HP Spectre X360 Ultrabook Review: Sleek, Sexy, Convertible

Name: HP Spectre X360 Ultrabook: Sleek, Sexy, Convertible
Brand: HP

by Marco Chiappetta — Sunday, March 01, 2015, 02:00 PM EDT

The HP Spectre X360 features all-aluminum construction and has premium touches throughout. This machine belongs alongside the best utlrabooks currently on the market...

The machine has a 13.3” screen surrounded by a good-sized bezel. It’s nowhere near as thin as the bezel on the Dell XPS 13, but the Spectre X360 is a convertible device than can be used in multiple modes, including a tablet mode, hence the need for some bezel. The hinge on the Spectre X360 allows the screen to swing open like a traditional notebook, but cam continue to rotate all the way around into tent mode, stand mode, and tablet mode—like Lenovo’s Yoga series of notebooks. HP designed the machine for productivity, however, so the X360 is a traditional clamshell first and foremost, with quality a keyboard and touchpad. The fully articulating hinge simply allows the machine to be used in other modes as well.

The HP Spectre X360’s dimension measure 12.79” x 8.6” x 0.6” and it weighs in at a svelte 3.26lbs. It has a wedge design, like many other premium ultrabooks, but at its “thickest” point it’s only 5.9mm / 0.6” high. Although the machine is small, HP didn’t skimp on connectivity. Along the left side the machine packs its power port, some venting, a USB 3.0 port, the power button and a full-sized SD card reader.

And on the right side, there’s a Windows button (there is no Windows button on the screen), a volume rocker, a mini-DP port, a full-sized HDMI port, two more USB 3.0 ports, and a combo headphone / microphone jack.

There is nothing along the back or on the top lid, save for a couple of clean looking Hewlett Packard badges, and the front edge is clean as well, and feature only a slight indentation to make it easier to slip a finger in between the screen and deck to open the machine up.

We should note that there are almost no seams on the HP Specrte X360 whatsoever. The lid and keyboard deck are machines from single pieces of aluminum. The only visible seams are where the hinges are attached and on the bottom, where there is a removable panel for accessing the system’s internals. The bottom of the machine is mostly clean as well and features a long vent along one edge and four, circular rubber feet that do a good job of holding the machine in place.

Tags: Notebook, Mobile, HP, laptop, Hewlett-Packard, x360, Ultrabook, Broadwell, spectre

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com