HP Specter x360 is undoubtedly one of the premium laptops we’ve got in 2021. This 2-in-one convertible laptop can rotate 360 and allows users to turn it as a touchscreen tab. There are so many other convertible laptops from different brands such as dell XPS 13, Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14, HP Envy x360 13 (2020), Microsoft Surface Go 2, and so on. But what makes HP’s Spectre x360 different from others is its elegant stylish approach with sturdy configuration. You’ll be attached to its 2.8 pounds and .67 inches thick body which can help you carry it anywhere easily. Whether you are looking for an unusual laptop or you want an extra-large screen tablet, the HP Spectre x360 can be both for you. This complete HP Spectre x360 review will disclose everything about this excellent convertible laptop.
What I liked
I don’t like to gush, but when it comes to design, the
Spectre is one of the most beautiful 15” convertibles I’ve ever used. The
device is crafted with CNC’d aluminium, ash silver and copper, with bevelled
edges—no matter where I took the Spectre, someone asked me what it was. It
looks incredible and unique, and even I (who regularly cycles through countless
devices for review) can’t help but stare at this one. I appreciate the 2-in-1
flexibility of the device, though never used it as a gigantic tablet—it’s just
too big. However, I did make use of it in movie mode to watch videos. The 4K
15.6” IPS touch display provides 70% of the sRGB color gamut and has very small
bezels. Premium notebooks with big bezels soon will be as stylish as wide
lapels. Photos and videos look superb on the display, enhanced by the fact that
the display is 4K and bonded with no air gap—nothing to get in between it and
your eyes. In my opinion, it works a whole lot better with 4K video than its
predecessor.
Looks obviously aren’t everything when it comes to
devices—in fact, they’re just the tip of the iceberg. The Spectre also excels
in performance for a dual-core solution, using the latest 15 watt, dual core,
2.9 Ghz., Intel 7th generation Core i7 processor. You can find other 15”
laptops with quad cores on the market, but nothing as thin as the Spectre, with
a 4K display, and the impressive battery life (more on that later). The
Spectre’s 512GB PCIe-based NVMe storage is gigantic and gives the entire system
a snappy feel—essentially speeding everything up from boot to opening and saving
files. The Spectre x360 also comes with a discrete NVIDIA GeForce 940MX GPU,
which won’t enable VR or high-end gaming, but will suffice for good entry-range
gaming and a lot of productivity use cases (such as design). I did appreciate
the 802.11 AC 2×2 Wi-Fi but enabling a wireless display and wireless docking
with AD would have been even better.
HP armed the Spectre laptop with I/O for today and
tomorrow—a perfect cocktail of new and old. Thunderbolt 3 over USB-C ensures
that users will be ready for the future—it shouldn’t need any expensive clumsy
dongles to adapt. It comes with one HDMI, one standard USB, one 40 Gbps USB-C
and ThunderBolt 3 port, one USB-C Port, and an SD card reader for photos. Any
of the Spectre’s two USB-C ports can be utilized for charging, and though
dongles are not required, HP included three of them for USB-C: USB 3.0, RJ45
GigE Ethernet, and VGA. I’m personally not really sure about the need for VGA,
but I trust that HP didn’t include it on accident—I’m sure this came about as a
result of research and customer support. Maybe they’re just trying to
differentiate from Apple.
The Spectre x360’s giant glass touch pad is a Synaptics
design—very high quality, with consistency across the entire real estate. My
only request would be to have some “click” at the top where the hinge is, but
overall I love it. I didn’t experience trackpad issues others noticed but I am
doing this review after launch so issues were likely fixed in a software
update. As for the keyboard, while the backlit keys don’t have a huge amount of
travel, they worked just fine for writing research papers and columns. The x360
also surprisingly comes standard with an active pen—with most premium machines,
it’s extra (even on an iPad Pro). The pen works well for serious use—not just
for goofing around. It supports 2,048 degrees of pressure sensitivity, which is
not the best but is very good. I imagine most users will only use the pen when
the device is in tablet mode—which they probably won’t be in often unless
they’re creative types. The pen has two programmable side buttons, which is
nice seeing as people use pens for a variety of different tasks.
I’m glad that HP added a 1080P webcam to the Spectre—in my
opinion, every premium notebook should have one at this point. Windows Hello
face login worked quicker on the Spectre than almost any other I’ve used,
thanks to its two IR cameras.
The icing on the cake for this great device is its battery
life and charging. With my office usage model, I was able to get over 8 hours
of battery life, which is exceptional for a thin, 4K, 15” touch display. HP
advertises 16 hours of battery life, but that’s the MobileMark number—you’ll
never actually get that much. HP also specifies up to 11 hours of video
playback with WiFi off. I wish that HP would specify a web browsing time—Apple
does this, and I think it is actually a more useful representation of battery
life. When the Spectre’s battery ran out, HP’s Fast Charge feature kicked
in—taking me from 0% to 50% in just a little over 30 minutes. With long battery
life and lightning-fast charging, it’s hard to imagine ever getting stranded
with a dead Spectre for long.
Room for improvement
For the Spectre x360’s target audience, I really have very
few improvements to suggest—I think HP totally nails it with this device. I say
in all my reviews that there is always room for improvement, seeing as there
are no perfect products—I stand by that, but the Spectre comes pretty close to
perfection. As I mentioned earlier, if you’re into high-performance gaming and
VR, there are better options out there with higher-performance graphics and
quad-core processors. If you’re looking for a higher-quality display with a
wider color gamut, you could also opt for a more expensive option. Finally, I’d
like to see HP “click ability” to the top of its trackpad and restricts some of
the keyboard backlight light leakages, but these are nuts. Overall, the Spectre
x360 15 is a slam dunk.
Wrapping up
Overall, I was extremely happy with my experience with the
Spectre x360 15” (if you couldn’t tell). The design is exceptional—thin, sexy,
and industrial—as well as its flexibility and battery life. You can still get
some serious work done with its lower-end Intel Core i7 and entry-level
discrete NVIDIA graphics, but this 2-1 is ideal for creatives who appreciate
pen input and those who are looking for exceptional-looking images and video.
If all the premium features (4K display, 2-in-1 capability, and included pen)
don’t interest you, then there are also less expensive options available. HP
Inc. has proved again that it is at the top of its PC game right now. I
thoroughly enjoyed the Spectre x360 15” and would be happy to recommend it to
anyone in the market for a premium-grade 2-in-1.