HP\u2019s Spectre x360 15-inch is one of the first 2-in-1s to boast Intel\u2019s Core i7-8705G, a chip with AMD Radeon Vega graphics on-board. It promises a level of performance rarely seen in flagship laptops, but the speed comes at a cost. Battery life and portability are problems anyone looking to buy this Spectre will need to consider.<\/b>
\nWhat do people want from a laptop, anyway?
That\u2019s an easy question to answer, but an impossible question to answer correctly. There\u2019s vast range of possibility, from the 12-inch MacBook to bulky 17-inch Inspirons to workmanlike 15-inch ThinkPads, and everything between. Compromise is inevitable.
Still, laptop makers want to have it all \u2013 which leads to flagship devices like the HP Spectre x360 15-inch. It\u2019s a 2-in-1 with a big battery and an efficient processor. It\u2019s also a cutting-edge technological showcase that can handle work and gaming with equal ease. It weighs 4.5 pounds, but packs a full-sized keyboard with numeric keypad. Even the port selection, which includes both USB-A and -C and a full-size HDMI connection, tries to serve every need.
HP\u2019s hardly alone in this pursuit. Dell has the XPS 15 2-in-1, as well as several more affordable Inspiron options. Asus\u2019 Flip line includes several 14- and 15-inch models. And Acer offers the Nitro 5 Spin, an affordable 2-in-1 with Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics. None of those have scored high marks in our reviews, however. Can the Spectre x360 15-inch buck that trend?
After years of bouncing between looks like a teenage pop star, HP has finally decided on a design language \u2013 for the Spectre brand, at least. The Spectre x360 15-inch, like its 13-inch brother, melds a simple matte metal finish with chromed bronze accents.
Metal construction is hardly unique, but the Spectre x360 15-inch has a sleek, sharp profile that defines itself from many competitors. That\u2019s particularly true on close inspection. HP lavishes this Spectre with small touches, from a triangular pattern across the speaker grill, to halved-hexagon shapes that appear on the power buttons and rear of the hinges. You might not notice these touches at first, but you\u2019ll appreciate them once you do.
Despite that, the Spectre x360 feels rather conventional in the day-to-day. The large display, combined with the full-sized keyboard and 0.7-inch thick chassis, mean this PC feels like, well, a PC. It\u2019s not going to surprise you, but you might prefer that if you\u2019re looking for a workhorse computer you\u2019ll use all day instead of a super-sleek portable aimed primarily at mobility.
Port selection also spans new and old. Two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 are paired with single USB-A and HDMI 2.0 ports and a full-size SD card slot. While we wouldn\u2019t mind seeing more ports overall, this pairing of new with traditional ports makes the Spectre a bit easier to live with than Dell\u2019s XPS 15 2-in-1, which goes all-in on USB-C and Thunderbolt.
The Spectre feels so conventional, in fact, that you might not suspect it\u2019s a 2-in-1 if no one told you. The keyboard exemplifies that. While competitors like the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 are experimenting with new key designs to minimize weight and size, the Spectre x360 15-inch has an entirely conventional, long-travel keyboard \u2013 and it feels great. Stranger still is the numpad which, well, exists. Most flagship devices, including the previous version of this laptop, don\u2019t have one.
We\u2019re not as keen on the touchpad. It\u2019s quite wide, but not all that tall. The Apple MacBook Pro 15 set a trend for massive touch surfaces, and most competitors have followed suite. HP is behind the curve here. To make matters worse, the Spectre\u2019s touch surface felt finicky. It offered a poor sense of friction and occasionally failed to respond when expected.
HP might\u2019ve skimped on the touchpad because there\u2019s another touch surface \u2013 the screen. All versions of the Spectre x360 15-inch come with a multi-touch panel. It felt smooth and responsive when used in laptop mode. The real point of it, though, is tablet use.
Rotate the display all the way back and you\u2019ll eventually turn this laptop in a tablet, though like most 2-in-1s with a 360-hinge, the Spectre can feel a bit awkward. The keyboard is always hanging out around back. That\u2019s a small problem, however, compared to the big problem. This is a large and heavy device, with hard metal edges on all corners. It\u2019s not pleasant to hold, which means it\u2019s not a pleasant tablet. We can see using it to browse the web for a few minutes, but don\u2019t mistake it for an iPad or Surface Pro substitute.
