“The guys from HP came knocking on the door and offered to test some of their popular products for free.
A few days later, a 13-inch HP Specter x360 convertible laptop based on the 7th Intel generation(Kaby Lake) in one of the top configurations (model 13-w001ur).
Without exception, all specialized technical publications abroad highly rate the HP Specter x360:
- Fifth place in the ranking of the best laptops of 2017 according to CNET.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2 in 1 laptops according to CNET.
- Fourth place in the ranking of the best laptops of 2017 according to TechRadar.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2 in 1 laptops according to TechRadar.
- Second place in the ranking of the best laptops of 2017 according to PC Mag.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2 in 1 laptops according to PC Mag.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2-in-1 laptops according to Laptop Mag.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2 in 1 laptops according to PC World.
At first glance, the HP Specter x360 is no different from an ordinary ultrabook from the highest price segment: aluminum case 14 mm thick, weight 1.44 kg, cool display, powerful hardware and cost more than 100 thousand rubles.
The magic begins when you open the laptop. The HP Specter x360 literally turns 360 degrees. It turns out to be a real tablet with the performance of a premium laptop.
HP Specter x360 Specifications (Model 13-w001ur)
| CPU | Intel Core i7 7500U 2.7 GHz |
| Video | Intel HD Graphics 620 |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR3 1 866 MHz |
| SSD | 512 GB, NVMe |
| Display | 13.3 inches, IPS, Full HD (1,920 × 1,080), 165.6 ppi, touch, multi-touch |
| Cameras and microphone | Front Full HD for video calls, IR for Windows Hello, two microphones |
| Sound | Bang & Olufsen, four speakers |
| Connection | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2×2, Bluetooth 4.1 |
| Interfaces | 1 USB 3.0 Type-A, 2 USB 3.1 Type-C Thunderbolt 3, 3.5 mm mini-jack |
| Battery | Li-Ion, 57.8 Wh |
| Housing material | Aluminium alloy |
| Color | Grey |
| Dimensions | 306 × 218 × 14 mm |
| Weight | 1.44 kg |
| Set | Case, Charger, Ethernet to USB C adapter. |
| Price | "Yandex Market " |
Design
Absolutely all modern ultrabooks are similar to each other.
No bells and whistles or unnecessary elements, because manufacturers are fighting for every gram and tenth of a millimeter.
Everything is strict, uniform and thin enough to accommodate the necessary filling. The results of this size race can only be seen in comparison.
Two generations of HP Specter x360 in comparison / TechRadar Here are two HP Specter x360 models. The latest generation is on top, the previous generation is below. Everything seems to be the same, but the difference in size is obvious.
In practice, a device with dimensions of 306 × 218 × 14 mm and a weight of 1.44 kg seems incredibly light and compact, especially if you switch to it from a regular laptop.
Ports
The HP Specter x360 has just one USB 3.0 Type-A port, located on the left. If you want to connect more than one external device you will have to get or buy an adapter.
In addition to USB, on the left side there is a headphone jack, a power button and a grille for removing air from the cooling system.
On the right, the HP Specter x360 has a volume rocker and two USB 3.1 Type-C Thunderbolt 3 ports. One connector (either of the two) is supposed to be used to charge and power the laptop from an outlet, and the second to connect all sorts of peripherals.
The disadvantage of the laptop is the lack of HDMI and an SD card slot, which is why potential users who have not yet updated their peripherals may experience inconvenience.
USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3 are truly wonderful technologies that will allow you to replace absolutely all other ports in the future, but try to find an external drive or monitor for this connector. Of course, switching to a single interface is the dream of any technoesthete, but in practice the financial factor will all come down to the purchase of several more adapters.
Considering that the HP Specter x360 kit includes an adapter only for Ethernet, you will have to look for and purchase other adapters yourself and at your own expense.
The lack of a slot for SD cards will upset not only photographers and cameramen, but also all those who are used to using a memory card as a memory expansion that is undemanding in terms of read and write speed.
Performance
The combination of Intel Core i7 7500U, 16 GB of RAM and a very fast PCIe SSD allows the HP Specter x360 to solve absolutely any non-specific tasks and ensure impeccable performance and stability.
You can open 20 or 30 tabs in Chrome, run the entire office suite of applications, and still have a lot of resources left.
Processor rating
| Geekbench 4 Single-Core | 4 191 |
| GeekBench 4 Multi-Core | 7 914 |
| GeekBench 3 Single-Core | 3 610 |
| GeekBench 3 Multi-Core | 7 612 |
| CineBench R15 CPU Test Single-Core | 144 |
| CineBench R15 CPU Test Multi-Core | 326 |
SSD rating
The NVMe drive provides some fantastic read and write speeds. Until recently, SATA-SSD seemed incredibly fast, especially compared to HDD, but now it’s already a thing of the past.
