HP Specter X360 14, review: power with 9 hours of battery in an exquisite and convertible design

By Oualid Harrouch On Mar 7, 2021

One of the benchmark notebooks in the world of high-end ultrabooks has been the HP Specter X360 for years.

The new model that we have analyzed in Engadget, the HP Specter X360 14, stands out for maintaining the excellent finish and design while debuting the latest Intel Tiger Lake processors and its Iris Xe graphics.

HP Specter X360 Datasheet 14
13.5-inch multi-touch (10-point) IPS LCD with Gorilla Glass NBT coverage and anti-reflective coating
RESOLUTION 1,920 x 1,080 dots
PROCESSOR Intel Core i7-1165G7
GRAPHICS Intel Iris Xe
RAM 16 GB LPDDR4-3200
SSD SSD PCIe 512GB NVMe M.2
SOUND Four speakers and audio calibrated by Bang & Olufsen
VERSION S.O. Windows 10 Home
CONNECTIVITY Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 (2 x 2) and Bluetooth 5
2 USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gb / s signal rate, Power Delivery 3.0, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge) / 1 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A (HP Sleep and Charge) / microSD slot / Microphone combo and headphones
MINIMUM DIMENSIONS 29.83 x 22.01 x 1.69 cm
WEIGHT 1.34 kg
BATTERY 4-cell 66 Wh Li-ion
PRICE 1,399 euros

A well-known and spectacular design
For several years HP has been repeating base design in its most representative models in the ultrabook sector. And it does not surprise us.

The new HP Specter X360 14 presents very little novelties in the external appearance and that is very good news. Excellent levels are maintained in the finishes, being the manufacture in aluminum with a matte treatment that supports very well fingerprints and dirt while giving it a touch of exclusivity that is not seen in many models.

This 13.5-inch diagonal ultrabook is quite compact and weighs only 1.3 kg.

The exclusive and very well finished design is the cover letter of an ultrabook that hides some other secret.
In addition to the matte finish and the color, the most prominent distinguishing mark of this HP Specter X360 is the gold of the edges, also present in the logo and the hinges. Also noteworthy are the chamfered corners on the side of the screen, which folds down completely because I remind you that we are facing a convertible model in which we can place the screen completely rotated on the keyboard.

The hinges are extremely robust, although the assembly lacks some consistency to be able to open the equipment with one hand. Right in the area of the hinge, in a very subtle way, we find the main cooling outlet of the equipment.

The interior of the HP Specter X360 maintains matte finishes and dark tones topped with gold accents. The upper band between the keyboard and the screen stands out in this generation, which is where the main speaker of the equipment is located in a very successful way.

The sound, which as we will see later, is signed by Bang & Olufsen, is completed with two speakers located at the bottom of the laptop, right next to the sides.

As details to highlight I mention two more: the power button is placed as “one more key” in the highest row of the keyboard (next to the one that mechanically blocks the webcam) and the fingerprint reader also takes on the terrain of the keyboard instead of being integrated into the home button or touchpad.

Fair but sufficient connectivity
With such a thin profile, at the connectivity level we cannot expect miracles in this HP Specter X360. Moreover, it is not the goal of this type of team.

On one side, the right, we have the bulk of the connectivity of the HP Specter X360. There we find the headphone port, a USB-C, a microSD card slot and, already in the chamfer, a second USB-C port. Both are Thunderbolt 4 and support computer charging. Too bad they are both on the same side, reducing the loading possibilities.

Already on the left side, in a very lonely and even strange way, the only USB-A port of the HP Specter X360 remains.

Wireless connectivity is WiFi 6 AX201 (2×2 MU-MIMO) and Bluetooth 5.0.

Well balanced display
Without giving up a very compact design, the HP Specter X360 already reaches a screen diagonal of 13.5 inches where, without disappearing altogether, the reduction of the frames is considerable.

The 13.5-inch IPS panel with FullHD resolution has been balanced and adequate for the purpose of this equipment
The version that we have analyzed is the one that includes an IPS panel with 1080p resolution, but a spectacular model with a 3K2K OLED panel is available.

The screen has an anti-reflective finish, which helps a lot with reflections without penalizing the viewing experience. In fact, the 400 nits of brightness complement that panel treatment very well, although reflections in very bright environments do not eliminate them entirely.

The display has been very balanced and accurate in our tests. It is a 100% sRGB panel with Corning Gorilla Glass NBT protection and of course, touch. It offers very good viewing angles and perfectly fulfills its general purpose.

For the 13.5-inch diagonal, the bet for a 1080p resolution seems very successful, especially if we go from the Windows 10 recommendation to scale to 150% and we opt for 125% or even 100%. Also, that the format is 4: 3 places more emphasis on productivity than on the purely multimedia aspect.

But this does not mean that enjoying video or music content on this laptop is not a satisfying experience. The sound has gained a lot from last year’s model thanks to the four-speaker system located above the keyboard and spanning from one side to the other.

It has done so in sound presence and directionality but still in the section of bass sounds we find a penalty for the little space available for its reinforcement.