All large 2-in-1s have the same problems to a degree, but the Spectre is behind the pack. The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is smaller and lighter, so it doesn\u2019t feel as unwieldy. The Microsoft Surface Book 2 is better still because the screen detaches entirely for tablet use and weighs only 1.7 pounds on its own.
HP\u2019s Digital Pen comes standard with the Spectre x360-15 inch. It\u2019s a functional but unimpressive stylus offering 1,024 levels of sensitivity. The HP Tilt Pen, which adds a tail-end eraser function, replaceable tips, and tilt control, sells for $90. There\u2019s no place to attach the stylus except for a slot on the included protective sleeve, and so it\u2019s easy to lose track of it \u2014 if you use it at all. We hardly did. The size and weight of the Spectre make note-taking a chore unless the 2-in-1 is placed on a desk or table \u2013 but then, why not just use the keyboard?
All versions of the HP Spectre x360 15-inch quadruple down on vitamin K. That\u2019s 4K, or 3,820 x 2,160 resolution. A plethora of pixels is all the rage among high-end flagships, and at 280 pixels per inch, this screen is sharp. You won\u2019t see jagged lines or blocky fonts here.
Its vivid colors are also immediately noticeable. Vibrant, high-quality content \u2014 like a 4K movie or professional photo of similar resolution \u2014 seems to leap off the screen. While the display on the Spectre x360 15-inch can\u2019t match the MacBook Pro or Surface Book 2, it holds its own in gamut, accuracy, and brightness. These traits make a strong first impression when the laptop is opened to enjoy a bit of the ole\u2019 YouTube.
The screen\u2019s contrast ratio came in at 830:1, which is respectable but far from class-leading. The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1, for instance, offers a ratio of 1,460:1. Dell achieves that on both ends of the spectrum; it\u2019s even brighter but also has deeper black levels in dark scenes. The Spectre\u2019s mediocre contrast means it doesn\u2019t look as immersive and realistic as its peers.
The speakers, like the screen, stop short of greatness. They\u2019re loud, clear, and deliver a good experience in most situations, but they struggle with treble when the volume edges over 90 percent. Voices start to crack or hiss, detracting from whatever you\u2019re trying to enjoy. You can get by with the built-in sound, but external speakers make a night-and-day difference.
HP ships the Spectre x360 15-inch with two processor options. The common Core i7-8550U quad-core is standard, but our review unit came with the Core i7-8705G, a $120 upgrade. It slightly ups the maximum clock speed, but more importantly, it throws in AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics. We\u2019ll discuss that in a moment.
It\u2019s a strong processor, of course. The Core i7 scored well on Geekbench\u2019s single-core test and set a record for mainstream laptops in the multi-core test. The Handbrake test, which transcodes a 4K trailer of the movie Elysium, also returned an excellent result of two minutes and 32 seconds \u2013 the best we\u2019ve seen from a 2-in-1. We\u2019ll note here that the Spectre x360 15 has been updated with a new version (shipping soon) with a six-core Intel i7-8570H CPU that should be significantly faster.
These results show the Core i7-8705G isn\u2019t just about AMD graphics. The Intel hardware benefits from the chip\u2019s high design power. More power means more performance, so the Spectre x360 15-inch easily beats even the Microsoft Surface Book 2, which was among the fastest laptops we\u2019ve tested. Only the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1, which has the same processor, and newer systems like the Dell XPS 15 with the i7-8570H can keep pace.
The Spectre shares something else with the Dell. Heat. External temperatures can rise alarmingly at full tilt. Our IR thermometer measured a maximum of 126 degrees Fahrenheit on the bottom rear of the chassis. That\u2019s hot enough to be painful, so keep it off your lap when the fans start to kick up.
AMD\u2019s Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics is the lesser of the two Intel\/AMD collaboration chips available, but it remains an impressive piece of kit that promises performance on par with Nvidia\u2019s GeForce GTX 1050. It\u2019s an option, but one worth choosing, because it\u2019s a big upgrade over the standard Nvidia MX150.
