CES 2026: HP's new EliteBoard G1a is a keyboard with a powerful built-in computer

HP crammed a modular business Copilot+ PC inside of a keyboard, and it's hitting the market later this spring. Announced at CES 2026 Monday, the all-new HP EliteBoard G1a Next Gen AI PC houses an AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processor, fans, and dual stereo mics and speakers. Mashable went hands-on with it in HP's private showroom.

Keyboard computers have been around since the late 1970s, though they were far less advanced and geared toward education or 8-bit gaming (see: the Apple II, the BBC Micro, the Commodore 64, and the ZX Spectrum). Much more recently, the Raspberry Pi 400, 500, and 500+ hit the market as home computers for the DIY-inclined.

It's a keyboard. It's a computer. It's the HP EliteBoard G1a. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

However, the EliteBoard G1a marks a fresh form factor for modern all-in-one (AIO) PCs, which are usually monitors with integrated components. (The Apple iMac is one popular example.) Unlike traditional AIOs, the EliteBoard contains all the necessary hardware within the keyboard itself. (Well, almost all — you'll still have to source your own display.) Portable and minimalist, it measures 0.7 inches thin and starts at less than 1.5 pounds, fitting nicely inside a backpack. An HP rep told Mashable that it's geared toward hybrid workers.

The EliteBoard G1a is designed to be easily serviceable, with modular components that IT departments or users themselves can swap in minutes. You can remove the bottom cover to replace its RAM, SSD, speakers, battery, fans, or WiFi module. The top keyboard itself can also be switched out.

A peek inside the HP EliteBoard G1a. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

HP promises that it doesn't sacrifice performance, either. The EliteBoard G1a can be configured with up to an AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 PRO chip for enterprise purposes, offering up to 50 TOPS of AI processing power. (That stands for Trillions of Operations Per Second, an AI performance metric.) It'll have an integrated AMD Radeon 800 Series graphics, up to 64GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of SSD storage. It supports two daisy-chained 4K external displays.

For everyday users with lesser needs, the EliteBoard G1a will start with an entry-level AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 processor and a mere 32GB of eMMC storage.

The EliteBoard G1a's fans pull air into the device from a vent that covers most of its bottom case and push it out through a rear slit above its function row. HP says its thermal management system has been thoroughly tested to make sure the user never feels the heat of its internals on their fingertips. Its spec sheet notes that it has TUV certification for low noise, so it should run pretty quietly, too.

The HP EliteBoard G1a comes with a pre-paired wireless mouse. You can use it with the monitor of your choice. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The EliteBoard G1a can be configured with or without a built-in battery and an attached, lockable cable that plugs into an external monitor. The version with no battery and a detached cable weighs in at just 1.49 pounds. Adding both components increases its weight to 1.69 pounds, which makes it just over a pound lighter than a 13-inch MacBook Air.

The battery models are rated to last for over 3.5 hours of active use, but they can go more than two days in idle mode before dying.

The HP EliteBoard G1a weighs as little as 1.49 pounds without its built-in battery. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The keyboard itself features a lattice-free design (meaning it lacks spaces between its keys), plus a full numpad, backlighting, and an optional fingerprint reader. It's spill-resistant and meets the U.S. MIL-STD 810 standard for military-grade durability.

The Eliteboard G1a will launch sometime in late March. While HP hasn't announced pricing yet, their rep told me "it's certainly gonna be less than a full laptop." All variants will come in an Eclipse Gray finish and ship with a matching pre-paired wireless mouse. The battery models will have an extra canvas case.

Head to the Mashable CES 2026 hub for the latest news and live updates from the biggest show in tech, where Mashable journalists are reporting live.