OPPO Pad SE Matte Display Edition - Easy on the Eye

I've said it before; I've never been much of a tablet guy. It's not because I don't like them, it's more because I own other devices that do what a tablet does.

Why would I read on a tablet when I have an eReader?

Why would I stream my shows on a tablet when I have a 65" TV?

Why would I answer my messages on a tablet when I have a smart phone?

And why would I surf the web and game on a tablet when I have a laptop?

But then, perhaps I'm asking the wrong questions.

Perhaps I should be asking, what if one tablet could do all those things, almost as well?

The OPPO Pad SE is a great looking piece of tech, straight out of the box. The two-tone Twilight Blue rear panel highlights the 5MP rear camera while there's another 5MP selfie-cam around the front. I'll talk about photo and video quality shortly but first I wanted to point out both these cameras are in the right place; in the middle of the top edge.

And by "top" edge, I mean one of the long edges, not one of the short ones. For too long, too many tablets have been designed as though they were merely giant phones, tall and skinny - not wide like any normal person would use them for most tasks, in landscape.

Which brings me to what I think is the OPPO Pad SE's finest feature; its screen. Now, this isn't some shiny, fancy-pancy 144Hz OLED display like you might find on some high-end gaming monitors but it's still got a lot going for it. For starters, it's not shiny at all. Quite the opposite. In fact, OPPO claims this extremely matte screen "cuts up to 97% of light interference" (whatever that could possibly mean) and I love it. If you've ever tried to use a laptop or tablet outdoors or under bright lights, you'll know the more shiny the screen, the harder it is to see.

With the Pad SE, OPPO has done something remarkable and given us about the least-reflective display possible. This means it's actually pleasant to read my eBooks on. It's an interesting aspect ratio too - 19:10 - so not as stubby as a 3:2 screen but more versatile than 19:6.

Actually, at over 11-inches, you get a lot of screen real estate in a fairly compact format.

Combine all that with decent brightness and good, immersive sound from the quad-speaker array, and not only is this a great device for reading books, magazines and papers with, it's an excellent way to stream your favourite shows or to pass the time with a game or two.

I was also impressed to discover the Pad SE is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.4 codec - that means excellent range and an almost lag-free connection with compatible earbuds or headphones - again, leading to a more immersive viewing experience.

I can't stress enough how refreshing it is to be able to watch xenomorphs hunt down their human prey in the latest episode of Alien: Earth, even though the action happens in the dark while I'm sitting in glaring daylight.

One of the Pad SE's weaker areas is sheer power. Although ColorOS is up there with my favourite Android-based user interfaces, my ability to use it to its full effect is hampered slightly with just 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. You're not likely to be editing any blockbuster 3D features with this device, although I found the MediaTek Helio G100 chip to be reliable enough, if a little sluggish when launching certain apps.

You might think at just 5MP, neither camera is going to win any photography awards either. But over the years I've learned not to underestimate OPPO's ability to punch above its weight in the camera department. I found the forward-facing shooter to be more than adequate for online meetings and video uploads while pics from the rear sensor don't look half bad either. Like this one of my accomodating dog model...

Battery life is another standout feature for the Pad SE. The 9,340mAh battery is a large cell by anyone's standard. I've found a full charge lasts all day easily, whatever I'm doing. What's more, you get 33W SuperVOOC fast charging for quick top-ups, although there's no brick in the box - only a cable.

At just NZ$499.00, I think the Pad SE represents excellent value. It performs reliably, if not at breakneck speeds, it goes above and beyond with its battery life and the no-glare screen is one of my new favourite things in tech. If you're the kind of person who likes to curl up in a sunny spot with a book, now you can do that with a tablet too.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the OPPO Pad SE Matte Display Edition.

JBL Sense Lite - I Never Expected to Love These Like I Do

I'm an ANC guy.

No noise for me, no how, no way.

I want to listen to what I'm listening to and the rest of the world can just carry on without me.

When it comes to earbuds, I need a nice tight seal for effective passive noise cancellation and then I need a chip with an algorithm that samples the background and kills it dead.

Ironically, this obsession with noise reduction isn't even so I can get the most out my favourite playlists. Truth be told, I tend to listen to more podcasts than music. But when you only have two or three people talking, there's a lot of space for unwanted aural distractions to sneak in.

