HP Spectre x360 Review: A Ghost of a Chance Against Apple

If you are looking for a truly impressive laptop with premium build quality, fantastic specs with solid performance, great battery life, and wrapped in an attractive thin-and-light package, then you’ve probably been shopping for a MacBook. HP is hoping to change all that with the introduction of the HP Spectre x360 (starting at $899.99).

This 13-inch ultrathin laptop not only delivers premium performance with premium hardware wrapped in premium materials, but the Spectre x360 also surpasses the 13-inch MacBook Air in terms of battery life, Wi-Fi performance, and the ability to function as a tablet.

Keep reading if you want to see us explain why we think this is the most impressive HP consumer laptop we’ve ever seen.

Read the full content of this Article: http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/hp-spectre-x360-review-ghost-chance-apple/

 

I've never been too crazy about the whole 2-in-one thing. I had a Dell Inspiron 11 3000-series that had that feature, but I never actually used it. I even see people at places like Starbucks or the food court at the PX with 2-in-1 systems and not once have I ever seen someone using it in a mode other than your standard laptop mode. That being said, it is a very nice looking computer. If it weren't a consumer-grade system, I'd probably buy one

 

I likewise suspect the overwhelming majority of people who own "2-in-1" convertible laptops spend most of their time using the 2-in-1 as a "laptop" and rarely use it as a tablet.

However, as we (and the software we use) continue to shift from traditional desktop computing to touchscreen/pen input on the go, it's better to have a touchscreen/tablet option and not use it than to need it and not have it.

Even if you only use the HP Spectre x360 as a traditional notebook I am confident it will serve you well. When I first saw this laptop my inside voice said, "Great. Another pointless MacBook wannabe." That attitude quickly changed after I picked up the x360 and started using it. As I mention in my review, the x360 isn't "perfect" ... but I genuinely believe this is the best Windows-based MacBook Air competitor to ever hit the market (and I've owned several).

The ClickPad issue with left-and-right clicks is the biggest complaint I personally have about the x360. But, as I said in the review, that's an inherent problem for ALL Windows-based laptops with buttonless touchpads to at least some extent.

I value portability and snappy overall performance with good build quality over gaming (at least for my primary travel laptop priced at $999 or less) so I don't "need" entry-level discrete graphics like the Nvidia GeForce 830M or a newer equivalent. Still, if HP wants me to buy a higher-end configuration they should know I won't spend more than $1000 on a notebook with only integrated graphics.

 

Great review, thanks !

I'm looking for a 2-1 laptop. The Surface 3 was on the top of my priorities, but it's much less a laptop than a tablet, and without a normal keyboard I decided not to go for it.
I also liked the Yoga Pro 3, but the reviews aren't encouraging overall.

Although I have a bad experience with HP products, especially regarding optimization of software and drivers, this laptop looks very interesting. The fact that there's a strong cooperation with Microsoft is very encouraging.

Could you please let us know more about the overall experience and daily use? I seldom rely on mere benchmarks numbers and results, and rely more on comments and reviews after a relatively prolonged period of use.

Most of all, I'd like to know about these factors:

1) Heat - does it get hot in normal use?
2) Noise - a critical factor for me, and the reason I'm willing to replace my old HP laptop. Does the fan kick in easily after low load, or does it keep quiet even under moderate load?
3) Keyboard - HP laptops were never the best with their keyboards. What about this laptop's keyboard? Is it comfortable for long emails and word processing, and as a main laptop for heavy office usage and emailing?
4) Tablet mode - how usable is this mode? Is it comfortable to use with the keyboard in the back? I don't expect using it with one hand (I barely can do this with my iPad), but is it comfortable to use for a prolonged time ? I know that HP made the edges in a way to make it comfortable, but I wonder how is the overall experience in tablet mode.

And last but not least - this strong cooperation with Microsoft - will it continue when windows 10 will be out? Or things will be a mess then and drivers and software won't be optimized? I think only time will tell...

Any other information would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

Great review. I am on the fence between this and the Dell XPS 13 since they are nearly the same price. Any thoughts on how to go about breaking the deadlock?

 

Well, the XPS 13 was also an option for me, but I think it's a bit different. You don't have the tablet mode you can have with the Spectre X360 or Yoga Pro 3 .
The Dell is having truly great reviews, and it's definitely an amazing laptop.

