HP Spectre x360 13 Review – When you’ve got too much money

Do you have too much money and a need to prove it? I’ve got the device for you!

The HP Spectre x360 13 is an extremely lightweight, sleek and powerful laptop…tablet… convertible umm, what are we calling these things now? It’s a convertible laptop that allows it to be used as a tablet.

Carrying around the Spectre in it’s smooth leather carry case had me feeling like a millionaire. The exterior is elegantly designed, with sleek curves, a delightfully thin bezel and non-invasive keyboard. It’s indisputably one of the most fashionable, ergonomically designed laptops I’ve ever had the pleasure of using.

Packed with 16GB DDR3 RAM, a 512GB SSD and an i7 running at 1.8ghz, it’s wonderfully powerful and makes for seamless use. For those among us that don’t speak nerd – the Spectre is a bodybuilder compared to that lanky dad bod of a laptop you’re currently using.

The other specs deserve an honorable mention;

• Stunning IPS Backlit touch screen (1920×1080)
• 16 hour battery life (with rather conservative settings)
• Windows 10 (64-bit version)
• Weighing roughly 1.26kg
• Bang & Olufsen speakers that hold their own

The IPS backlit screen had me stuttering for a minute as it really cuts through even in direct sunlight. The battery lasted days while idle, however took quite a hit with regular daily use. With conservative settings it can supposedly last up to 16 hours, in which case you wouldn’t really ask for much more.

With Windows 10 and rocking that SSD, the Spectre boots up and sets up similarly to a Macbook in that it’s quick, simple and doesn’t require any technical knowledge. The benefit to running Windows on a system like this is that should you feel the need to dive deeper and get more out of your laptop, the Spectre can accommodate with functionality like processor overclocking (up to 4GHz). Otherwise it still more than satisfies the average punter only utilizing the base functionality.

The thing that has frustrated me about the Spectre is that the RAM, SSD and processor are becoming rather standard in the mid-range laptops of 2018, those that cost notably less. To further this and in the name of fairness, I need to bring to attention my recent comments regarding convertible laptops:

“Outside of a short lived gimmick or to play mobile games, I can’t fathom a valid reason for owning a convertible laptop. There are plenty of people that benefit from the functionality of a tablet, and an even larger market that benefit from the functionality of a laptop, however I don’t believe there is a crossover between these two markets”

And this rings true significantly more so for the HP Spectre x360 13 at the price point of $2,788. When you compare this with the HP Pavilion 15 retailing at $1798 with all of the same specs and a bigger screen, it’s almost ridiculous to consider purchasing a Spectre x360 13. What you’re missing out on with the Pavilion is the ability to convert to tablet, touch screen and the IPS backlight screen. However I couldn’t possibly justify a whopping $990 difference for those features. This isn’t the price of the laptop, this is the price of the difference between the two VERY technically similar HP machines.

On a list of things I’d rather do with that money;

• Spend a night at the Park Hyatt ($923)
• Fly Sydney to Hawaii ($868)
• Buy a Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB ($829)

Rather plain and simply the Spectre is the top-end of the market as far as consumer-grade laptops are concerned (not technically speaking but overall), nevertheless I believe the only reason to buy such an overkill machine is to show it off. I’d compare it to a Rolex, you’re paying a lot more for the aesthetic appeal than the actual mechanics behind the machine. I can’t overstate how gorgeous, sleek and elegant this machine is. If you’ve the money to spend and want something beautiful, the Spectre x360 13 was built for you.