HP is revamping its 13-inch Spectre x360 with a load of new security features and a brand spankin’ new 4K OLED panel that just has me swooning.
The new HP Spectre x360 is available right now on HP’s website and is starting at just $1,099. Models will become available in Best Buy starting October 2019.
HP Spectre x360 13 specs
The Spectre x360 starts at $1,099 and comes with an Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and a 1080p display. For $1,299, you get a Core i7-1065G7 CPU, a 512GB SSD + 32 GB of Intel Optane memory. The maxed-out model that’s currently available costs $1,499 and upgrades to a 4K OLED display and 16GB of RAM.
Best Buy will also sell two configurations sometime in October 2019. One will come with a Core i7-1065G7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD + 32 GB of Intel Optane memory and a 1080p display. The other will be outfitted with a Core i7-1065G7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD + 32 GB of Intel Optane memory and a 4K OLED display. Unfortunately, we don’t know the price points for the Best Buy models just yet.
Each configuration of the laptop will include an Ink Certified Pen.
HP Spectre x360 13 design
The Spectre x360 has the same great premium design as its predecessor, with color options of Nightfall black with Copper Luxe accents or Poseidon Blue with Pale Brass accents. But now you can get the Spectre x360 in all Natural Silver, which is nice for people who want a more traditional design.
What I’m most excited about is the 66% reduction in bezel size, leaving the Spectre x360 with a 90% screen-to-body ratio. This makes the viewing experience look much more natural and gives the laptop a smaller footprint. This is all possible because of HP’s new 2.2-millimeter IR webcam, which trumps last year’s 6mm-high camera. And HP did sacrifice the top-firing speakers above the keyboard.
The footprint is mostly the same, except the height got cut down to 7.7 inches, compared to last Spectre x360, which measured 8.6 inches, so one of our favorite ultraportables is even more portable now.
As for the ports, it’s packing two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphone jack, a microSD card and a dropjaw USB 3.1 port. The Spectre x360 also has a physical webcam kill switch on the side, and a dedicated mute button on the keyboard.
HP Spectre x360 13 display
There’s going to be at least three different panels that you can get with the new Spectre x360.
One is the basic 1920 x 1080 screen, which is rated to cover 72% of the NTSC space and emits 300 nits of brightness. The 4K OLED HDR panel will cover 100% DCI-P3 and average 400 nits.
HP is also offering a panel with Sure View privacy technology, which will ramp the panel up to 1000 nits of brightness.
HP Spectre x360 13 battery life
According to HP, the Spectre x360 can get up to 22 hours of battery life on a charge, which is beyond what you’d probably get in the real world. For reference, the previous 13-inch Spectre x360 lasted 12 hours and 7 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test, which is nothing to scoff at, but it’s nowhere near 22 hours.
HP Spectre x360 13 features
You’ll get the HP Command Center app with the Spectre x360, which’ll let you optimize the performance with four different modes: HP Recommended, Performance, Comfort and Quiet. You can also prioritize bandwidth via the Network Booster tab.
HP will also be shipping out the Spectre x360 with some bloatware, including a 30-day trial for ExpressVPN, LastPass Password Manager, and 30-day trial for McAfee LiveSafe.
Outlook
I’m excited to get my hands on the new Spectre x360 and see how it stacks up against its predecessor, especially in terms of battery life, given HP’s rather bold claim.
Stay tuned for our full review and benchmarks.
