HP Elite Dragonfly G3 13.5 laptop review: All-new design and performance

The Dragonfly G3 directly succeeds last year's Dragonfly Max (i.e., the Dragonfly G2) with new hardware from top to bottom. Other than the obvious CPU upgrade from 11th gen Tiger Lake-U to 12th gen Alder Lake-U, the G3 sports a new 3:2 form factor and 13.5-inch display to contrast to older 16:9 13.3-inch design. HP says all the changes collectively cater to a hybrid out-of-home and in-home workforce.
Our review unit comes configured with the Core i7-1265U vPro CPU, 1280p IPS display, 5G WWAN, and 512 GB SSD for approximately $2700 USD. Other configurations are available with the lesser Core i5-1235U up to an OLED touchscreen, but all options come with integrated Iris Xe graphics and at least 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM.
Alternatives to the Dragonfly G3 include other flagship 13-inch office or business laptops like the Dell Latitude 13 7330, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga G1, MSI Summit E13, or the Framework Laptop.
More HP reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
91 % | 08/2022 | HP Elite Dragonfly G3 i7-1265U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 16.3 mm | 13.50" | 1920x1280 | |
89.4 % | 12/2020 | HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.3 kg | 17.2 mm | 13.50" | 1920x1280 | |
86.1 % | 08/2022 | Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p i5-1240P, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 1.2 kg | 15.3 mm | 13.40" | 1920x1200 | |
85.1 % | 07/2022 | Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel i7-1260P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.3 kg | 15.85 mm | 13.50" | 2256x1504 | |
84 % | 08/2021 | HP EliteBook Folio 13.5-3G2L2EA SD 8cx Gen 2 5G, Adreno 680 | 1.3 kg | 16 mm | 13.50" | 1920x1280 | |
87.3 % | 04/2021 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE i7-1160G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 11.5 mm | 13.50" | 2256x1504 |
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1,000 USD/Euros, for University Students, Best Displays
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤6-inch, Camera Smartphones
Case — Strong Base, Weak Lid
The metal chassis remains strong and rigid around the base and keyboard center. The same can't be said about the lid, however, as it twists and flexes as easily as the lids on the LG gram or Samsung Galaxy Book. Applying pressure down the center of the outer lid warps the surface more readily than the lid on a Spectre. The very low weight and lack of any Gorilla Glass reinforcement contribute to the weaker lid of the Dragonfly G3.
It's worth noting that the Dragonfly G3 doesn't come with any of the vibrant color options that the original 2020 launch model offered. The new color options have grown more matte and sterile in comparison. For a series called "Dragonfly", its colors are becoming too similar to a typical EliteBook model.
The new model is longer than the outgoing Dragonfly Max by over 20 mm due to its new 13.5-inch form factor, but it is thankfully not any heavier at 1.2 kg despite the larger volume. Perhaps unsurprisingly, dimensions are almost identical to the recent 13.5-inch Spectre x360 13.5.
Connectivity — Thunderbolt 4 Support
Port options are essentially the same as on the Dragonfly Max but rearranged for the better. The two USB-C ports, for example, are now along on the left and right edges of the laptop instead of only along the right edge to allow for charging on either side of the laptop.
There is no integrated SD card reader yet again as HP is pushing its own wireless QuickDrop software solution. QuickDrop works well enough for smartphones, but dedicated camera users who rely on SD cards remain out of luck.
Communication
An Intel AX211 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. We experienced excellent receive transfer rates when paired to our 6 GHz network, but transmit rates could have been steadier.
An Intel XMM 7560 R+ or 5G 5000 WWAN module are optional. The WWAN module is removable while the WLAN module is not as shown by the images below.
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 | |
HP EliteBook Folio 13.5-3G2L2EA | |
iperf3 receive AX12 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 | |
HP EliteBook Folio 13.5-3G2L2EA | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p |
Webcam — 5 MP Standard
Though last year's Dragonfly Max also shipped with a 5 MP webcam, the one on the Dragonfly G3 is noticeably sharper and brighter overall to be one of the best integrated webcams we've seen on any laptop regardless of screen size. Shutter and IR are both present for privacy and Hello support, respectively.

Maintenance
Accessories and Warranty
There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter and paperwork. A carrying case would have been nice to see similar to what is included with certain Spectre models.
A base one-year limited manufacturer warranty comes standard if purchased in the US. We find this disappointing as the Dragonfly is one of HP's flagship business laptops where a base 3-year warranty is expected. The Dell Latitude 7330, for example, comes with a 3-year warranty at no extra cost.
