HP Dragonfly HP Dragonfly G4 13.5" 3K2K Intel Core i7-1365U Review

The HP Dragonfly G4 is a premium ultraportable with a stunning 3K2K screen, now selling for $950. Its older Intel CPU and small 256GB SSD are clear compromises, but the display quality and compact design are top-tier. Only buy this if an excellent screen in a portable package is your top priority, and you're okay with mid-tier performance.

The HP Dragonfly G4 is a bit of a puzzle. On paper, it's a sleek 13.5-inch business laptop with a stunning 3K2K display. But at its current price of $950, it's competing in a brutal market where newer chips and smarter designs are the norm. This isn't a cutting-edge machine, but it might be a specific kind of bargain for someone who values a fantastic screen above all else.

This laptop is clearly built for someone who's always on the move. Our database scores it highest for entertainment and compactness, which makes sense given its sharp screen and portable form factor. The business score is middling, and the gaming score is predictably in the basement. So think of it as a premium-feeling travel companion for work and media, not a powerhouse.

What makes it interesting right now is the price-to-screen ratio. You're getting a display that lands in the 86th percentile—that's seriously good—packaged in a chassis that scores in the 80th percentile for compactness. The catch? You're pairing that gorgeous screen with older, mid-tier components to hit that sub-$1,000 price. It's a trade-off, and whether it's a good one depends entirely on what you do all day.

Let's talk about the numbers. The Intel Core i7-1365U is a 10-core chip, but its performance lands in the 32nd percentile. In plain English, that means it's fine for everyday tasks like browsing, office apps, and video calls, but it'll start to sweat if you try to do heavy multitasking or run demanding creative software. It's not slow, but it's firmly in the 'adequate' category compared to modern alternatives.

The real story is the integrated graphics. HP lists it as 'AMD Graphics' with a whopping 48GB VRAM, which is almost certainly a shared memory figure, not dedicated VRAM. Despite that confusing spec, our benchmarks place its GPU performance in the 97th percentile. Now, that sounds insane for an integrated chip, but context is key. This percentile is likely within the realm of ultraportable business laptops, not gaming rigs. It means the graphics are more than capable for driving that high-res display, handling multiple external monitors, and even some very light photo editing. Just don't expect to play anything more demanding than casual games.

At $950, the Dragonfly G4 is playing a tricky game. You're not paying for top-tier performance. Instead, you're paying for a high-quality chassis and one of the best screens you can find near this price. The components inside are the compromise that makes that possible.

Compared to brand-new laptops at this price, you'll often find faster CPUs and more storage, but they'll be wrapped in less premium materials and have lower-resolution displays. So the value question boils down to this: how much do you care about the look, feel, and sharpness of your screen versus raw computational speed? If the screen is your priority, this becomes a compelling option. If you need more grunt or storage, your money goes further elsewhere.

This laptop sits in a crowded field. The most direct competitor is probably a Microsoft Surface Laptop. You'll pay more for a similar premium build and screen, but you'll get a much more modern and efficient ARM-based Snapdragon X chip, which will demolish this Dragonfly in battery life and likely match or beat it in CPU tasks. It's a newer generation of portable computing.

Then there's the Apple factor. For a bit more money, an Apple Silicon MacBook Air offers insane performance and battery life, though you're switching to macOS and a different aspect ratio screen. On the Windows side, an ASUS Zenbook or a Lenovo Yoga in this price range will likely give you a newer Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen 7040/8040 series processor, which have far better integrated graphics and efficiency than this older 13th-gen Intel chip. The trade-off is that those laptops might not feel quite as polished or have quite as nice a screen as the Dragonfly G4.

Gamers and creative professionals should steer clear. The gaming score of 9.6/100 says it all. If you need to edit 4K video, work with 3D models, or run engineering software, the older CPU, limited RAM, and integrated graphics will hold you back. You'd be much better served by a laptop with a dedicated GPU, a newer H-series processor, and at least 32GB of RAM.

Also, skip this if you're a student or power user who needs a laptop to last through a multi-year degree or a long upgrade cycle. The low reliability percentile (26th) is a red flag, and the non-upgradeable RAM severely limits its future viability. In these cases, look for a laptop with a newer platform (like Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen 8040) and at least 16GB of RAM that isn't soldered. You might sacrifice a bit of screen quality, but you'll gain performance, efficiency, and peace of mind.

We'd recommend the HP Dragonfly G4 to a very specific person: someone who needs a Windows laptop for general business, writing, and media consumption, who is constantly traveling, and who values a superb, sharp display above having the latest processor or tons of storage. For that person, the $950 price for this level of screen quality and portability is a legitimate deal.

For almost everyone else, it's a harder sell. Students, creative pros needing power, or anyone who wants their laptop to last 5+ years should probably look at options with newer architectures, more RAM, and bigger SSDs. The older CPU and limited upgrade path are real handicaps for long-term use.