Verdict
The latest high - end Chromebook to blast for the Google Pixelbook Go ’s crown , the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook ( 2023 ) follow tight , especially at $ 1,000 . It ’s better than the more expensive Windows version too . With a posh design , a great keyboard and more power than you ’ll need . It ’s only battery living that slightly lets the side down .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
in high spirits - final stage Chromebooks are a niche market . The limits of ChromeOS mean you’re able to reach the software program ’s peak with modest hardware . However , devices like the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook are making the subject for lavishness Chromebooks .
The HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook take to fit the flyer . It cost double as much as some of our favourite Chromebooks but is very much a premium laptop with loads of business leader , a great purpose , and a seriously lustrous screen .
It ’s arguably a more exciting proposition than the Windows version of the gadget we also gave gamey kudos to in our recent review . While maintaining a near - very design as its AMD - guide , Microsoft - favor counterpart , on paper , it ’s make a better screen , a more user - friendly keyboard , more connectivity options and the heralded Intel Evo differentiation ( or selling guff depending on how you see it ) .
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With Google ’s own Pixelbook now absent from the market ( and thoroughly drop ) has HP crafted the ultimate spiritual successor ?
However , the question remains . Unless you ’re planning to use virtualisation software to also run Windows or macOS on this computer hardware , should anyone really expend $ 1,000 on a Chromebook ? Let ’s take a feel .
Design and Keyboard
Just like the Windows version , the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is something you ’ll be proud to trounce out of your laptop computer bag .
The bolt - built laptop is a severely attractive auto , with a mat off - white ( “ ceramic white ” ) finish that ’s pleasant to the tactual sensation . It ’s been said that the “ sparking black ” version does n’t do all that much sparkling , but the blanched option does brook out in a crowd . The keyboard is full size and there ’s a magnanimous and antiphonal trackpad . Overall this feels like a very well - proportioned ( 12.4 x 8.7 x 0.7 in ) notebook , but it ’s not the lightest around at 3.33 lb . You ca n’t just throw this in the laptop bag and forget about it .
Unlike many of the other top Chromebooks on the marketplace , such as the ASUS Chromebook CM3 , Chromebook Flip CF5 , and HP ’s own Chromebook 360x , this is a traditionally built motorcar with no acrobatics and no alternative to detach the display .
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Connectivity - wise , there are four USB - nose candy port for charging and link up displays and accessories , all capable of a 40Gbps data transfer rate . That ’s one more than the Windows version . Neither has a headphone jack . Or options for HDMI / USB - A / MicroSD / Ethernet , so it ’s dongle central if you want to utilize those standard . All four port are Thunderbolt 4 ( again an ascent on the Windows variation which offered Thunderbolt 3 at 10Gbps ) . There ’s nowt else to connect devices with and , alas , the 3.5 mm earpiece diddley is among the absentee list for port .
The Chromebook keyboard is already a monolithic win over the Windows version of the Dragonfly Pro . Why ? For the mere reasonableness , it has a normal keyboard without the ill-chosen pillar of hotkeys on the good side , which offer access to a subscription - found HP Care Pack pop the question 24/7 resilient support . That care software package still subsist ( for $ 10.99 a calendar month ) , but it does n’t shift a load of keys over to the left field to annoyingly make its presence know .
The presence of those hotkeys subvert a lovely full - sized keyboard with bouncy keys and reassure travel as well as a satisfying click . There are none of those shortcoming here and the small letter key markings are an attractive touch too .
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The keyboard has RGB backlighting but is n’t inherently pitch towards gaming ( cloud or otherwise ) . On the Google Store product Sir Frederick Handley Page , Google vaunt it ’s the first Chromebook to have an RGB keyboard on a “ non - gaming ” Chromebook . Of course , there is cloud gaming you’re able to love , plus the joys of the Android catalog on the Google Play Store , which the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook has no problem with handling .
The keyboard is line by a pair of speakers from Bang & Olufsen that sit on either side of the paint rather than above . There ’s also plenty of room to pillow your wrists on either side of the trackpad and , overall , it ’s a really endearing typewriting experience .
Display and Sound
The Dragonfly Pro Chromebook has a wild screen that outgo the alternate Windows selection . The 14 - inch diagonal touchscreen presentation is seriously shiny . In fact , at 1,200 nits , the IPS - free-base display is evidently the brightest display ever witnessed on a Chromebook and we ’ve visit nothing to disprove that .
Indeed , it almost blew my eyeball out when I turned up the brightness to max for the first fourth dimension , but thankfully there ’s an ambient light sensor to control the cleverness matches the environs . You ’ll only ever need to max out those nits in the brightest sunshine when trying to check an episode of Game of Thrones Season 8 when the producers forgot to bring the lighting swindle .
The QHD+ resolution of 2560 x 1600 ( compared to FHD+ on the Windows framework that ’s $ 400 more expensive ) within a 16:10 aspect ratio is plenty for the legal age of Chromebook experiences . you may see HD video ‘ til your heart ’s message there ’s a unanimous pixel denseness for editing pics .
Speaking of getting in on a pixel - by - pixel level , the showing ’s multi - touch functionality works well for zooming in on pic and scroll WWW content as well as playing touchscreen game like Alto ’s Odyssey downloaded from the endless choice on the Google Play Store . The trackpad add up in handy there too . Unlike many Chromebooks we test , it ’s not a convertible and there ’s no fancy flipping action mechanism with the flexible joint to make more use of that touch screen in dissimilar configurations .
study it ’s the same toll as the2020 Samsung Galaxy Chromebook OLED , which not only had higher-ranking display technology and 4 K resolution , but also had that pliant 3 - in-1 flexible joint and an included stylus , you might be entitled to expect a piffling more for the cost distributor point .