Graphics rating
Obviously, the HP Specter x360 will not replace a professional computer for design or work with graphics and video, but ultrabooks never seem to pretend to do such things.
| GFXBench 3.0 T-Rex | 94 |
| GFXBench 3.0 Manhattan | 47 |
| 3DMark Firestrike | 864 |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate | 6 051 |
| 3DMark Ice Storm | 59 486 |
| CineBench R15 GPU Test | 45 |
Absence discrete video card does not allow us to call the HP Specter x360 an acceptable option for advanced gamers, but the power of the Intel Core i7 7500U in combination with Intel HD Graphics 620 is quite enough for most popular games.
This is what Battlefield 1 looks like. Graphics are at a minimum, but still beautiful (1,366 × 768, 29 FPS). FPS in other games (low/medium settings, 1366 × 768)
| Overwatch | 40 |
| CS GO | 112 |
| Far Cry 3 | 27 |
| Battlefield 4 | 36 |
| Metro: Last Light | 28 |
| Bioshock Infinite | 36 |
| Rainbow Six Siege | 26 |
Noise and heat
HP Specter x360 is a fairly quiet and cool ultrabook for its performance. Thanks to Intel Core i7 7500U with TDP 15 W. When working in the browser, the noise of the cooling system is not detected at all. After a few minutes of watching streaming video high resolution There is a slight heating of the area next to the air exhaust grille. Most of the heat goes into back cover laptop. To feel the heating, you need to place the device on your lap.
It was possible to really warm up the laptop with heavy 3D games. In such an extreme mode for a non-gaming device, there is a whistle from the turbine and heat bordering on discomfort in the area where the cooling system is located. The HP Specter x360 successfully handled a 30-minute gaming session of Battlefield 1. There were no performance hitches during this time.
Screen
The 13.3-inch Full HD IPS touch display of the HP Specter x360 provides a very bright, rich and clear picture. The difference in quality will be especially noticeable to owners of typical budget laptops with TN panels. At 166 ppi, it is almost impossible to see the pixels.
The unusually thin side frames also attract attention. The distance from the display to the edge of the cover is only 6 millimeters.
A glossy screen does not add comfort when working on sunny summer days, but there are simply no other options for a touch screen.
Keyboard and touchpad
Typing on the HP Specter x360 is pleasant and convenient, not least thanks to the dedicated navigation keys on the right.
The keys are placed very well; they do not wobble or play, even if you make a swiping movement, lightly touching the surface of the keyboard. The glass touchpad of the HP Specter x360 has dimensions of 120 × 60 mm and is equipped with physical left and right click buttons. There were no complaints about it during the work process.
The key stroke length is only 1.3 mm, but the pressing itself is very obvious and somewhat reminiscent of the behavior of mechanics. At the beginning of pressing there is a tiny resistance, and at the end there is a clear click. You can evaluate the keyboard backlight yourself from the photo.
Battery
HP Specter x360 is equipped with lithium-ion battery 57.8 Wh capacity with technology fast charging(from 0 to 90% in 90 minutes). The laptop's operating time on one full charge, declared by the manufacturer, is 12.5 hours with constant surfing.
In reality, when active work In Chrome and screen brightness at 70% of maximum (recommended default power settings), the HP Specter x360 lasted 10 hours and 4 minutes. The time obtained by the Laptop Mag laboratory under similar conditions turned out to be almost identical (10 hours 6 minutes). Judging by other tests available on the Internet, one full charge of a laptop lasts on average 10–11 hours.
Sound
Towards creation speaker system The HP Specter x360 was produced by Bang & Olufsen, a well-known company in audiophile circles, as the corresponding inscription on the case clearly hints at.
The laptop has four speakers in total: a pair under the grille on top, and another pair under the bottom cover. In this way, a more voluminous sound is achieved, which, however, is still devoid of expressive lows due to the small diameter of the drivers.
In total, the acoustics of the HP Specter x360 sound an order of magnitude better than any laptop with no-name speakers. Separately, it is necessary to note the absence of wheezing when listening at close to maximum volume.
Tablet mode
A convertible laptop takes some getting used to, especially if this is your first device of this format. At first, it’s hard for your brain to realize that right now, while you’re lying on the couch or sitting in a chair, you can turn the screen out and work with much greater comfort. But after a couple of days everything returns to normal. For example, embarrassment disappears when accidentally pressed keys when they are on the back of the screen. The keyboard always turns off in tablet mode, but it’s not easy to not be afraid of “accidentally pressing something and breaking everything.”
