Well, the HP Elitebook 1040 G4 is here, and there's much to be excited about, as it comes with a full HD touchscreen, a good one at that, a delicious core i7 Intel CPU processor, and long battery life. What else could you ask for? There aren't many cons when it comes to the 14-inch 1040 G4 Ultrabook.. However you should know, it can get pricey, but how pricey is up to you; you know, storage, memory, graphics-that type of thing.

When looking at the aluminum-based Elitebook 1040 G4, you'll notice an ultra matte-looking lid and deck, something that is pretty standard with Ultrabooks. However, when you see it close, it most definitely has a more sleek and silver aluminum glare. Let's just say, it's shiny and reflective enough to look premium. The laptop itself weighs 3.3 lbs, and measures 13 x 9.2 x 0.6 x inches, and comparing to the Dell Latitude 7370, it's a bit heavier, as Dells 13-inch model weighs 2.8 pounds.

Described as an Ultraportable, HP refreshed it's Elitebook line to resemble the Spectre consumer Ultrabooks, and in a way that means, it's more beautiful, and some specs are altered to be more high-end. Although the 14-inch device may not be that much lighter than some devices around its caliber, it's thin enough to fit in a briefcase or laptop backpack without any worry of extra weight to cause annoyance. As far as CPUs, expect a lovely 7th generation Intel chip (although some say that this particular model should be outfitted with 8 generation Intel, as it will be upgradeable soon). Meanwhile, the Intel inside sports the Core-i5 7200U processor, at 2.91GHz, coupled with 8GB to 16GB of memory (also upgradable), and a 512GB SSD. Supported graphics include Intel’s HD 620 GPU, and yep, that’s a good one.

Connections and expansions include quite the adequate ports: two USB 3.1 charging ports, two USB-C 3.1s (one that supports Thunderbolt 3 for speedy connections), an HDMI port, and of course, a headphone and microphone combo jack. There is also, of course, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi via Intel’s dual band wireless-AC 8260, and a Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Edition for its operating system.

Packing a lot of power, it could possibly be on the pricey side compared to other ultra-portable business laptops, but there's not much lacking here in terms of downfalls.This is a very well-rounded Elitebook, from the aluminum and sturdy chassis, to the internal components that are easy to upgrade or replace. As mentioned, 8th generation Intel is available right now, but mostly appearing and desktops and laptops, but this Ultrabook is wonderful for business, but not so much for the average gamer. There's nothing wrong with that, as performance test show great quality, and quick fps. Another wonderful thing, unmentioned thus far, is the battery life, which has been more or less chalked down to 7 hours- at a 50% screen brightness. Although this is not perfection in the laptop battery-life expectancy, the HP Elitebook 1040 G4 manages more than five additional hours of battery time compared to its predecessor. Sure, this isn't one of those notebooks that are clear of any downfalls, however it is solid, and will provide the strong performance and battery life for the average consumer or even business person who relies on these types of specs. Grab it, and go to work, and you will be pleased.