HP Spectre x360 is a sleek aluminum convertible laptop with swift performance, excellent battery life and a rich, full-HD touch screen. HP Spectre x360 starts at a very reasonable $899, which gets you a 2.2-GHz Intel Core i5-5200U processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. You can configure this version with 8GB of RAM ($50), a Core i7-5500U processor ($150), and a 256GB SSD ($50) or 512GB SSD ($200). For the money, I’d recommend the 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.
On most versions of the x360, HP eschews that trend, opting for a 1080p touch screen, which is plenty sharp and colorful, and most likely helps save battery life. Like cookware, aluminum-clad notebooks tend to absorb heat, and the Spectre x360 is no different. After streaming a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the touchpad (81 degrees Fahrenheit) and the space between the G and H (86 degrees) were relatively cool. However, the bottom rose to 100 degrees, which is 5 degrees higher than we consider comfortable. HP includes its trio of “Connected” utilities. Connected Music acts as a portal for audio from both local files (such as your iTunes library) and streaming sources such as TuneIn Radio. Connected Drive is a means to view all your photos, videos, documents and music on your notebook PC, tablet, smartphone and cloud services.
HP Spectre x360 is one of the longest-running 2-in-1s we’ve tested. The system’s 3-cell 56-wHr battery lasted 9 hours and 28 minutes on the AussieBatt Laptop Battery Test. That’s about 2 hours longer than the category average (7:27) and touch-screen version of the XPS 13 (7:24) and an hour longer than the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro. The nontouch Dell XPS 13 (11:42) and the MacBook Air (12:20) both endured considerably longer, but not having a touch screen increases laptop battery life.
With good performance, long battery life and an attractive design, HP Spectre x360 is one of the best convertible notebooks you can buy. While not as light, or convenient, in tablet PC mode as the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, the x360 is less expensive, has a more powerful processor and lasts longer on a HP 367759-001 battery charge.
