HP ZBook x2 is well worth ‘serious’ price

Noel Campion says HP ZBook x2 G4 is a powerful, specialised hybrid, priced towards serious creative device users.

The HP ZBook x2 G4 is one of the more unique products I’ve tested — is it a tablet or a laptop? In many ways the ZBook x2 is similar to the Microsoft Surface line — a tablet PC with a detachable keyboard and kickstand.

The ZBook x2’s hardware was specifically designed for a niche audience that primarily use the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of applications.

This would include graphic designers, digital artists, photographers, even video content creators.

The device I got to test seems to have been maxed out with the latest Intel i7-8650U CPU, Nvidia Quadro M620 (2GB), 32GB of RAM, 512GB SSD storage, and a 4K display.

When you first pick up the ZBook x2 you know you’re holding a serious piece of kit. It weighs a hefty 2.25kg including the keyboard. Despite an average sized 14-inch display, the overall dimensions aren’t small, in part thanks to large bezels, but these serve a function by housing useful features.

On the left and the right of the screen are the programmable shortcut keys — six on either side — while on top you’ll find the Windows Hello infrared cameras and webcam.

On the rear is the pull-out kickstand that can be adjusted all the way back to almost flat, making it perfect for drawing on a flat surface like a table. This doesn’t lock into any given position so you can find the ‘just right’ angle to suit you.

The ZBook x2 has an unusual look to it with a gun metal grey finish and the four corners cut off at 45 degrees making it an oblong octagon. The rear surface also has massive air vents and a stylish, shiny Z logo, plus there’s a rear facing camera.

In essence the ZBook x2 is a tablet, but comes with a detachable keyboard that clicks into the base via magnets. When locked, it makes the ZBook look more like a ‘real’ laptop with matching colour and texture.

The base of the keyboard is a black, synthetic-based material that is soft to the touch. The keys are backlit with two levels of illumination, or you can turn it off.

The keyboard contains a battery that has to be charged, albeit rarely, rather than it getting its power from the tablet like the iPad Pro keyboard. Another great feature that you’ll only appreciate if you were to drop the ZBook is that it is MIL-STD 810G tested.

There’s a good selection of ports too. On the right edge are a fingerprint reader, SD card slot, USB 3.0, HDMI 1.4, 1 USB 3.0 (charging), 2 USB 3.1 Type-C Thunderbolt 3 (DisplayPort 1.2), and the standard HP charging jack. On the left are the volume up and down keys and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The 14-inch screen has an interesting matt finish that helps to reduce glare, but more significantly, it makes it a fantastic surface for drawing on, using the supplied stylus, which uses Wacom tech with 4,096 degrees of pressure sensitivity in both tip and eraser.

The screen has a native resolution of 4k UHD and it looks great right out of the box. I love a matt screen because it provides a texture for a stylus to get a bite, preventing it from slipping and sliding when drawing. However, I prefer a glossy display for sharpness and vibrant colours.

The ZBook has what HP calls a DreamColor display, so it can show one billion different colours which means this is a 10-bit display unlike most displays which are 8 bit. This is a critical step in hardware features for those who require accurate colours throughout their workflow.

For the purposes of this review I installed a lot of software, including the full Adobe Creative Cloud suite, which the ZBook was primarily designed for. I mostly used Lightroom Classic CC, Premiere Pro, InDesign, PhotoShop, and a little time in Sketchbook.

The ZBook x2’s stylus feels really comfortable in the hand and I had no issues using it for prolonged periods of time. The pressure sensitivity is great and you can change this using the HP Create panel software. Here, you can also change the hardware shortcuts keys on the sides of the screen.

You can customise these keys for each of the applications you use. One thing I didn’t like about these keys is that they’re not backlit, or a different colour instead of black against a black surround, making it difficult to see which key you’re pressing. Being an avid user of an iPad Pro that doesn’t have an eraser built-in, I liked having one on the ZBook stylus.

I particularly enjoy using PhotoShop for drawing as much as Procreate for iOS but this is in part due to familiarity. However, unlike the Apple Pencil, the ZBook’s stylus never has to be charged. It also comes with a nice rugged carry case with magnetic flap and you can also house it in a flap on the side of the keyboard for safe keeping while on the go.

The keyboard works really well and can be used detached thanks to its bluetooth connectivity. I found this great for scenarios where I needed the functionality of the keyboard but wanted to use the tablet almost flat on a table.

The tactile feel and travel of the keys allowed me to touch type really quickly, making it great for long typing sessions. Although the speakers, like all HP devices, are tuned by Bang & Olufsen, they’re only alright. Those buying the ZBook x2 won’t be using it to watching Netflix on the couch too often so I don’t think it matters too much.

Overall, performance is excellent and you get true workstation security and stability with the ZBook x2. In my benchmarks the hardware performed well but the next wave of i7s with 6 core CPU should offer even better performance, especially for those who intend on using this for video editing.

Performance in Adobe software was good overall, but I did notice lag while drawing in PhotoShop at times depending on brush size and complexity. I loved the stylus for drawing and didn’t see any parallaxing. It’s nice to use in applications like Premiere Pro for fine timeline adjustments or in Lightroom for adjusting sliders.

Battery performance isn’t fantastic and thanks to the physical weight of the ZBook, it’s not an ideal device if you want to use it for sketching on the go.

The 14-inch touch screen is amazing but you’ll have to plug it into a bigger screen to maximise productivity for software that has a lot of windows and pallets.

The HP ZBook x2 G4 is a powerful yet specialised device aimed at creative types, that offers a lot. The stylus is a dream to use and the tablet with detachable keyboard offers incredible flexibility.

Prices starting from €2,824.