161 mm. When viewed from a distance of at least 56 cm, the screen should have an average brightness of 431 nits (cd/m2) with a maximum variation of 9%.
Compared to the ideal 6500K for sRGB, the correlated color temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is, on average, somewhat warmer at 6400K. If you plan to use the laptop for color-sensitive work, you should not have dE2000 values above 4.0, and this parameter is one of the first to check (maximum tolerance of 2.0). The contrast ratio of 1690:1 is excellent.
Audio
The EliteBook 840’s audio subsystem houses two upward-facing Bang & Olufsen-tuned stereo speakers located on either side of the keyboard. Audio and video playback quality is excellent, with clear, crisp sound and good stereo separation. There is a simple HP programmed audio control that allows you to change presets and tweak the equalizer, but I could not find a good reason to switch from the auto-sensing mode used by default.
The webcam on the EliteBook 840 has a resolution of only 720p, and the quality is passable at best. Compared to most webcams, it has a wider field of view of 86 degrees, which we like. It also boasts Windows Hello facial recognition technology and a privacy shutter that can be manually activated, both very desirable features.
Performance
The Intel Core i7-10810UCPU engine, 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD storage power the EliteBook 840 G7. Our benchmark tests yielded a result of 150, lower than the 249 of last year’s 16-inch MacBook Pro, but performance is still well above expectations and compares favorably with the overall score of 120 achieved by Dell’s most recent XPS 13. The EliteBook performs quickly, which can be attributed to the rather high weight of 1.34 kg.
The weight of the device is probably due to the additional thermal management capabilities HP has given it, which allow the CPU to run for longer periods of time before overheating. In our tests, the 53Wh battery inside the EliteBook lasted 8 hours and 38 minutes, a shorter duration than the 10 hours of HP’s Elite Dragonfly G1 and only a fraction of the 22 hours provided by the rival ASUS ExpertBook B9450F. Nevertheless, the 840 G7 performed excellently in real-world situations, lasting for most of the day even when battery-saving features were turned off.
Battery Life and Heat
HP claims that the long-life 3-cell, 53 WHr battery can last up to 18 hours of movie playback with headphones plugged in. The key factor here is the duration of work without connection, since this is a business-oriented laptop. During our tests, which mainly involved document processing, Web browsing, a little video and some photo editing, we managed to get about 8 hours with the best performance level.
The battery life increased to almost 11 hours with the Better Battery setting. Although the battery life is not what HP claims, it is still more than enough for a typical workday. In case you run out of battery at any time, a quick 30-minute charge will restore about half the battery life.
Final Words
Overall, the EliteBook 840 G7 has minimal flaws. The IPS panel of the HP EliteBook 840 G7 offers Full HD resolution, comfortable viewing angles, high maximum brightness (457 nits) and excellent contrast ratio. It also does not use PWM for brightness adjustment and covers 97% of the sRGB color space. In addition, our gaming and web design profile improves color accuracy in accordance with the sRGB standard. This means that all professionals whose work depends on color accuracy will be satisfied.
