HP Spectre x360 13 (Late 2018) Review: Exceptional Value, Elegant Design
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- HP's upgraded Spectre x360 13 is truly a near-perfect laptop. It (almost) has it all: beautiful design, impressive battery life, better-than-average keyboard, and a quality display, all for a price that's more than reasonable. Of course, it's not perfect, and we found a few things that could clearly be improved.
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I've heard people complain about Synaptics drivers all the time. But, I've never seen them compared side-by-side. YIKES. I understand now.
Guys, as a spectre15 user, I want to tell you: Just uninstall the current Synaptics driver then restart your computer, and you will get a windows precision touchpad !
@@xiangyuzhang1377 are you sure? Im not sure if i should buy this device just cuz of the trackpad
@@winterspeck6433 it works man. I didn't just restart my computer, but I downloaded the precision drivers and installed them, and my track pad works like the good one in the video now. It is just as responsive and accurate. It isn't a hardware issue. HP has a premium touchpad, they just decide to put shit drivers on it for whatever reason. Maybe they locked in a license agreement with that company. do not pass on this laptop because of the touchpad. Its an easy fix
@@cecilmcintosh864 can u make video showing
Yes please, show us the video of the trackpad without synaptics drivers
Always see tech sites go on and on about precision drivers for touchpads. always think they were just whiny.
Then i got a laptop with precision drivers.
Precision touchpad drivers are now high on my list of things a laptop SHOULD have when I consider another purchase.
I returned my spectre in large part because the touchpad drivers were so bad. I never gave touchpad drivers much thought prior to that.
@@garrettbernstein5991 I also returned mine because of the garbage touchpad. The drivers on this machine are unusable and ruin an otherwise great package. Going forward, Synaptics == automatic disqualification.
@@danielbryner agreed. There is a lot value in this laptop, but TouchPad is front and center to the experience. I am looking into ThinkPad yoga. I love their keyboards and controls.
@@danielbryner small correction Synaptics *drivers* == automatic disqualification... most pads with precision drivers are actually using synaptics hardware
@Nubia I tried but no dice. Don't worry about MS, they had a banner year. Meanwhile apple's macs are running into problem after problem because they too damn thin...
The Synaptics touchpad is fine. All you have to do is go into its Control Panel and make a couple of adjustments. Turn off tap to click and adjust the speed. I migrated from a MacBook Pro and the touchpad on my Spectre 360 after adjustments is just as good and accurate as the Mac's and we all know they set the standard.
I would highly recommend this laptop. It's a fantastic and light laptop, especially for students! The tablet mode works well, too, especially if u have to jot something down real quick. If you have the laptop on battery- saving mode, it does get you through the day, roughly 12-14 hours, which is a great plus. Buy it!
Elias Klement Did you buy yours new or used? They go for about $1200 right? I want one but I’m considering used but idk😬
@@williamking8231 I bought it new. But since I was unable to afford it at all once, I'm paying a monthly sum for 12 months now. I got mine for 1100 Euros, cuz of Black Friday I believe
Elias Klement Elias Klement Ah I see. The idea of buying a pc used makes me cringe, maybe because I’m American, lol but I want it to last as long as possible. I think I’ll splurge on myself a bit. How are you still liking it so far? And thanks for the quick reply man!
Have you had any thermal problem? Mine is overheating and turning off sometimes since I have bought it.
I've had an Envy x360 for two months now and I really like it
Awesome laptop! Thank you for the review. One thing you said bugged me a little... USB type-a is definitely not for "old" peripherals. The vast majority of all peripherals today and for the foreseeable future are type-a, and for good reason.
Honest question: what is the good reason? I thought usb-c was the future.
I'm already well on my way towards the USB-C future. The flexibility of USB-C is great, and while not every device supports it yet (my hard drives are all USB-A for now), there are many benefits to be had. Heck, there are hard drives that charge your laptop once you plug them in. How sick is that? My monitor charges my laptop. That's quite neat too.