As stated in the previous post, what worries me is the quality of the X360... I really want to know how sturdy, durable and resistant is the hinge system and overall structure of the device, due to my (and others) bad experience with HP laptops.
I guess we have to wait for more reviews and in-depth usage for coming to a conclusion!!

 

Yea it's the dilemma of the trade off between lighter and smaller notebook vs the yoga-like hinge.

 

I used to be an evangelist for the concept of a convertible machine, but I've cooled on the idea. Despite being 2.5 years after the launch of Win8, the Metro app selection remains downright dreadful. And no browser gives a really good tablet experience in Win8.1 (Chrome is not nearly as touch-friendly as the Android version, even in "Windows 8 Mode"; IE Metro is very limited in functionality and can't handle all websites; and IE Desktop is primarily designed around KB&M). So I personally find the XPS 13 more tempting than the Spectre x360.

I also typically prefer the feel of Dell keyboards to HP keyboards, but that's a highly subjective issue.

 

Yes, indeed the app selection for touch-usage is abysmal though with a greater push by MS for Win10, maybe that will change in the future. This is from my experience of using a Dell Venue Pro 8 and I just don't see a compelling enough reason to need a touch-interface for now. It seems doubtful that expanding it to 13" will get me to use it in tablet-mode often since it's heavier and larger than a 8-10" slate tablet.

Having said that, touch is a nice-to-have option, and there's also the pen-option (unknown if it's Wacom/N-trig/Synaptics/Atmel) for doodling and note-taking (I'm not much of a drawing user).

For now, maybe it would seem like pairing an ultralight notebook with an Android tablet might serve most use-cases?

 

Well, let's hope that Windows 10 brings more functionality to the whole touch based system.

Waiting for more in-depth reviews about the laptop

 

Here's one of the first reviews to appear on youtube :




Still lacking much technical and in-depth data unfortunately

 

I don't think this has a chance against Apple tbh

 

Eh - this is a pretty different machine than the MacBook. Much more powerful, convertible design, just as good battery life and it's significantly cheaper.

 

I have to agree with Mr. Jeffries, I have had my spectre x360 i7/8gb ram/512ssd for almost a week and I love the thing. I love the fact that I was able to get so many ports on an ultrabook especially the full size HDMI, sure I would have loved to have an RJ-45 jack but they give you a dongle for that. As a CS/Engineering major and part time hobby with photography I am impressed for the price I paid and what the machine does. As a side not I have had so many Thinkpads and always looked down at HP products that I could not justify the price of the new carbon X1 compared to this.

 

Nice to hear that.
Can you give us more impressions you had so far?
1) Recent reviews pointed out a problem with heat, did you encounter such problems or does it run cool overall?
2) What about noise? Is it generally quiet?
3) How does it perform in tablet mode? Is it comfortable/quiet enough to be used to browse, watch a movie or YouTube video on a general basis?

Thanks!

 

To be honest I really have not noticed the heat being an issue. Granted I am sitting at a desk with it most the time and rarely have it on my lap, it seems not much warmer than my previous laptop. Remember aluminum is a conductor of heat, the times I did have it on my lap (which have been rare) it was generally cool and not uncomfortable at all.
Regarding noise, the few times that the fan did come on yes you can hear it. I do not see how you would not the exit ports for the fan seem a lot bigger than what was on my last laptop. Just general browsing the web I don't think the fan has come on at all to be honest. Tablet mode was pretty decent, it's no iPad or Galaxy I didn't get it for that purpose. I have used it as a tablet though and used the HP pen with OneNote and it was better than I expected.
Battery wise this thing was awesome, I was doing casual web browsing this morning and had the settings set to power saver mode "12hr 15 min(78%) remaining" this was looking at YouTube, checking out ESPN and about 4 browsers open.

The other thing I find interesting is I looked at my MacBook Air 13 and the machines look darn near identical. Even how the item comes packaged is almost to say "Appleish". It was shipped to me and it was literally a box inside a box inside a box. Not like the Lenovo or Dell's that have it in just a box and that's it.
Any questions feel free to ask

 

Sorry for my delay in following up here. As I mentioned in the heat and noise section under the second page of the review, I haven't had any problems with heat or fan/operational noise while using the Spectre x360. The external temps on the top and bottom of the chassis remained in the 80s and 90s and the exhaust heat isn't bad as long as you don't block the vent on the left side. I heard the fan
running when we ran multiple performance benchmarks, but in real-life use the fan noise is essentially nonexistant (in other words, it's silent most of the time).

