Microsoft’s Panos Panay on Monday gave the confirmation that the company is not planning to replace Surface Pro 4 and release its successive version in near future. But the rapidly growing tech-industry waits for none and comes up with a perfect alternative or may be a better one. So is the case, with the announcement of HP Elite x2 1012 G2 – an updated biz hybrid.
The new model is a successive version of the base Elite x2 with a lot of improvements. The new biz laptop dumps the Intel Core M processor and accommodates the latest 7th-gen Intel Core i7 processor chip with vPro as optional. The x2 1012 G2 comes with double the RAM present in the previous version i.e., 16GB as compared to the previous 8GB.
Kaby Lake over Surface Pro 4’s SkyLake
According to the specs released in the official announcement, HP’s Elite x2 1012 G2 has several high-end specs ahead of Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4. The Microsoft’s flagship laptop has the 6th-generation SkyLake component of the CPUs. While the upcoming HP Elite x2 hybrid laptop sports Kaby Lake processor component; an upgraded version over the SkyLake. Due to the latest Kaby Lake processor, the console advances in battery life and performance; a major plus factor in any PC.
The HP’s Elite x2 laptop comes in four Kaby Lake options- Core i3 7100U and Intel HD Graphics 620 (2.4 GHz, 3MB cache, 2 Cores), Core i5 7200U and Intel HD Graphics (2.5Ghz-3.1Ghz, 3MB cache, 2 Cores), Core i5 7300U and Intel HD Graphics (2.6Ghz-3.5Ghz, 3MB, 2 Cores), Core i7 7600U and Intel HD Graphics 620 (2.8Ghz-3.9Ghz, 4MB cache, 2 Cores).The Elite x2 offers 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage in comparison to 16GB and 256GB in surface Pro 4.
The closest configuration of Surface Pro 4 to the base model of the HP x2 has Intel Core i5 and older HD 520 Graphics. However, the Core-i7 model of the Pro 4 offers very powerful Iris graphics which is not available in the x2.
Specifications:
The HP Elite x2’s newer model comes with almost same 12.3-inch screen size. The screen resolution advances to WQXGA+ – 2736*1824 pixels, from full HD 1920*10180 pixels in the base model. There is a corning gorilla shield to protect the screen. Moreover, the display has a kickstand at the rear which offers 165 degrees of flexible tilt. There is a decent keyboard which supports the business functionalities at a precise level, so as in the base model. The base model keyboard has specialized keys for video conferencing, calendar and presentation functions. However, there are two keyboards available, depending on the model you buy. Also, it has NFC and smart card reader.
The Elite x2 allows you to open up the console for the repairs. That means you don’t have to be a pro to open up and replace an element. However, it obviously does not reduce any replacement cost.
HP Elite x2 Price and Release Date:
The HP elite x2 price will start from $1099 and the company will start shipping from July. There are many up-to-date features in the Notebook which strongly are enough to compete with the ruling surface Pro 4. The hybrid laptop is a perfect notebook that suits the corporate world.
