HP's Spectre X360 Invades MWC 2016 Week And We're Good With That

By now you're probably burned out on smartphone and VR buzz. We don't blame you, Mobile World Congress week has been a whirlwind akin to only that sort of frenzied pace we experience at CES. Of course we agree, mobile computing isn't just about smartphones and other pocketable devices, even if what's coming is finally breaking the mold with modularity and even possibly someday complete end user repairability and upgradability. Well, even though HP joined the MWC 2016 party with a smartphone of their own (Windows 10 Mobile no less and with impressive scalability), they also decided to drop in a photobomb of sorts, with their Spectre X360 15-inch bad boy (or girl) ultralight arriving to our test labs for a bit of notebook-driven disruption.

HP Spectre X360 Closed Back

HP Spectre X360 Open

High-level specs for this razor-thin yet spacious beauty go like this:
  • 15-inch UHD Display - 3840X2160 Resolution
  • Intel Core i7-6500 U Dual-Core/Four-Thread Skylake Processor (3.1GHz Turbo)
  • Integrated Intel HD 520 Graphics
  • 16GB DDR3-1600 RAM
  • SanDisk mSATA 256GB SSD
  • A svelte 4.02 Lbs

HP Spectre Config

We just got this machine in for testing and it's a breath of fresh air. Check out the Bang and Olufsen sound system too. HP ditched Beats in a heartbeat when Apple scooped up the brand not long ago and it definitely was for the better. We've got more tinkering to do but so far, not only is this ultralight 15-inch machine quiet as a mouse, when it wants to, it pumps out some relatively satisfying jams, for a notebook anyway.  And what about performance you ask? We're just rolling up our sleeves but here's a quick taste from Cinebench...

Cinebench Test HP Spectre X360

HP Spectre X360 Keyboard TouchPad

At this point we're just warming up the aluminum on this slice of cutting-edge technology but from its 4K IPS display to that massive trackpad, the HP Spectre X360 is a premium ride all around. Its Cinebench numbers are strong. Its SSD performance is respectable and at $1349 as tested, with all those pretty pixels and 16GB of RAM, it's a solid value as well.

And yes, those hinges swing a full 360 degrees right into bodacious tablet mode, if you so desire.

Stay tuned for more details in the weeks ahead as we put this ultralight contender through our usual gauntlet grind of computing calisthenics.

HP Spectre X360 Closed