Having the option of a USB-A-port is greatly appreciated, but I like it even more that it has two USB-C ports.
Got mine a couple week ago and I love it!
Antoine Jones how about nowadays? After all this time of using it, what's your opinion?? I'm considering buying one.
I managed to find a workaround to getting precision drivers on my spectre x360. you actually have to manually install a driver that was meant for a lenovo, but it works for it. i was able to get full precision functionality on mine thankfully.
Beautiful machine! Been loving Windows laptop OEMS since getting the Surface Pro 6.
Fortunately Windows Central has a guide on how to get rid of Synaptics and use the Precision drivers. It works. And then this notebook is near flawless. The only thing that I wish HP had done was implement VAIOs higher TDP. AFAIK Intel allows the TDP to be raised to 25W, which at times could be really useful. With proper VRMs and cooling it can be done, and it seems like VAIO did it on some of their ultrabooks. The TDP is a real issue with the Spectre... it sticks to 15W... and each core can easily hit those under load. And the graphics gets close too. Now imagine if all cores and the GPU come together... the clock speed and performance drops quite a bit.
Yoooo this guy is innovative asf when it comes to tech reviews... that bit he did about the synaptic vs precision drivers was game changing... he just clued us consumers in big time. Other tech reviewers talk about it but when you actually see it in action it’s totally different.
I don’t know about ya’ll, but for me, the next time I buy a laptop (soon), if it has synaptic drivers = PASS.
;) I may do a separate video on it as it really drives me nuts. Glad you got some value from that.
that gem cut is stunning
I have been using this laptop for 4 months. Amazing Ultrabook. Batt life is awesome 8-9hrs using outlook and internet only. The pen you can store it in laptop cover included.
Almost perfect !! I want the next hp spectre with all improves of Daniel 😉
Best 2 in 1 laptop of 2019 so far- what's your take on it?
Yup got mine 4k i7 512SSD. This is a beautiful on the go work machine. He's right it is almost too pretty. I honestly can't bring myself to treat it like other laptops and just chuck it in the bag or leave it out on the table. I don't want anything to diminish the look of it, so I got a "my precious" situation going on, which I didn't really plan for. If you can afford it, Get the 4k! it does make a difference. The screen is beautiful, brighter and richer than the FHD. Don't listen to those people who say it won't make a difference on 13inch. This thing is neck and neck with mac book Pro in screen quality IMO. 4k backgrounds look sharp and premium as well as 4k media. Even FHD youtube videos look better. Wifi is literally insane also. If you paid for 40mbps with your provider, you are gonna get 45mbps. I'm joking but there is so little loss in the transmission that you maximize every connection. Love this thing. I don't know why I'd spend the same money for a mac that doesn't have half of these things.
There is one advantage with the Mac: You can charge it from any USB power source, rather than being limited to ones being able to deliver 19-20V. And the Apple touchpad is just stellar. Force Touch works so much better than anything I've ever seen on any Windows laptop. Also, MBPs are solid as f***. There's no flex on the bottom half, and not that much on the display. And... that's it. The HP has a vastly superior keyboard, of course it runs Windows, it is better looking, and did I say the keyboard is superior? That's a big deal.
@@kadajawi6567 yup the mac is always a solid runner against any windows unit, cause it offers consistant things that most windows machines don't offer. If you are a touch pad person then mac is where you want to go, meaning you literally use touch pad for everything and never use a mouse. Windows machines like this one kind of make touchpad less relevant because you can touch to screen and use it like a tablet, and most windows apps are just better with a mouse anyway. If you are in a tight space like airplane or train and can't use mouse, yet have real work to do, light weight mac is probably going to feel best in that situation. this computer still gets the job don't very well without those proprietary mac touchpad features, but if those edge cases are your primary situation then I get why spending on the mac is more logical. I get the rigid build of macs being a plus for some people but for me lightness and versatility is more important. I definitely won't go cheap looking, which this hp is everything but cheap looking, yet I will tolerate a tiny bit of flex to get the weight and flexibility in use that convertibles offer.