So one thing's for sure, I've never been a fan of so-called "open-fit" earbuds. I get that they might be more comfortable - but at what price? Bad sound? What's the point?

The moment I started listening with the JBL Sense Lite buds, everything I thought I knew about true-wireless headphones went out the window.

Lets start with the comfort thing. These may well be the most comfortable earbuds I've ever worn. There's no twisting or bending required, no need to change out ear tips to find the right size. The cunningly crafted hook design is perfectly balanced so there's no way to not place them in exactly the right position. And that's right where they'll stay, with the speakers close to - but not inside - the ear canal, regardless of how rigorously you may be exercising, running, cycling, gardening... whatever.

The Sense Lite buds are IP54-rated against water and dust - so not submergible but definitely impervious to rain and dirt.

This kind of over-ear, hook form factor often means a large, thick, unwieldy charging case but again, here JBL has paid plenty of attention to designing something slim, light and pocketable. Unfortunately, the case doesn't charge wirelessly, which is usually a red-line requirement for me. The exception to that rule comes if the device in question offers enduring battery life. With JBL Sense Lite you get up to 8 hours continuous playback with another 24 in the case. That means I've been using them for a week and the LED indicator is still only down to two-thirds. I think I can live with plug-in charging for battery performance like that - especially when a mere ten minutes via USB-C will be good for another three hours listening.

With no ANC to worry about, setup is simple. You'll get a Fast-Pair prompt on compatible phones and you can connect simultaneously to two devices at once. As you'd expect, EQ and control customisations can be made through the JBL Headphones app. Bluetooth 5.4 means exceptional range and reliability. It also means a very lag-free experience when using the Sense Lites to watch video or to game with.

But enough of those boring details. Let me try and make it clear to you how unbelievably good these things sound. Because of the open-ear fit, yes, you'll hear most of what's going on around you; traffic, machinery, conversations etc. Despite that, those ambient noises don't intrude like they do when you choose Ambient Aware mode on other noise cancelling earbuds. Instead, the Sense Lites rely on something JBL calls "OpenSound Technology" to beam what you're listening to, directly into your ears with surprisingly little leakage to anyone around you.

Peter Gabriel is one of those artists who's kind of next-level when it comes to production standards. "Digging In the Dirt" is one of my favourite tracks of his - a sleazy, grimy, maybe even psychotic journey through sound, featuring a raft of clever guitar effects, chunky synth and electronic drum riffs that layer up and down throughout the song. The Sense Lite buds absolutely do this track justice, precisely placing each element left, right, up or down just as Gabriel intended.

"Send My Love" by Adele starts small, over a muted acoustic guitar, then swells for the chorus. But even from the first few lines, her uniquely powerful pipes resonate around my head, almost as though I'm listening to her sing from inside my own brain.

Somehow, JBL achieves all this with a couple of 18x11mm drivers that aren't even really in my ears; merely suspended next to them. Whatever "JBL OpenSound Technology" is, it works.

There are also two beamforming mics built into each bud tuned to capture your voice amazingly clearly for calls or video - as I demonstrate in the video below. Just as I thought wind noise would be a major issue when listening to the Sense Lites, I assumed the mics would catch plenty of wind when outside too. However, there's another algorithm to tackle wind noise and the whole physical design is about keeping the mic feed clean and clear. I've certainly had no complaints from anyone on the other end of the line.

No complaints from me either. And I honestly can't believe it. These things are so comfortable, I forget I'm wearing them. I don't have to take them off to have a conversation, I just press pause and can hear the other person perfectly clearly. Battery life is exceptional and the sound quality is right up there.

Who would have thought it?

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the JBL Sense Lite.

360PRO Travel Water Flosser - Boost Your Smile Power on the Go

Don't forget to floss. The classic piece of advice.

Well guess what? We're not forgetting, we're choosing not to. It's a hassle. And let's be honest, it's kind of gross.

But you know what's more gross? Bad breath. Tooth decay. Gum disease.

Enter the gadget; the water flosser.

In much the same way that water blasting your driveway is more fun than scrubbing it by hand, turns out water blasting your teeth is a lot more exciting than running a bit of string between each one.

