======= Summary ======= The HP Spectre x360 - with its fantastic design, build quality, ergonomics, bright display, performance, and long battery life - is an All-Around Winner~! This is the BEST laptop I’ve ever used. HP FTW~!! _______ Pro's: 1. Bright, crisp, & responsive 1080P touch-screen (1-Watt, 400-nits). 2. Relatively light (~2.9 lbs) and thin (~14mm) for a 360-degrees convertible laptop. 3. Tent and Tablet modes are useful and nice to have. 4. Pen support. 5. Excellent keyboard and touchpad. 6. Great design & excellent build materials and quality. 7. Good selection of ports - both USB Type C & USB Type A. No need for dongles~! 8. Excellent performance from the Intel Core i7, SSD drive, and 8GB of RAM. 9. SSD is upgradeable (NVME M.2). 10. Fantastic battery life. 11. Great cooling design = quiet operation. ________ Neutral: 1. Fingerprint magnet on this dark surface material. ________ Cons: 1. No Microsoft Precision Touchpad driver. But there is a workaround... ==== Design & Build Quality ==== The HP Spectre x360’s new Gem-Cut design language is sleek, modern-looking, unique, and very pleasing to my eyes. It reeks premiumness and feels great in the hands as well. It feels dense, high-quality, and solid as a tank. Love it~!! HP did an ingenious job by placing the power button on the top-left corner of the laptop base and the charging port on the top-right corner. Not only is this an excellent use of space, it is also very practical by avoiding clutter with other accessories and preventing accidental power-on and power-off. Brilliant~! Other thoughtful & smart design decisions include the user-facing speakers located right above the keyboard area as well as the fingerprint scanner located right below the arrow keys. As a result of its placement, any music and videos you watch and hear will sound louder, more detailed, and fuller. The fingerprint scanner worked very well and I was easily & quickly able to log-in to my Windows account. The touchscreen worked accurately and in a very responsive fashion allowing the switch to Tent or Tablet Mode to be seamless and frustration-free. The only thing I can complain about, and it is a small First-World complaint, is its tendency to easily show fingerprint smudges and marks. With that said, I have owned several darker laptops before in the past and I’m used to cleaning it up frequently. 10 out of 10~! ==== Display ==== The special Intel-developed 1-Watt 1080P display, which can still get as bright as 400 nits, is crisp, has great color accuracy and contrast, and is a pleasure to stare at. For peace of mind, it is good to know that HP is using the protective and durable Corning Gorilla Glass on it. Touch functionality worked flawlessly as did writing with the HP pen. 10 out of 10. ==== Speakers ==== The sound on this thin & light ultrabook from its quad-speaker configuration is great. Bass, of course, is weak but that is normal for a thin ultrabook. The intelligent placement of the speakers above the keyboard area results in sound that is direct-facing, loud, crisp, and more fuller-sounding compared to laptops that have their speakers underneath. 10 out of 10~! ==== Network & Connectivity Options ==== The excellent Intel Wireless-AC 9560 802.11AC Gigabit Wifi is inside the Spectre x360 and it performed very well in my home network. Also included in the Intel package is Bluetooth 5.0 which is forward-looking and up-to-date. I experienced no connectivity or connection speed issues. Everything was peachy. 10 out of 10~! ==== Ports ==== I absolutely LOVE not having to use a dongle on the x360 to plug in my USB flash drives~! My older HP Spectre 13 laptop from 2017 had no USB Type A ports and it has been a frustrating and annoying affair on a consistent basis. That’s why I chose the x360 this time around for its better port selection. With one USB Type A port, two USB Type C Thunderbolt ports (40Gbps), a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader, I’m set and satisfied. 