HP Spectre x360

Has anyone heard anything about when the 13" Spectre X360 is getting 16 GB RAM as an option?

(or about if HP is going to offer ash silver with the 1080p screen)

 

My Spectre just got a Windows update that updated my Synaptics drivers.

I had installed Windows 8.1 Synaptics drivers to fix the problem with inconsistent scroll direction. I use the old style scroll (finger goes down, page goes up). The inconsistent part was that this old style scroll did not work in the Start menu and other Settings windows.

Now with the update, scrolling seems to work consistently.

 

Hmm ...mine's like that too. I didn't think it was so bad but since I watched that video I can't stop tapping the trackpad and now it's irritating me. I keep imagining it's going to get worse. No way am I taking it apart though.

I spoke to HP - they're going to collect it and fix it for me. They're aware of the issue.

 

Don't know about the 16gb but I have the ash silver with the 1080p screen so obviously it's already available to some markets (I'm in the UK).

 

Maybe a moot point since you're getting yours repaired but...

In my case the rattling sound was average at first (though just like you mentioned, MUCH BETTER than many of the floor units -- Macs included -- at Best Buy) and now is nonexistent (9 months later). I can't in good faith make the argument that "it gets better over time" but I believe it does.

A while back I mentioned that the x360 Pavillion I bought for my daughter has the exact same issue as mine did. Hate to say this but if you don't think about it you don't notice it.

-Matt

 

I have a HP Spectre x360-13-4102dx. Like my desktop and other HP laptop, the desktop icons get scrambled after some updates.

The difference is, if I just leave the Spectre alone, I come back an hour later and find the icons restored to the original positions.

On the desktop and other laptop, I need to painstakingly re-arrange all the icons.

I'm trying to find out what setting is different on my Spectre so I can fix the other two computers.

Does anybody know? Do your Spectres also correct the scrambled icons?

 

This sounds like a really good deal! Unfortunately in Greece the i5 version costs over 1300 euros, so I am thinking of buying it from another EU country. Can you tell me if the UK version has the US keyboard layout or the UK one? Also, does the UK HP store offer shipping outside the UK?
Thanks in advance!

 

guys for some reason my hp spectre hasb come really lagy. it was running fine an hour ago and now that i have come back its really laggy.
i still have 100 gb in hard drive free space. i did a reboot and still laggy. help.

 

Anyone else been having problems with the sound becoming robotic in the past few days? Happened some time around or after the update to the Bluetooth driver and the BIOS in the last week or so I want to say.

 

HP just announced a new Spectre! Plus updated ENVY models:
http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/05/hp-spectre-13-3/
http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/05/hp-envy-x360-15-17/

Went on HP website to see if they'd silently updated Spectre x360 internals (16GB RAM, OLED, etc., as announced at CES back in January).
Unfortunately nothing new there.. EXCEPT they've removed the i7-6560U option (Iris 540).. Strange!

 

So my impressions on the new Spectre..
+ Core i processors up to i7 in that slim body? awesome.
+ upward facing speakers!
+ up to 9.5 hours of battery (even if only 6 hours in real life, seems pretty decent for a PC this thin)
+ 2 of 3 USB C has thunderbolt
- Hinge looks weak
- Too much bling, looks like this LV bag:

 

Those usb c 3.1 though... I wish my spectre charging port is usb c 3.1 instead of the usual standard. And how nice it'd be to have spectre weight below 3 pound

 

Ah yes, can't believe I forgot to include that in my list.

 

My concern is cooling in that small form factor.

I already experience thermal throttling on my i7 where it will throttle down to around 13W TDP in gaming (and suffer frame rate reduction).

 

It's beautiful to be sure, and at the lighter weight, I wonder how it feels as a tablet. A related concern, though, is whether the bottom will be as easy to remove as the previous model? I also suspect, with such a major step in form-factor, that the first release of the new model will have a few hardware issues to resolve. I'd probably wait for the second version.

-Matt

 

with the lack of a touch screen, the 13.3 misses as a tablet, but scores on the size and internals. Well Done, HP.

 

OH!!!! My bad -- I had assumed it was an x360 convertible! I'll definitely stick with mine, thanks!

-Matt

 

I didn't see where it wasn't a convertible, but it did mention the lack of the touch screen to meet the thin requirement.

 

It's not convertible for sure, no touchscreen and that new hinges design. i think the mission to make thinnest and lightest kinda prevent that (touchscreen are heavier and bulkier after all )

 

If it's not a convertible or touchscreen, I think the "Spectre" name should be changed to something else.

 

I tend to agree, though I think the trademark Spectre may be reserved for HP's high-end machines, not specifically convertibles, e.g.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/hp-envy-14-spectre-announced/

-Matt

 

Yep, actually the Spectre brand is standing for the most premium consumer laptops in the HP line, not exclusively for convertibles

 

Slow is subjective... depends on what purpose you are using it for. It's definitely not a gaming laptop.

