HP unveiled a number of new laptops last week at its Amplify partner conference in Chicago, with a focus on productivity, as well as a few peripherals including a printer and truly wireless headphones.

However, the Amplify event wasn’t just about new products. There was an emphasis on HP’s environmental commitment and the company’s position that 80% of employees prefer to spend some time in the office.

According to HP’s Future of Work research, below-average technical expertise is the most significant barrier to implementing hybrid work.

Extended Product Refresh

HP positions the new HP EliteBook 800 and 805 G10 Series PCs as cutting-edge business convertible computers. These EliteBooks start at $1,569 and are equipped with 13th Generation Intel Core CPUs and HP Presence Technology.

HP Presence delivers innovative technology powered by an advanced proximity sensor located in the PC’s bezel, which detects the user’s presence, and triggers the camera and Windows Hello to verify, identify, and unlock the PC.

In addition, the HP EliteBook 600 and 605 G10 series of mid-range PCs start at $999 and come with Intel or next-generation AMD CPUs. The HP ProBook 400 and 405 G10 Series PCs are the most affordable work-grade computers, with AMD and Intel CPU options starting at $799.

At the event, HP introduced the ZBook Firefly G10 and ZBook Power G10 with Intel Evo certification under the ZBook family.

HP ZBook Fury G10 is the most powerful workstation in the series, featuring 13th generation Intel HX series of processors with Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada Lovelace Generation Laptop GPU, aimed at faster rendering of 3D models and running simulations. The ZBook Studio G10 is a high-end workstation that includes an Intel Core i9 CPU and Nvidia RTX Ada Generation Laptop GPU.

Along with the new computers, HP also unveiled a new pair of True Wireless Stereo (TWS) solutions, dubbed the Poly Voyager Free 60, with certification for use with Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

TWS-designed audio solutions allow users to experience true stereo sound quality without the use of cords or wires. With a starting price of $229, it’s available in three variations including an optional but very convenient touchscreen charge case.

Along with the Poly Studio X series of video bars and the Poly G7500 modular video conferencing system, HP also launched Poly Video OS 4.0, which is certified for use with Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

During the Amplify partner conference, HP also unveiled a few accessories, including the HP 920/925 Ergonomic Vertical Mouse, which goes on sale this month for $109, and the HP 4K USB-C Multiport Hub, which will be available in May. Goes on sale for $79. ,

Commitment to Channel Partners

HP used the Amplify Partner event to announce that it would be adding the Poly, Teradysi and HyperX product lines to its Amplify Partner program.

This smart move will help its channel partners take advantage of HP’s growing product portfolio. HP also announced that it will increase compensation for qualified partners who sell a wide variety of accessories, including poly, as well as an element to encourage more partners to participate in the vendor’s Amplify Impact campaign. , which focuses on sustainability.

When its Amplify program expands this autumn to include the acquisitions of video conferencing company Poly, remote computing software supplier Terasys and gaming accessory maker HyperX, HP believes these new businesses will provide additional opportunities for channel partners. Will generate incremental revenue potential.

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Opportunities for these channels should increase as HP plans to expand and enhance the program’s perks and services for distributors by adding new supplier partners.

With HP’s recent acquisitions integrated into Amplify, a wider range of goods and services previously covered by separate programs from Poly, Teradisi and HyperX will now be eligible for program benefits and resources. As a result, partners will have additional opportunities to qualify for Amplify’s Power & Power Services tier, which offers enhanced perks.

With these moves, it is clear that HP seeks to benefit its channel partners with enhanced program components that enhance engagement with those partners who consistently sell HP’s broad portfolio of products and solutions. That way, partners won’t have to switch programs between HP and its most recent acquisitions, including Poly.

Clearly, HP wants to make it easy to do business with HP, as complexity can be challenging for the partners who market these different product lines. To that end, one of the important themes echoed by HP at the event is that channel partner feedback fuels any changes the company makes.

adjusting to market conditions

Let’s face it: Like its rivals, HP is working through a significant post-pandemic downturn in the PC space. Despite sluggish market conditions, there is optimism that Windows 11 will ignite a much-needed upgrade cycle, especially in the corporate and enterprise markets.

At the start of the conference, HP CEO Enrique Lores was refreshingly candid in commenting that it could be several quarters, until 2024, before the market sees a meaningful rebound.

Furthermore, the electronic document age driven by smartphones has pushed HP’s acclaimed printer business to a relatively flat position over the past six years. The company reported printer segment revenue of $18.9 billion in 2022, down from its 2008 high of $29.6 billion.

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Despite that inevitable revenue erosion, largely a result of the cannibalization effect from smartphones and other connected devices, HP should be commended for innovations like its highly successful Instant Ink subscription program, a new eco-friendly laser printer line that offers 30 Cuts down on energy use. %, and a 78% reduction in its plastic packaging components. It is through these efforts that HP has been able to stay relevant in its printer business, which is no easy task.

HP also announced new SMB-targeted color laser products, dubbed the HP Color LaserJet 4200/4300, which are more compact than existing models and pre-configured to manage printing adjustments on the fly. Are.

Its new color LaserJet Enterprise 5000/6000 offers similar enhancements for business office environments with critical daily printing needs. Particularly interesting is the ability of these new printers to make some light edits to printable documents directly from the printer without a PC.

Remote PC Management, Security

During the Amplify event, HP continued to showcase its technology with new enhancements on the PC security front with HP Wolf Connect.

Available only in its business laptop lineup, HP Wolf Connect allows IT managers to track, lock, manage and wipe remote laptop drives, even when power is down. This capability is facilitated by embedded technology that works with low-power cellular radios, ensuring the device can be accessed when the laptop is turned off or not connected to the Internet.

With hybrid work unlikely to change over the next few years, if ever, this level of security and asset management should be highly attractive to cost-conscious CIOs and CSOs.

It’s also easy to imagine this capability coming to HP’s consumer product lineup at some point because content creators and SMB users buying consumer PCs will value that feature, even at a premium price.

‘Better Together’ Isn’t Just a Tagline

Despite the uncertainty of the market, I think HP deserves credit for pulling out all the stops to make sure the company has positioned itself appropriately to take advantage of growth opportunities when the PC market turns sour. Will return in healthy condition.

Integration progress with the Poly and HyperX acquisitions appears to be paying early dividends at a product and channel partner program level. With more than 85% of HP’s total revenue coming from its channel partners, leveraging these new acquisitions for cross-selling opportunities offers enormous potential. Nevertheless, simplification and reduction of channel program bureaucracy should be a high priority. HP thinks “Failure is not an option” Business Fact.

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HP likes to use the mantra “better together” to highlight features that users can benefit from having different devices interoperate seamlessly, as with HP’s new HyperX and Poly headset solutions. which do not require a dongle for out-of-the-box Box binding.

Because of its broad product portfolio, HP is one of the few companies other than Apple that can make “Better Together” more than just a marketing tagline. Ultimately, HP has a huge opportunity to evolve the nature of how PCs are perceived.

At the conference, Alex Cho, president of the Personal Systems business at HP, argued that the phrase “laptop” has become outdated because of the mobile “studio” features, for example, high-quality videoconferencing with professional audio quality, that portable PCs offer. are now often used.

I strongly agree with Cho, and this new philosophical position on what we call laptops today has huge implications for the industry. We can look back a few years from now and see that this was when the evolution of laptops started.