10 out of 10~! ==== Performance ==== With an 8th-Gen Intel Core i7 Whiskey Lake quad-core CPU, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and a Western Digital SN720 NVME SSD, the x360 performed fantastically at everything I demanded of it - Chrome browsing with >25 tabs, photo & video editing with Cyberlink PowerDirector, and general multi-tasking. On Geekbench 4.3.3, the x360 scored 4775 Single-core and 12,789 Multi-core. On CrystalDiskMark 6.0.2, I got 3023.4 MB/s Sequential Read and 1615.8 MB/s Sequential Write. I only wish the storage size was bigger, like 512GB. I’m planning on upgrading to the new Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB NVME SSD in the near future. 10 out of 10. ==== Keyboard & TouchPad ==== Typing on the keyboard is a delightful and supremely pleasant experience. HP, very wisely, is NOT following the design decisions of Apple Macbooks & certain Dell XPS line of laptops and is instead using a very comfortable, responsive, and tactile keyboard mechanism with great key travel. As a result, the keys have good spring, great damping, and are very quiet in operation. I absolutely adore this keyboard. The same cannot be said, however, of the touchpad. HP, for some reason unknown to me, is STILL not using the excellent Microsoft Precision Touchpad drivers. Instead, HP is using Synaptics drivers which is vastly inferior in functionality and custom gesture support. So I did what I did with my older 2017 HP Spectre 13 laptop. After uninstalling the Synaptic touchpad driver from Device Manager, I manually installed the Microsoft Precision Touchpad driver from the Lenovo website. The specific driver version I used was 19.3.4.111 and it is for the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen6 laptop model. If you Google it, you should still be able to find that older driver. To prevent Windows Update from automatically updating the Lenovo Precision driver to the newest non-Precision HP Synaptics driver, I used the Microsoft “wushowhide.diagcab” utility to hide the Synaptics driver update. With the Precision Driver installed, I was back to creating my own custom three- and four-finger gestures and getting tremendous pleasure using the touchpad. HP seriously needs to terminate whatever agreement they have with Synaptics and start installing Microsoft Precision drivers in their Spectre laptop lines ASAP. 9 out of 10. ==== Battery Life ==== This is the best battery life I’ve ever experienced from any laptop I’ve owned & used throughout the years. I didn’t achieve the crazy 22-hour battery life that HP is marketing but got about 8 hours out of it with brightness set to 100%. Fantastic...Simply fantastic. 10 out of 10. ==== Software ==== The Spectre x360 came loaded with Windows 10 1803 which I promptly upgraded to 1809. There was the usual assortment of bloatware from both Microsoft and its third-party partners. I counted 10 third-party apps, 17 HP apps, and some Microsoft apps such as Xbox and Skype. Removing them, as is usual for Windows 10, is easy to do from Settings. I found some of HP’s apps to be genuinely useful such as the HP Support Assistant (firmware & driver updates), HP Audio Control (speaker sound effects & equalizer), and HP Command Center (setting laptop thermal profiles). 10 out of 10. ==== Upgradeability ==== The Spectre x360, being a thin & light ultrabook, doesn’t offer meaningful upgrade options except for the NVME SSD drive. So one needs to be thoughtful about their current and future computing needs and select the components wisely. With my particular model, I feel confidently fine with the Core i7 CPU with 8GB of RAM. I just need bigger storage down the line (at least 1TB SSD). 9 out of 10. ==== My Verdict ==== The HP Spectre x360 with its Gem-Cut design is an excellent laptop that gets almost everything right. Fantastic build materials and quality, great-looking design, slim & lightweight form-factor, superb keyboard, excellent touchscreen display with pen support, flexible viewing options (e.g., Tent Mode), and all-day battery life. The only subpar area is the lack of the Microsoft Precision Touchpad driver which, fortunately, can be “fixed” by installing the Lenovo Precision Touchpad driver. All in all, HP has crafted a fantastic and unique laptop that I thoroughly enjoy using. It is a very delightful machine.