Input Devices — Bigger Letters, Bigger Clickpad
Keyboard
The typing experience between Spectre and EliteBook/Dragonfly models is nearly identical. If you've typed on a Spectre laptop before, then you'll know what to expect from the Dragonfly G3. Feedback is sharp and with seemingly deeper travel than on the ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2. The cramped Up and Down keys are the perhaps worst part of the keyboard.
If configured with Sure View, the F2 key will have a toggle option for the display. Otherwise, the key will have no secondary function as shown in our picture below.
Touchpad
The clickpad is larger than the clickpad on the Dragonfly Max for easier cursor control (12 x 8 cm vs. 11 x 6.5 cm). Feedback when pressing on the clickpad is shallow but satisfying in spite of the quieter-than-expected clatter.
Display — Lots Of Options
A total of six 13.5-inch display options are available as follows:
- 1920 x 1280, 400 nits, glossy, non-touch, IPS
- 1920 x 1280, 400 nits, glossy, touch, IPS
- 1920 x 1280, 400 nits, matte, touch, IPS
- 1920 x 1280, 1000 nits, Sure View, matte, non-touch, IPS
- 1920 x 1280, 1000 nits, Sure View, matte, touch, IPS
- 3000 x 2000, 400 nits, glossy, touch, OLED
Our measurements below reflect only the configuration above in bold. Interestingly, our unit utilizes a Chi Mei panel instead of the LG Philips panel as found on the 13.5-inch Spectre x360, but core attributes are otherwise nearly the same between them including the full sRGB coverage, high contrast ratio of ~1500:1, and very slow black-white and gray-gray response times. Expect some noticeable ghosting if running any fast-paced games on the Dragonfly G3. Image quality is sharp and vibrant even with the base display option on our review unit. For deeper colors, we suspect that the OLED option can offer full P3 coverage much like on the 2022 Spectre x360 13.5.
Brightness distribution could be better. The bottom left corner of our screen is only 314 nits whereas the top right is 389 nits for a corner-to-corner brightness decrease of 20 percent. Though the difference is not distracting during regular use, we expected better from a high-end laptop such as this.
|
Brightness Distribution: 80 %
Center on Battery: 387.2 cd/m²
Contrast: 1489:1 (Black: 0.26 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.36 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.1, calibrated: 0.63
ΔE Greyscale 3 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
69.9% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
98.3% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
68% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.17
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 Chi Mei CMN13C0, IPS, 1920x1280, 13.50 | HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 LG Philips LGD0663, IPS, 1920x1280, 13.50 | Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p Sharp SHP1548 LQ134N1, IPS, 1920x1200, 13.40 | Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel BOE CQ NE135FBM-N41, IPS, 2256x1504, 13.50 | HP EliteBook Folio 13.5-3G2L2EA LGD0663, IPS, 1920x1280, 13.50 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE LPM135M467, IPS, 2256x1504, 13.50 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | -2% | 1% | 2% | |||
Display P3 Coverage | 68 | 65.8 -3% | 69 1% | 69.9 3% | ||
sRGB Coverage | 98.3 | 98.2 0% | 99 1% | 99.4 1% | ||
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 69.9 | 67.9 -3% | 71 2% | 71.1 2% | ||
Response Times | -18% | 26% | 27% | 18% | 13% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 50.8 ? | 62 ? -22% | 45 ? 11% | 34.7 ? 32% | 44 ? 13% | 53.6 ? -6% |
Response Time Black / White * | 35.2 ? | 39.6 ? -13% | 21 ? 40% | 27.5 ? 22% | 27 ? 23% | 24 ? 32% |
PWM Frequency | ||||||
Screen | -22% | -52% | -13% | -23% | 17% | |
Brightness middle | 387.2 | 443.5 15% | 498 29% | 449.6 16% | 250 -35% | 466 20% |
Brightness | 360 | 394 9% | 460 28% | 431 20% | 226 -37% | 454 26% |
Brightness Distribution | 80 | 78 -2% | 85 6% | 90 13% | 82 3% | 94 18% |
Black Level * | 0.26 | 0.17 35% | 0.53 -104% | 0.31 -19% | 0.215 17% | 0.23 12% |
Contrast | 1489 | 2609 75% | 940 -37% | 1450 -3% | 1163 -22% | 2026 36% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 2.36 | 2.7 -14% | 3.65 -55% | 2.76 -17% | 3.59 -52% | 2.1 11% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 4.79 | 4.36 9% | 7.11 -48% | 7.96 -66% | 5.9 -23% | 4.5 6% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 0.63 | 2.61 -314% | 2.16 -243% | 0.58 8% | ||
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3 | 3.4 -13% | 4.25 -42% | 5.2 -73% | 3.99 -33% | 2.7 10% |
Gamma | 2.17 101% | 2.09 105% | 2.45 90% | 2.23 99% | 2.98 74% | 2.08 106% |
CCT | 6137 106% | 6144 106% | 6690 97% | 6475 100% | 6765 96% | 6210 105% |
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 62.1 | 61.1 | ||||
Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 98.5 | 94.9 | ||||
Total Average (Program / Settings) | -14% /
-17% | -8% /
-29% | 5% /
-4% | -3% /
-15% | 15% /
17% |
* ... smaller is better
The display is decently calibrated out of the box with average grayscale and color deltaE values of 3 and 2.36, respectively. Calibrating the display ourselves would improve average DeltaE values even further to less than one each.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
35.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 18.8 ms rise | |
↘ 16.4 ms fall | ||
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 92 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.9 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