What's more, unless I use the exact right kind of floss, I'm prone to having it fray between my chompers, meaning I then need to use another bit to get bits of the first bit out.

Worse still - trying to get it to unstick from my fingers and into the rubbish bin. What is it with dental floss that you think you've shaken it off and then there it is, still stuck to your hand?

Not for me.

No wonder I became an instant convert, water flossing at least once a day, like a good boy.

Trouble is, sometimes you want that fresh, food-scrap-free mouth feeling when you're out and about. Or at work. And especially when you're away.

Well wouldn't you just know it? The same people who make my trusty plug-in water flosser have now got a new gadget for me.

The 360PRO Travel Water Flosser takes everything I love about my 360PRO plug-in model and essentially manages to fit it all in my pocket - well... just about.

It really is very compact - the main reason being 360PRO's ingenious extendable design. When not in use, the Travel Water Flosser simply slides down into its own water tank, which essentially means it's about half as long as it would be otherwise.

There's a USB-C charging cable included in the box, with the charging port covered by a watertight cap when not plugged in. I'd like to be able to tell you how long a single charge lasts but it's been two weeks of using it at least once a day and I haven't had to recharge it yet.

Another silicone lid covers the hole used for filling the flosser. The water tank only holds 150ml - as opposed to the 200ml tank on the bulkier 360PRO Cordless and the generous 600ml tank on the 360PRO Plug-In. I've found 150ml is about enough to clean either the inside or outside of my teeth but I need to refill to do the whole job - no biggie; you just flip that cap, fill and go again.

For cleaning purposes, you can unclip the tank off the bottom altogether, giving you full access to inside of the tank and the intake tube.

The controls are simple enough. Unlike the Plug-In, which has a knob for variable pressure selection, the Travel Water Flosser has two buttons - one to cycle between Pulse, Low and High pressure, the other for on and off. Easy.

The whole device is IPX7 rated for use over the sink or in the shower, so you don't have to worry about the buttons getting wet or and its oval shape feels comfortable and secure in the hand.

Wait -  did I mention it's black? That's what has always made 360PRO so cool - why does everything have to be white or brightly coloured just because it lives in the bathroom? Black? Obviously it's black. We're kiwis. We love black.

It also ships with quite a selection of heads; two regular jet tips, one for tongue cleaning, a periodontal brush for problem teeth and an orthodontic head specifically for braces, bridges and other tricky add-ons that can be a real nightmare to keep clean. But my favourite head is the plaque removal tip, a stiff, four-pronged brush that really leaves you with that post-hygienist fresh feeling.

Appropriate, given 360PRO worked in close consultation with real dentists when settling on a design. There's nothing like that just-been-flossed-and-brushed sensation and the Tavel Water Flosser is so compact, you can have that feeling whenever and wherever you like.

There's even a simple, soft travel case to keep everything in. Pop it in your bag, purse, satchel or suitcase and you'll never be caught out, desperately hunting for a toothpick.

Technically, the 360PRO Travel Water Flosser isn't capable of blasting between your teeth with quite as much pressure as the Plug-In can - but I've been using it exclusively for a while now and I haven't noticed any lack of cleaning power. If anything, I've probably ended up with a better result because I've been using it more often.

Ideally, you'd have the Plug-In in your bathroom and the Travel version on the road with you - and to be honest, at just NZ$99.00, adding the Travel Water Flosser to your defence against tooth decay really isn't all that extravagant.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the 360PRO Tavel Water Flosser.

Thermomix TM7 - A Smarter Way to Cook

I hate, hate, HATE cooking.

Which is unfortunate, because I'm in charge of making dinner weeknights.

To be honest, the actual cooking part doesn't bother me too much - other than fiddly, time-consuming things like grating and standing there stirring - no, the worst part of being in charge of the evening meal is having to decide what that evening meal will be.

As popular as they are, I can't make my famous fresh fish tacos every night, especially at this time of year when my barbecue is essentially underwater.

So I call on you now, great technology gods! Please provide me with a week's worth of dinner inspiration! And if possible, could you prepare it and cook it for me as well?

Turns out, all I needed was the TM7 (the latest Thermomix) and a subscription to Cookidoo.