@@cecilmcintosh864 Yeah but Mac keyboards are terrible these days. So... for getting work done they aren't my no 1 choice.
@@kadajawi6567 yeah man, hp spectre set a new standard for all keyboards. I don't know what they are doing, but it is literally the most comfortable experience I've ever seen in a laptop. Literally like sitting in a cloud typing up a paper.
For the trackpad, you can manually install precision driver...you can find video on CZcams. However don't forget to prohibit the windows to update the driver, or else when the windows updates, it will reinstall the synaptic driver again
Ahmed Ali F
Using a synaptics driven HP Pavillion 14 something or other right now. Never had issues with the synaptics drivers, but to be fair I don't use gestures, so yeah. It's fine as long as you're not really a gesture user.
That comparison between synaptic and precision drivers was very helpful. Thanks!
Is it normal for the touchpad to make clicking sounds when you you scroll on it? Also, out of the box, the display had a yellow tint and I had to calibrate the colour (learned through googling). Are these issues I should be concerned about? I have the 15 inch.
I am watching so many channels to take a laptop best ur explination is superb cool...tq it helped me lot
Love the laptop. I have the black & gold model from 2017. It's never let me down, and the newer ones are quad-core, so they're even better!
Beautiful design! Very classy.
Well I have used this variant and trust me the only reason it's worth spending money is the design and nothing else, my 3 years old Lenovo has a better performance than this.
Any hopes you will cover and compare the two expected 15" convertible laptops? The XPS 15 2 in 1 and the 15 inch version of this. In a way these are associated in my head cuz they were the launch device of the kabylake g intel/amd unholy amalgamation :p
Too many to name; and it depends on your use. Like asking what truck do I need to pull my trailer? Do you need a HD truck or will a half-ton do? One good way to start is with how much does your trailer weighs? With that, the choice becomes a lot simpler. For video editing what's most important to your? Generally, workstations are best, but a lot of people don't need that much horsepower, want to spend that much money or carry a lot of weight. For them, a good general use laptop will more than suffice. HP, Dell, and Lenovo are the workstation kings, and they're half as thick and light as they used to be. The only general advice I could give you is look for the laptop with best display (true color, wide-gamut, IPS, bright,) you can find/afford.
Sounds like everybody is truly sold by precion drivers for track pads on new computers vs Synaptis.
HP Spectre x360 13 or Lenovo Yoga C930 or Lenovo S940... Which one would you recommend for content creation and multimedia and light office work..?
Does anyone know when this will come out in Canada? I can't seem to find it anywhere.
"When it switches to a tablet" could that be why really there's thicker bezel top and bottom? So you can hold it? Hmmm
Why not 16:10 or 3:2???
Just why??? 16:9 screens have to die i ultrabooks.
You still get bezels when watching videos on 16:10 or 3:2.
@@pochen4092 lol videos are not why you buy this kind of laptop
@@pochen4092 I think we can get around having black bars during the few times anyone watches a video on a productivity focused 2 in 1.
I definitely agree with not liking the HUGE bezel but otherwise, I quite like the design, no SD card reader though, thats a let down.
If they can't get near the xps 13 bezzels, I wish it at least had bezzels the size of it's envy 13 brother.
For Indians it's a waste looking at this video because the 13inch 4k model prices at 1.6 Lakhs with an Intel Iris graphics and is rarely available in the market whereas the 15inch at the same cost comes with a gtx 1650.
13 inch has no more 4k models other than what I mentioned in India and the normal ones with FHD cost about 1.45 Lakhs containing the same specifications as the HP Pavilion X360 which comes at cool 85k to 1Lakh and is 1.65kg which is 450g heavier than the Spectre x360 13inch which is 1.2kg.