The Spectre x360 is VERY usable in tablet mode (even if I do prefer tablets with 10-inch or smaller screens). The touch screen is extremely precise and the screen itself is gorgeous and usable both indoors and outdoors under normal sunlight.

In tablet mode you'll notice the keyboard keys flipped behind the screen since HP didn't incorporate a retractable keyboard plate, but the mechanical system for retracting the keys would add to the overall thickness. So, you'll feel the keys in tablet mode but they don't feel any less comfortable than convertible notebooks with retractable keyboards ... and the keys are automatically disabled when the screen flips back.

The keyboard is one of the best I've used on a 13-inch laptop. It's noticeably superior to the keyboard on my ASUS Zenbook UX32 ultrabook. As I mentioned, I would have appreciated multiple brightness settings for the keyboard backlight instead of just "on" and "off" but the backlight is adequate. I'd be happy to type on the Spectre x360's keyboard for a full work day.

In terms of HP and Microsoft working together so closely, reps from both companies wanted to make it clear that this is just the first notebook to be developed in such a collaborative process. It stands to reason that HP and Microsoft plan to continue working closely on future product releases ... at least those are the current plans.

I asked both HP and Microsoft representatives for an official statement about Windows 10 on the Spectre x360 but neither company wants to go on record with anything specific about future product releases or specific details about support for future operating system releases. That said, reps from both HP and Microsoft acknowledged that several design elements in the Spectre x360 could be utilized by Windows 10 and that HP and Microsoft were very aware of Windows 10 during the design and development process of this laptop despite the fact that their primary focus was to develop and release the best possible convertible laptop running Windows 8.

In short, the HP reps I spoke to refused to go on record to say the Spectre x360 will eventually be released with Windows 10 (or whether the Spectre x360 will receive updated drivers for those users upgrading to Windows 10), but it's reasonable to assume HP and Microsoft both have a vested interest in supporting the Spectre x360 even after the release of Windows 10.

 

Thanks for the great follow up Jerry. I have had nothing but pleasentness with mine so far.

 

Thanks for the through replies @aparker71 and @Jerry Jackson !! Lots of useful information!

I really hope that HP will release drivers and optimizations for Windows 10, otherwise it would be really silly to buy this laptop right now, as everyone will surely upgrade to it.
I already had an experience of negative effect of uprades from vista to 7 to 8/8.1 , always because lack of optimizations.

Do you think this laptop is close in build quality and durability to the Business lines of HP and Dell?

There's a nice thread going on about the laptop, I'm sure you can both help and add from your experience.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/hp-spectre-x360.772405/

Thanks!

 

I have found that Mac users are in thier own camp and are rarely cross shopping the aisle...its basically like congress; however, I think the PC ultrabook format keeps people with PCs and may decrease the probability of the younger users gravitating to Apple products.

 

good review- sounds like HP may finally be back on track- the 'split' version is horrible- I have 2 users and both have issues and a lack of ports- also since the kbd is considered a 'dock' it does not play real nice with a usb3 dock which is necessary because they have so few ports. I have 2 happy users of the the Dell 13" 7347 and 2 happy with Yoga 2., 1 happy with Acer Switch 11. I agree all will use laptop mode more than other modes, but the flexibility to go to tablet or presentation mode is great occasionally (like cramped airplane seat and lack of use of those modes is mostly due to both inertia (users are used to laptops) and still-no-optimum touch control in windows (how do you do ctrl-c or copy when in tablet mode?) and lack of windows tablet apps. Lastly - until windows is better able to use QHD, etc- stick with 1080p resolution (ALL laptops should offer that!) and lets get (1) new usb3.1 'C' on every laptop soon! (but more than just 1 port- Apple has got to be KIDDING that the the new Macbook will have 1 of those and NOTHING else).

 

Great review. I was all set to buy the best and most current configuration of the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 series (I believe it is model i7348-5001SLV, which is similar and impressive as well). But after reading this, I think there are some nuances that make this a better pick even though it would cost about $200 more. Please reply if you have any experience with the similar Dell model I mentioned and if you have any opinions on it.