The new HP EliteBook 830 G8 is a great subnotebook with 5G, but you should avoid the SureView panel

To be able to limit viewing angles at the press of a button, so that the person sitting next to you can't see what's on the screen anymore. Something that sounds great especially for public places or trains has been offered by HP for several years now in the form of the SureView technology. However, the technology also has its shortcomings, and there are still problems even after several updates. This is because viewing angles are already significantly more limited than with conventional IPS panels without the SureView technology enabled. As soon as you move past the very narrow sweet spot, you notice a considerable drop in brightness and contrast. Another problem is the brightness itself, since SureView only operates in the range of about 110 cd/m² and lower. Needless to say, this is far too low for bright environments. At the same time, the minimum brightness when SureView is disabled is also limited to 100 cd/m², which can in turn be too bright in dark environments.

When you also take into account the high power consumption, the negative effects of the SureView panel are simply too significant in our eyes. It's better to go for the normal, matte 1080p display here (Low Power, 400 cd/m²), which also offers much longer battery life. And if you need a privacy filter, you can always look for one in an accessories store.

Otherwise, the EliteBook 830 G8 is a very consistent business subnotebook that can convince above all with its quiet and cool operation, the extensive security features, the good input devices, and the good connectivity including 5G. Intel's new Tiger Lake processor is slightly slowed down by the conservative power limits, but performance is definitely sufficient for common office tasks, and if you need more power, there's always the identically built EliteBook 835 G8 with AMD's latest Ryzen 5000 processors. You will only have to sacrifice Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 in that case.

For further information on the EliteBook 830 G8, please refer to our comprehensive review:

• Review of the HP EliteBook 830 G8 (Core i7, SureView)