Act fast: the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is back in black

Since the debut of the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook, there’s been a constant that isn’t exactly what you want in a new, high-end device: the lack of one of the two colors available. Shortly after this beautiful device launched, the people spoke and the Sparkling Black colorway of the new “King of Chromebooks” has been sold out off and on for the first month of availability and completely out of stock ever since.

The white model, on the other hand, has been readily available all this time. Personally, I like the flare of the white version and the RGB keys popping off that Ceramic White finish, but clearly I’m not the majority, here. Though I do think the Sparkling Black looks fantastic while preferring the Ceramic White, it seems clear that either the majority disagree with me or HP simply didn’t make as many of these Chromebooks in black.

Finally, Sparkling Black is back

Lucky for any of you that have been waiting around for the black version to finally arrive back in stock, your time has finally come (again)! In just the last couple weeks, I’ve been keeping an eye on the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook in light of my post about it still being the absolute best Chromebook you can buy right now, and the black model has remained out of stock every time I check.

This morning, however, upon checking once again, it appears both colors of the Dragonfly Pro are available for purchase once again. Though there’s still no discount on these devices (a fact that either reflects solid sales numbers or a limited production run), I still hold to the fact that if you are all-in on ChromeOS, the price is justified for the hardware.

Why the Dragonfly Pro is worth the asking price

Quickly, let me remind you of the superlatives of the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook. It has a firm, all-aluminum powder-coated chassis that is matched only by Google’s own Chromebooks or by something like a Macbook Pro. The 1200 nit screen is completely usable outdoors in direct sunlight, and the camera above it is an 8MP shooter that will make you look fantastic in meetings: especially with the new Chromebook Plus camera features.

The keyboard is among the best I’ve ever typed on and has RGB backlighting that is bright enough to see and enjoy in the harshest lighting scenarios. The haptic trackpad is perfect and gives you a satisfying click feel anywhere on the surface without any worry that a production line mishap might leave it misaligned. And the speakers that flank the keyboard are not just great: they are the best speakers I’ve ever heard on any laptop.

Then you have the insides: a 12th-gen Core i5, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of NVMe storage keep things ultra-fast with solid battery life (as long as you don’t abuse those 1200 nits of brightness all day). Apart from not having a convertible form factor and pen support, there’s nothing you can knock on this Chromebook, and it stands head and shoulders above any other device in this segment. It is without peer and even though $999 sounds like a lot of money for a Chromebook, I guarantee you won’t find a laptop this considered running Windows for this sort of money.

Don’t forget about the extended support

And if the hardware alone wasn’t enough to command the $999 price tag, we also have to remember that the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook comes with an unprecedented level of support from HP. Out of the box, you get a full year of custom support from HP via the built-in Support Assistant. From everyday questions to difficult queries, the Dragonfly Pro team is ready to help with customer service agents that have been trained specifically for this device.

And for $10.99/month, you can add on drop/spill protection for up to 3 years and/or 3 replacements: whichever comes first. This extended support isn’t just a first for Chromebooks; it’s an add-on that makes spending $999 on a device feel far better. Instead of worrying about what could happen to your thousand dollar Chromebook all the time, you can use it with far less concern knowing that you have a dedicated support team ready to help and the assurance of a replacement if the worst were to happen.

It’s all a fantastic package if you are looking for the absolute best Chromebook experience money can guy; and if you’ve been waiting on it to arrive in the Sparkling Black once again, your time is now. We have no clue how long it will stay around this time, but I’m hopeful HP has ramped up production to meet the demand for this device. And I know many of you are on the prowl for great deals this time of year, and while there’s no discount attached to this one, I think there’s good reason for that, and the minute you get your hands on one of these Dragonfly Pro Chromebooks, you’ll quickly understand why.