HP recently held its Imagine event in the US, where the company outlined its vision for the future of work and launched a range of new products, including AI PCs and AI-enabled video conferencing solutions.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionise how we work, providing opportunities for employees and businesses to become more efficient and productive by automating certain processes.
And it is a revolution that is needed, judging by the results of HP’s second annual HP Work Relationship Index. This comprehensive study explores the world’s relationship with work and surveyed 15,600 respondents across industries in 12 countries. It revealed that work is still not really working. Only 28% of knowledge workers have a healthy relationship with work, a one-point increase compared to last year’s findings.
But findings in the study highlighted two potential solutions to improve relationships with work: AI and personalised work experiences. Indeed, 68% of knowledge workers reported that they believe AI creates new opportunities to enjoy work, and 73% believe AI makes their job easier.
Those who use AI were found to be 11 points happier with their relationship with work than their colleagues who don’t. HP believes that the future of work requires high-performing, AI-powered PCs and solutions that push the limits of what’s possible while freeing up time to focus on what matters.
Importance of healthy work relationships
This is something that HP has been working towards with is products, and some of those were launched at HP Imagine, which was held in Palo Alto, California in September. There, HP showcased the company’s newest innovations, including next-gen AI PCs, AI-enabled video conferencing solutions, and a scalable GPU performance sharing solution for AI developers – all designed to transform the future of work.
“HP’s Work Relationship Index found that 85% of desk-based workers would be willing to take a 13% pay cut for a good work-life balance,” says Neil Sawyer, HP’s UK & Ireland managing director. “This highlights the growing importance employees are placing on healthy work relationships, increasingly prioritising flexibility and meaningful well-being support from their employers.
“By championing initiatives that foster a positive work culture, organisations can attract and retain talent while ensuring their workforce remains engaged and productive.
As HP’s survey found, AI usage is surging and this is because the technology now delivering real benefits to many workers. “The Work Relationship Index reveals that 66% of UK employees are currently utilising AI at work, which represents a remarkable 39-point increase from last year,” notes Neil Sawyer.
“This surge in AI adoption is directly linked to enhanced productivity, with 65% of knowledge workers acknowledging that AI simplifies their tasks. As a result, AI not only streamlines workflows but also empowers employees to focus on more creative aspects of their roles, ultimately cultivating greater job satisfaction.”
HP OmniBook Ultra Flip
Neil Macdonald, HP’s UK & Ireland channel director, adds that AI can significantly enhance work-life balance and personal fulfilment by automating repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows. “For instance, there is the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip features HP’s AI Companion, which can summarise and compare documents, making it easier for workers to process information quickly and efficiently,” he says.
“It also provides offline secure analysis, ensuring that sensitive data remains protected. With features like these, employees can offload tedious tasks securely and with peace of mind, freeing up more time for creativity and strategic work. This ultimately frees up time for personal pursuits, supporting a healthier work-life balance and fostering a greater sense of fulfilment.”
Indeed, the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14-inch Next-Gen AI PC is HP’s first next-gen AI PC 2-in-1 laptop, offering style, performance and flexibility.
It has been designed to inspire as users can create, edit and sketch on an ultra-thin form factor that easily switches between laptop, tablet and tent modes. A 3K OLED display offers an immersive visual experience to draw or review creative designs. Personalised content can be generated as it is the world’s first next-gen AI convertible PC with inking and a haptic touchpad, according to HP.
Users can also collaborate with others clearly and crisply with the device’s 9MP AI camera and Poly Audio.
It also balances power and performance, which means on-the-go creators can confidently create on a device engineered to be cool and quiet – yet performant. The OmniBook Ultra Flip leverages the Intel® Core™ Ultra processor (Series 2) with a dedicated AI engine, delivering up to 20 hours of battery life (local video playback) for a seawmless creation experience.
This is backed up by HP Wolf Security, which includes a unique security chip and self-healing PC core for professional-level security, keeping data secure and protecting against cyberthreats. McAfee Smart AI™ Deepfake Detector detects AI-generated audio to warn users of potential fraud or misinformation.
Finally, HP has considered the importance of sustainability, as the OmniBook Ultra Flip is built with 90% recycled metals, 50% post-consumer recycled plastics, and has an EPEAT® Gold with Climate+ and ENERGY STAR® certified design.
