HP has been the go-to brand for business users for a long time, thanks to its sleek designs, excellent security, and overall reliability. And with the market shifting to AI laptops, how could HP stay behind? They’ve brought out their updated 2025 lineup of professional laptops with the EliteBook 8 G1i, and for the most part, it’s a solid pick.
It’s sleek, it’s shiny, and it comes bearing Intel’s next-gen Lunar Lake chip like a badge of futuristic honour. Toss in a gorgeous display, loads of AI magic, and a dash of HP’s signature polish, and you’ve got a machine that practically screams productivity, all while making it look stylish. But flashy specs aside, is it all bark and no byte? Let’s find out.
Table of Contents
Design and Display
From the moment it lands on the desk, the HP EliteBook 8 G1i radiates “I mean business” energy, with just the right dash of flair. The Silver colourway adds a touch of executive class to the mix, making it look right at home in boardrooms or coffee shops. But don’t let the sleek exterior fool you. This laptop is not just about looks. The chassis feels reassuringly solid, offering a premium in-hand feel while keeping the weight down to just around 1.46 kg. That’s featherlight enough to toss into a backpack and forget it’s even there.
HP’s attention to detail is evident across the design. The hinge opens smoothly with one hand and stays sturdy during use, and thanks to MIL-STD 810H certifications, it can handle the occasional knock, bump, or travel mishap without breaking a sweat. Whether it’s perched on a café table or at your work desk, the EliteBook feels like it belongs everywhere.
Then there’s the display: a 14-inch WUXGA IPS touch that’s genuinely easy on the eyes. With up to 800 nits of peak brightness, it handles sunny environments with ease, and the 100% sRGB colour gamut means colour reproduction is vivid enough to bring presentations, spreadsheets, or Netflix binges to life. No, it’s not OLED crisp, but it’s still fantastic by any business laptop standard.
Of course, HP didn’t stop there. The panel also brings some clever tricks to the table, like Onlooker Detection and HP Sure View. If the webcam notices someone lurking behind you, the display automatically blurs to keep prying eyes at bay. It’s a little trigger-happy in open, dynamic environments like ours, but in a traditional office with assigned desks, it’s a real asset for privacy-conscious users.
That being said, there is one issue with the display, which is the resolution. For a price that’s just short of 2 lakh rupees, a 1200p panel is seriously disappointing. It’s 2025, and for that price, anything below 1600p is a bummer. But I guess that’s what you have to give up when you go for a privacy-first display.
Complementing the visuals are the dual stereo speakers, tuned by Poly Studio. For a slim ultrabook, they’re pleasantly surprising. You get clear vocals, a well-balanced soundstage, and enough volume for casual streaming or calls. It won’t replace your Bluetooth speaker or dedicated headphones, but it absolutely gets the job done for a mid-week movie or catching up on Zoom replays.
Ports and Connectivity
When it comes to connectivity, it’s refreshing to see a business laptop that doesn’t immediately send you scrambling for a dongle or adapter the moment you sit down to work. Starting on the left side, the EliteBook 8 G1i packs a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Whether you’re plugging into a second monitor, transferring files at lightning speed, or joining a late-night Zoom call, this side has you covered without compromise.
Swing over to the right, and you’ll find an RJ45 Ethernet jack for rock-solid wired internet, a traditional USB-A port for legacy devices, and another USB-C port that supports both Power Delivery and DisplayPort. That last bit may seem minor, but being able to charge and output display from either side of the laptop is a huge win for cable management and a cleaner workspace. There’s also a SIM card tray placeholder tucked away, although in our review unit, it was just that: a placeholder with no actual slot inside.
But ports aren’t the only place HP’s gone the extra mile. Up top sits a 5MP IR camera that’s genuinely impressive. In fact, during back-to-back video calls, I found myself preferring it over the one on my MacBook Pro, and that’s saying something. The camera delivers crisp visuals, and HP’s tuning, paired with on-device AI smarts, adds a layer of polish that’s immediately noticeable.
Features like automatic framing and background blur via Microsoft Studio Effects work well, and if you want even more control over your appearance, the bundled Poly Camera Pro software offers in-depth tweaks to lighting, angle, and framing.
Rounding out the setup are dual-array microphones, which do a commendable job of capturing voice with clarity. They aren’t revolutionary, but they definitely rank high among built-in laptop mics. It’s clear enough for presentations, calls, and anything else you’d do on Zoom.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Let’s talk about the keyboard, and I’ll be honest right off the bat. If you’re a die-hard fan of deep, clicky feedback and don’t mind a bit of noise while you type, you’ll probably still lean toward a Lenovo ThinkPad. But if you’re after a more balanced typing experience, something that’s comfortable, responsive, and office-appropriate, quiet, the EliteBook 8 G1i strikes a pretty sweet middle ground. It doesn’t go full mush like some chiclet keyboards, nor does it click-clack like a mechanical one.
Instead, it lands somewhere in between, offering a satisfying tactile feel that makes long typing sessions a breeze. HP also throws in a few thoughtful touches. You get handy shortcut keys, a function row that’s actually useful, and an adaptive backlight that adjusts depending on your environment. It’s all practical, intuitive, and refreshingly free of gimmicks. The keyboard is also spill-resistant, which might not seem like a big deal until that one clumsy coffee moment. It’s a little insurance policy built right in.