This laptop is absolutely great! My boyfriend had picked it out for me based off a few requirements and price range and I couldn’t be happier. Only reason I gave 4 stars is because these last 2 days the Mac A bug program that comes with the laptop to prevent bugs and viruses actually caused my laptop to freeze twice but after a few minutes it started to work again. However the screen display is gorgeous and I’ve gotten many compliments of people saying the computer reminds them of a little diamond. Plus the computer actually came with a case for it and the pen which was super nice. Overall this laptop is wayyyy better than any of the apple computers which have outdated technology! Oh and one more thing the laptop has a night light setting on it which is a blue light filter so it won’t hinder you going to sleep at night witch is a nice touch to the finger print scanner and the pen.

Pros Light and powerful Thin Convertible to tablet, easel, or tent Bright screen Very good off angle viewing Feels more sturdy than previous generations Speakers are loud Fan rarely runs and is quiet Can last through a workday on battery for most Fast processor and hard drive Keyboard feels good and is responsive Trackpad is smooth most of the time Has both USB-A and USB-C/Thunderbolt Includes Windows Hello using cameras and fingerprint reader Windows Hello camera is near instant Uses USB-C charger Has hardware switch to disable camera Attractive design and finish Three levels of keyboard backlight Fast Wi-Fi Sturdy chassis with little flex Includes active stylus Includes laptop sleeve Cons Can run through battery quicker than expected in heavy use Mouse sometimes acts as if click lock is on when it is disabled Finish seems as if it will wear quickly Finish is a fingerprint magnet Gestures randomly stop working requiring restart Hinge moves too easily allowing screen to change angle Top and bottom screen bezels are massive Tablet mode is awkward with keyboard on the back Webcam is blurry except in bright rooms close up Speakers distort at high volume Windows Hello Camera sometimes fails requiring restart Myriad of HP programs are complicated and feels like bloatware Not long ago saying you had a Windows laptop was synonymous for a poor quality, poor battery life, heavy laptop. Thankfully for fans of Windows the competition keeps getting better. The HP Spectre X360 is the latest generation of HP’s high-end convertible laptops Ultrabooks. Previous generations received good reviews but were marred by flimsy chassis and dim screen. Design The 2018 version of the Spectre X360 feels very sturdy with little flex. The screen takes a good amount of force to distort. The decorative grill at the base of the screen feels very sturdy and doesn’t flex like as it would in previous generations. The edge is chamfered on the top and bottom with a cooper finish that HP likens to a gem. It gives more a sense of thinness and does have an attractive look. Long term durability from drops might be a concern with the force concentrated to a smaller edge but of course dropping a laptop often ends in damage. The back corners of the base have a 45-degree angle allowing access to the power button on one side, regardless of mode, and a USB-C charging port which is also accessible regardless of mode. The finish is called dark ash which is a fancy word for dark brown. The copper and dark brown colors compliment each other well although it lends itself to showing every fingerprint. A fingerprint scanner is at the bottom right of the keyboard and a Windows Hello camera is above the screen. For those concerned with privacy there is a hardware switch on the right edge of the base to disable the webcam Ports The left side has a single USB-A port. On the right is angled USB-C/Thunderport port intended for charging, an additional USB-C/Thunderbolt port, headphone jack, and microSD slot. Angling the charging USB port is a nice touch for those who are right handed using a mouse as it helps keep down the clutter. However; with every other port on the right side it might get a big cluttered if you are using a mouse on the right side too. Display The display is a 13” full HD display which one source reports as 650nits. Without a way to measure it is hard to say but the display can get very bright. There should be no problems seeing the screen even in brightly lit rooms and possible some outdoor use. Glare is present as the screen isn’t anti-glare but overall it is manageable and allows more contrast. Off angle viewing is very good with minimal color shift for the class but glare does become much more evident. The FHD display is good for a more affordable price, battery life, and laptop use. If you have good eyes and are using it in tablet mode close up the pixels are detectable and text is less sharp but overall clarity is still acceptable. If there was any criticism of the display it would be the hinge and the huge bezels. It is very easy to open but the loose hinge can mean that the screen can change angle during use due to movements. It’s a tradeoff as you wouldn’t want to make it hard to open but you may find yourself periodically readjusting it. As for the bezels, it’s hard to say HP’s motivation on this but the