The obvious advantage of a transformable laptop over a tablet is that there is no need for a stand. All you need to do is turn the HP Specter x360 inside out and place it anywhere.
Unlike its predecessors, Windows 10 is much better optimized for touch screens. If you fundamentally reject Transformers and tablets on Windows only because of the unpleasant experience of working with them on the “eight”, then just try the “ten” once. With a high degree of probability, your opinion will change for the better.
Conclusion
HP Specter x360 deservedly takes first place in the ratings of ultrabooks and transformables. Returning after it to your laptop, bulky, heavy, plastic, creaky, with a screen from which your eyes are now bleeding, is very unpleasant.
It's hard to believe that such power fits into such compact and sophisticated forms. It's even harder to believe that Windows laptops have finally caught up and surpassed their Apple counterparts in time battery life.
If you still think that Ultrabooks aren't worth the money, you've either never used one, or you've been dealing with some bad model.
Lifehacker thanks HP for providing the device for testing.
“The guys from HP came knocking on the door and offered to test some of their popular products for free.
A few days later, a 13-inch HP Specter x360 convertible laptop based on the 7th generation Intel (Kaby Lake) arrived to us in one of the top configurations (model 13-w001ur).
Without exception, all specialized technical publications abroad highly rate the HP Specter x360:
- Fifth place in the ranking of the best laptops of 2017 according to CNET.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2 in 1 laptops according to CNET.
- Fourth place in the ranking of the best laptops of 2017 according to TechRadar.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2 in 1 laptops according to TechRadar.
- Second place in the ranking of the best laptops of 2017 according to PC Mag.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2 in 1 laptops according to PC Mag.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2-in-1 laptops according to Laptop Mag.
- First place in the ranking of the best 2 in 1 laptops according to PC World.
At first glance, the HP Specter x360 is no different from an ordinary ultrabook from the highest price segment: an aluminum case 14 mm thick, a weight of 1.44 kg, a cool display, powerful hardware and a cost of more than 100 thousand rubles.
The magic begins when you open the laptop. The HP Specter x360 literally turns 360 degrees. It turns out to be a real tablet with the performance of a premium laptop.
HP Specter x360 Specifications (Model 13-w001ur)
| CPU | Intel Core i7 7500U 2.7 GHz |
| Video | Intel HD Graphics 620 |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR3 1 866 MHz |
| SSD | 512 GB, NVMe |
| Display | 13.3 inches, IPS, Full HD (1,920 × 1,080), 165.6 ppi, touch, multi-touch |
| Cameras and microphone | Front Full HD for video calls, IR for Windows Hello, two microphones |
| Sound | Bang & Olufsen, four speakers |
| Connection | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2×2, Bluetooth 4.1 |
| Interfaces | 1 USB 3.0 Type-A, 2 USB 3.1 Type-C Thunderbolt 3, 3.5 mm mini-jack |
| Battery | Li-Ion, 57.8 Wh |
| Housing material | Aluminium alloy |
| Color | Grey |
| Dimensions | 306 × 218 × 14 mm |
| Weight | 1.44 kg |
| Set | Case, charger, Ethernet - USB C adapter. |
| Price | "Yandex Market " |
Design
Absolutely all modern ultrabooks are similar to each other.
No bells and whistles or unnecessary elements, because manufacturers are fighting for every gram and tenth of a millimeter.
Everything is strict, uniform and thin enough to accommodate the necessary filling. The results of this size race can only be seen in comparison.
Two generations of HP Specter x360 in comparison / TechRadar Here are two HP Specter x360 models. The latest generation is on top, the previous generation is below. Everything seems to be the same, but the difference in size is obvious.
In practice, a device with dimensions of 306 × 218 × 14 mm and a weight of 1.44 kg seems incredibly light and compact, especially if you switch to it from a regular laptop.
Ports
The HP Specter x360 has just one USB 3.0 Type-A port, located on the left. If you want to connect more than one external device, you will have to get or buy an adapter.
In addition to USB, on the left side there is a headphone jack, a power button and a grille for removing air from the cooling system.
On the right, the HP Specter x360 has a volume rocker and two USB 3.1 Type-C Thunderbolt 3 ports. One connector (either of the two) is supposed to be used to charge and power the laptop from an outlet, and the second to connect all sorts of peripherals.
The disadvantage of the laptop is the lack of HDMI and an SD card slot, which is why potential users who have not yet updated their peripherals may experience inconvenience.
USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3 are truly wonderful technologies that will allow you to replace absolutely all other ports in the future, but try to find an external drive or monitor for this connector. Of course, switching to a single interface is the dream of any technoesthete, but in practice the financial factor will all come down to the purchase of several more adapters.