50.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 27.2 ms rise | |
↘ 23.6 ms fall | ||
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 85 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (34.5 ms). |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM not detected | |||
In comparison: 54 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18982 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. |
The base 400-nit screen is just barely viewable under most brightly lit outdoor conditions. HP offers its signature 1000-nit panel as an option for improved outdoor visibility, but these are unfortunately tied to Sure View which may be undesirable for some users.
Performance — Intel 12th Gen
Testing Conditions
Our unit was set to Performance mode via Windows prior to running any benchmarks below. HP Command Center, which comes pre-installed on Spectre and Envy laptops, is not present on the business-centric Dragonfly. Instead, the model comes with HP Programmable Key, Auto Lock and Awake, Tile, QuickDrop, and Audio Controls. We recommend becoming familiar with Programmable Key and Auto Lock and Awake as they have the most useful features for day-to-day work. The latter utilizes IR to automatically sign in or out if it detects a user in front of the camera similar to higher-end Dell Latitude models. A few screenshots of some of the programs are below.
Processor
Of the three laptops we've tested thus far with the Core i7-1265U, our Dragonfly G3 is the slowest by quite the margin. The Core i7-1265U in the Dell Latitude 9430 2-in-1 outperforms our HP by 20 percent and 50 percent in single-threaded and multi-threaded benchmarks, respectively. In fact, the Core i7-1255U in our Spectre x360 13.5 is 40 percent faster than our Core i7-1265U-powered Dragonfly G3 even after accounting for any performance throttling.
Running CineBench R15 xT in a loop reveals limited Turbo Boost potential as CPU performance would drop by about 19 percent after the first loop. The same CPU in the Latitude 7330 is able to maintain higher scores and thus faster performance for longer when subjected to the same loop test as shown by our comparison graph below.
Downgrading to the Core i5-1235U SKU from our Core i7-1265U is expected to impact performance by about 25 percent.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.2 - 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.2 - 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
Performance Rating | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (2619 - 8178, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (12909 - 41649, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (824 - 2183, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (63615 - 67065, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (3105 - 5135, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (6967 - 20804, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (19489 - 42966, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 |
AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (314 - 632, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (1473 - 4376, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (20213 - 47031, n=10) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel |
System Performance
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (5127 - 6330, n=7) | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE |
CrossMark / Overall | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1301 - 1615, n=7) | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 |
CrossMark / Productivity | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1230 - 1586, n=7) | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 |
CrossMark / Creativity | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1413 - 1706, n=7) | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 |
CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1193 - 1521, n=7) | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 |
PCMark 10 Score | 4753 points | |
Help |
AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (40212 - 72204, n=10) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel |
AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (41808 - 69493, n=10) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel |
AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (41382 - 76027, n=10) | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel |
AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 | |
Average Intel Core i7-1265U (74.6 - 112.4, n=10) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i5-1240p | |
HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga G1 20QA001RGE | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel | |
HP Elite Dragonfly G3 |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
HP offers SSD options ranging from 256 GB to 1 TB OPAL2 NVMe. Our specific configuration comes with the 512 GB Micron MTFDKBA512TFH PCIe4 SSD for sequential read and write rates of about 6500 MB/s and 4000 MB/s, respectively. The drive would exhibit no major performance throttling issues when running DiskSpd in a loop.
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The integrated Iris Xe 96 EUs is performing where we expect it to be relative to other laptops with the same GPU. This is great as it means HP didn't artificially throttle graphics performance too heavily, but it's also disappointing as it means users shouldn't expect any significant GPU gains over the last generation Core i7-1165G7 series.