HP unveils OmniBook Ultra Flip and EliteBook X "next-gen AI PCs"

HP believes the future of work is an AI PC – and has handily updated its existing lineup to match.

At this year’s HP Imagine Conference, the company unveiled a series of laptops that HP describes as next-gen AI PCs. What does that mean? For a start, each comes with a built-in AI Companion as well newly unveiled AI-powered video conferencing.

Analysts predict AI PCs could kickstart sales and HP clearly thinks the same. It has unveiled a 2-in-1 for “freelancers and creators”, a high-powered laptop for business professionals, and even a workstation solution designed to share GPU resources for data scientists and AI developers.

HP OmniBook Ultra Flip

HP’s OmniBook Ultra Flip 14-inch Next-Gen AI PC is a two-in-one designed for creatives. As its name suggests, it can be used as a laptop or tablet.

The Ultra Flip features a 3K OLED display, 9MP AI camera and HP’s Poly Audio system. But perhaps the biggest news is that it’s powered by an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor. As we detail in our Core Ultra 9 288V review, this should help the OmniBook last a day on battery power.

The HP OmniBook Ultra Flip includes a stylus (image: HP Inc)

It also brings AI skills courtesy of a boosted NPU. Along with a free update to Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC experience, the OmniBook Ultra Flip includes HP’s AI Companion – currently powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o.

There’s also AI-powered gesture technology that lets you scroll with a wave of a hand.

For security, the OmniBook Ultra Flip features HP’s Wolf Security chip and McAfee Smart AI Deepfake Detector to watch for fraud and misinformation.

HP is yet to announce pricing or availability for the Ultra Flip.

HP OmniBook X Ultra Flip photos

HP EliteBook X

Next up is the HP EliteBook X 14-inch Next-Gen AI PC. This laptop is for “tech experts and business consultants” who are working locally as well as in the cloud, HP reckons. That, naturally, means AI – this time from AMD.

“For power users requiring high-performance computing for content creation, data analysis, and AI-driven applications, HP developed a memory architecture with an impressive 8000Mbps on 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM for high-speed AI processing,” the company said.

“The PC also harnesses a next-generation AMD Ryzen Pro processor, enabling up to an industry-leading 55 TOPS of NPU performance for demanding workloads.”

The EliteBook X’s AI-powered webcam isn’t just there to adjust colours and lighting, HP says, but for security too. It has a sensor to spot “prying eyes” where it will automatically blur the screen. It will also dim the display to save battery life if you’re not actively working.

HP says that the Wolf Security system offloads the heavy-duty security tasks to the NPU, keeping the CPU free for productivity.

Pricing is yet to be confirmed but the EliteBook X should go on sale in February 2025.

HP EliteBook X photos

Z by HP Boost

Z by HP Boost shares remote GPU on workstations. The idea is to deliver instant access to GPU resources on demand, letting companies efficiently allocate resources to reduce their reliance on more expensive external cloud resources.

The company said: “Z by HP Boost solves for scarcity by maximising GPU utilisation to deliver secure, scalable, and on-demand performance to meet rising AI demands, enhance productivity, and accelerate development.”

In addition, Z by HP Gen AI Lab – the names are indeed confusing – offers a system for managing trust and model validation, looking to detect and correct bias. Alongside existing data management tools and stack manager, HP aims to make it easier for data scientists to do their work efficiently, the company said.

“With streamlined data management, standardised tools, and integration of trust, HP’s AI creation centre maximises the efficiency and impact of valuable AI,” it claimed.

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