Moving to the HP EliteBook X G2q didn’t feel like switching to something entirely new. It felt more like revisiting the same idea, but with a better understanding of what actually needed fixing.

This is also my first time using a laptop powered by the second generation Snapdragon X series chip, more specifically Snapdragon X2 Elite chip, and the difference is not something that shows up immediately. It shows up in how the laptop behaves over a full workday.

Design and build

The EliteBook X G2q doesn’t try to do anything visually interesting. It sticks to the same understated, enterprise-focused design language, which is expected from this series.

What stands out more is the weight. It is light for a 14-inch laptop, almost to the point where it feels slightly unreal at first. That lightness makes it easy to carry around, especially if you’re constantly moving between meetings or workspaces.

The build itself feels solid. There’s no worrying flex, and it doesn’t feel fragile despite how light it is.

The keyboard is one of the highlights. It offers good feedback and enough travel despite sitting flush with the body. Typing feels natural, and more importantly, consistent over long sessions. It’s one of those keyboards you don’t have to adjust to.

There is, however, something slightly odd with the unit I’ve been using. There’s a small bulge on the keyboard deck. It’s not something you notice while typing, but you do feel it when resting your palm on that area. It doesn’t affect usability directly, but it does stand out once you notice it.

The trackpad is massive. On paper, that sounds great, but in practice, it leads to accidental gestures. There were multiple instances where a two-finger scroll turned into a three-finger gesture, or the cursor moved because my palm slightly brushed the surface while typing. It’s usable, but not always precise.

Display and audio

The display on the EliteBook X G2q is one of those parts that doesn’t immediately stand out, but makes more sense the longer you use it.

HP offers multiple panel options here, including high-resolution LCD and OLED variants. The unit I’ve been using comes with a touchscreen LCD panel with a matte finish, and that choice feels very intentional. Matte finish keeps reflections under control, which makes it much easier to use the laptop in bright environments, whether that’s under office lighting or near a window.

Brightness is also sufficient for most scenarios. It doesn’t try to push extreme numbers, but it stays comfortably usable across different lighting conditions. Colours are neutral rather than overly punchy, which works better for long work sessions where accuracy and comfort matter more than vibrancy. What also helps is consistency. There are no sudden shifts in brightness or colour that distract you while working, and that matters more than peak specs in a business laptop.

On the audio front, the built-in speakers are easily one of the more surprising parts of this laptop.

They are top-firing, which already gives them an advantage in terms of how the sound is projected. Instead of being muffled against a surface, the audio comes directly towards you.

Volume levels are more than sufficient. You can comfortably fill a small room without distortion creeping in, and more importantly, the quality holds up even at higher volumes.

What stands out more is the sense of depth. There is a bit of low-end presence here, not enough to replace external speakers, but enough to add some weight to music and video playback.

Performance and battery

This is where the laptop starts to separate itself from previous ARM-based machines. At first, the Snapdragon X2 Elite chip doesn’t feel very different. The change becomes noticeable once you start using it for longer stretches. Day-to-day tasks such as browsing, writing, multiple tabs, video calls, are handled without any friction. Even when you push it a bit with heavier multitasking, the system doesn’t slow down unpredictably.

What stands out more is consistency. Some of the earlier Snapdragon laptops could feel fast initially but would dip under sustained workloads. That doesn’t happen here as often.

Thermals are handled in a slightly unusual way. The laptop remains extremely quiet, and you rarely hear the fans ramp up, even under sustained workloads.

But the heat doesn’t disappear, it shifts. Instead of building up at the bottom, it concentrates around the keyboard area. You don’t feel it while typing, but resting your palm on the surface makes the warmth noticeable.

This also raises a question about the small bulge on the keyboard deck. It sits roughly in the same area where the heat builds up, which makes you wonder whether it’s a one-off defect or something caused by prolonged thermal exposure.

Battery life is where the biggest improvement shows up. This is easily a full workday machine now. You don’t think about charging it during the day, which wasn’t always the case with earlier Snapdragon laptops. 

The experience

This is also one of the newer Copilot+ PCs, so you get access to Microsoft’s AI features running on the NPU.

Recall is the one that gets the most attention. It creates a searchable timeline of your activity, including apps, files, web pages, and lets you find things later using natural language. It works as intended, but it’s not something that becomes second nature. Most of the time, I still ended up relying on browser history or manual search. It’s useful when you specifically need it, but it doesn’t redefine how you use the laptop.

Click to Do feels more practical. You can interact with on-screen content, text or images, and perform quick actions like summarising or copying. It fits more naturally into day-to-day use, especially when you’re working across multiple documents or tabs.

There are also the usual Copilot+ features like Live Captions, Studio Effects, and image generation tools, all of which run locally using the NPU. These are more situational, but things like background blur, eye contact, and voice focus during calls actually make a noticeable difference in regular usage.

Beyond AI, the laptop comes with several enterprise-grade features. You get hardware-level protections like virtualisation-based threat isolation and tools like HP Wolf Pro Security and Sure Click, which are designed to prevent malicious files or phishing links from affecting the system in the first place.

There’s also a focus on manageability. Features like HP’s Manageability Integration Kit and Workforce Experience Platform are clearly meant for IT teams handling large deployments, not individual users.

Verdict

The HP EliteBook X G2q is clearly built for enterprise users, and it makes more sense when you look at it from that lens. The focus here is on consistency rather than peak performance. The Snapdragon X2 Elite chip delivers a stable, quiet experience, and battery life is strong enough to get through a full workday without concern. That reliability is where this laptop stands out.

There are still a few rough edges. The thermal behaviour is unusual, with heat shifting to the keyboard area, and the oversized trackpad can lead to accidental inputs. That said, for enterprise users who prioritise portability, battery life, and a predictable work machine, this makes a strong case. However, the price is definitely on the higher end.

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  Price: Rs 254,484 (review unit)
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  Starting price: Rs 250,000