Now don't be embarrassed if you've never heard of Thermomix and have no idea what it is - I didn't either, until I was invited to celebrate the launch of the TM7 in New Zealand. Not only did I get to eat some Thermomixed creations for dinner, with zero training I was also able to create my own gourmet strawberry dessert in about five minutes flat.

To break it down, the TM7 essentially looks like a big, black blender, sitting on base with a 10-inch touch screen on the front.

It also comes with a Varoma - which looks a bit like a plastic roasting dish - a simmering basket, a butterfly whisk and the coolest spatula I've ever used.

But first things first. Vorwerk, the German company that makes Thermomix, has been coming up with clever ways to cook for over 140 years. In 1971 it decided to try mixing, chopping and cooking in the same device and Thermomix was born.

Today's TM7 is the ultimate refinement of that concept. If you want perfect mushroom risotto every time, this is the device that takes the guesswork out of the equation. When you first enquire about the TM7, you'll be matched with a personal consultant to talk you through the details.

My consultant, Lauren, turned up with the TM7 and a recipe for that very risotto - but it wasn't in a book. You see, not only is Thermomix a shining example of German precision engineering, it's also teamed up with a guided cooking app called Cookidoo. I suppose Cookidoo is a kind of digital cookbook - one with over 100,000 recipes inside.

The great thing about a digital cookbook is you can access it anywhere, anytime on your phone, tablet or PC. Cookidoo lets you search for recipes by ingredients, styles or courses and when you find something you like the look of, you can add it to your own collection of recipes for easy reference. Then you can plan your week's meals, even creating a shopping list of all ingredients required.

All of this is mirrored on the screen of the TM7 of course - when you turn it on (once you've registered and logged in) you'll be met with today's recipe all cued up and ready to begin. From there you'll be guided through every step of the recipe - and I mean every step. Because not only does the TM7 mix, grate, chop, knead, stir, cook, boil and steam - it also acts as a set of scales, weighing every ingredient as you add it, be it solid or liquid.

Now although I'm a fan of risotto, I've never even considered making it myself. Too many variables. Too many steps that have to be done "just right." Lauren the consultant soon showed me there's really no way to get it wrong with the TM7. Precisely measured ingredients mixed and cooked for exactly the right durations means success is virtually guaranteed every time.

If you're anything like me, you really don't like potentially messy (and smelly) tasks like grating parmesan and chopping onions. The TM7 takes care of all this, once you've weighed in the exact amount - all of which is represented on screen with a "digital twin" showing you the current state of where you're at in the recipe.

This makes every step so foolproof - right down to basic instructions like putting the lid on the mixing bowl or resting the Veroma (steaming dish) on top of that. The interactive recipe won't let you carry on until you complete each step - unless you manually decide to skip something, of course.

Cooking times are equally precise - and the mixing bowl will light up red when the contents are hot, although you won't feel that from the outside; it's very well insulated.

I then proceeded to impress my family with Stuffed Jacket Potatoes (two ways) and a delicious prawn curry.

Although I expected every recipe to be a cook-in-the-TM7 only scenario, I was surprised to discover many Cookidoo creations utilise other cooking methods as well. Sometimes the TM7 is only used for the sauce or the dressing for something that can only really be cooked with the barbecue or on the stove.

Or in the case of my Classic Meatloaf (another first for me and another hit with the fam) everything was chopped and mixed in the TM7 but obviously the loaf needed to be cooked in a tin in the oven.

As I've become more confident with how the TM7 works, I've been able to customise recipes - perhaps adjusting the number of servings or swapping out certain ingredients. I've also learned to use the TM7 as an add-on sometimes, not always the main event. For example, last night I wanted to combine some steamed broccolini with my bowl of roast veggies and grilled haloumi. Much easier to steam using the TM7 than faff about boiling a pot of water and getting another steamer pot dirty too.

Of course, there's a pre-clean function once you're finished with the TM7 mixing bowl and almost everything is dishwasher-safe, so cleanup is pretty straightforward.

Let's focus on the Thermomix spatula for a moment, because like the TM7 itself, it's a miracle of ingenious design and is a joy to use. You're not that likely to stir what's in the mixing bowl with the spatula, there'll be specific speed setting for the precision steel blades to take care of that. Instead, the soft but durable edges of the spatula are ideal for scraping off the sides of the bowl and it also has a special hook on the back edge for lifting out the simmering basket. So clever.

