HP EliteBook Ultra G1q arrives with high price tag compared to similar OmniBook X

HP has refreshed the EliteBook range with the EliteBook Ultra G1q, a laptop that now sits at the top of its EliteBook commercial portfolio. Please see our dedicated article covering HP's re-branding of its consumer and commercial divisions. With that being said, it seems that the EliteBook Ultra G1q shares all its specifications with the OmniBook X, at least in its launch guise.

Specifically, HP equips the EliteBook Ultra G1q with the same Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 chipset as the OmniBook X, as well as an identical 59 Wh (3-cell) battery. Moreover, the EliteBook Ultra G1q features a 2.2K and 14-inch IPS display that delivers 300 nits peak brightness, just like its OmniBook counterpart. Furthermore, the EliteBook Ultra G1q ships with the same four ports:

• 1x 3.5 mm combo jack 
• 1x USB Type-A (5 Gbps)
• 1x USB Type-C (40 Gbps)
• 1x USB Type-C (10 Gbps)

However, HP installs Windows 11 Pro by default, which is offered at a $69 surcharge for the OmniBook X. On top of that, the EliteBook Ultra G1q contains a Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 modem that supports Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, compared to the MediaTek equivalents inside the OmniBook X. Surprisingly, this decision leaves the EliteBook Ultra G1q operating on older connectivity standards than the OmniBook X, which features Bluetooth 5.3/Wi-Fi 6E or Bluetooth 5.4/Wi-Fi 7 modems.

Conversely, the EliteBook Ultra G1q is marginally smaller than the OmniBook X, albeit only 312.7 x 223.2 x 11.18 mm versus 312.8 x 223.5 x 14.4 mm. Incidentally, Windows Central appears to have been informed that the EliteBook Ultra G1q is 14.4 mm thick like the OmniBook X. HP's technical specifications suggest otherwise, though. Similarly, while Windows Central remarks that the EliteBook Ultra G1q comes with an exclusive White LED (WLED) display with improved power efficiency, HP does not mention this anywhere in its promotional materials. The website adds that the EliteBook Ultra G1q comes with HP Wolf Pro Security, Microsoft Pluton Security and 'various HP management applications' pre-installed too. Nonetheless, this does not justify the $550 surcharge that HP charges for the EliteBook Ultra G1q over the OmniBook X.

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