HP Spectre x360 (13.3″) Hands-on, First Impressions

HP just launched its latest premium notebook in the country — the Spectre x360. With its aluminum unibody and display with a thin bezel, the convertible is certainly a looker. We were able to spend a brief time with it and here’s our initial impression.

The Spectre x360 is one premium convertible. Its modern design and hard cold aluminum block are the notebook’s main attraction. Even during the launch, HP didn’t talk much about its specs and power but rather its form and function.

Like with any convertible PCs in the market, the Spectre x360 can be easily set as a typical laptop for typing or take advantage of its 360-degree hinge to set it in any mode possible — stand, tent or tablet.

It sports a 13.3-inch Full HD touch display with 3.4mm thin bezels on the sides or edge-to-edge as HP calls it. It’s topped with Corning Gorilla Glass for scratch-resistance.

Despite the 10.44mm thinness of the notebook, it has plenty of ports to offer for its size. There are two USB Type-C ports with support for Thunderbolt 3 and a full-size USB 3.1 port for peripherals. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The keyboard is also edge-to-edge like the display but they don’t feel cramped when typing and it has a white backlight to help you work in the dark. The trackpad which is just beneath the keyboard is wider than most but has a smooth surface and support for multi-touch gestures.

Also, one of the key features HP loves to share about its new notebook is the Bang & Olufsen speakers onboard. It has four speakers — two facing upwards and another two firing at the bottom. So, in any position, the speakers will not get muffled.

The unit that’ll be on sale in the country will have 7th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processors paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. The 13.3-inch variant will have the Intel HD Graphics 620 as its GPU. Lastly, of course, it runs Windows 10 out of the box.

The Spectre x360 is a beautiful piece of hardware. It screams premium all-around and doesn’t skimp on processing power too, unlike other convertibles in the market. But, everything comes at a price.

HP Spectre x360 (13.3″) specs:
13.3-inch Full HD touch display
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
7th Gen Intel Core i5 / Core i7 processor
Intel HD Graphics 620
8GB RAM
256GB SSD
USB 3.1
2x USB Type-C Gen2 (w/ Thunderbolt 3)
Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2×2)
Bluetooth 4.0
Bang & Olufsen quad speakers
Windows 10 Home

It’ll start at Php75,990 for Core i5 version while the Core i7 will retail at Php82,990. It will be available in authorized dealers in the Philippines in March 2017.