Product Review HP Spectre x360: a Stylish 2-in-1 Workhorse

The HP Spectre x360 is a compact and stylish 2-in-1 that can be used as both notebook and tablet. It is good for business as well as for taking to class. It can be put in different positions as the display can be flipped 360 degrees. The Corning Gorilla Glass prevents scratches on the screen. Thanks to the 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD, the laptop turns on in under 15 seconds, so users can get started quickly. You’ll be extra quick because you can log in without a password. Instead, you can log in with Windows Hello using facial recognition or your fingerprint. You can also leave your charger at home, because the battery of Spectre x360 lasts longer than a working day on one full charge.

I tested the Spectre x360 by running several apps at the same time, from Mail to Chrome with multiple tabs and it handled the load easily. Frankly,  I sometimes heard the fan’s sound and the notebook sometimes heated up a bit. But, these two negative elements never lasted long. The Spectre x360 did not prove to be a gaming machine, but is still powerful enough to handle casual gaming.

Design

The HP Spectre x360 of this year has more a angular and square-cut shape, mostly noticeable at the two front corners as well as at the rear edge. Instead of the nicely rounded finish from last year, the current model features a fairly sharp edge. Where the Ultrabook had carbon fibre touches, the Convertible’s case is made entirely out of CNC-routed aluminium and is thus much more rigid and robust than the Ultrabooks.

The biggest difference between the Convertible and the Ultrabook is the former’s slightly higher display which can be tilted backwards by 360° to convert the notebook into a tablet. Thanks to the built-in orientation sensor, image orientation is always adjusted reliably and quickly, regardless of the display’s orientation and opening angle.

Battery life

HP equipped the Ultrabook with a tiny 48 Wh battery. In my experience, normal load, the battery lasted around 8-9 hours. This is enough to get through a full day of work, and also enough to survive different international flights across the world. But, you’re not going to be able to work a full day and then go home and start watching some movie without first recharging the HP Spectre x360’s.

Keyboard

It was very pleasant to use the Spectre’s chiclet keyboard, both physically as well as acoustically.  The square keycaps are 16×16 mm large, are spaced wide enough apart, and allow for fast and accurate usage. The white keyboard backlight can not be adjusted. It can be either turned on or off.

Touchpad

The glas touchpad’s 16:9 aspect ratio matches the display, and the touchpad was pleasant to use and quite responsive. The touchpad lacks dedicated buttons and has these integrated into the lower half instead, and the buttons were precise and offer a very pleasant resistance. I didn’t have any trouble working with the touchpad for prolonged periods of time.

Conclusion

The HP Spectre x360 is one fine-looking laptop. It’s smooth appearance with polished highlights practically calls you to it. Overall performance is strong, and it’s a reasonably priced, premium-grade 2-in-1 laptop, especially when compared to the competition.