Even more clever; you can stand the spatula on its back or on its end to avoid getting a sticky mess all over your bench top.

As idiot-proof as the TM7 appears, some idiots are capable of extreme uselessness and I have had the odd failure. My Chicken and Avocado Risoni salad was supposed to be my Thermomix masterpiece, utilising almost every aspect of the TM7's abilities to serve up a real crowdpleaser. I thought this recipe was particularly clever, creating a tasty broth in the mixing bowl to steam seasoned chicken pieces in the Varoma, then adding the risoni to the broth to cook at the same time. I was firing on all cylinders.

I mean, just check out the result...

Looks amazing, right? Unfortunately, I hadn't taken something very important into account - I'd added extra chicken... but hadn't extended the cooking time accordingly. Alas, this error wasn't discovered until Domestic Manager found an almost raw piece on the end of her fork. Whoops. I'm happy (and relieved) to report, no family members were harmed in the consumption of this meal.

Luckily, I redeemed myself a few days later with the pumpkin and rosemary bread you can watch me make in the video below. And I'm quietly confident about tonight's Beef Rendang.

Oh by the way, Cookidoo features plenty of desserts and cocktails as well. Who doesn't want the perfect frozen margarita every time?

So that's my Thermomix-led culinary journey to date, more or less. It really is ingenious how it takes care of every step of your meal-prep, from cutting, grating, mixing or kneading through to cooking, steaming and boiling. But perhaps the most helpful aspect is the thousands of recipes at my fingertips courtesy of Cookidoo. It's now rare I get to the end of the day without some inspiration on what to cook.

Admittedly, there are plenty of cooking apps out there and I could probably use the other appliances and cookware I already own to achieve similar results but the Thermomix method is so much more streamlined and integrated, from recipe selection to shopping list to cooking up the final product.

It's a luxury though; the TM7 will set you back NZ$2,849.00 and the Cookidoo subscription is only free for the first three months. On the other hand, as I've explained, you are getting a hell of a lot of German precision technology and a Lauren of your own. She just texted me some more meal suggestions last night. I love Lauren. Everybody should have one.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Thermomix TM7.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (2025) - Minor Upgrade. Great Watch

Despite the pressure for tech manufacturers to update their products at least once a year, it's not compulsory. In fact, when you think about it, it's not even realistic.

Imagine coming up with something so ground-breaking, so innovative and so desirable it becomes one of the most coveted devices of 2024.

Now imagine being told you need to do it again 12 months later.

Why?

Has the competition suddenly replicated every design element? Every feature? Every function of the software?

Of course not.

I assume that's what Samsung was thinking when it unveiled the 2025 Galaxy Watch Ultra.

That's right. This year's Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra looks exactly the same as the 2024 version. Its the same size and weight. It has the same processor and even the same battery. 

Bearing in mind it's a very powerful processor for a watch and that battery will last more than two days, even if you're using all the features - up to 100 hours in power saving mode.

For once, Samsung has literally said, "If it ain't broke..." and you'd be hard-pushed to break this device of course. Titanium casing. Sapphire Crystal glass. Components cushioned against impact. This is the watch that meets so many military standards, it's not just water and dust-proof but also height, depth, heat, cold and pressure-proof. 

I don't ever want to be anywhere where it's minus 20° - or positive 55° for that matter. I doubt that I'll ever find myself 9000 metres up or 100 metres underwater - but it's good to know if I ever do, I'll still be able to tell the time and measure my stress levels. I imagine they'll be pretty high.

This is the watch that can track everything; your skin temperature, your blood pressure - even your heart-rate variation while you sleep.

Not to mention dozens of sports and exercises, including full dual-frequency GPS for accurate navigation and the ability to retrace your steps.

None of that is new. Doesn't mean it's not still pretty awesome.

And it's not like there are no differences at all.

The 2025 Galaxy Watch Ultra now comes in Titanium Blue, in addition to last year's choices of Titanium White, Titanium Grey and Titanium Silver.

And the new model has twice the built-in storage - 64GB rather than 32GB.

And that seems to literally be it.

