CheckMag | Like magic: The HP Dimension with Google Beam makes me excited like a child again

Technology has sadly become boring - not to me, I can get excited about new laptops every day, but to many other people. And even I can not deny that some sparkle has been lost over the years, as first PCs then smartphones have just become normal and being digital and online the rule, not the exciting exception that promised a brighter future.

Thus, my expectations were not sky-high when HP invited me to their HP Imagine 2026 event in New York. After all, what could they possible show? New laptops, of course, and I am excited by those, as well as new AI features, something that has become a very saturated topic very quickly.  What I did not expect was something that would make me go: Wow.

That something was there, however. Neither the laptops nor the AI features did it, though: It was a huge communication device with the name HP Dimension, powered by Google Beam.

HP Dimension with Google Beam: Just...magic

What it is is essentially a huge 3D screen that has an array of cameras around it, as well as two microphones on a connected table. Users can sit in front of said table to have video calls - video calls that actually seem like the person you are talking to is sitting right in front of you.

I talked with a woman, who was sitting in Texas. It was just like she was right in front of me, and when she was holding an apple, it felt like I could almost go ahead to just grab it. The image was crisp and of course, 3D, with a flawless sound quality

Transparency: HP has paid for the travel expenses of the author and food while attending the HP Imagine 2026 event. There was no obligation to publish.

It is something hard to describe and even harder to show. HP did not allow the journalists who tried it to take pictures, but they probably would not do it justice, anyway. It is just something you have to experience to understand.

HP says that the Dimension is meant for one-on-one video calls, and sees it used by executives and for things like job interviews. However, I think that this technology has a far greater potential, if HP can just figure out how to bring it into the world. Maybe they just should put them in public spaces, allowing people to call their loved ones with it who may use it at another location - like a public pay-phone, but far more advanced.

This is a technology that makes me excited again - excited for a future where tech seems like pure magic once more.