The webcam above the presentation is also better than the Windows version of the laptop computer . Here it ’s 8MP ( compared to 5 on the W11 reading ) , with a twain of mics . The double clarity for video call is very good . I could even see case-by-case stubble hairs , which may or may not be a good thing calculate on who you ’re zooming with .
We mentioned those Bang & Olufsen stereophony loudspeaker and they ’re actually really nice with good detachment of the audio channels . The strait is detailed with a sure amount of nuance , and affectionate with plenty of discernable sea bass when not pushed too far towards what is a very ( and amazingly ) gaudy top volume . It gets unpleasant above two - thirds volume . The sound also deteriorates when the laptop computer is lifted off a flat aerofoil as the bumper beneath the laptop seem to absorb some of the abrasive elements .
Performance
The HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is powered by Intel and has the Evo recording label attached , which means it meets a sure number for New productivity laptop and has passed what Intel says are thousands of actual - globe tests . Those criteria touch on to fast Wi - Fi , all - daytime battery life , soft syncing with a smartphone and top - mountain pass video calling ( with setting fuzz and stochasticity cancellation ) .
Top - mountain pass carrying out is also a dedicate and here there ’s a twelfth - propagation essence i5 processor on board ( 10 magnetic core , 12 ribbon ) . It ’s clocked at 3.67GHz and reached those speeds consistently during C.P.U. diagnostics tests within the ChromeOS . It has the ability to reach 4.4GHz in turbo manner . This laptop also has 16 GB of DDR5 RAM and 256 GB of SSD computer memory . Again , quite far beyond the Chromebook ’s traditional remit .
Unless you ’re doing some serious , serious multitasking this power is credibly more than you ’ll ever require for a Chromebook , which has traditionally been focalize around web apps . Some of the more demanding gambling experience might put it to the tryout .
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Benchmarking Chromebook execution and compare result with Windows models are elusive , as few of the major examination apps have a native option for ChromeOS . Running on ChromeOS , the Android adaptation of Geekbench 6 make 1659/5117 for single / multi - core execution .
At least in multicore tests , that ’s slightly below the AMD Ryzen 7 power Windows version ( 1679 / 7145 ) , but three times high than some of our favoured options in theBest Chromebooksguide .
The small lover is enshroud away at the display hinge and it does n’t really take much to get that sports fan a - fanning . Just did some modest entanglement browsing while the laptop was resting on a pillow on my lap . It also receive quite warm on the undersurface in those circumstances . However , there are two quite pronounced bumper running the width of the equipment to prevent surface contact when on a desk .
Battery Life
The advertised battery life is up to 11.5 hours , which fulfils the Intel Evo criteria of all - day battery life . However , the proof of the pudding is the eating … and the feeding sound out this was n’t quite enough to keep us fully sated throughout a foresightful workplace day .
As has often been the case with premium Chromebooks , the barrage life drainage due to all that power and a topnotch brilliant display can permit the side down . Around two hours of web browsing and text file existence and a short Spotify playback , with the display at 75 % brightness and with the keyboard backlit , cost us 28 % of bombardment life .
However , when the brightness was lower to around 25 % capacity , we were able-bodied to leave a YouTube TV at 1080p running for a little over ten hour before the bombardment conked out . That was running no other tasks at all though .
So , the show brightness play a immense role here , so keep that in mind to stretch where potential . you could be a little more stinting by turning off the RGB backlighting too . You do n’t necessarily require to be stint to persist in stemma with the advertised bombardment life and , even so , this Chromebook does n’t top the 12.5 half hours we eked from the Windows - equipped HP Dragonfly Pro during received utilization .
Charging the laptop was exceedingly speedy though . Thanks to the speedy charge technical school we were able to get up to 50 % battery life in just 30 moment and then back up to full strength in 75 minutes with the palpebra closed and the gimmick in hibernation mode .
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Should you buy it?
There are cheaper , well - performing models available but , if you want your OS of option to be coupled with the nicest laptop experience possible , you ’re in luck .
you may get a undecomposed Chromebook for half the terms of the HP Dragonfly Pro . Also , the absence of a earpiece jack might be felt .
Final Thoughts
The HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook ( 2023 ) is an first-class entry into the high - end ChromeOS stake and , in term of the display , keyboard and port options , it ’s better than the Windows 11 version of the twist which cost $ 400 more .
I loved the design and build quality , the keyboard is a joy to typewrite on , the display is extremely bright and performs well and all the king you ’ll require for most ChromeOS - based undertaking is powerful here .
$ 1,000 on a Chromebook is always eye - fostering , considering the traditional remission of these automobile , but the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook depart a long path towards absolve the price rag and the excess expenditure over some of the other example around . Only the battery life let it down .
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If you ’re after something more affordable , consider the £ 399/$399Acer Chromebook Spin 513or , if you desire some sumptuousness and longsighted shelling life , look for a deal on the still excellent , but now a few year old , Google Pixelbook Go .
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How we test
Every laptop computer we go over go through a series of undifferentiated confirmation design to approximate primal things include body-build quality , performance , screen quality and barrage spirit .
These let in formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted test , plus a series of real - Earth checks , such as how well it runs democratic apps .
FAQs
Unfortunately not . This is a traditional laptop pattern with a touchscreen , but it only has a unmarried contour .
Yes , there is multitouch capability .
Yes , there ’s access to the Google Play Store here .
Full Specs
Test Data
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