HP EliteBook X
Another AI PC launched at HP Imagine was the HP EliteBook X 14-inch Next-Gen AI PC, which has been designed to empower tech experts and business consultants to tackle intense workflows locally and in the cloud. The EliteBook X delivers power, performance and security so workers can prioritise what they love while AI takes care of the rest.
As the first EliteBook X in HP’s Commercial PC lineup, this device looks to turbocharge productivity for users. For power users requiring high-performance computing for content creation, data analysis and AI-driven applications, HP developed a memory architecture with 8000Mbps on 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM for high-speed AI processing.
The PC also harnesses a next-generation AMD Ryzen™ PRO processor enabling up to an industry-leading 55 TOPS of NPU performance for demanding workloads. HP Smart Sense paired with 40W Thermal Design Power and dual turbo high density fans drive fast responsiveness with cool and quiet performance.
It has also been designed for collaboration as users can conduct meetings from anywhere and show up authentically with the device’s new AI-enhanced webcam sensor for more accurate presence detection and adaptive dimming. Audio tuning by Poly Studio provides crystal-clear conferencing experiences with AI noise reduction and HP Dynamic Voice Leveling to optimise voice clarity.
HP’s EliteBook X is also the first next-gen AI PC with quantum hack protection, which protects the most sensitive data without sacrificing performance. Wolf Security offloads processor-intensive security tasks to the NPU to preserve the CPU for all-day productivity. HP’s Endpoint Security Controller future-proofs the device against evolving threats, and intentional features are built into the device, including onlooker detection, which utilises an AI-powered webcam sensor to alert users when prying eyes are detected and automatically blur the screen if needed.
Again, the PC has been designed with sustainability in mind, and it has been made with a heat plate made with at least 50% recycled copper and bezels containing at least 20% recycled cooking oil.
Personalisation built-in
HP’s next-gen AI PCs are also equipped with AI Companion and Poly Camera Pro, which personalise and optimise a user’s experience for greater productivity and collaboration.
AI Companion uses generative AI to help people analyse private files and discover information to refine and create content or respond quickly and accurately to key tasks. The Perform assistant helps users optimise PC performance, customise settings and troubleshoot HP products.
In addition, Poly Camera Pro utilises the NPU to power webcam features like Spotlight and Background Blur & Replace to maintain CPU performance more efficiently while preserving battery life.
Expanding access
At HP Imagine, HP announced it is expanding access to HP Workforce Experience Platform, giving IT managers access to enhanced tools, data and insights to ensure their employees are connected and productive.
For customers wanting HP to manage their IT environment, HP announced advanced monitoring solutions and global availability of HP Managed Collaboration Services that proactively remediate incidents before employees are impacted. And when technology does fail, HP launched a new service that helps get employees back up and running quickly. HP also introduced a new service to help companies harness the power of AI to drive further productivity in the workforce and expanded refurbishment programs to drive a more circular economy.
Exceeding expectations
With such a raft of new products and solutions launched – AI print solutions and more were also announced at HP Imagine – HP has made a statement about where the future of work lies, and its vision for how it can be improved.
Partners and customers appear to have bought into this too. “There has been a fantastic response from partners and customers,” says Neil Sawyer. “People were genuinely excited about our innovations and how they can make a real difference in their work lives.
“Partners appreciated the opportunity to connect and discuss the future, while customers were particularly enthusiastic about our AI-driven solutions and their potential to enhance productivity and work-life balance.”
Future anticipation
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Neil Sawyer is looking forward with great anticipation. “I’m optimistic about the future and the transformative role AI will play across industries,” he says. “AI’s potential extends far beyond automating tasks – it’s about reimagining how we work, live, and interact with technology. As AI becomes more integrated, we’ll see it not just enhancing productivity but also fostering creativity, innovation, and personalisation on an unprecedented scale.
“Take HP’s AI tools, for example. AI Companion isn’t just simplifying processes – it’s enabling smarter decisions, helping workers focus on what truly matters, and even fostering more human-centric working environments.
“We’re on the verge of a future where AI empowers people to achieve more with less effort, leading to a healthier balance between work and life, and ultimately, more fulfilling careers. The opportunity to harness AI for meaningful and human-centred innovation is what excites me most.”
