HP announced new EliteBook laptops, Z workstations, and OMEN gaming desktops at its HP Imagine 2026 event held last week. Here’s what to expect in terms of the new hardware announced.
HP EliteBook Series
HP updates its EliteBook lineup with its new on-device AI assistant called HP IQ, starting with the EliteBook X G2 lineup. To summarize, it’s a chatbot tuned for office use, with features focusing on analyzing documents, note-taking, and meeting features. It’s also got its own version of cross-platform file-sharing called HP NearSense (which utilizes Device-to-Device Interoperability or D2DI), along with future support of inter-device operability for its other products.
As for the hardware, the EliteBook 6 G2q laptop features a range of Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Plus processors, with a thinner chassis compared to the previous generation and optional 5G connectivity. Tagging alongside the new EliteBook 6 laptop is the new EliteBook 8 G2 series, ProBook 4 G2 Series (including ProBook 4 Flip G2i), and EliteDesk 8 G2 series desktops; availability is expected to begin starting April onwards.
Z Workstations
HP also introduced a new generation of Z workstations, starting with the new Z8 Fury G6i desktop workstation – this new system supports up to four NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q (300W blower form factor) GPUs and “next-generation Intel processors” (presumably Intel Xeon W series). There is a unique feature in the chassis where HP developed a special “Max Side Panel” (also applicable to Z4 G6i Desktop) that increases internal capacity by 15% to fit larger GPUs while maintaining thermal performance.
In the mobile workstation category, HP expanded its portfolio with the ZBook X G2i, ZBook 8 G2i, and ZBook 8 G2a, featuring Intel and AMD processors; in particular, the new ZBook X is claimed as “world’s most powerful 16-inch mainstream mobile workstation.” (In case you looked at its footnotes – just don’t ask HP why only an Intel Core Ultra H-series CPU can qualify under this metric.) Anyhow, you’ll find RTX PRO 3000 Blackwell GPU (equivalent to RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU) onboard alongside the Intel chip on this model, as well as 128GB of RAM.
HyperX OMEN Gaming Desktops
For gaming, the newly-rebranded HyperX OMEN will introduce two new desktop PCs in OMEN MAX 45L and OMEN 35L. The OMEN MAX 45L supports up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics, with up to 128GB DDR5 RAM configurable. The new chassis also features an updated “Cryo Chamber” dual-chamber cooling system, along with a modular 1200W power supply, improved cable routing, and tool-less designs.
As for the smaller OMEN 35L, it also gets the same Intel processor option, albeit GPU options are limited to RTX 5080 at the top end. This chassis sticks to a more conventional layout as opposed to its 45L sibling, and HP noted that both desktop PCs use standard HyperX parts where possible to maintain future upgradability. Availability-wise, they’ll be available starting this May, though no pricing information has been published at this time.
Pokdepinion: I wonder if the idea of expanding chassis can be applied to gaming desktops somehow.