Considering that the HP Specter x360 kit includes an adapter only for Ethernet, you will have to look for and purchase other adapters yourself and at your own expense.
The lack of a slot for SD cards will upset not only photographers and cameramen, but also all those who are used to using a memory card as a memory expansion that is undemanding in terms of read and write speed.
Performance
The combination of Intel Core i7 7500U, 16 GB of RAM and a very fast PCIe SSD allows the HP Specter x360 to solve absolutely any non-specific tasks and ensure impeccable performance and stability.
You can open 20 or 30 tabs in Chrome, run the entire office suite of applications, and still have a lot of resources left.
Processor rating
| Geekbench 4 Single-Core | 4 191 |
| GeekBench 4 Multi-Core | 7 914 |
| GeekBench 3 Single-Core | 3 610 |
| GeekBench 3 Multi-Core | 7 612 |
| CineBench R15 CPU Test Single-Core | 144 |
| CineBench R15 CPU Test Multi-Core | 326 |
SSD rating
The NVMe drive provides some fantastic read and write speeds. Until recently, SATA-SSD seemed incredibly fast, especially compared to HDD, but now it’s already a thing of the past.
Graphics rating
Obviously, the HP Specter x360 will not replace a professional computer for design or work with graphics and video, but ultrabooks never seem to pretend to do such things.
| GFXBench 3.0 T-Rex | 94 |
| GFXBench 3.0 Manhattan | 47 |
| 3DMark Firestrike | 864 |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate | 6 051 |
| 3DMark Ice Storm | 59 486 |
| CineBench R15 GPU Test | 45 |
The lack of a discrete graphics card does not allow the HP Specter x360 to be called an acceptable option for advanced gamers, but the power of the Intel Core i7 7500U in combination with Intel HD Graphics 620 is quite enough for most popular games.
This is what Battlefield 1 looks like. Graphics are at a minimum, but still beautiful (1,366 × 768, 29 FPS). FPS in other games (low/medium settings, 1366 × 768)
| Overwatch | 40 |
| CS GO | 112 |
| Far Cry 3 | 27 |
| Battlefield 4 | 36 |
| Metro: Last Light | 28 |
| Bioshock Infinite | 36 |
| Rainbow Six Siege | 26 |
Noise and heat
HP Specter x360 is a fairly quiet and cool ultrabook for its performance. Thanks to Intel Core i7 7500U with TDP 15 W. When working in the browser, the noise of the cooling system is not detected at all. After several minutes of watching high-definition streaming video, the area near the air exhaust grille becomes slightly warm. Most of the heat goes into the back cover of the laptop. To feel the heating, you need to place the device on your lap.
It was possible to really warm up the laptop with heavy 3D games. In such an extreme mode for a non-gaming device, there is a whistle from the turbine and heat bordering on discomfort in the area where the cooling system is located. The HP Specter x360 successfully handled a 30-minute gaming session of Battlefield 1. There were no performance hitches during this time.
Screen
The 13.3-inch Full HD IPS touch display of the HP Specter x360 provides a very bright, rich and clear picture. The difference in quality will be especially noticeable to owners of typical budget laptops with TN panels. At 166 ppi, it is almost impossible to see the pixels.
The unusually thin side frames also attract attention. The distance from the display to the edge of the cover is only 6 millimeters.
A glossy screen does not add comfort when working on sunny summer days, but there are simply no other options for a touch screen.
Keyboard and touchpad
Typing on the HP Specter x360 is pleasant and convenient, not least thanks to the dedicated navigation keys on the right.
The keys are placed very well; they do not wobble or play, even if you make a swiping movement, lightly touching the surface of the keyboard. The glass touchpad of the HP Specter x360 has dimensions of 120 × 60 mm and is equipped with physical left and right click buttons. There were no complaints about it during the work process.
The key stroke length is only 1.3 mm, but the pressing itself is very obvious and somewhat reminiscent of the behavior of mechanics. At the beginning of pressing there is a tiny resistance, and at the end there is a clear click. You can evaluate the keyboard backlight yourself from the photo.
Battery
HP Specter x360 is equipped with a 57.8 Wh lithium-ion battery with fast charging technology (from 0 to 90% in 90 minutes). The laptop's operating time on one full charge, declared by the manufacturer, is 12.5 hours with constant surfing.
In reality, with active work in Chrome and screen brightness at 70% of the maximum (recommended default power settings), the HP Specter x360 lasted 10 hours and 4 minutes. The time obtained by the Laptop Mag laboratory under similar conditions turned out to be almost identical (10 hours 6 minutes). Judging by other tests available on the Internet, one full charge of a laptop lasts on average 10–11 hours.
