It is all part of a cunning plan which HP calls "one life". It means that if your job gives you one of these machines, you're probably going to be using it at home, so commercial PCs also have to be good at being consumer PCs. On the plus side this means they have to look nice, so the company is using an aluminium design, which was previously exclusive to the EliteBook 1000 series.
They're also durable, tested at MIL-STD-810G conditions so they can withstand a drop, vibration, humidity, an explosive atmosphere, small children and cats.
HP said these new PCs are the first to include noise-cancelling, world-facing microphones. It removes unwanted sound in individual mode and can pick up 360-degree voices in conference mode.
All of these machines offer eighth-generation Intel vPro processors. The EliteBook 830 G5 comes with a 13.3-inch FHD display and integrated graphics, the 840 G5 comes with a 14-inch FHD screen with optional AMD Radeon RX 540 (4GB) graphics, and the 850 G5 comes with a 15.6-inch FHD or 4K screen and AMD Radeon RX 540 (4GB) graphics.
PhoneWise is a utility that pairs with your phone, allowing you to send and receive texts and make and receive calls.
They also come with an option for a Sure View display. These are only available on FHD screens, but Sure View prevents visual hacking. If someone is viewing the screen from more than 30 or 40 degrees, they won't be able to see anything.
There is Sure Start, which checks the BIOS against a master copy to see if it's corrupted, and now offers better encryption. Sure Click prevents attacks through the browser, and Sure Recovery allows for network-based recovery.
Thunderbolt 3 is there, and you can use the company's new Elite Thunderbolt Dock G2. It supports up to two 4K displays, and it's the world's first Thunderbolt dock with an audio conferencing module.
The EliteBook 830, 840, and 850 will all be available this month, starting at $1,049, $1,029, and $1,039, respectively. The Elite Thunderbolt Dock G2 is expected to be available in May, and pricing hasn't been announced yet.