So overall you will be paying a premium just for the weight while everything else remains the same.
Spectre x360 13inch doesn't come with a Finger print reader and a dedicated graphics card like Mx250 which is present in the HP Pavilion x360.
So you decide.
I mean maybe the American customers have a cool deal and wider variety of Spectres to choose from, but we Indians have been left in the dust and were asked to squabble over a limited number of choices.
Nothing to do with the antannae, those are usually tucked behind the display anyway. So long as the design is proper, it should be fine, and it is on other fully metallic laptops with good wireless reception
The synaptic driver is not so bad as shown in the video, you can smoothly zoom in and out
please review the latest spectre of late 2019
Even if you were to zoom in on pages. Couldn't you just use the touchscreen to zoom in more effectively?
The best way to review thank you... Am looking forward to buy one.. But wt about the weight is it that heavy that hinders holding it everyway.. And if not wt else could be qualified for presentation demands and light weight.? ..
Hey Dan, great review, and Mark great Cam work as usual, If you're Looking for more great design, narrower bezels, light and powerful 2 in 1? please take a look at the Asus 2 in 1 ( Q326FA-BI7T13 ) that's exclusive to Bestbuy, it's a super sleek and powerful ultrabook that no other channels seem to be looking at but can compete with other premium laptops.
Was considering upgrading, but still synaptics drivers instead of precision. Thank you, next
Theres one major flaw. The thunder bolt plug is very often blocked by the bezel and thus empeeching to use some dongles. (I have the 15 inches, but I guess the same happens on the 13)
It's good for gaming on 1080p?
Hey by the time anyone reads this its most likely too late but bestbuy is currently having a sale on the blue 4k, 16gb ram, 512 gb ssd version for 1000. Its about 500 dollars off. So like get it now before the sale ends in 2 days.
The fans turn on and loud whenever its plugged-in, no issue when using battery though
NotebookFanControl has a profile for spectre that works great. Really limits the fan usage.
THANK YOU!!! Im looking at HP Spectre x360 13 (2019) recently !! This is exactly what i need, video has uploaded just in time for me !!!
SquatBunnie did you try hand written notes on this ?? How is it
@@Diosadelguac No, in the end I didn't buy it. I have read a lot of bad reviews about it so Im going to wait and see whats coming out in the late 2019
window central outstanding hp spectre x360 youtube video overall 101%. between hp spectre x360 3 sizes 1. 14 2. 15 3. 16 which order is battery life longevity ??? can you list hours of each size ??? i did all my homework/research & did purchase hp spectre x360 15.6" which did arrive today.
I had upgraded my XPS 13 9343 to 9380, and now I think I should have paid a little more to get a I7 model Spectre x360.
Well.. good review.. but, what do you think about this notebook for render work? I would like to buy a notebook to work in mobility and at home.. i'm an architect, and i would like to use it with autocad, sketchup, photoshop and vray render (sketchup plugin).
Do you think that with a mx 250 and i7 u version it's possible to work without problem?
Another preferences, is the new matebook x pro 2019...
Even if it's not you could still hook it up to an external GPU at your workstation for render work. I imagine you'd want to have it plugged into a power outlet anyway while rendering right? If so, just attach a standalone GPU to one of the Thunderbolt ports and render utilizing that.
Edit: If you're just using autocad and photoshop among other similar software, an MX 250 should definitely do the job. It's not like you're attempting to render 4k video on the go, which is the scenario I was originally thinking of when I said you'd want to have it plugged into a power source. For simpler tasks like photo editing, I think you'd definitely be able to do it on the go.
Pls do a comparison of that laptop to Huawei Matebook 13
I bought it at a cheap 2 months ago. I recently noticed that the charger overheats... a lot. literally It's burning to the touch. Does anyone have the same issue? What do you think might be causing this?