Sound
Bang & Olufsen, a well-known company in audiophile circles, had a hand in creating the HP Specter x360 speaker system, as the corresponding inscription on the case clearly hints at.
The laptop has four speakers in total: a pair under the grille on top, and another pair under the bottom cover. In this way, a more voluminous sound is achieved, which, however, is still devoid of expressive lows due to the small diameter of the drivers.
In total, the acoustics of the HP Specter x360 sound an order of magnitude better than any laptop with no-name speakers. Separately, it is necessary to note the absence of wheezing when listening at close to maximum volume.
Tablet mode
A convertible laptop takes some getting used to, especially if this is your first device of this format. At first, it’s hard for your brain to realize that right now, while you’re lying on the couch or sitting in a chair, you can turn the screen out and work with much greater comfort. But after a couple of days everything returns to normal. For example, the embarrassment of accidentally pressing keys when they are on the back side of the screen disappears. The keyboard always turns off in tablet mode, but it’s not easy to not be afraid of “accidentally pressing something and breaking everything.”
The obvious advantage of a transformable laptop over a tablet is that there is no need for a stand. All you need to do is turn the HP Specter x360 inside out and place it anywhere.
Unlike its predecessors, Windows 10 is much better optimized for touch screens. If you fundamentally reject Transformers and tablets on Windows only because of the unpleasant experience of working with them on the “eight”, then just try the “ten” once. With a high degree of probability, your opinion will change for the better.
Conclusion
HP Specter x360 deservedly takes first place in the ratings of ultrabooks and transformables. Returning after it to your laptop, bulky, heavy, plastic, creaky, with a screen from which your eyes are now bleeding, is very unpleasant.
It's hard to believe that such power fits into such compact and sophisticated forms. It's even harder to believe that Windows laptops have finally caught up and surpassed their Apple counterparts in terms of battery life.
If you still think that Ultrabooks aren't worth the money, you've either never used one, or you've been dealing with some bad model.
Lifehacker thanks HP for providing the device for testing.
In our testing, the HP Specter x360 delivered solid performance, a high-quality design, and outstanding portability. In addition, he delights us with two simple yet ingenious design ideas. In other categories, as well as in terms of value for money, the Specter was also very good. The ergonomics, despite the high quality of workmanship and pleasant tactile sensations caused by the keyboard, turned out to be only satisfactory. Thus, with the Specter 13-4100, HP presents a convincing device that can shine not only as an office laptop.
Advantages
High quality housing
More productivity than required for office work
Thoughtful design
Flaws
Keyboard layout takes some getting used to
Under full load a bit noisy
HP Specter x360 13-4100 Test Results
- Price-quality ratio
Great
- Price/quality ratio: 89
- Mobility (25%): 91.9
- Equipment (25%): 83.4
- Productivity (15%): 73
- Ergonomics (15%): 67.8
- Display (20%): 86.8
Editorial rating
User rating
You have already rated
More than an office workhorse
In heart HP Specter x360 installed Core processor i5-6200U generation Skylake and 8 GB random access memory. Data can be stored on a 256 GB SSD drive. In addition to three USB 3.0 Typ-C ports, as well as HDMI and Mini-DisplayPort outputs, there is also a module for reading data from SD cards. In addition, buyers will find a USB-Ethernet adapter in the package.
In terms of performance, this device has nothing to be shy about either. In particular, it managed to get 6023 points in the 3DMark: CloudGate benchmark. For comparison: with the same processor - only 5864 points. Thus, the performance of the HP Specter will be quite sufficient not only for office work and web surfing, but also for basic image processing or casual gaming.
HP Specter x360 13-4100: The "tent" position is especially suitable for a relaxing movie night. Almost perfect design
With a "satisfactory" rating, the Ergonomics test category is where the Specter x360 struggles. However, even here the device managed to demonstrate some strong qualities: in particular, this laptop is convincing, first of all, very high quality performance and rigidity.
Even the hinged display mount, which is quite often the weak point of transformers, fixes the desired position HP Specter x360 really good. The tactile feel of the keyboard and remarkably large touchpad is also very good and provides pleasant feedback.
Unfortunately, the display is very difficult to open. It is simply impossible to open it with one hand without tricks, and even with two hands it can sometimes be quite difficult to do this. In addition, the keyboard layout requires serious getting used to and often provokes errors, mainly due to the very small Enter button and different-sized cursor keys.
Two small design features
As we know, little things make a big difference. So in HP Specter x360: Even if the special design ideas don't affect the device's position in our rankings, they are a joy to test - especially if they end up being linked to clever functionality.
For example, the power on/off button, which is usually located on the front side of transformers, is located on the right side. In addition, there are no additional buttons in the immediate vicinity, that is, incorrect presses are practically eliminated.
