HP Inc. has unveiled a new set of PCs and peripherals—as well as enhanced remote management functionality—for the hybrid workplace.
Introduced during the HP Amplify Executive Forum event, which takes place today in Palo Alto, Calif., the new notebook, all-in-one, display, and webcam are all designed to help knowledge workers and IT professionals address the unique demands of staying productive and secure both at home and in the office.
“Hybrid challenges are not the same as remote work challenges,” says Guayente Sanmartin, HP’s general manager and global head of commercial systems and displays solutions. “We don’t want to compromise any of our flexibility, and we demand to be able to show up on our own terms, because the future of work with the right tool will make us all happier.”
HP’s newest notebook, the Dragonfly Folio G3, aims to be the right tool for what the company calls “mobile trailblazers.” Equipped with 12th Generation Intel Core processors, up to 32 GB of LPDDR5 memory, and up to 2TB of high-capacity storage, the system features a “pull-forward” display that users can position like a traditional laptop for writing and editing or like a tablet for watching video and inking with the unit’s magnetically attached pen.
“We designed the HP portfolio for hands-on visual collaborative thinkers who love to create, capture, and share ideas wherever they strike,” says Yolanda Rivas, HP’s senior director of commercial notebooks product management.
The device’s 13.5-inch OLED touchscreen display features a 3:2 aspect ratio, blue light filtering technology to prevent eye strain, and HP’s Adaptive Color technology. “This means you can see colors as they should be, regardless of light conditions inside or outside,” Rivas says.
The display also offers automatic screen dimming that lowers the panel’s brightness whenever the user looks away. “When you’re in a conference room looking at the big screen or talking to someone that approaches at your desk, you’re actually conserving battery,” Rivas says.
Collaboration features include AI-based noise filtering, microphones engineered to capture 360-degree sound up to three meters away, and an 8MP camera with a 100-degree field of view. “It gives you even more room to stand up and move,” Rivas notes, and also lets two people appear fully in frame simultaneously. Privacy alert technology enables the camera to hide content when it detects someone looking over the user’s shoulder.
Users can run the device in a “performance mode” that maximizes processing speed, a “quiet mode” that minimizes noise, and a “cool mode” for when the unit’s on their lap. A magnesium base also keeps the device cool, HP says, while a “leatherlike” top cover adds a premium look and feel.
The HP Dragonfly Folio G3 is available immediately for $2,379 and up.
Scheduled to ship next month at a starting price of $2,119, the new HP 34-inch all-in-one supports dual video streams via a pair of movable, magnetically attached 16MP cameras that let users broadcast two video streams at once.
“You can show yourself in your work professionally and seamlessly with a rich multimedia experience that really brings your projects to life,” says Gretchen Irlon, director of education and commercial desktops product management at HP. The manufacturer says the system’s 5K 21×9 WUHD monitor is the first in a commercial AiO with 500 NIT brightness.
In another first, according to HP, the new Z32k G3 4K USB-C monitor features a 31.5-inch IPS Black display with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity.
“A USB-C connection is like a two-lane road, but with Thunderbolt 4 technology, I now have a four-lane highway, allowing for massive amounts of data to flow through,” says Aaron Slessinger, senior director of personal systems displays and docks product planning. The unit provides twice the contrast ratio of a traditional IPS panel, he adds, which means blacks are deeper and richer.
Single Power On technology enables users to switch on both the monitor and their PC at once without opening a laptop’s lid, and a built-in KVM switch lets users daisy chain a second 4K monitor. The system is expected to ship in November at prices yet to be determined.
Available now for $199, the HP 965 4K Streaming Webcam comes with an 18mm F2.0 lens featuring color correction, HDR auto-adjust, an adjustable field of view, automatic low light and back light adjustments, and automatic framing technology that keeps the user’s face in the center of the image.
“If you move your head around, you’re always front and center, so you’re presenting the best version of yourself,” says Ryan Conlon, product manager of PSPO video at HP.
Upgrades to HP’s Proactive Insights remote management platform introduced today include a new BIOS insights dashboard that reports on outdated firmware, provides recommended solutions, and helps administrators create and execute fleet-wise updates. A new device connectivity insights features, meanwhile, helps technicians quickly identify, diagnose, and remediate connectivity issues on both corporate and home networks.
New Windows 11 Readiness Assessment software helps technicians identify compatibility issues in an organization’s PCs, plan and execute refreshes, and track migration progress via customizable dashboards. Some 60% of PCs in use today are incompatible with at least one Windows 11 requirement, according to recent research from Nexthink.
Finally, a new digital experience scorecard in Proactive Insights helps channel pros, IT professionals, and end users quantify device health, performance, and security; monitor trends over time; and benchmark progress versus other anonymous HP customers.
“We believe the IT management model of the future will rely increasingly on telemetry,” says Sumeer Chandra, HP’s general manager and global head of person systems services.
First made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic, remote work has become a permanent fixture on the business landscape. Nearly half of workers will have at least some flexibility in where they work next year, according to a global HP research study. A separate study from Zapier published in May found that 64% of office workers would quit their current job for a fully remote position, and that 32% have quit a job already because working remotely wasn’t an option.
