Comparing the HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4 with the Apple MacBook Air 13"

Table 1 covers key features of the systems we tested, as well as their cost as of September 14, 2023. Notably, the HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4 offered a larger number of ports than the Apple MacBook Air 13". It also supported both Intel vPro and Intel Evo, technologies not available on the Apple MacBook Air.

Before testing, we changed the Windows Power mode on the HP device to Best Performance; the Apple device offered no such option, so we did not make any settings changes.

To assess performance, we ran two benchmarks: WebXPRT 4 and CrossMark.

WebXPRT is a free, industry-standard browser benchmark that compares the performance of web-enabled devices when executing real-world tasks. It contains scenarios based on HTML5, JavaScript, and WebAssembly built to emulate everyday work, including enhancing photos, encrypting notes, graphing sales, and more. A higher WebXPRT 4 score indicates that a system offers faster performance for web browsing, an activity common in nearly every industry.

CrossMark is “an easy to run native cross-platform benchmark that measures the overall system performance and system responsiveness using models of real-world applications.”³ It offers a single overall score as well as sub-scores from three scenarios: Productivity, which models tasks such as word processing, manipulating spreadsheets, and web browsing; Creativity, which models work around editing and cataloging photos and videos; and Responsiveness, which utilizes operations from both the Productivity and Creativity scenarios.⁴

To review our detailed methodologies and results, see the science behind the report.

Speed online research and exploration

Internet users in 2023 spend an average of over six hours online every day.⁸ For many people, much of that online time is for work, as they use the internet to research new technologies, gather data on competitive products, or update corporate social media. The internet is so critical for business today that laptops for office workers must deliver fast web browsing.

In both of our tests with WebXPRT 4, the HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4 with an Intel Core i7-1365U vPro processor scored higher than the Apple MacBook Air 13" with an Apple M2 processor. We first ran the benchmark with Chrome, because it is the most commonly used web browser in the United States.⁹ Then, we ran it a second time with each device’s native browser: Edge on the HP system and Safari on the Apple system. Scoring 11 percent higher on the Chrome test and 15 percent higher on the native browser test, the HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4 consistently came out on top.

Increase system responsiveness to boost productivity

For users who rely on their laptops to do their jobs, a slow system has the potential to severely inhibit productivity. Time spent waiting for applications to respond or pages to load is time wasted. To maximize their output, employees need laptops that can work at their pace rather than hold them back.

We used the CrossMark benchmark to assess how the HP and Apple systems might perform on everyday work tasks. The HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4 performed better than the Apple MacBook Air 13" overall and on the Productivity and Responsiveness tests, delivering about the same performance on the Creativity test. With the Intel processor-powered HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4 also coming in at a slightly lower cost, these results offer a compelling argument for increased productivity if you choose the HP device.

Keep systems secure from the factory onward

Intel and HP bring together a range of technologies to enhance security for business users. Guayente Sanmartin, Global Head of Commercial Personal Systems at HP, summarizes the two organizations’ security partnership as such:

The HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4, with its Intel Core i7-1365U vPro processor, benefits from many of these technologies. Key elements include:

HP Wolf Security for Business: A suite of security technologies that help IT prevent malware, remotely lock and wipe devices, manage risk, and recover quickly after a disaster¹¹

Intel vPro platform: A hardware platform that, in addition to offering manageability benefits, includes Intel Hardware Shield, “a set of built-in PC protections” with security below the operating system, data and application security, and threat detection capabilities¹²

Intel Transparent Supply Chain: A “set of tools, policies, and procedures implemented on the factory floor at PC and server manufacturers that help enable enterprises to verify the authenticity and firmware version of systems and their components”—features include digitally signed statements of conformance, component-level traceability, and the Auto Verify tool to help detect tampering¹³

For more information, visit https://www.hp.com/us-en/security/products.html and https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security/hardware/hardware-security-overview.html.

Unlock modern management capabilities

For enterprises with thousands of employees, each with their own work system, laptop management can be a substantial time commitment. The more time IT teams can save on basic device deployment and management, the more time they have to handle thorny support tickets and work on enterprise-wide initiatives, ultimately helping the rest of the staff boost productivity.

IT teams working in hybrid Mac and PC environments face an additional challenge: managing systems with two different operating systems. While some manageability tools, such as Microsoft Intune, allow for management of both Windows and macOS devices, inevitable challenges come with a heterogenous IT environment. IT and support staff must be deeply familiar with multiple operating systems and how common applications work within those operating systems, which could increase the cost of training and staffing.

The Apple MacBook Air we tested also lacked a manageability component that the HP device brought to the table: the Intel vPro platform. Laptops powered by Intel vPro processors, such as the HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4 we tested, include Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) and Intel Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel EMA). These tools enable IT teams to remotely monitor and manage PCs, a critical capability for organizations with staff working in multiple locations. Among other benefits, Intel says Intel AMT and Intel EMA can enable IT to:

• Perform out-of-band management tasks, allowing for device management over an encrypted connection even when the device is far away
• Diagnose problems with systems more easily with real-time telemetry, so staff can get back to work faster
• Automate patch management for less disruption to everyday work
• Remotely operate a system’s keyboard, video, and mouse controls for easier support¹⁴

Conclusion

No one wants to spend time waiting on their laptop. In our testing with the WebXPRT 4 and CrossMark benchmarks, the HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4, enabled by an Intel Core i7-1365U vPro processor, delivered faster performance than an Apple MacBook Air 13", enabled by an Apple M2 eight-core processor. With the additional benefits of security and manageability features from HP and Intel, enterprise laptop buyers may wish to take a close look at the HP Dragonfly Notebook PC G4.