HP Spectre x360 15 vs. Surface Laptop 15: Which is a better buy?

Ultimately, the HP Spectre x360 15 is the better choice here for the vast majority of people. A select few may find the Surface Laptop 3 15 worth choosing if they need a better battery life or can't afford to spend a little extra. Still, most should opt for the Spectre due to its better performance, display, its convertible functionality.

Spectre x360 15 vs. Surface Laptop 3 15: Comparison and specs

The HP Spectre x360 15 outperforms the Surface Laptop 3 15 in almost every metric across the board. Its Intel i7-10750H CPU is measurably more capable than either of the AMD Ryzens available for the Surface Laptop 3 15. Its NVIDIA 1650 Ti completely blows the AMD Radeon Vega 9 and 11 GPUs in the Surface out of the water. The Spectre matches the Surface on RAM and storage, and again surpasses it when it comes to displays — both the IPS and AMOLED 4K screens are more impressive than the Surface's Pixelsense. The Spectre also comes with Thunderbolt 3 and support for Wi-Fi 6, while the Surface does not. Both laptops are fantastic in terms of physical design, although the bezels on the Spectre are noticeably thinner. It's also important to note that you can use the Spectre as a convertible.

	HP Spectre x360 15	Surface Laptop 3 15
CPU	i7-10750H	AMD Ryzen 5 3580U AMD Ryzen 7 3780U
GPU	NVIDIA 1650 Ti	AMD Radeon Vega 9 Graphics AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
Memory	16GB	8GB 16GB
Storage	256GB SSD 512GB SSD 1TB SSD	128GB SSD 256GB SSD 512GB SSD 1TB SSD
Display	15-inch UHD IPS touch (340 or 400 nits) 15-inch UHD AMOLED touch (400 nits)	15-inch Pixelsense 2496 x 1664 touch (400 nits)
Speakers	Quad-speaker design	Omnisonic speakers
Ports	1x Thunderbolt 3 1x USB-C 1x USB-A	1x USB-C 1x USB-A 1x Surface Connect
Biometrics	Windows Hello-enabled 720p camera Fingerprint reader	Windows Hello-enabled 720p camera Fingerprint reader
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.0	Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth 5.0
Battery	5-6 hours	9-10 hours
Weight	4.24 lbs	3.40 lbs

The Surface Laptop 3 15 only scores points in three areas: battery life, weight, and starting price. The Surface's battery life comes in at around 9-10 hours, a big step up compared to the Spectre's 5-6. Additionally, the Surface Laptop 3 15 weighs in at 3.40 pounds, which is over a pound lighter than the Spectre. Finally, the Surface Laptop 3 15's starting price is $300 less than the Spectre x360 15, making it more attractive to people who are on tight budgets. Outside of these advantages, though, the Spectre is simply better.

Spectre x360 15 vs. Surface Laptop 3 15: Which should you buy?

Source: Dan Thorp-Lancaster / Windows Central HP Spectre x360 15.

At the end of the day, we think that this duel's clear winner is the HP Spectre x360 15. Offering stronger performance, a better display, better ports, thinner bezels, Wi-Fi 6, and convertible functionality, it trumps the Surface Laptop 3 15 across the board. The only reason you should get a Surface Laptop 3 15 is if you need something as affordable as possible or if you need strong battery life.

If neither of these devices are the right fit for what you're looking for, check out our best Windows laptop picks for more options.