bottom bezel is a massive 1” and the top is a solid 3/4”. It’s not a deal breaker but just feels excessive in 2018. Performance This laptop is surprisingly fast between the Core i7 and the, assumed, NVME SSD. CrystalDiskMark clocked in read speeds over 3000MBps and write speeds nearing 1600MBps. At no point did the laptop ever feel sluggish. In fact, it is very surprising how quickly it responds to most requests. Even during heavy usage, the fan rarely kicks on and is nearly silent. Heat is manageable, and the fan settings can be adjusted further if needed in the HP Command Center. Opening Word seems nearly instantaneous and using the integrated Windows Hello Webcam logs in so fast it might make you question if your computer was locked. The integrated fingerprint scanner is slower but that seems more to do with the sensor than the speed of the system. Battery life In the default settings in HP Command Center the system tries to dynamically figure out what performance works best for your needs. On this setting, it leans heavily towards performance, leading to about 7-8 hours of usage. If you change the settings to more battery efficient the system still feels very snappy during standard office use with the processor throttled down and fan usage is avoided at all costs. In this setting, the battery lasted much longer. On this mode it consumed approximately 1% every 10 minutes which could potentially mean battery life in the 15-16 hour range. Battery tests are highly subjective overall but unless you are a heavy power user this system should last you through a workday without a problem. Even if you do need a charge, the USB-C based charge means you can use a phone charger to top off. This is probably part of the reason the included carrying sleeve has no place for a charger. Keyboard and Trackpad For the size of the laptop, the keyboard is quite spacious and doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. Key travel is very good and ends with a soft, distinct thump at the bottom. No hint of lag could be detected as even fast typing faithfully caught each keystroke. The movement feels more like a scissor key than a chicklet style. The keyboard is backlit with options for off, low, and high brightness. Key contrast is good with the white letters on the dark background and the backlight distinctly shines through the letters to light them up instead of just around the keys like some. The trackpad is a little less refined. It is very large as most newer laptops favor this design and is usually good. The movement is less natural than some other high end Windows laptops and periodically decides to act as if click lock is turned on causing you to drag items across the screen unintentionally. It seems HP has the sensitivity too high where it detects your finger above the trackpad when not actually on it. Hopefully HP will refine the sensitivity soon as the use is otherwise very good. This seems more of a need for a drive update as the system also stopped responding to gestures requiring a restart to fix. Thankfully restarts only take a few seconds so it is only a minor hassle. Webcam The webcam is thankfully at the top of the screen so no Skype sessions filming your nose. It works extremely fast for logging in with Windows Hello but, unsurprisingly isn’t intended for taking photos. Skype video is a bit dark and blurry unless you are in a very bright room close to the screen. It’s perfectly acceptable for its intended use. On one occasion Windows Hello stopped working until a quick restart so it seems some more driver refinement is still needed. Speakers The speakers are surprisingly loud. You can easily play music or dialog and hear it across the room. In fact, music at full volume close is uncomfortably loud. The speaker range is lacking in bass as are most thin devices in the category. At full volume the speakers begin to distort with highs becoming uncomfortable harsh. Fortunately, in most cases turning it up to max volume is unnecessary. At lower volumes the range is very respectable for such a device. Software HP has never known for being lean on the software front adding lots of bloat to their system. In this case the only third part application, outside the ones that come on every Windows 10 system, is McAfee trial. The rest of the included software are HP utilities. The number of utilities seems excessive and complicated but, in most cases, you will rarely need to access them. That said, some refinement and simplification of the myriad of included HP utilities could really improve the overall experience. Final thoughts Although tablet usage is a bit awkward with a keyboard on the back, thickness for a tablet, and large bezels the overall package still feels very high quality. There are certainly design compromises, but it seems HP understands most people use it as a laptop first and the least number of compromises are in that mode. Disregarding the convertible capabilities this is one compelling laptop. The extra modes are just a bonus. Some 13” laptops feel small in use, but HP has done a nice job making a small laptop feel large in use. If you are in the market for a Windows Ultrabook, the Spectre X360 2018 edition should be on your short list.

