HP Spectre x360: A Touchscreen Laptop That’s Better Than Ever

When HP made the hp spectre x360, I wondered if it meant they would stop making the hp spectre x360 13. For many years, it has been the best laptop of its type. It has a beautiful design and is very fast. It also had many choices for displays which were more than any other company did.

The new hp spectre x360 laptop has a new size. It is good in the three categories I mentioned. It has more space for touch and a bigger screen than the old laptop. The old one was not bad, but it was not as good as this one. My fears were not true because the old one still worked well after I used it for a few days.

The hp spectre x360 is a good laptop. It’s not as good as the 14 inch one, but it’s much cheaper. When you go down to a 13-inch laptop, some sacrifices are made, but they are easily forgiven because of their 1080p display, great performance, long battery life, and small size. This laptop may not be as popular now, but it is still one of the best laptops for this size.

The higher-priced laptop gets hot and doesn’t have long battery life. The cheaper laptop is slower. Last year, we tried the Lenovo Yoga C940 15 and it was better in many situations. To fix this problem, just change one of the components but that will also hurt some other parts of the computer.

Tech Specs

The HP Spectre x360 model that we tested costs $1,650 on hp.com. It has the following technical details:

• Intel Core i7-10750H processor
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti with Max-Q GPU
• 15.6-inch AMOLED touchscreen with 3840×2160 resolution
• 16 GB of DDR4-2666 RAM
• 1TB solid-state drive with 32GB Intel Optane memory
• HD webcam with privacy shutter
• Fingerprint reader and face recognition
• Left side: HDMI, headphone jack
• On the right side, there is one USB-A 3.0 port and two SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps ports. One is Thunderbolt 3.
• Dimensions: 14.17 x 8.91 x 0.79 inches
• Weight: 4.23 pounds, 5.07 pounds including AC adapter

Even if Spectre’s screen is great, it is always better to have a full-sized HDMI connection.

HP Spectre x360 price and configurations

The HP Spectre x360 has a starting price of $899. It is less than the competition, and it includes an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

We have a computer that you can buy. It is a touchscreen with a 13.3-inch screen and the Core i7-1165G7 CPU. You can also upgrade to other screens if you want to for just $60 or $180 more each.

Upgrading your storage capacity costs about $70 more than extending from 256GB to 512GB. And it is double the amount of money you pay for 1TB, so if you buy a laptop with a 13.3-inch screen and other specs, you will spend $1,269 on it (plus any upgrades). If you want to upgrade to 2TB it will cost more money too.

Performance

This computer is interesting and it has a lot of things. But it has problems, too. If you use this computer to play games and do other work, like reading or writing, the computer will get hot and the fan will turn on. This means that your work will be slower because of the heat.

The hp spectre x360 has a problem that can make it slower than other laptops. They cannot do as much as you want them to. In the test, the laptop took an average of 49 minutes and 22 seconds to complete, which is about how long a small computer would take.

You can’t expect your 10th generation H-series CPU to encode video as fast as a 5th generation Core i5 processor.

The Intel Core i5-8265U CPU inside the LG Ultra PC 17 achieved a score of 3,675 on PCMark Work 8. The 10th-generation U-Series processor in LG’s Ultra PC 17 (a 17-inch non-convertible laptop) was better than the hp spectre x360.

The hp spectre x360’s productivity scores are not as good as you might think, but that doesn’t show in the real world.

The hp spectre x360 runs better when it is not under a lot of work. It does not have problems when the laptop is not in use for a long time. The hp spectre x360 also outperforms other laptops with less powerful processors in some tests, like Cinebench. But this laptop is not perfect, because it did worse on some other tests, like HandBrake and PCMark.

The GTX 1070 scored similarly to expected in Cinebench scores. This only evaluates the CPU for a brief time.

