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HP ZBook x2: A Detachable Workstation For Creatives Share This on LinkedIn   Share This on Google   Tweet This   Forward This

18 October 2017

At Adobe MAX today, HP introduced its ZBook x2, a detachable workstation designed for "artists, designers and digital imaging professionals that need to push Adobe Creative Cloud and other professional applications to the limit." In fact every ZBook will include the Creative Cloud desktop manager and a 20 percent discount on a Creative Cloud one-year subscription.

ZBook x2. Detachable screen, stylus, Creative Cloud subscription.

"As the world's most powerful detachable PC for digital creatives, there is no device better suited to turn the vision of artists and designers into reality," said Xavier Garcia, vice president and general manager, HP Z Workstations, HP Inc. "With the HP ZBook x2 we are delivering the perfect tool to accelerate the creative process -- with unprecedented performance and natural ease-of-use. This device will make it easier than ever for creators to do what they do best -- bring inspiring new ideas to life and enrich the world around us."

During a recent briefing, HP talked about the ZBook as a functional combination iPad/MacBook Pro with 70 percent better graphics performance than the most powerful Microsoft Surface.

Presenters made a point of highlighting features requested by creatives, whom they consulted for the product design. Those included a unique anti-glare screen with 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color space, a battery-free stylus, a keyboard that functions when detached from the screen, GPU hardware acceleration and more.

HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights of the ZBook include:

Details. Mouse over or tap for captions.


  • An aluminum and die-cast magnesium body starting at just 3.64 pounds and 14.6mm thin in tablet mode
  • A 14-inch diagonal, chemically-etched anti-glare, 4K HP DreamColor multi-touch color display calibrated to 100 percent of Adobe RGB
  • Quad-core Intel Core processors
  • Up to 32-GB RAM, twice the memory of any other detachable PC
  • NVIDIA Quadro Graphics that deliver 73 percent higher graphics performance compared to the Surface Pro
  • A quiet, dual-fan active cooling system
  • A pressure-sensitive stylus based on Wacom EMR technology that never needs to be charged
  • Application-aware, physical shortcut keys providing 18 shortcuts per application with presets for Photoshop, Lightroom and Illustrator
  • Full-size Bluetooth keyboard that functions when detached
  • 50 percent recharge in half an hour

Particularly of interest to photographers are:

  • SD card reader
  • Two Thunderbolt ports for external storage
  • Support for up to 2-TB of internal storage

FOUR MODES

The ZBook operates in one of four modes:

  • In laptop mode, the it's a powerful mobile workstation with a keyboard leveraged from the HP ZBook Studio.
  • In inking/sketching mode, it operates with HP's most accurate and expressive pen and, using a full-sized, detachable Bluetooth-enabled keyboard, allows creatives to use the keyboard for shortcut key.
  • In docked mode, the HP ZBook x2 can power two additional 4K displays or five total displays.
  • In tablet mode, it maintains full graphics performance allowing users to capture ideas with powerful NVIDIA 3D graphics.

PRICE, AVAILABILITY

HP said the ZBook x2 will be available in December starting at $1,749. For more information see the datasheet and the news release below.

HP Unveils World's Most Powerful Detachable PC for Digital Creatives

HP ZBook x2 PC Allows Designers to Unleash the Power of Adobe Creative Cloud and Other Professional Applications

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Today at Adobe MAX, HP will showcase the world's most powerful detachable PC designed to solve the performance and mobility needs of artists, designers and digital imaging professionals that need to push Adobe Creative Cloud and other professional applications to the limit. The performance of the HP ZBook x2 the world's first detachable workstation, increases productivity and allows digital creators and storytellers the freedom to work when and where inspiration strikes.

HP's reinvention of detachable PCs began earlier this year with the introduction of the HP Spectre x2 and the HP Elite x2. Today's introduction of the HP ZBook x2 completes HP's trifecta with its most powerful detachable solution targeted for the creative community. With this new offering, HP is extending its PC leadership by pioneering a new era for detachable PCs that offer superb performance, elegance and efficiency.

"As the world's most powerful detachable PC for digital creatives, there is no device better suited to turn the vision of artists and designers into reality," said Xavier Garcia, vice president and general manager, HP Z Workstations, HP Inc. "With the HP ZBook x2 we are delivering the perfect tool to accelerate the creative process -- with unprecedented performance and natural ease-of-use. This device will make it easier than ever for creators to do what they do best -- bring inspiring new ideas to life and enrich the world around us."