Which is better for study and notes taking
Surface pro 6/7 or hp spectre 360
Thanks
How's fan noise? I'm looking for a fairly quiet laptop and not blowing air constantly
Is the thick bezel because of the Wifi antenna or is it actually to allow for the use of the tablet function so that you aren't making touch commands onto the table portion of the screen when in tablet mode?
Do you have any hack to upgrade the synaptics of this touchpad to precision?
No to headphone jack on the right. It comes in a way while using external mouse
Great rew dan
using a xps and waiting for a 13t with oled and precision touchpad for immediate swap
What watch is that?
Fitbit Versa
Are there any shortcuts or gestures for undo or copy+paste when in tablet+pen mode? Thanks! :)
Does the Version with the Full-HD display support HDR?
I wish reviews said more about the pen and tested the pens more.
the pen is junk. Just put it back in the box and buy a surface pen. If you care about drawing and lots of notes you will not want their pen. If you just do sticky notes and jot things rarely, then the pen will be fine. There is a reason it is free. No nibs to swap, and the one it comes with is super slippery and unnatural feeling. Just being honest. I ordered the latest surface pen just 2 weeks in, after I thought I could tough it out. But I draw and take a lot of notes for work.
@@cecilmcintosh864 is the surface pen on this as good as an actual surface support tilt and is good enough?
@@chloemcholoe3280 It uses mainly the same technology, but on the HP, it doesn't support tilt. HP has made a HP Active Tilt Pen for the same as the Surface Pen.
@@chloemcholoe3280 yep the tilt is missing. I dont use tilt because it doesnt feel like the technology is good enough to make it practical yet. If you need real shading ability then get a real drawing tablet IMO. Another thing. If you use HB or B nibs on spectre you will get bad skipping. Stick with 2H and H. For me 2H is too slippery though.
@@cecilmcintosh864 I guess I'll get an ipad or something then :D
I have a little question: does HP laptops still have the Nvidia Defect?
Can you still switch it to Precision Drivers tho? I heard some x360s no longer support changing it.
You can, but it gives you an error everytime you try to open the settings. You just say no to their suggestion to uninstall your driver, and it still lets you configure your settings. You don't get the advanced Synaptic settings tho, but windows has advanced precision settings that make up for 80% of what you would have gotten. I doubt the average person even touches that last 20% of options.
Cecil McIntosh How do you change it ?
@@EDIIIZ just google it
Intake vents at the bottom? Why?
Best 2-in-1 Laptop ever. I wish that someone could give me this kind of PC😔
Do Spectre X360 13-AP0050TU 13.3-in FHD has Gorilla Glass Display ?
I have the 13.3 blue version. i7, 16 gigs, 512 hd, 4k screen. Paid 1249 @ best buy. Loving it.
Where did you bought it ?
best buy @@mfllourenco
@@Nebuchadnezzar18 thank you ! 😊
How is it now? Is it still good?
Where can i get that wallpaper?
Synaptics, again? How much do Synaptics pays HP to have it on-board?
Can I code on this laptop? Is this good for programming?
whats with the huge bezels !!
change the synaptics driver in previous specters as well pls
Great video as normal
Would you recommend this for semi professional youtube video editing?
@@stacia6678 yes getting that one
Can you gimme a link of that wallpaper at 3:34
Those bezels are such a shame D:
wow great review, totally enjoyed it though I never meant to be here as i'm not even eying this laptop
I had this laptop and returned it. None of the reviews mention how the backlight goes out after 10 or so seconds. There's no setting to leave it on all the time (like older Spectre or even Mac Books do. Also, I found the touch pad VERY difficult to use being left handed and trying to right click things. The older Spectre allowed you to change the size of the left/right button areas, but you can't adjust it with the included drivers. All in all, I felt like it was a worse computer than my older Spectre that I wanted to replace.
No hdmi port?
weight ?
My HP laptop has such a nice keyboard, it's a shame the POS bricked itself so I can't use the damn thing anymore XD.