Just bought this laptop for the remainder of my education. It's beautiful, practical, fast, and comes with every single feature I was looking for. Some of these features included the fingerprint recognition, the 4k touchscreen, a 2 in 1 design, backlit keyboard, headphone jack... My only complaint is that I attempted to play a video game on it but the laptop overheated and shut down twice until it was able to cool itself down enough. Kind of disappointing with an i7 processor! However, I didn't purchase a gaming laptop for games, I purchased this laptop to power through a science major and into law school. In that case, I'm grateful I traded my old one in for this one as it fulfills all my required needs, being so convenient and it looks sharp too.

The Spectre x360 is almost as premium as it looks. It’s got a fantastic look and build, specs that are just right, and it runs for hours. The amount of bloat that comes preinstalled is a little appalling, but otherwise this is an excellent laptop. I think the design of this laptop is going to be a bit polarizing. I’m personally a big fan of the dark gray color with the copper accents. The angles on the sides are a bit odd, but I do like them. It feels like the designers tried really hard to give the Spectre a ‘premium’ look and people who prefer a more understated look may find it a bit gawdy, but I think it looks great. The one thing I didn’t like so much was size of the bezels around the screen; it feels like there’s a lot of extra space that’s could be used by a screen with a slightly taller aspect ratio – maybe 16:10 instead of 16:9. The build feels very solid; nothing creaks or flexes, the hinges are solid, and I don’t feel any gaps running my fingers around it. The specs feel just right to me. With a quad-core i7-8565U, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and 802.11ac with Bluetooth 5. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like any of the internals are upgradeable, so that’s something to consider before going with this configuration. The screen is 1080p and it looks good; I do wish it was a little bit higher, but it’s plenty sharp on the 13” screen. There’s a good mix of ports too with 2 USB-C and 1 USB-A port (no dongle required!). I’ve been happy with the performance so far. My previous laptop had a dual-core Y-series i7 and I definitely notice the difference with the quad-core U-series. Everything loads quickly and transitions and animations are smooth throughout. Battery life is also excellent; HP quotes 22.5 hours of ‘mixed usage’ and I’m getting more like 14-16 hours, but it’s the best I’ve ever experienced and I can confidently say that I could take this out for the day without my charger. The backlit keyboard is good; the keys have decent travel and good spacing between them. The trackpad is also good; it’s pretty big and it supports all of the Windows 10 gestures, but it feels like there’s the slightest input delay that I can’t help but notice and haven’t been able to correct in the settings. There’s also a stylus included. I don’t see myself using the stylus that much, but it does work well, probably about as well as the Surface Pen. The webcam on top of the screen is good, but not great. The image is pretty soft in all but best lighting. It does support Windows Hello for login though, which is super-fast. HP also added a hardware switch for the camera on the side, so those concerned about privacy won’t have to tape over it. If you’re not using Windows Hello to login there’s also a fingerprint scanner next to the keyboard that works well too. I wasn’t very happy with the amount of bloat that came preloaded on the Spectre. At least a third of the tiles pinned to the start menu was just a bunch of extra crap – games, Dropbox, McAfee, some frivolous HP apps. Some of it might actually be useful to some, but most of it just feels insulting; something in this class of PC shouldn’t have all this advertising clogging up the UI. It’s easy enough to remove, but it shouldn’t have been there in the first place. The tablet mode works well enough, but Windows 10 and what I use it for just doesn’t work as well with just a touch screen. The Spectre x360 is technically a 2-in-1, but if I’ve got the option I’ll usually use the keyboard and trackpad before the touchscreen. That’s either a testament to how great the mouse and keyboard experience is or how unrefined the touch experience is (or a little bit of both). Overall I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a great all-around Windows laptop, especially if you can appreciate the design and battery life. My only real issue with it is the bloatware, but fortunately that’s an issue that can be fixed.