Tucked neatly in the top-right corner is a fingerprint scanner that works quickly and reliably. Sure, facial recognition via the IR webcam is an option, but if your workplace prefers fingerprint security, or if you’re just someone who likes options, it’s a great inclusion that saves you from having to plug in a third-party device.
Down below, you’ll find a generously sized trackpad that’s equally solid. It’s smooth to the touch, offers excellent tracking accuracy, and handles multi-finger gestures like a champ. There’s no ghosting, no lag, no fuss. It looks clean, feels premium, and simply gets the job done without drawing attention to itself. And honestly, that’s exactly what a good touchpad should do.
Performance
In our benchmark tests, including Cinebench R24, GeekBench, and PCMark, the results were pretty much in line with what you’d expect from a chip focused more on efficiency than raw power. The Ultra 7 268V is a 17W part, and that shows in the performance profile. It pulled in a solid 127 in Cinebench R24’s single-core test, but a more modest 636 in the multi-core run. So while it’s got a good amount of punch for short bursts or lightly threaded tasks, it’s not a multi-threaded beast by any stretch.
To give you some perspective, we compared it with two notable contenders: Dell’s Pro 14 with AMD’s Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, and Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition powered by Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V. In single-core tests, the EliteBook pulled slightly ahead of the Lenovo thanks to the newer 268V chip. However, it did trail behind the AMD-powered Dell in multi-core workloads. That’s no surprise, given the Ryzen chip is rated at 28W, making it more performance-focused by design. But back to team blue, both the Intel chipsets easily outperformed the AMD one in GPU benchmarks, so there’s that.
| Benchmark / Laptop | Dell Pro 14 | HP Elitebook 8 G1i | Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i |
| Cinebench R24 MT | 741 | 636 | 652 |
| Cinebench R24 ST | 110 | 127 | 121 |
| Cinebench R23 MT | 13444 | 11230 | 10027 |
| Cinebench R23 ST | 1862 | 2038 | 1796 |
| PCMark 10 | 6967 | 7456 | 6961 |
| PCMark 10 Extended | 5833 | 7924 | 7420 |
| Geek Bench 6 ST | 2674 | 2858 | 2571 |
| Geek Bench 6 MT | 10678 | 10885 | 11217 |
| Geek Bench OpenCL | 21941 | 31345 | 26752 |
| Geek Bench Vulcan | 24918 | 38511 | 24688 |
| 3DMark Time Spy Extreme | 885 | 2245 | 2094 |
| 3DMark Time Spy | 1906 | 4773 | 4477 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra | 1218 | 2445 | 2029 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme | 2119 | 4603 | 3974 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike | 3809 | 9612 | 9071 |
| 3DMark Night Raid | 15720 | 36884 | 35196 |
That said, benchmarks only tell half the story. In daily use, the EliteBook 8 G1i is quick, responsive, and more than capable of juggling multiple tasks. Web browsing feels snappy, switching between apps is seamless, and having 32GB of RAM means you can leave those Chrome tabs open with zero guilt. This machine feels like it was built for work, and it shows.
Battery Life and Charging
Where it really starts to shine is in battery life. Thanks to the efficiency-first nature of the 268V chip and the smart power management baked into Intel's new Lunar Lake architecture, this laptop stretches its 62Whr battery impressively far. During the PCMark 10 battery loop test, it clocked in at 11 hours and 10 minutes. In day-to-day use, that translates into a full workday's worth of juice, and often more if you're not constantly running video calls or brightness at max.
Charging is equally convenient. The included 65W USB-C adapter is compact enough to toss in a side pocket or laptop sleeve. In our testing, it recharged the battery to about 80% in under an hour, perfect for those in-between meeting top-ups. And thanks to the Lunar Lake platform's improved idle power efficiency, the laptop doesn't bleed battery in sleep mode. So whether you shut the lid at lunch or overnight, you can trust it'll still have charge left when you're back.
Verdict
So, is the HP EliteBook 8 G1i worth it? Well, that depends entirely on what you expect from a premium business laptop. If your day-to-day work demands a machine that's secure, zippy, and quietly futuristic, the EliteBook 8 G1i absolutely delivers. Between its sleek, travel-friendly build, eye-catching display, impressive real-world performance, and AI-driven extras, it ticks nearly every box for professionals living that hybrid or on-the-move lifestyle. For remote workers, corporate road warriors, and anyone looking for a refined Windows machine that doesn't need constant hand-holding, it's a strong contender.
That said, the price is undeniably on the steeper side. For users who just want tight security and decent performance, there are more affordable options within HP's own lineup that still offer features like Wolf Pro Security without the premium polish. Alternatively, there are also more affordable options from other brands if you're shopping on a budget, though they don't offer the finesse of the HP Elitebook. In the end, the EliteBook 8 G1i is for those who don't just want a business laptop, but something that looks sharp, works smarter, and feels like it's already living in the future.
Editor's Rating: 7.5 / 10
Pros:
- Sleek, lightweight design with premium build quality
- Touchscreen display with privacy features
- Smooth everyday performance with on-device AI features
- Excellent keyboard, touchpad, and webcam setup
Cons:
- Expensive
- 1200p display only
- Not ideal for heavy creative workloads
HP EliteBook 8 G1i (BQ9B6PT) Laptop (Core Ultra 7 Series 2 /32 GB/1 TB SSD/Windows 11) Laptop Images