The HP Spectre x360 did not do very well when it came to gaming. The FireStrike 1.1 test in 3DMark assesses high-performance gaming PCs at 1080p using DirectX 11. It did not score as high as the Lenovo Yoga C940 15 and some other computers, like the Dell XPS 15 9500. But it did better than non-convertible laptops such as the Dell XPS 13 9370 (non-touch).

The HP Spectre 15 is a gaming laptop that doesn’t perform well when compared to other laptops with the same GPU.

The hp spectre x360’s performance in Rising of the Tomb Raider’s benchmark tool was around 43.61 frames per second, or about 20% less than that of other laptops.

The hp spectre x360 runs slower than the competition in Rising of the Tomb Raider. It does not go fast enough to be 1080p 60fps with the Highest settings.

In Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the frame rate dropped a bit. But the hp spectre x360 still finished behind the Dell XPS 15 9500 and Acer Nitro 5.

The hp spectre x360 can play games with high settings and a smooth frame rate. Some of the games we tried on it were Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and Watch Dogs 2. Though some parts of those games caused the frame rate to become very slow, I think that might be because of an issue with the CPU instead of the GPU.

The hp spectre x360’s CPU performance is not very good if you want to do a lot of video editing. It is not a good option to use if you don’t want to be charging it often, because it doesn’t work well for basic office work. In our battery test, the HP Spectre x360 lasted only 6 hours and 45 minutes. That makes it behind other laptops that have similar specs.

The hp spectre x360 OLED version has a shorter battery life than other top workhorse laptops. Non-OLED versions are supposed to have longer runtimes.

It is very expensive to buy a 4K OLED display. The Dell XP3 15 9500 lasted longer, but it still could not last as long as the £10,248 price tag for the Spectre’s stunning 4K OLED display.

We were talking about trade-offs. HP Spectre x360 is great because it has a 4K OLED display that’s good-looking. It also has sharp audio, some security features, and a nice keyboard. But this laptop isn’t as powerful as you would think for an expensive laptop.

Design and display

The HP Spectre 15 is a flashy laptop with lots of bling. This 15-inch laptop is the best kind of “blingy.” The whole computer, including the keyboard area, is made out of aluminum. It has “gem-cut” edges that go around the outside edge.

The power button and a USB-C connection are in the two inside corners. There is a diamond-shaped speaker grill, like in the previous model. The x360 has a slope on both sides, which makes it look like a pillow. Vents on both sides help to get rid of hot air.

Its hue is so unusual that it has its poetic names. Our trim, known as “Nightfall Black” (dark gray) with “Copper Luxe,” comes in two hues: Poseidon Blue” (deep blue) with “Poseidon White.” The other color combination is Nightfall Silver (white).

The hp spectre x360 has a gem-cut appearance.

The hp spectre x360 is a convertible laptop with a screen that rotates 360 degrees. You can use it as both a tablet or laptop. It does not come with the stylus you need for this, so you should buy one separately. And because the screen part of this is heavier than usual, it will tip forward when you use it in your lap.

The hp spectre x360 has an OLED display. The colors are very bright. I could use the screen to watch movies even on a sunny day because it has good contrast.

It also supports HDR video so you can see more detail in dark scenes. You can change the color spaces in the settings to show pictures that are edited with Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 since both offer different colors than sRGB does.

HP’s software can switch between a variety of colors.

Keyboard and trackpad

The hp spectre x360 has one of the best keyboards in it. The keys are quick without being too hard, and it is also pretty quiet. There is plenty of room in the edge-to-edge design for a numeral keypad, and the bigger typeface on the buttons is a nice touch.

The keyboard on the HP Spectre x360 is really good. It has a big touchpad that matches it.

The laptop trackpad is not bad. The surface of it is smooth and the clicking mechanism doesn’t put up much resistance. Near the top of the trackpad, the clicking gets stiffer and there isn’t too much space–this is because HP wanted to make a smaller model than last year’s one.

The HP Envy x360 15-inch aspect ratio might be an issue, especially since it contains a 16:9 display aspect ratio rather than one with 17:10 or 4K UHD. Remember that increasing screen height would also allow for a bigger trackpad.