Liberating Digital Creativity

The HP ZBook x2 allows designers to effortlessly create with quad-core Intel Core processors, twice the memory of any other detachable PC3 and NVIDIA Quadro Graphics that deliver 73 percent higher graphics performance compared to the Surface Pro4. A quiet, dual-fan active cooling system is designed to dissipate heat from the powerful graphics card and processor. To better meet the needs of the creative community, including Adobe users, HP also developed customizable, application-aware HP Quick Keys, to provide artists with critical 18 time-saving shortcuts.

"At Adobe, our goal is to accelerate creativity. Creative Cloud is the platform that enables us to deliver powerful innovation in our apps and cloud-based services supported by Adobe Sensei with artificial intelligence at the heart of every customer experience," said Mala Sharma, vice president and general manager, Creative Cloud Product, Marketing and Community. "Adobe is thrilled with our collaboration with HP, which we know will further fuel creativity and give Creative Cloud members more power and freedom to create wherever inspiration strikes."

Today, many creative professionals use multiple devices such as a MacBook Pro plus an iPad to accomplish the same tasks that can be done on the HP ZBook x2. Knowing that ultimate mobility is important, HP created a single device that delivers the same performance capabilities from inking to docked mode.

HP's most versatile detachable to date, the HP ZBook x2 operates in four modes: laptop, inking/sketching, docked and tablet.

  • In laptop mode, the HP ZBook x2 is a powerful mobile workstation with a keyboard leveraged from the HP ZBook Studio.
  • In inking/sketching mode, it operates with HP's most accurate and expressive pen and, using a full-sized, detachable Bluetooth-enabled keyboard, allows creatives to use the keyboard for shortcut key.
  • In docked mode, the HP ZBook x2 can power two additional 4K displays or five total displays.
  • In tablet mode, it maintains full graphics performance allowing users to capture ideas with powerful NVIDIA 3D graphics.

Using HP's most accurate and natural pen with the HP ZBook x2 users can create without interruption as the pen never needs to be charged. The battery-less, HP-designed pen based on Wacom EMR technology, responds instantly to every nuance of the artist's hand for natural motion. The HP ZBook x2 offers 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity with multi-directional tilt capabilities and includes a dedicated eraser.

As a member of the world's most secure and manageable mobile workstation family, the HP ZBook x2 features HP Sure Start Gen311 for BIOS protection, TPM 2.0 for hardware-based encryption to secure credentials, secure authentication methods through the Smart Card Reader and HP's Client Security Suite Gen312 to protect data, device and identity, including facial recognition and fingerprint reader.

Highlights

The HP ZBook x2 embodies the intersection of mobility and performance in a fully-machined, aluminum and die-cast magnesium body starting at just 3.64 pounds and 14.6mm thin when in tablet mode and 4.78 pounds and 20.3mm in laptop mode. The HP ZBook x2 has a stunning 14-inch diagonal, 4K HP DreamColor multi-touch and offers a one-billion color display calibrated to 100 percent of Adobe RGB. The HP ZBook x2 has the world's most advanced detachable PC display and includes an anti-glare touchscreen allowing users to immerse themselves while working in any lighting condition. At the desk, it can power dual 4K displays from the HP ZBook Dock with Thunderbolt.

This detachable PC has up to 10 hours of battery life for maximum productivity and ultra-fast recharge (50 percent in just 30 minutes). The HP ZBook x2 offers up to 4.2 GHz of IntelTurbo Boost, 32-GB RAM over dual channels for more responsiveness under heavier workloads like complex layering in Photoshop. The model's HP Z Turbo Drive storage is up to 6x faster than SATA SSD and up to 21x faster than traditional HDD storage. The HP ZBook x2 offers up to 2 TB of local PCIe storage and incorporates a full-sized SD card slot, perfect for professional photographers. Using the dock or Thunderbolt 3 ports on the HP ZBook x2 it can transfer large files from cameras, external storage, phones and other peripherals.

Designed to go anywhere and handle the toughest workloads, the HP ZBook x2 mobile workstation is designed to pass MIL-STD 810-GB testing. The HP ZBook x2 also undergoes dozens of tests for certification and optimized performance with the industry's leading software providers like Adobe and Autodesk.

Pricing and Availability

HP ZBook x2 is scheduled for availability in December starting at $1,749. The datasheet is available here.


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