We\u2019ve now tested two laptops with this graphics chip \u2013 this Spectre, and Dell\u2019s XPS 15 2-in-1. The two trade blows, each earning victories, but the results are generally tight. Neither has an advantage over the other.
They both have an advantage over the Acer Nitro 5 Spin, however, which packs a GTX 1050. That makes the Spectre x360 15-inch a respectable gaming machine at 1080p resolution. It can even handle the demanding Deus Ex: Mankind Divided at 1080p and High detail, scoring an average of 35 frames per second. Battlefield 1, meanwhile, achieves 44 frames per second at Ultra detail. At the same time, the Dell XPS 15 with its GTX 1050 Ti Max Q tends to run right along with the Spectre x360, meaning that the Radeon chip falls in between the GTX 1050 and full-speed GTX 1050 Ti, just as Intel and AMD predicted.
It\u2019s not fast enough to take advantage of the 4K panel, however. While Rocket League remained playable, the other games in our test suite slowed to a crawl, including Civilization VI. Even the fastest gaming laptops struggle to cope with 4K resolution. The Spectre x360 15-inch is hopelessly outmatched.
1440p, or 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, can be a good compromise for some games, but it\u2019s not supported here. A missing 1440p option has plagued several recently tested laptops, and while you might be able to force it, it\u2019s not easy. The lack of support for that resolution is a definite annoyance.
If you don\u2019t mind 1080p, though, the HP Spectre x360 15-inch can serve as a capable gaming machine. You\u2019ll have to turn down some settings in the most demanding games, but that\u2019s true of any laptop not specifically built for gamers. We\u2019re always happy to see mainstream laptops that are good for more than a round of Windows Solitaire.
A massive 84-watt battery powers the Spectre. That\u2019s not the biggest we\u2019ve seen, but it\u2019s certainly up there. That\u2019s about 10 percent larger than the 75-watt battery in Dell\u2019s XPS 15 2-in-1, which is good, because the Dell struggled to last over the long haul. How did the HP fare?
Well, at least it beats the Dell.
The HP Spectre x360 lasted about six and a half hours in our web browsing loop, and barely more than three hours in our most demanding web benchmark loop. Those scores are noticeably better than the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 but fall behind what we expect from a modern laptop.
Blame the hardware. 4K displays drain batteries more quickly than 1080p screens, and the powerful Core i7-8705G has a maximum rated design power far higher than a U-series Core i7 without AMD graphics. You\u2019ll appreciate the performance. Just don\u2019t forget to bring your charger.
The base HP Spectre x360 15-inch started at $1,370 when it was first introduced, though the configurations have shrunk since. Our review unit with an Intel Core i7-8705G, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB solid state drive was $1,720, but it\u2019s not listed for sale at the moment. And, the same configuration with a 1TB SSD is on sale for $1,579, making it significantly less expensive. That\u2019s still a lot of money, to be sure, but it\u2019s not unusual for a flagship laptop. The problem isn\u2019t the price, but the laptop itself. It tries to do too much for its own good.
The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is the Spectre\u2019s direct competitor. It has a better display and more eye-catching design, but HP delivers a better keyboard.
Microsoft\u2019s Surface Book 2 is another option. It loses in CPU performance, but the 15-inch model is even faster in gaming and graphical test. It\u2019s much more expensive but, unlike the XPS 15 2-in-1 or the Spectre x360 15-inch, it\u2019s useful as a tablet.
HP\u2019s Spectre x360 15-inch has extremely fast hardware and will zip for years. Our only worry is the battery. Its endurance is only going to degrade over time. HP ships the Spectre x360 15-inch with the usual 1-year warranty. Extended warranties are available, starting at $240 for a 2-year protection plan.
No.
The HP Spectre x360 15-inch is full of cutting edge technology, but its 2-in-1 design disguises the machine\u2019s old-school inspiration. This is a big, chunky, fast machine that works best when it\u2019s used near a wall socket. Those disparate halves give the machine a split personality that doesn\u2019t work in its favor.<\/p>\n