HP Spectre x360 ports

The Spectre has a lot of ports. It has ports for the thunderbolt, for USB type A, and a slot for a microSD card…

The hp spectre x360 has two Thunderbolt 4 ports. One of them is chamfered. The USB-C input on each side of the laptop could be split between the ports, but you can’t choose which one. There’s also a webcam shutdown button and a microSD card slot below the ports.

On the left, there is a drop-jaw hinge and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There is also a physical power button on the left side.

Webcam, security, audio

The hp spectre x360’s webcam has a resolution of 720p. This means it will work best when there is good lighting in the room.

Even though the laptop is good, some extras make it stand out. The HP has a microphone that can hear you and see you well. There is also a switch to turn off the camera if someone tries to take pictures of you (this is rare). Windows Hello can recognize your face and your eyes. This makes it easier to sign in on this computer.

The webcam kill switch for the Spectre x360 is in a place that is to the left of the USB-A connection.

Bang & Olufsen-branded speakers provide good sound quality. The louder volumes generated by these speakers (including the Lenovo Yoga C940 14) are better than those of most laptops (including little bass response).

These speakers are not good for listening to music, but they work well for watching YouTube videos, playing games, or conducting video conversations.

HP Spectre x360 graphics

The hp spectre x360’s Intel Iris Xe graphics can help you with less demanding games or videos, but they can’t do other things like run the latest games at high frame rates. For this, an eGPU or a gaming laptop with a discrete GPU is needed.

The Spectre can’t play proper games because it runs at 23 frames per second. It is below our limit of 30 frames per second, which is recommended for playing proper games.

The hp spectre x360 13 scored 4,459 on the 3DMark Fire Strike test. The XPS 13 got 3,598 and the hp spectre x360 14 got 4,229. It is higher than average for other premium laptops which score an average of 4,774.

HP Spectre x360 battery life

In our Laptop Mag Battery Test, the HP Spectre’s laptops regularly perform well. This year’s model outlasts most other laptops as it lasts 12 hours and 32 minutes while browsing the web at 150 nits.

The HP Spectre x360 15 is the fastest laptop on the market. It clocks in at 11:08, while laptops like the Apple MacBook Air (14:41) are close behind. The XPS 13 (11:07), hp spectre x360 14 (12:11) and average laptop speed of 10:27 are slower.

HP Spectre x360 software and warranty

I am happy to see that the hp spectre x360 13 only has five HP-branded apps, instead of the usual dozen or so. You can customize your fan speed, performance output, and network bandwidth on the Spectre using Command Center.

You can back up your documents with this program. Another good feature is the Support Assistant. It helps you get new drivers and get help from a virtual assistant. There is an app that has documentation and lets you adjust your privacy settings on it, too.

You will find a few more Windows 10 apps, but nothing unusual. The Your Phone app, Xbox Game Bar, and two Intel programs for Optane memory and the Iris Xe graphics are among them.

The hp spectre x360 13 comes with a one-year warranty which is the same as other HP laptops. You can read our Tech support showdown and Best and worst brands reports to find out how HP did in each category.

I can’t decide if I like it or not. The hp spectre x360 13 is good because it has faster performance and longer battery life than before. It is also better because it is smaller. But it could be even faster and have a longer battery like the old one.

The hp spectre x360 13 laptop is no longer good enough. It has a new bigger brother, the hp spectre x360 14. The difference between the two is that the 14-inch model has a larger display and touchpad. They have about the same battery life too, but it may be helpful for business people who want to use their laptop on their own.

If I had to choose between the hp spectre x360 14 or hp spectre x360 13, then I would choose the Spectre x360 14. It is more expensive, but it is worth the money because of its bright display, comfy keyboard, good battery life, and stunning design.

I am not going to tell you what to do. I will leave the decision up to you. The touchpad and screen features on the hp spectre x360 14 are worth the extra expense, but there are other laptops in this class that are also good. Before spending your money, think about whether these features are worth it for you.