HP retires ZBook Create series, introduces ZBook Studio G8 with Nvidia RTX A5000 graphics, 11th gen Core i9, per-key RGB lighting, and 120 Hz 4K DreamColor display

HP has unveiled its latest flagship mobile workstation day-and-date with the announcement of Intel's 11th gen Core-H series. The ZBook Studio G8 may look like the ZBook Studio G7 from the outside, but there are significant internal changes to be aware of beyond the usual CPU and GPU updates.

The first major change relates to the Tamper Lock intrusion detection system which will also appear on the ZBook Fury G8 and Firefly G8. Should the bottom panel on any of these laptops be removed, a sensor can be set to trigger protection services such as BitLocker or a real-time locator via Tile.

The second major change is the addition of per-key RGB lighting which is unusual for a mobile workstation. Such a feature is common on high-end gaming laptops, but we suppose there was enough demand for it that there was no reason not to integrate it here. Most other mobile workstations have single-zone white lighting only.

The last change relates to the new Pantone-validated DreamColor 120 Hz 4K display with full DCI-P3 coverage. The 4K display options on the last generation ZBook Studio G7 were limited to 60 Hz which lacks the smoothness and responsiveness of native 120 Hz.

And finally, both Xeon and Core CPUs and GeForce and Quadro-class GPUs will be configurable on the ZBook Studio G8. Previous generations were split into visually identical ZBook Studio and ZBook Create models that differed only in internal processor and graphics options which HP said confused a lot of buyers. The Studio G8 will therefore consolidate the options under one model name.

The 15.6-inch ZBook Studio G8, 15.6-inch Fury G8, and 17.3-inch Fury G8 will all launch on July 2021 while the lesser and more affordable ZBook Power G8 will be available starting next month. HP says they will be working with Intel on ensuring a healthy supply of units at launch as a consequence of the ongoing global shortage of chips.