Another well-thought-out feature: the keyboard backlight button is constantly lit, separate from all the others. However, it burns quite brightly, which can be a little disturbing in the dark. However, if desired, the corresponding LED can be turned off through the settings in the BIOS.
Rich colors for outdoor work
The 13.3-inch IPS display has high color accuracy and rich color display. In Full HD resolution (1920x1080 pixels), the checkerboard contrast reaches 196:1, and the maximum brightness is 328.6 cd/m2. These are good but not outstanding values.
With a weight of 1.47 kg and a battery life of up to 12 hours 21 minutes in office mode, and up to 10 hours 58 minutes with video playback, HP Specter x360 also suitable for outdoor work.
Alternative options
Stylish transformer: Asus Zenbook Flip UX360UA
It costs less than Specter, but with almost identical hardware, it demonstrates slightly worse performance indicators. He also has the ability to transform and is pleasant Feedback from the keyboard. Also in terms of office battery life, which is only 10 hours 39 minutes, the Zenbook performs slightly worse.
Transformer at a low price: Asus Transformer Book Flip TP200SA
The test was very convincing: the display, portability and ease of use of the compact 11-inch device are exemplary. However, in order to achieve such an attractive price, the manufacturer, of course, had to save on something.
For example, the equipment here is very meager: in particular, the built-in memory is represented by an eMMC drive with a capacity of only 32 GB, and the processor ( Intel Celeron N3050) is designed more for working with office programs and web surfing, and not for games or video editing.
The battery life is first class: up to 12 hours 25 minutes on a single charge you can use this Asus laptop as an office.
HP Specter x360 13-4100 Specifications and Test Results
| Price-quality ratio | 89 |
| operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| Dimensions | 32.5 x 21.9 x 1.7 cm |
| Weight | 1.5 kg |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-6200U (2.3 GHz) |
| RAM capacity | 8 GB |
| Video card type | integrated |
| Video card model | - |
| Video memory capacity | - |
| Display: diagonal | 13.3 inches |
| Display: resolution | 1.920 x 1.080 pixels |
| Display: surface | brilliant |
| Display: max. brightness | 329 cd/m² |
| Display: staggered contrast | 196:1 |
| Display: Pixel Density | 166 dpi |
| Display: brightness distribution | 89,7 % |
| Storage capacity | 256 GB |
| Drive type | SSD |
| Optical drive | - |
| Battery: capacity | 55 Wh |
| Autonomous operation: office suite | 12:13 h:min |
| Autonomous operation: video playback | 10:59 h:min |
| Noise at mask. load | acceptable noise level |
| USB ports | 3 x USB 3.0 |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| WLAN | 802.11ac |
| LAN connector | |
| UMTS | - |
| Dock station | - |
| HDMI | HDMI |
| Other digital video outputs | Mini-Display-Port |
| Analog video outputs | - |
| Card reader | SDXC |
| Webcam | Yes |
| Optional equipment | keyboard backlight |
| Test: PCMark 7 | 4.872 points |
| Test: 3DMark (Cloud Gate) | 6.023 points |
As if Freddie Mercury walked into the HP office singing “I want it all,” the 13.3-inch Specter x360 convertible laptop also hints that yes, you can not only “want it all,” but also get it for a fraction of the price. $1,149 (model tested at $1,359). Thanks to the sleek design of this machine and the ultra-powerful 8th generation Intel processor, you will get not only external beauty, but also brutal performance.
Plus, the Specter's comfortable keyboard, display with optional privacy mode, and great sound make it equally good for work and play. Its screen is a little dim, and its battery life is decent, although a little less than what competitors offer. That said, the Specter x360 is one of the best consumer 2-in-1 models you can buy right now.
Design
The Specter x360 looks like a solid ingot of aluminum. The only difference between this year's model and last year's version is that the rear edge of the new model, when closed, is a pair of rigidly beveled edges, as opposed to the curved design in old model. We tested the dull silver model, but throughout the test we were tempted to try the black and copper model, which HP calls Dark Ash Silver and which costs $10 more.
One of the most welcome improvements to the new Specter x360 is the hinge, which feels unusually tight. This is useful when you rotate the display from laptop mode to tablet, stand, or display mode.
With dimensions of 30.4 x 21.8 x 1.23 cm and a weight of 1.3 kg, the 13.3-inch Specter x360 is similar in size to the . It is also lighter than the 13.9-inch Lenovo Yoga 920 and heavier than the 12.3-inch Microsoft Surface Pro.
Specter x360 has both modern and “good old” ports. These include dual Thunderbolt 3 with right side, USB 3.1 next to the headphone jack - on the left. Also a pleasant surprise from HP was the presence of a card slot microSD memory, given that the previous model did not have such a slot.
