At HP's event in New York City today, the company expressed a goal to "bring the sexy back to workstations." With that in mind, the company unveiled a newly refreshed line of ZBook laptops, including redesigned ZBook 15 and ZBook 17 models. However, the most exciting member of the family is the all-new ZBook Studio, which attempts to take on powerful machines like the MacBook Pro as the first quad-core workstation ultrabook.
The Studio sits in between the refreshed ZBook 15u and ZBooks 15 and 17 in terms of power and features. HP labels it as the "no compromise" option, as it supports Intel Xeon processors as well as Core i5 and i7 processors. It can store up to 2TB of data (with HP Z Turbo Drive G2), which is double that of the most expensive MacBook Pro and Microsoft Surface Book models, and it has up to 32GB of ECC memory. It sports quite a few graphics options as well, including an Nvidia Quadro M1000M with 2GB of dedicated GDDR5, an Intel HD graphics 530 or P530, and an Intel Iris Pro Graph.
The 15.6-inch ultrabook features the same thin and light redesign as the rest of the ZBook series, measuring 18mm thin and weighing 4.4 pounds. This is similar to the MacBook Pro, and that's what HP is hoping people notice. The ZBook Studio may be a workstation, but the company wants customers to admire it for its sleek design and for how conveniently it lets them take all of their work anywhere.
-
The new HP ZBook Studio combines portability with power.
-
It's thin and light, measuring 18mm and weighing 4.4 pounds.
-
It has two Thunderbolt 3 ports for connecting external displays.
-
It also has three USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, and a headphone/mic jack.
-
It can be customized with FHD, UHD, and 4K displays, with the 4K option featuring HP DreamColor technology.
-
The whole line of new ZBooks, including the ZBook 15u, the ZBook Studio, and the ZBook 15 and 17.
The Studio's display can be customized as well, with either FHD, UHD, or 4K resolutions. HP has not fully integrated its DreamColor technology into the 4K display, so you'll get all eight million colors DreamColor displays if you choose the 4K option. The Studio also has two Thunderbolt 3 ports for connecting to external displays, and HP released a Thunderbolt 3-ready docking station that's super small so you can use it in tandem with the Studio.
The dock can also be used with any one of HP's other new ZBooks. The 15u is meant to be the most affordable option (even if it starts at $1,099), with a 15.6-inch FHD display, AMD FirePro professional graphics, and up to 1.5TB of storage and 32GB of ECC memory. The ZBook 15 and ZBook 17 ultrabooks are highly customizable and built for extreme power and use, featuring Intel Core or Xeon processors, up to 64GB ECC memory and 4TB of storage, and DreamColor UHD or FHD touch displays. While they're both thinner and lighter than the previous 15- and 17-inch ZBook models, the real kicker is the improved battery life: HP claims the ZBook 15 has 27 percent more battery life, while the ZBook 17 sees a whopping 67 percent increase in battery life.
The HP ZBook Studio starts at $1,699 and will be available in December along with the $229 Thunderbolt Dock. We'll have to wait a little longer to see the other ZBook family members; the 15u will be available in January starting at $1,099, as will the ZBooks 15 and 17, but pricing for those models has not yet been confirmed.
reader comments
91