Not that it isn't great to have another colour to choose from and if you're going to have phone-sized storage on a smartwatch, this is the one to have it on. That's because the Galaxy Watch Ultra is probably the most suited of any watch to be worn out and about without its paired phone.

The durability and good battery life are part of the reason but also the fact its large display makes tasks like replying to messages more practical. Most importantly, you can activate an eSIM on the Galaxy Watch Ultra so you can use it to its full functionality, even when you leave your phone at home.

That means you can load your favourite playlist or podcasts onto that 64GB, pair directly with earbuds or headphones and take your phone out of the equation while you're out and about heli ski-ing, base jumping or setting land speed records in the desert. All that sort of thing.

Obviously, all the sport and exercise tracking I've covered off numerous times before just keeps getting better and better - with significant improvements to the running coach options. But it's the enhancements and additions Samsung has made to health tracking that have really captured my attention.

By calibrating with a third-party blood pressure cuff, the Galaxy Watch Ultra can then keep an eye on things for you. Combine that with skin temperature readings, Heart Rate Variability during sleep and now the ability to measure vascular load - you'll receive plenty of warning if there's an uncharacteristic change you might want to consult a doctor about.

You can now even measure your antioxidant index based on the level of carotenoids in your skin. This is a somewhat cumbersome process though, as you have to take the watch off and press your thumb against the BioActive sensor, while following instructions from the Health app on your phone. Newsflash; I'm not eating enough fruit and veggies.

Perhaps the most depressing thing about reviewing a new Galaxy Watch is the results that appear in the Samsung Health app from my sleep tracking. The fast charging and good battery life of the Ultra make it a practical sleep tracker, although being such a large watch, some users may find it too bulky to wear comfortably all night. I've also had some negative feedback from the other person in the bed due to bright light leaking from the BioActive Sensor pressed against my wrist.

Combine that with my horrendous snoring and it's a miracle she puts up with me.

I can't argue about the snoring either - between the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the S24 Ultra phone I have it paired with, the evidence is there for everyone to see - and hear. Not only do I know I snored for 1h 22m last night, I can select from any of the ten recordings that were made to hear exactly how earsplitting it was.

I also know I'm spending too much time awake during the night (probably because of someone snoring) and that I'm not getting enough deep sleep.

On the bright side, my Sleep Latency is excellent. That's the length of time it takes me to fall asleep. I mean, I'm really tired.

So I've been assigned a sleep animal. I'm a shark, apparently. Sounds pretty cool but it turns out sharks never stop moving and as a "Shark Sleeper" I'm not getting enough total sleep time, I tend to wake up at night and I have inconsistent sleep times from day to day.

The frustrating thing about sleep tracking with the Galaxy Watch Ultra is I can take all the coaching advice it has to offer - the fact is, I do a job that requires me to get up at 2:50AM and I can't seem to get the Samsung Health app to take that into account.

Essentially, Samsung keeps finding new ways to tell my how unhealthy my lifestyle choices are. It sums all this up in an Energy Score at the start of each day, with some advice on what I can do to improve the next day's score.

For example, during the week when I get less sleep, my Energy Score tends to be fairly low and my watch tends to suggest I reduce my activity and up my rest. If only.

No wonder my AGE index is so high. Not my age - my level of Advanced Glycation End products. I think this means my body is older than it should be.

Unfortunately, I can't just press a button on the Galaxy Watch Ultra and magically fix all these worrying measurements - not even the "Quick" shortcut button can do that, although I do have it set to instantly commence my Outdoor Walk workout which happens to coincide with when the dog requires his daily constitutional.

However, forewarned is forearmed and now it's my challenge to see if I can influence some of the stats my watch has presented me with - more useful information than any other smartwatch I've worn to date. Maybe one day I'll no longer be a shark and I'll have morphed into a hedgehog, or perhaps even a walrus instead.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Watch (2025).

HP EliteBook Ultra G1i - Ticking All the Boxes

I don't really know why it is but some devices just wow you from the moment you take them out of the box.

In fact, in the case of the HP EliteBook Ultra G1i, I wasn't even sure it was IN the box to start with.

It's actually not the lightest laptop in town - although at just 1.19kg, it's pretty light - especially for a device with a full 14-inch display. But when I picked up the box in the mail room, I wondered if they'd left something out. Like the 65W power adapter. Or the computer.

