Tired Of Unreliable Wi-fi? I Tested A 5g Windows Laptop And Can't Go Back

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The EliteBook 6 G1q is presently disposable for $1,382 astatine B&H Photo-Video.
• It's a sleek and battery-efficient laptop pinch tons of ports and 5G connectivity.
• It occupies that mediate crushed wherever a fewer 100 dollars much could get you a substantially much premium laptop.

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HP's EliteBook 6 G1q is an affordable exemplary from its productivity-minded lineup. It features extended connectivity and a marathon artillery successful a bladed and lightweight shape factor. 

Previously known arsenic HP's 600 series, nan EliteBook 6 G1 lineup is disposable successful aggregate RAM and representation configurations, a lightweight shape factor, and either an AMD, Intel, aliases Qualcomm processor; a highly customizable laptop for a wide scope of users.

Also: Why this portable hotspot whitethorn beryllium my favourite recreation gadget of nan year

I went hands-on pinch nan EliteBook G1q (q for Qualcomm), which has nan Snapdragon X Plus chip, 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD. I recovered it to beryllium a tin instrumentality pinch awesome artillery life and a very comfortable keyboard. I'd urge it arsenic a lightweight activity laptop, but location are a fewer concerns. 

The entry-level instrumentality pinch 16GB of representation and a 256GB SSD looks to beryllium aimed astatine users who unrecorded successful nan unreality and worth longevity complete earthy power, while higher-end hardware opens up nan instrumentality for much divers productivity uses.

The middle-of-the-road configuration I tested displays nan capacity you'd expect from a bladed and ray Snapdragon device. It boots up instantaneously, is highly responsive for mundane tasks, and has an businesslike artillery for all-day use.

On nan surface, nan EliteBook 6 G1q is nondescript and commercial, pinch HP's emblematic metallic aluminum build, a grey keyboard, and a utilitarian display. But it besides has an extended action of customizability, up to 64GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and galore show options, including an 800-nit WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS surface astatine nan apical end.

Also: I tested Acer's $299 smart monitor, and it's a tariff-smart action I tin get behind

The exemplary I tested came pinch a WUXGA (1920x1200) IPS show pinch 300 nits of brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate. It's not rather what I'd telephone premium, but it gets nan occupation done for work-related tasks, particularly pinch nan matte decorativeness that mitigates glare well. 

At 3.17 pounds, it's correct astir wherever it should beryllium successful position of portability. It easy slides into a backpack aliases container and lives up to its intended usage lawsuit arsenic a instrumentality for distant and hybrid workers. 

A touchscreen action is available, arsenic are higher resolutions and refresh rates pinch a fewer 100 bucks added onto nan price, but nan upgrades adhd up quickly, approaching value points you'd get for much premium EliteBook models. 

The correct broadside of nan laptop features a fastener slot, ethernet port, USB-A, and nano SIM slot.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

One of nan notable disposable features is nan Snapdragon X72 5G card, which grants nan laptop 5G connectivity, a coagulated action for users who request always-on connectivity successful nan section aliases distant from Wi-Fi. 

The characteristic is enabled pinch a work called HP Go, which uses an eSIM pinch multi-carrier 5G connectivity for $19 a month. It useful by utilizing infrastructure from nan apical 3 US bearer networks, whichever has nan strongest disposable relationship successful nan area. 

This type of work tin beryllium captious for users who request a reliable relationship successful locations pinch unavailable aliases spotty Wi-Fi, but it is much geared toward nan endeavor usage case. That said, for anyone who travels and ends up having to salary for edifice Wi-Fi aliases struggling pinch terrible, unsecure connections, nan $19 a period could beryllium worthy it. 

Also: Is this nan astir promising Chromebook yet? This Acer has specs that almost rival my MacBook

Speaking of endeavor connectivity, this laptop has immoderate beautiful robust I/O, including an HDMI port, 2 USB-Cs, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB-A, a Kensington fastener slot, a microSD, and moreover an Ethernet port. Thus, it's a highly compatible instrumentality that endeavor teams will appreciate.

It's besides an enjoyable laptop to activity on, arsenic nan keyboard is peculiarly nice. I recovered nan large, sticky keys pinch bully cardinal recreation to beryllium responsive and well-designed, isolated from nan Page Up and Page Down buttons adjacent nan arrow keys is simply a cardinal placement prime I'm not a instrumentality of. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

In position of performance, nan EliteBook 6 G1q feels a batch for illustration its Copilot+ PC peers pinch akin hardware. I had nary issues pinch regular tasks during my week pinch this laptop, and I admit its snappy footwear times and beardown expertise to multitask. 

The EliteBook 6 G1q has nan aforesaid 45 TOPS NPU arsenic its X Elite counterpart, qualifying it arsenic an charismatic Copilot+ PC. Local AI tasks should tally smoothly for mundane tasks, for illustration HP's Poly camera pro feature, which is 1 of nan amended AI-powered videoconferencing suites to travel pre-loaded. 

The AI useful pinch aggregate cameras to create overlays and AI-generated backgrounds, but for astir users, it conscionable intends it will automatically set to lighting conditions to amended your beingness connected camera. 

Our benchmarking numbers spot it correct astir its competitors, earning scores successful balanced mode that spot it wherever it theoretically should beryllium successful comparison to higher-end EliteBook models, for illustration nan G1 bid I tested earlier this year. 

Users person nan action to customize nan artillery connected this laptop, pinch a 48Whr aliases 56Whr 3-cell unit, some pinch HP's accelerated charge. Either way, you'll get awesome artillery longevity here. HP says you'll get complete 24 hours of artillery life successful video playback successful balanced mode. In my experience, I made it done 2 afloat workdays of intermittent sustained/idle usage connected 1 charge. 

Also: How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - for free today

One point of statement pinch this laptop is nan power generation, which I was a small amazed to acquisition pinch nan Snapdragon X Plus processor. This besides applies to nan ports: nan near broadside of nan laptop (where nan USB-C ports are located) gets palpably lukewarm erstwhile some are successful use, but not truthful overmuch that it's importantly uncomfortable. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The precocious grade of customization, commercialized build, extended I/O, and 5G connectivity make nan EliteBook 6 G1q a quintessential endeavor PC. The hardware connected committee is expressly geared toward productivity tasks, and nan battery-efficient Snapdragon X rounds retired nan personification experience. 

The show is fine, but thing overly premium. Although nan build is nondescript and corporate, it's sleek and lightweight, pinch a comfortable keyboard and trackpad. If you're looking for a much premium productivity laptop from HP, however, cheque retired nan EliteBook G1a astatine nan apical of nan lineup. 

Also: This HP EliteBook I tested is 1 of nan astir versatile activity laptops of 2025 - and it's connected sale

If you're looking for thing akin successful position of performance, shape factor, and artillery life, cheque retired nan OmniBook X pinch nan Snapdragon X Elite chip, which doesn't person 5G connectivity, but is little than half nan price.