Since the Specter x360 has a foldable design, the fingerprint sensor and power and volume buttons are located on the sides, next to the ports. Kudos to HP for not placing the fingerprint reader inside the touchpad, as some manufacturers do.
During testing, the fingerprint scanner performed well, helping to unlock the system upon boot. But the volume buttons seemed a little hard to us, requiring excessive force to press them.
Display
The 13.3-inch Spectra x360 display with 1080p resolution delivers excellent color reproduction. While watching the Black Panther trailer, we noted how bright the glowing console on Okoye's ship and the golden-red tones of her armor looked. The 1080p display resolution is clear enough to see the texture of Black Panther's armor and Erik Killmonger's luxurious coat.
Displaying 109 percent of the sRGB spectrum, the Specter x360's screen is close to the average of 102 percent, not far behind the Yoga 920's 105 percent and almost on par with the XPS 13's 111 percent. The Surface Pro was brighter at 140 percent.
The Specter x360 measured just 261 nits on our colorimeter, falling below the Yoga 920's 285-nit average and 283 nits. The 367-nit XPS 13 and 395-nit Surface Pro have much better brightness, as do viewing angles.
The Specter x360's touchscreen accurately registers touches as you drag icons and scroll across web pages. It also quickly recognizes navigation Windows gestures 10 to view all windows and open Action Center.
The Specter x360 SSD copies DVD media files in a lightning-fast 9 seconds at 567 Mbps.
For those who use a laptop in public places or among friends, relatives or colleagues who do not respect privacy, this will come in handy additional mode privacy Sure View (costs an extra $60), which unfortunately isn't available for 4K displays. Activated by pressing the F1 key, Sure View makes the screen as white as possible when viewed at an angle. In testing, we noticed that it makes text illegible when viewed at an angle of 45 degrees or more.
Keyboard, touchpad and stylus
The Specter x360 isn't one of those super-thin laptops that will limit your typing experience. On the 10fastfingers benchmark, the Specter's comfortable keys achieved a speed of 78 wpm, which is very close to our average average of 80 wpm. Some of the lag may be due to the decent actuation force required - 80 grams (we consider at least 60 grams normal), and the keys have 1.3 millimeters of travel, which is quite low compared to the minimum 1.5 mm that is considered comfortable .
The ultra-wide 11.9 x 6 cm touchpad allows you to navigate faster by accurately tracking your input. It also perfectly recognizes the system's navigation gestures for viewing the desktop and all open applications.
The Specter x360 comes with a seemingly ordinary stylus, but this pen has a hidden feature: charging. A simple twist of the end of the stylus allows you to remove the cover and open USB port Type-C, which is used for charging. Charging is done using the same cable used to charge the Specter. It's much more convenient Apple Pencil or purchasing AAAA batteries that can only be found on Amazon.
Audio
The Bang & Olufsen-branded speakers in the Specter x360 allow this little machine to pump out an impressive amount of sound. During testing, he managed to fill our office with Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer". We noted how clear the vocals sounded and how capacious the drums were.
The Specter x360's 13.3-inch 1080p display produces richly rich color.
A Bang & Olufsen sound tuning app is included, although we didn't find its presets particularly useful. The default option is “Music”. The Movies setting is virtually the same, and Audio doesn't clear out low-quality tracks enough for noise to make it worth constantly switching between them.
Performance
Our Specter x360 test was equipped with an 8-core Intel Core i7-8550U processor with a 512 GB PCIe SSD and 16 GB of RAM, which provided good speed work, reliable productivity and even allowed you to play games. We didn't notice any stuttering after splitting the screen between a 1080p YouTube video and a dozen Chrome tabs, including Giphy, Slack, TweetDeck and Google Docs.
In the main Geekbench 4 benchmark test, our Specter x360 posted a respectable 13,569 points, which falls between the Yoga 920's 13,307 (Core i7-8550U with 8GB RAM) and the XPS 13's 14,159 (Core i7-8550U with 8GB RAM) ). The segment average is 7358, which includes ratings for a wide variety of laptops, including those on older Intel 7th Gen processors.
The 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD allows the Specter x360 to rip a selection of DVD media files in 9 seconds at 565Mbps. That's faster than the average speed of 228 Mbps, as well as the Yoga 920's 301 Mbps (256GB NVMe PCIe SSD) and the XPS 13's 509 Mbps (256GB SSD). The Surface Pro with its 339 Mbps (1 TB SSD) is also left behind.
The Specter x360 clocked 3 minutes and 22 seconds in the OpenOffice benchmark test, matching 20,000 names to addresses, in a shorter period of time than the 5:38 average. The Yoga 920 (3:18), XPS 13 (3:19), and Surface Pro (3:14) were faster, but not by much.
