Review: HP’s 13.5-inch Spectre x360 is a top ultralight—with flair
Enlarge / HP's 13.5-inch Spectre x360. (credit: Scharon Harding)
| Specs at a glance: HP Spectre x360 13.5-inch | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Worst | Best | As reviewed | |
| Screen | 13.5-inch 1920*1280 IPS touchscreen | 13.5-inch 3000*2000 OLED touchscreen | |
| OS | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Pro | Windows 11 Home |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-1235U | Intel Core i7-1255U | |
| RAM | 8GB LPDDR4-4267 | 16GB LPDDR4-4267 | |
| Storage | 512GB NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD | 2TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD | 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD |
| GPU | Intel Iris Xe | ||
| Networking | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 | ||
| Ports | 2x USB-C (Thunderbolt 4), 1x USB-A (3.2 Gen 1), 1x 3.5 mm jack, 1x microSD card reader | ||
| Size | 11.73*8.68*0.67 inches (297.94*220.47*17.02 mm) | ||
| Weight | 3.02 pounds (1.37kg) | ||
| Battery | 66 Wh | ||
| Warranty | 1 year | ||
| Price (MSRP) | $1,100 | $1,760 | $1,610 |
| Other | Stylus, sleeve included |
HP's 13.5-inch Spectre x360 has a little something for almost everyone. An ultralight build puts it a desirable class of convertibles with a frosted finish and flashy accents. A 3:2 screen stands taller than most and includes an OLED option that's vivid yet natural looking. There are also clever design choices, like a chamfered edge with a charging port, light-up volume/mic mute/camera shutter keys, plus decent port selection.
The Spectre x360 13.5-inch gets an A+ in looks and scores high (but not perfectly) in design details. But it has some room to grow when it comes to productivity, especially when compared against other highly capable ultralights in its price range.
For those who insist on squeezing every ounce of performance out of a sub-1-inch-thick convertible, there are stronger competitors. But for the rest, the 2022 Spectre is near the top of its class.