At an event in Sydney yesterday afternoon HP unveiled what the latest generation of their Spectre laptops and having reviewed the previous generation I can happily report that they both look and feel phenomenal.
In our last look at the Spectre series here at EFTM, I’m quoted as saying they’re for “when you’ve got too much money”. And I stand by that – these laptops aren’t cheap. But in saying that, HP don’t skimp out on anything either… so you’re paying for real quality with these devices.
SPECTRE X360 13
Spectre X360’s are ‘2-in-1’ laptop/tablets, if you haven’t seen these yet you need to crawl out from the rock you live under. The 13 in the name refers to the 13-inch screen size.
These new Spectre’s are lined with a gorgeous ‘anodized’ metal. Only because I had to look it up myself, anodizing metal is the process that “converts the metal surface into a decorative, durable, corrosion-resistant finish” – it looks and feels stunning.
The X360 13 comes with either a 1080p, 400 nit screen or a 4K, 650 nit screen for that proper outdoor use. It’s decked out with a ‘high-travel’ keyboard (the keys need to be pressed rather deep, which is nice) and a 40Gbit/s Thunderbolt port. They’ve also relocated the power button to the back left corner as below;
However one of the biggest sale points of the new X360 13 is the battery life. We’re talking about an insane 22.5 hours of battery life. That’s HUGE. An easy two days, maybe three if you’re a conservative user on one charge. HP are also boasting their Fast Charge technology can bring the laptop to 50% battery with only 30 minutes of charging. That’s over ten hours of battery life for 30 minutes of your time…
This model will retail for $2,199 at it’s base level and will be available in November at Harvey Norman & JB Hi-Fi.
SPECTRE X360 15
The step up from the X360 13 is a large one. The X360 15 is almost an entirely different beast – one that wants to not only replace your old laptop, but wants you to question how you ever lived without it.
If you’re an audio/video editor, casual gamer or just like having a really powerful laptop, you’ll be pleased to know the X360 15 has a GTX 1050ti to handle all of your graphics processing. While the 1050ti is by no stretch the best card out there, it sure will deal with all of your daily graphic needs. The trade-off with having a full size graphics card in your laptop is that it adds a whole lot of weight.
Despite the 1050ti this device is still really thin and beautiful, which leaves only one more concern – heat. While I haven’t had a chance to review one properly yet, the new thermal system with on-the-fly fan speed customization should keep this thing at a nice temperature – the jury is still out though.
A groovy little feature with the new Spectre range is the webcam kill-switch. I’ve come across plenty of laptop users that are both genuinely and regularly terrified of being watched through their webcam, well this is a significantly better solution than the tape you’ve put over it. The kill-switch here is a hardware switch that will literally disconnect the webcam from the laptop, safe and sound.
The X360 15 will start from $3,599 – you’ll find it in-store at Harvey Norman & JB Hi-Fi from early November.
SPECTRE FOLIO
Debatebly the most visually stunning Spectre to date is the Folio. It’s wrapped in 100% full-grain leather that has been treated in such a way to avoid ageing. Typically owners of leather gear (boots, lounges, etc) like the aged, worn-in look that they present after time, but on a laptop that style doesn’t exactly translate.
It has a magnetic hinge and is WONDERFULLY rigid. As someone that’s used a whole bunch of ‘2-in-1’ laptop/tablets, most of them are way too fickle and weak at the joints. The minute I pulled open the Folio I almost fell in love with how solid it was. You’ll also note that when folded into tablet ‘stand’ mode, the touch-pad is still available which is nice;
The Folio has a 13-inch display and is equipped with an LTE slot for sim cards, as well as the capability to host dual e-sims. The standard model has a 1080p screen, however you can option in a whole lot including 4K. The leather comes in two colours, either Cognac Brown (available in the coming days) or Burgundy (coming soon).
You’ll find the Spectre Folio retailing for $2,999 as per the program at Harvey Norman & JB Hi-Fi. This will be an interesting one to review, so stay tuned for a full breakdown here at EFTM.