The Bang & Olufsen speakers built into the Specter x360 allow this little laptop to pump out a surprising amount of sound.
Low-end gamers can expect lag-free gaming from the Specter x360. The device uses an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 chip. Not only did this 2-in-1 convertible laptop allow you to play the popular platformer Cuphead without any problems, it also made it possible to play Dirt 3 with a frequency of 56 frames per second, which exceeded the minimum comfortable gaming threshold is 30 fps and average level is 42 fps. More low frequency We saw 36 fps refreshes on the Yoga 920 (Intel UHD Graphics 620), while more high speed XPS 13 (2017) (Intel UHD Graphics 620) showed 57 frames per second.
The Specter x360 also performed well on the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited graphics test with a solid score of 79,529, which is above the average score of 58,981. The Surface Pro (Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640) scored higher at 109,679, the Yoga 920 scored 86,268, and the XPS scored 81,836. 13.
Battery life
The Specter x360's battery life should last most of the day, but some competitors last even longer. On our battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi, this HP laptop lasted 8 hours and 27 minutes. This is in line with the average for the ultraportable category. The Yoga 920 (12:23) lasts much longer, but the Surface Pro (7:31) has less endurance.
Webcam
The selfie, taken with the Specter x360's 2.0-megapixel camera, is so grainy that it looks like the T-shirt was rolled in dust before the photo was taken.
But no, this is not dust, but the usual graininess characteristic of most built-in webcams. In this case, it is also worth considering an external webcam if video communication is important to you.
Heat dissipation
With this laptop you don't have to worry about overheating. After watching a 15 minute HD video, our infrared thermometer recorded 30 degrees at touchpad computer, 31 degrees on the keyboard and 33 degrees on the bottom, which did not exceed the 35-degree threshold for comfortable temperature.
This year's model dissipates heat better because the vent has been moved to the left side, away from where your hand might be. The ventilation is now located on the rear panel.
Software
HP offers the Specter x360 with a relatively small set of preinstalled software. The JumpStart app guides you through the setup; Support Assistant will help download drivers and contact HP, and Recovery Manager will help with management backup copies and will create recovery images. There's also a one-year offer for 30GB of free Dropbox storage, although it's only available to new subscribers.
Configuration
We tested the $1,359 Specter x360 configuration, which includes an 8th-gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, a Sure View privacy screen, and a stylus. If you don't need that kind of performance, you can opt for the $1,049 entry-level model; it comes with Core i5, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.
We'd happily spend the extra $10 for the black-and-copper color scheme of the laptop, but we probably wouldn't order HP's optional 3840x2160-pixel display ($150 extra) since it would likely increase power consumption.
Bottom line
There's a lot to love about the Specter x360. Using it, you will experience a sensation akin to riding in a luxury limousine, enjoying impressive speed, a comfortable keyboard, rich sound and Safe View privacy mode. My only wish is that this 2-in-1 transformer works longer without charging, and that its screen becomes a little brighter.
The Lenovo Yoga 920, which starts at $1,299, lasts 4 hours longer and has a brighter display, but we liked its keyboard less than the HP's. Overall, the Specter x360 is one of the best-looking 2-in-1 devices on the market and is definitely worth checking out.
Result: 4 out of 5
HP has announced an updated Specter 13 x360 laptop. New model became thicker and heavier, but at the same time it received an improved cooling system and battery slightly increased capacity - 61 Wh versus 60 Wh previously. However, this was enough to increase the laptop's battery life to 22.5 hours. The creators especially emphasize this point, calling the new Specter 13 x360 "quad-core transformer with the longest autonomy in the world".
The updated HP Specter 13 x360 comes with Intel processors Whiskey Lake up to Core i7-8565 (1.8-4.6 GHz), has up to 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD. The screen diagonal is 13.3 inches, the resolution of the base IPS matrix is Full HD, for an additional fee they will offer a 4K resolution display.
In the new model, the Intel 9560 module is responsible for the wireless interfaces (previously Intel 8265 was used); optionally, it will be possible to order a version with an LTE modem and two built-in SIM cards(eSIM).
The set of interface connectors has not changed (there are two Thunderbolt 3 and one USB Type-A), but, for example, the fingerprint scanner moved from the side to work panel under the lower arrow key, and turning the web camera on and off is now controlled by a mechanical switch. The side frames of the laptop screen have become 5.7% narrower, the bottom one has also shrunk a little - from 34.17 to 31.8 mm.
The new product will go on sale in December in the US and Europe; the price of the updated HP Specter 13 x360 will start at $1,150.
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