HP Spectre X360 Review: On edge of Excellence

The HP Specter x360 14 is another impressive 2-in-1 laptop in HP's powerful line of premium convertibles. It borrows some of the best features from tablets and productivity laptops and blends them into an all-around hard hitter. This laptop has a responsive 4:3 display, an amazing keyboard and trackpad, and a rounded all-metal body. Whether you're looking for a great stylus experience, a multimedia feast for your eyes and ears, or the ideal writing companion at the coffee shop, HP has it all in the Specter 14's edgy design.

Design

However, Specter 14 takes the opposite approach to its competitors. The edges and corners are rounded and chamfered so you can comfortably rest your wrist on the laptop. The two corners in the back are cut at 45 degree angle and have connectors. No other laptop looks like the Specter. The all-metal chassis is sleek, thin, and strong. It's not completely fingerprint resistant, but its matte black finish makes it more fingerprint resistant than most laptops.

Additionally, the Specter 14 has figured out how to integrate the USB-A port using an expandable perimeter bar while keeping the laptop as thin as possible. (Most ultra-thin notebooks do away with the USB-A port entirely.) The audio jack is in the rear left corner, and two USB-C ports are located in the right corner and right side. The right side of the display is also magnetized, allowing you to snap the included stylus onto Specter 14 similar to iPad.

Display

The HP Specter 14 is fun to use. The P3's full colour space and excellent contrast of the OLED display make it perfect for colour-accurate work on the go. It's not particularly bright at 370 nits, but the adaptive display temperature feature lets you see comfortably without sacrificing too much accuracy compared to typical nightlight settings. The 3000 x 2000 resolution may be unusual, but everything looks sharp. HDR content isn't as vibrant, as the peak brightness of the Specter is much lower than some of its competitors, but it looks great for all other content.

Sound

The Specter 14 nails the sound. The bass on this thing is impressive, with a strong, clear output that bass heads will have a lot of fun with. On the other hand, the highs and mids are confidently full-bodied and add to the audio total to create a rich, impressive sound signature. To me, the HP Specter X360 sounds more like a TV than a laptop.

PERFORMANCE

Compared to other premium 2-in-1s, the Specter 14 underwhelms. Its benchmark scores aren't weak, but the competition is up to 40 stars without sacrificing more money or battery life. The Specter's Intel Core i7-1255U processor isn't exactly designed for pure performance. With a maximum power consumption of 55 watts, high-performance tasks such as sorting thousands of rows of Excel spreadsheets or rendering simple 3D modelling scenes will be slower than using a processor with a higher maximum power consumption. On the other hand, the base power consumption is only 15W, so you don't need to worry about battery drain while writing Word documents.

Keyboard and Mouse

The Specter and Envy have had great keyboards and trackpads in the past, and this generation is no exception. The keyboard is bouncy with a big kick and takes just the right amount of pressure to actuate and prevent accidental keystrokes without tiring your fingers. The body is small, but the keys themselves don't feel small.

The trackpad, on the other hand, is large, smooth, and very responsive. If you're used to the trackpad on your MacBook, you're familiar with the palm-sized canvas (it really is as big as my hand).

Ports

Laptops usually don't have ports. The HP Specter has a decent port array (one USB-A port, two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, and a headphone jack), but what really stands out is where those ports are placed.

The USB-C port and headphone jack are located on the rear chamfered corners of the housing. It's a cool concept, but in practice, the connected cables are prone to tearing and damaging the connectors. Just to be on the safe side, be careful with the cables that connect to the Specter 14.

Battery The

With 7 hours and 30 minutes, HP Specter X360 14 is on par with other 2-in-1s of this generation, such as the Lenovo Yoga 9i, which has a battery life of 6 hours and 51 minutes. It's also a downgrade from the previous generation HP Specter, which could easily achieve 9 hours of battery life. There are still some traditional laptops out there with great battery life (just look at them, the MacBook Air with 15 hours of battery life), but you have to sacrifice the convenience of a 2-in-1.

Verdict

The HP Specter X360 has many things going for it. A unique design, a pretty AMOLED display, great keyboard and mouse. For an average user, the Specter packs rough battery life and performance. Though the HP Specter does not have the raw horsepower or incredible battery life of some of its competitors. The Specter nails the fundamentals of a 2 in 1. So if you are looking for a 2 in 1 to take as your daily laptop, the HP Specter X360 is an excellent choice.