What Is It? – The HP Spectre X360 is a dramatic redesign of HP’s premier laptop line. It is a hybrid design along the same lines as Lenovo’s popular Yoga series; that is it functions as a laptop, tablet, or tent for display. The first thing that strikes you about the Spectre X360 is its sleek design with an all aluminum case and backlit metal keyboard. It is almost certain to elicit envious looks from anyone else using a traditional black computer. Superficially from the outside it looks a bit like the MacBook Air. Even though both have a 13.3″ diagonal screen, the HP is slightly thinner, smaller, and lighter. And the Spectre’s battery life is rated at about 14 hours compared to the MacBook’s 12 hours.
The display is Full HD. There is virtually no bezel, so the screen is edge-to-edge. And the full-sized keyboard takes advantage of every square millimeter of space. The machine is designed as much for entertainment as for productivity. Audio on the X360 is impressive, using four front firing speakers tuned by Bang & Olufsen. Music reproduction is excellent for a compact laptop and our Netflix streaming was sharp and smooth.
Some nuts and bolts: most versions of the Spectre X360 come with a powerful Intel Core i7 processor, though it’s also available with a Core i5. Standard hard drive storage is a 512GB Solid State Drive. It comes with 2 USB type C slots, either of which can be used for charging and one legacy USB 3.0 slot.
Is It 50+ Friendly? – While i personally prefer a larger screen, I found the screen on the Spectre X360 quite adequate for most uses, especially given the ability to zoom in using either he glass trackpad or the touchscreen. The full sized keyboard makes typing a pleasure. The only thing I don’t like is that the printing on the Function keys is quite small and the up and down arrow keys are half-sized. But that’s pretty minor stuff.
Frustration Factor? – For those of us with lots of USB type 2 or 3 devices, having only one legacy USB port may be problematic. I also bemoan the lack of a full sized SD card slot.
Is it Worth the Money? – Models of the HP Sprectre X360 with the Core i7 processor range from $1159 – $1499. Models with the Core i5 begin at about $1049. That’s in the same price range as a comparably equipped MacBook Air. The Dell XPS 13 is also in the same price range, but offers only half the storage. The Spectre X360 has a great feature set, especially if you like to have good audio without using headphones. It is sleek, light, and we give it extra points for its full-sized keyboard and sturdy all aluminum case. Bottom line – would you like to be able to pull this out of your backpack at the airport? You bet.
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