Astronauts aboard the ISS are getting new custom HP laptops, an upgrade to an orbital compute setup that already includes HP workstations and printers. But is the company getting a little ahead of itself?
Nathan Friend:
“along with HP printers designed to work in microgravity”
I’d love it if HP designed printers to work in regular gravity first, thank you
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There are new laptops across HP’s EliteBook, ProBook, and ZBook lines in varying sizes and chip configurations. Some highlights include the EliteBook 6 G2q (the lone Snapdragon X2 model of the bunch) and the EliteBook 8 Flip G2i 2-in-1 , which has a garage for an optional stylus.
Most of HP’s new models launch in April, but some are due in June and July. Prices are TBD.
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CEO Bruce Broussard said during its Q1 2026 earnings call that RAM now makes up 35 percent of its cost of materials. That’s up from 15-18 percent just three months earlier. It’s not announcing price hikes yet, but we’d be surprised if they weren’t coming. RAMageddon is nigh.
[The Register]
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7
Verge Score
This pricey laptop has got sleek no-frills looks and Strix Halo strengths on lock.
Smart lights that know where they’re placed in a room, wild designs for next-gen routers, and a glowing inedible donut.
The HP Eliteboard G1a plays a bit off the old Commodore 64 formula of a desktop computer built into a keyboard, but for office use in 2026. While I feel it’s a charming and quirky idea, I was prepared to hate the typing feel of this latticeless membrane keyboard.
After trying it briefly? It’s serviceable.
The upcoming 14-inch HP Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Plus x360 announced at CES have been updated with Intel Core 3 N355 processors and offer up to 512GB of M.2 SSD storage, with the previous 16:9 aspect ratio displays switching to 16:10.
5
Verge Score
A $700 laptop with a great screen and fantastic battery life? What’s the catch?
The AP, CNN, and Reuters report that Italian authorities are continuing to investigate last year’s sinking of Autonomy founder Mike Lynch’s superyacht, Bayesian, during a storm last year that killed seven people, including Lynch. A salvage operation lifted the 184-foot vessel from the seafloor this weekend, after first removing its 236-foot mast.
Hewlett-Packard is still suing Lynch’s estate over fraud claims linked to its $11 billion acquisition of Autonomy in 2011.
HP is announcing new 14- and 16-inch OmniBook 5 laptops at Computex, starting at $799 and $849, respectively. They’re expected in June and July, with 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon X and X Plus chips, Windows on Arm, and 1920 x 1200 OLED displays.
Snapdragon X processors typically offer great battery life, and HP claims the OmniBooks last 34 hours. Though, that’s based on very controlled video rundown tests while offline.
HP’s EliteStudio 8 has a function every all-in-one PC needs: it doubles as a display for your laptop with keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) switch.
Otherwise, it’s a pretty humdrum Intel Arrow Lake desktop. Though, in addition to continuing as a monitor once outdated, its webcam can photograph your background and modify it with generative AI. Time to add a bunch of Funko Pops and Gunpla to my virtual background.
Wired chronicles a Discord community’s work to unbrick the AI gadget after HP bought Humane.
But their work involved unsanctioned use of an internal access certificate, endangering an official effort to give the access they were after, an anonymous Humane employee told the outlet. Wired writes:
Employees at Humane were in the process of going through the proper channels to put out an OTA that would give people access without compromising IP rights. Now, that process might be stalled.
HP is announcing a new modular wireless gaming mouse for CES. The HyperX Pulsefire Saga Pro comes with two sizes of interchangeable upper / lower shells and side buttons, but you’ll be able to make it your own since HyperX will post the 3D-printing designs on Printables.com.
Check out these remixed mice with alternative materials like wood. The Saga Pro will run $79.99 from HP.com, launching in March.
If there were any doubt we’d see a new generation of Nvidia graphics hardware at its CES 2025 LAN party, that’s evaporated.
The latest hint comes from @MysteryLupin on X, who’s had early leaks before, with these pictures showing a 16-inch HP Omen Max and specs including an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU.
The Guardian reports that HP, embroiled in a legal saga with Mike Lynch for over a decade, will continue pressing for damages even after the tech tycoon’s confirmed death-by-superyacht.
Lynch previously lost to HP in a UK civil suit, though he was acquitted of related fraud charges in a US criminal proceeding earlier this year. The Guardian writes:
Lynch’s widow, Angela Bacares, was onboard the Bayesian when it sank but was among 15 people who were rescued. According to the Sunday Times rich list, Lynch and Bacares’s combined wealth was £500m.
