They are even better when it comes to servicability than the previous generation. Less screws and no more screw covers to remove on the bottom before you even see the screws.
I think the reason why they kicked the 2,5" slot is that the customers nowadays are more interested in better battery run time (so, bigger batteries) und less weight/smaller footprint.
I personally don't know any business customer who needs more than 1TB Storage locally in their mobile devices (besides engineers who should use mobile workstations).

Thanks @R.2

That is a shame. This line has been my favorite because of that option and the user friendly serviceability. I guess I will not upgrade after all  :(

They already had the 1000 and x360 lines as m.2 only. I wonder who is pushing notebook makers away from modularity and serviceability?

@Dani Salg
1x M.2 Slot only - officially certified up to 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
No more 2,5" SLot available

Anybody knows if the new 840 and 850 still have the ability to use a m.2 SSD and a SATA HDD at the same time? Another website that provided info about storage options listed only m.2 drives. If they do I can finally upgrade from my 840 G3. If they don't ...

Yes, these specs are available now – they weren't though before the announcement (when this article was written). If you would take a look at the spec-sheet included in this article, you would see that it does not include the specifications on width and length.

Don't be lazy

830 - 12.22" x 9.03" x 0.7"
840 - 12.84" x 9.22" x 0.7"
850 - 14.6" x 9.91" x 0.72"

Quote from: Peter marks on February 07, 2018, 12:31:05Height is not the only dimension. You talk about size difference throughout the article, what is the width and length? Get the basics right for god sake.

Unfortunately, HP did not give us specifications on the width and length of the new models.

Height is not the only dimension. You talk about size difference throughout the article, what is the width and length? Get the basics right for god sake.