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The New HP ZBook Firefly G8 Targets Photographers Using Macbooks

Chris Gampat
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12/07/2020
4 Mins read
ZBook Firefly 15_Front (2)

Last Updated on 12/07/2020 by Chris Gampat

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Every time I hear about laptops targeting creatives, I get really excited. The new HP ZBook Firefly G8 seems to be targeted Macbook users pretty hard. Specifically, in their press release, they claim the weight of their 14-inch variant to be around that of a MacBook Pro 13″! That’s impressive. As a working journalist, I’ve always preferred 13-inch laptops. But I’m very intrigued if I can get more real estate for the same weight.

Here are some specs they’re touting in the press release:

  • Keep remote workers productive. Get improved performance with new NVIDIA T500 professional graphics, featuring 4 GB GDDR6 VRAM, and up to 3X graphics performance over the previous generation21, and 2.6x better performance than the Dell Precision 355022 – pull up schematics or designs and get the job done from anywhere, even while multi-tasking with conferencing or web applications. Additionally, be more productive while using multiple applications like video conferencing, web browsing, and streaming.
  • ZCentral Remote Boost brings users a revolutionary way to collaborate by taking advantage of remote access to even more powerful desktop workstations at the office.23 The real-time collaboration capability of this solution allows collaboration across teams and applications remotely with almost any device.
  • Enjoy a true color digital canvas with a DreamColor19 display boasting a billion on-screen colors20 with world-class visual fidelity. Creators will have confidence in their colors as new PANTONE® Validated displays meet Pantone’s color fidelity criteria in the simulation of the full range of real-world PANTONE Colors.

We don’t have pricing info yet for the HP ZBook Firefly G8 14 or 15-inch laptops. But we’re supposed to get them later on this month when the products hit the market. Here are some more stats:

HP ZBook Firefly G8 14 Inch

  • Starting at 2.99 lbs
  • 5G internet
  • 11th i7 or i5 Intel Core processors
  • NVIDIA T500 graphics
  • 32GB and 64GF RAM configurations
  • 256GB with up to 2TB PCIe in one configuration
  • 1080 display
  • 100% DCI-P3 coverage and HDR capabilities
  • Windows 10 pre-installed
  • 4.7 GHz
  • Made with recycled ocean-bound plastics, recycled aluminum, and no plastic in the packaging. 
  • Rubber domes on the keyboard
  • Ambient light sensing backlit keyboard
  • Thunderbolt 4
  • 170-degree clamshell design
  • 720p HD camera
  • A claim of 14 hours of battery life
  • HP Quick Drop, which is like their version of Apple’s Airdrop.

HP ZBook Firefly G8 15 Inch

  • Starting at 3.78 lbs
  • 5G internet
  • Privacy screen
  • 11th gen Intel core processors
  • NVIDIA T500 graphics
  • Made with recycled ocean-bound plastics, recycled aluminum, and no plastic in the packaging. 
  • Up to 4.7 GHz
  • Rubber domes on the keyboard
  • Ambient light sensing backlit keyboard
  • Thunderbolt 4
  • 1080 display, but there’s a 4K UHD version
  • 170-degree clamshell design
  • 720p HD camera
  • A claim of 14 hours of battery life
  • HP Quick Drop, which is like their version of Apple’s Airdrop.

Right off the bat, I’m scratching my head a bit with the features and ergonomics. I’ve been using Apple computers since college. And it’s challenging to tear me away from them. But I also have a gaming PC in my office that I use a lot more than I should. Right off the bat, I like the slightly off-center touchpad. It’s like HP wants to cater to MacBook Pro users. It immediately tells you to ignore the keypad to the right. However, I wish more laptop makers just put the keypad below the rest of the keyboard interface. That would mean that it’s potentially out of the way.

The HP ZBook Firefly G8 laptops have traditional USB ports and USB-C ports. The 14 and 15-inch variants have different numbers of them. There’s also a headphone/microphone jack. Additionally, it boasts a power button and an HDMI port. With this laptop, you can hook it up to a second monitor and use it as such. That’s something I used to do but stopped a long time ago. But I know a few folks who work like this. Further, they mostly have only a 1080 display! Of course, they want you to use your external monitors.

Personally speaking, I really wish that these laptops had an SD card port. It’s one of the reasons why I love my iMac so much. Both Reviews Editor Hillary Grigonis and I still use the last MacBook Pros that had SD card slots. I can’t tell you how imperative it is to us. We already have to bring around lights, lenses, cameras, filters, cleaning gear, etc. I don’t want to have to dedicate a section of my camera bag to more dongles.

On the ethical front, I really have to compliment HP on their environmental efforts. They’re trying to make the world cleaner and pollute it less. This way, we landscape, and wildlife photographers can keep capturing the best images possible. In my eyes, HP’s efforts are countering Windows’ own. You see, Windows recently worked with Unsplash–a platform that regularly screws over working photographers. Apple, thankfully, has never done that.

Without touching or handling these computers, I know that there are photographers who’d enjoy using them. But the keyboard might need to be refined a bit more for me personally. I’ll have to see how they work in person. I’m overall pretty confident that they can handle Adobe and Capture One. And I also think they’ll do well with multi-tasking. But I think the real test will be with ergonomics and aesthetics. That’s the thing that creatives really worry about.

apple creatives HP HP ZBook Firefly G8 laptop MacBook macbook pro photographers
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.