Hands-on with the 13-inch HP Spectre x360 with QHD OLED display

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
last updated

HP has announced a number of new laptops thus far at CES 2016, one of which was a refresh of one of our favorites from 2015, the Spectre x360. In the video below, we go hands-on with the refreshed 13.3-inch version of the Specter x360.

What makes the new Spectre x360 impressive is that it's running a QHD OLED display packed into a 13.3-inch form factor. Additionally, you can snag up to 1TB of SSD storage, either an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, and optional Intel Iris Pro Graphics for those looking for a bit more horsepower. There are also options available with an FHD display for those who don't want to make the step up in price for QHD.

Overall, the new 13.3-inch HP Spectre x360 looks pretty impressive, and makes for a nice update to one of our favorites from last year. As for availability, this one is expected to go on sale sometime this spring, but pricing has yet to be announced. HP is also releasing a 15.6-inch version with a 4K display in February starting at $1,149.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

26 Comments
  • Dan as an HP spectre owner I would be interested to know if They made any other changes in look of the laptop or just the screen?
  • Mostly internals (Iris Pro option) and the OLED display. Not too much else.
  • Will a stylus be compatible with this? And I wonder how does this compare to Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 yoga?
  • Yes, HP has a wacom stylus that works with just about all their recent devices
    https://www.windowscentral.com/e?link=https2F2Fcrea...
  • Funny that they seem to use a branding that does no longer exist. Probably a leftover design.
  • Seeing as the new separate entity HP. Inc still operates under Hewlett-Packard Company's original trade moniker, I'm sure they're allowed to keep the branding. HP does still stand for Hewlett-Packard.
  • Actually, they are not. Not even HP inc. Employees re allowed to refer to the company as Hewlett Packard. HP in HP inc. literally stands for nothing anymore.
  • I thought the same. In the previous article, it was mentioned that they wouldn't be using 'Hewlett-Packard' name for devices. Maybe you're right about a leftover design..
  • Are you referring to Hewlett Packard or HP logo? Cause i really like the Hewlett Packard logo on their laptops....
  • Great to see HP is making a remake of the the Spectre X-360 Ultrabook with newer specs in 2016.  This is what Microsoft did with Surface, Samsung did with the Galaxy brand and Dell did with the XPS brand.  It is much better to launch a very well designed high end product like this, than to launch 3 poor designed products that are cheap.  2016 is definately going to be the year of 2 in 1 Ultrabooks running Windows 10.
  • x360? Why not just name it the x1? Oh yeah, Comcast... /s
  • x360 because the hinge turns 360 degrees over. Its a 2-in-1!
  • If I didn't already have my XPS 13 I would be getting this. While I do like the XPS 13 for what it is, it was still more or less a rush purchase. What I was really looking for was a good 2-in-1 laptop. I really liked the first x360 and its sleek design. The YOGAs are nice but I never liked that massive bezel. As far as laptops go, this one has become my second favorite after the Surface Book.
  • Yoga laptops screens have yellow color issues which is noticable. They didn't fix this issue even with latest Generation model. Dell and HP are best if you consider best color accuracy. 
  • Agreed - dell screens seem to be the best, though this oled screen sounds awesome! Need to see it tested first, before I pass judgement, and know what it does to performance and battery
  • Hmm, duly noted. I've actually only owned Dell laptops (XPS 13 being the second) and their screens have definitely been good quality. My previous laptop was a refurbished Studio 15.4" with AMD Turion X2 processor. Lasted me a good while, although the build quality was on the cheaper side.
  • Just when you thought the Spectre couldn't get any better, OLED!!!
  • The $1,149 starting price comes with 1080p panel. Not 4K.
  • Wow awesome. OLED is incredible
  • Incredibly bad, yes
  • So no USB Type C Thunderbolt on this thing?  Looked like all USB 3.x ports :-(
  • Yes, that is disappointing. I will be in the market for a new laptop by back-to-school (Sept. 2016) and I've decided that my next laptop needs to have at least 1 USB-C port.
  • Overall I like my x360, but I wonder if Dan or anyone else can weigh in regarding the touchpad, and if they've updated that in the newer refresh.  The Synaptics touchpad on the current Spectre x360 is just alright, and am hoping  HP upgrades to Windows Precision Touchpad, as they are much, much better (although I have a feeling they haven't upgraded it) Awesome that it's getting an OLED screen option, but I'm definitely concerned about what it'll do for battery life, considering the current x360 already doesn't have the greatest battery life out there.  Sure, darker backgrounds and watching content it'll be fine, but for white backgrounds, etc. which draw more power, it may give the laptop pretty horrible battery life.  For me the sweet spot would be a laptop that has an OLED screen which can last at least a minimum of 8 hours doing light to moderate tasks at 200-250 nits of brightness.  The new Yoga X1 may do exactly that.
  • Whatever you do, do not buy a Spectre. I had the 2014 and 2015 model and both had massive coil whine, terrible build and even had a dead pixel. Looks good, but is terrible. But, maybe the new one is better.
  • The monitor is glare, right?
  • just another thing for CrApple to """COPY""" from, and tell the world, it was ALL their idea, and they were 1st to invented. This is CrApple marketing:  BE HOLD iSHEEP, We at CrApple, have invented, OLED, 2-in-1's, Smart Watches, Surface products, QUAD HD screen (which we don't use), Large Screen phones, SMART PHONES, CPU's, 4K and 8K anything, TV's, TABLET, TREES, EARTH, SUN, CLOUD, WATER, YOU, Misleading, Brainwashing, ........................"EVERYTHING". We NEVER steal or COPY anyone, We just wait to sue, so you think we are true inventors.