Edit: I managed to fix it. Now it runs Ubuntu. The piece of shit literally won't let me install Windows on it. I can use a USB boot drive with ANY linux distro except for steam OS and it will install perfectly. But if I try to boot windows nothing happens. HP accidentally made a laptop that's better for Linux than it is for Windows. Wonder how Microsoft feels about that.
But can it run Minecraft?
The bezels are terrible
While they can argue that u need something to hold on to in tablet form, yea they could've slapped a taller screen on there.
Hi, would you recommend this Laptop for basic video editing?
No, the color gamut sucks for VE, its not bright enough and no discrete GPU. All important for VE.
@@krane15 what laptop would you recommend for VE then?
@@SilentTrip Either a Razer Blade 15 (2019 version) or a MacBook Pro depending on the software you plan on using.
I am considering....
the bazels compared to overall entire design looks like somene put it there by mistake
I think giant fan at lower RPM = more air, less noise, compared to smaller fan at higher rpg = more air, more noise. but in this case 2 is better than 1.
This or LG Gram 14 2 in 1?
There's more than just HP, Dell, and Lenovo. ASUS UX461FA was $999. i7-8565U + 16GB RAM + 512GB NVMe SSD. Oh, and a Precision trackpad!
No PD charging though IIRC? And there's more to notebooks than the specs. ASUS laptops are fine, but for example I wasn't too happy with the keyboards on the ZenBooks I've tried typing on. You can fix the touchpad on the Spectre by installing the Precision driver, but you can't fix the keyboard on that ASUS.
Value for money is definitely on ASUS side though. They are really affordable for what they offer. And lets not forget HUAWEI. Their Matebook X models are stunning, and, like ASUS, they have those sweet small bezels. But still: The Spectre has the best keyboard. Full stop. I'd say it is at least up there with the ThinkPads of the world. I actually prefer typing on it compared to my mechanical keyboard. And I never say that.
@@kadajawi6567 Right; the USB-C port is really gimped for whatever reason. Though specific to charging, I'd rather the USB-C port be free for other uses.
I'd be all over the Spectre keyboard but back when the 7th-gen Intel variants of the Spectre had huge quality issues where one half of the keyboard felt different from the other. Issue was consistent across all units at the time.
@@besweeeet2 The gem cut version is consistent at least in my case.
What app is being used when you compare the pinch-zoom feature here?: czcams.com/video/C93eW_c-w38/video.html
Is that in a browser or is it some kind of Twitter app for Windows?
Actually, the laptop comes with a skin that has a spot for the stylus.
I think the bottom and top bezels are there to make sure you can hold it when in tablet mode due to its weight. re resolutions - you wanted 3:2 and straight after you mention you’d want 16:10? That doesn’t make sense..
I think they're just trolling you now with the lack of precision drivers, Dan... :-)
Starting to feel that way!
How to use privacy screen function?
On the models that include the privacy screen function it will be located where the f1 function key is and should be a toggle on and off!
No precision touchpad? Almost perfect... but for me not having precision drivers for the touchpad is a showstopper.
Can you do a battery review test on this laptop, please....I want to get one. Thanks! :)
I have one for school, it’s battery is wayyyyy better than I thought. I only charge it like 2 a week.
Great review Dan! Could you possibly link the wallpaper used? It's gorgeous
dat cooling system
Battery bulging happens after 1-2 years and there are no support, recall or any battery replacement from HP website . You gotta buy another one or just find a random unknown batter to replace it by your self or ask HP to fix it for $300. I don’t recommend ut
I heard you can mess with the drivers to make them precision but not sure!
You can, I'm running precision drivers on my late 2017 Spectre
If your complaint about any piece of tech is the bezels, You need to rethink some shit, bezels are just a gimmick
How is personal preference for aesthetic design and looks a "gimmick"? So, if bezels were 2 inches thick we can't say anything? Just roll with it and ignore all the industry trends? Nah.