However, once I got it home and pulled it out I saw what I had here was a very classy - yet quite understated - piece of tech.

The HP EliteBook Ultra G1i has been manufactured in an "Atmospheric Blue" metal chassis and because of its spacious 14-inch, 16:10 display, there's plenty of room on the opposite half for a full-sized keyboard, including a complete set of function keys, and a touchpad that's about the size of a basketball court.

Okay, slight exaggeration there - but it's pretty big, which means you can be very accurate with your cursor placement on screen. Given the fact that it's a touch screen too, you might not even feel the need to pair a mouse with this device.

While we're talking accessories, I was most impressed to discover three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports at my disposal, all capable of 40Gbps transfer speeds, all DisplayPort 2.1 for connecting external displays and all able to be used for USB power delivery. The best thing about that is there are two on the right side and one on the left, which makes things far more convenient when it comes to plugging into different setups - be they at work, at home or on the road.

There's also a USB-A slot - one of those sneaky pull-down ones that keeps the design as slim as possible.

That's a lot. And I hadn't even turned it on yet.

After setting the HP EliteBook Ultra G1i up, the first thing I was pleased to see is the 9MP camera set into the slim top bezel is Windows Hello enabled - so not only can you log in using the fingerprint sensor under the power key but you can do it very quickly and reliably via facial recognition too.

This is a Copilot+ PC of course, so you can access all the AI options Microsoft has to offer but there's a lot of HP-specific software pre-installed too. Whether you consider this to be "bloatware" comes down to how useful you find utilities like HP Assistant and Wolf Security Suite. Some users are irritated by how many of these apps double-up on certain tasks Windows was already taking care of but I've always considered the HP tools to be the best way to keep your drivers up to date - relying solely on Microsoft to keep an eye on 3rd-party updates can be somewhat time-delayed.

You'll certainly want to check out the pre-installed Poly Camera Pro to access enhanced video settings for the camera - there are a few extra tweaks available here on top of what Windows Studio Effects has to offer. You can virtually adjust lighting and skin tone and even take a screen grab of your usual office background to use if you're joining an online meeting from somewhere else but you don't want to let on where.

Video quality is top rate as is mic quality - although you may want to tweak the settings here too to get the best out of the dual mic array.

The 2.8K OLED display is simply sublime. Sure, this kind of panel is slightly more reflective than other IPS options might be but I'll take that in order to enjoy more vivid colours and popping contrast. This is also an HDR-capable display - just like a flash telly - and you can calibrate the HDR settings to your preference.

The HP EliteBook Ultra G1i is one of the best laptops I've used for just plain old streaming - be it Netflix or Apple TV+, everything looks bright, clear and has genuine depth to it, enhanced even further by the quad stereo speaker system, tuned by Poly Audio

Battery life is one area where I was somewhat underwhelmed. Until quite recently I'd grown to expect the worst from Windows laptops when it comes to battery life but that all started to change with the introduction of more efficient chips, especially from AMD and even more recently, Qualcomm. Suddenly, you could literally leave your charging brick at home, with enough charge to see you through a whole working day.

The HP EliteBook Ultra G1i will probably get you through too - but only just. And it depends greatly on what you're doing. For instance, while playing the new release of Grounded 2, I watched the battery percentage gurgle down the plughole pretty quickly.

But HP never suggested this was a gaming rig. It's a business rig and the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V chip was born to deliver where it matters; multiple windows running different apps simultaneously - including documents, presentations and browser windows. And because it's an Intel chip, I haven't experienced any of the compatibility issues that seem to pop up with other systems, especially Qualcomm-based ones.

What we've got here is not a beast; it's a thoroughbred. 32GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage might seem like overkill but with a machine like this, it's more like future-proofing. And it means you can access all the AI tools you need (be they pre-installed or otherwise) without missing a beat. Physically, the HP EliteBook Ultra G1i looks exactly like the high-end business tool it's proven to be. Using the well-spaced and responsive keyboard and touchpad is a joy and the mic and camera setup brings an instant professional edge to your online meetings and videos.

And as for the 14-inch touch display, I couldn't really ask for more.

This laptop really does mean business.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the HP EliteBook Ultra G1i.