For my use though it is plenty quick, a lightroom export of an album of 200x10MP images takes around 10 minutes (including applying filters). I also almost never experience any lag or delay when using adjustment brushes etc.

This Passmark test is showing a 10% incremental increase (for the same wattage) over the equivalent Broadwell CPU.

If you are looking at CPU boss I believe there is a problem with their testing. Scroll down and you will see that "GeekBench 3 (AES single core)" has the 5500U performing 1000x better (which is obviously impossible).

 

I did not see this mentioned but there is a MacBook sleeve that fits the Spectre x360 perfectly: V41 Incase Protective Sleeve Deluxe Case.

Besides, the nice padding, there is a small zippered corner right over the exhaust vent and power jack. With the slot open, there is no concern of accidentally having the Spectre on and overheating in the sleeve.

After five weeks of ownership, the Spectre still looks absolutely new!

 

I don't know how he manages to get over 2 million views, but here's a good video about the new Spectre:

Looks very nice as a Macbook Air rival. Not sure I could do without the convertible modes, now I've been spoiled by the x360. I don't see any ports other than the 3 x USB type C and a headphones socket, so can you do power, display and USB hub over one connection? If so, very cool, and easy to dock! (Any HP reps reading this who might know?)

Personally I'm holding out for the OLED model, whenever that's coming out (they said April, this month, back in January?).

 

BTW the first thing I would want to do would be to put this thing in a gel case, if such a thing existed. The smooth aluminium on my Spectre looks nice, but my fingers slip when I try to pick it up and open it, and I'd rather worry less about scratches and knocking it.

It's a functional piece of equipment first and foremost and I don't give 2 hoots about Swarovski crystals or suchlike! I love the way it runs cool and quiet, has great battery life, DisplayPort etc. Any compromise on utility (e.g. lack of PgUp/PgDn/Home/End buttons) and physical ergonomics in the name of smooth lines is a mistake, IMO.

 

I have to agree. Back in January 2015, I set my sights on a 2-in-1, starting with the Lenovo Yoga 3 14". After deciding that wasn't the machine for me (in part, because of touchscreen issues), I kept looking and by July I opted for the x360. Now I couldn't imagine not owning a convertible. I'd love to see how HP's 15" x360 feels, but I otherwise have no plans to go back to a conventional laptop format!

-Matt

 

I'd agree. Tent mode is great for media consumption for example. I use tablet mode to take notes with onenote quite often (in conjunction with a pen).

Coming from the surface range those things were indispensable for me - but I was looking for a larger screen, larger keyboard and better trackpad experience. Obviously there is the surface book (which is probably my grail) but the pricing on the surface book is astronomical and the HP had a sweet sweet deal at the time - when the i5-6300U with no dGPU is $2,300 and the HP i7-6500U was going for $1,600 it was an absolute no brainer.

That said, now that the HP i5-6200U is going for $1900, that is a completely different proposition. I'd probably pay the extra $400 for that higher resolution screen, better pen and better after-sales support (the fact that HPs drivers remain 4-5 versions out of date from Intel's is criminal - especially during that launch period of 6-7 months where the HP drivers kept crashing due to a bug).

FYI, all above pricing is in AUD.

 

Had the x360 since about a month after launch.. Now I've noticed the left hinge had slipped, a rubber gasket has begun to work its way out and the screen is now grinding against the body.
I have also noticed a circular crack the exact size of my finger in the glass trackpad.
Anyone had similar issues?

I treat this machine gingerly, and the internals are great. But I'm disappointed in the build quality. My Envy 14 (2010) lasted all of 5 years before its insides died but it never had a scratch on the outside.
This thing is exactly 1 year and 10 days old and its falling apart.

Hopefully this is fixable, at least once I'm back in the country.

 

Hi, have anyone used for this laptop long term? How is the durability of the product?
It is time for me to replace my aging Macbook Pro 13. (Bought a Mac laptop solely for the build quality, but 90% of the time I need windows).
I was pleased to have discovered hp Spectre x360 with glowing reviews online, while I was browsing around for Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro reviews on youtube (The Yoga 900 is out of budget right now).
But when I dig deeper, i found some issues of the laptop heats up to the point of uncomfortable to hold (despite the reviews saying otherwise), then I found complaints of some users have experienced screen cracking by itself, now when I was about to post this, blizard.wizard's hinge problem certainly doesn't help either (from the reviews, the hinge is geared unit instead of friction-based and expected built to last, so what gives?).
I want to know if these issues are just isolated case or widespread, so I would like to see your input about how yours have held up after a long term use of the unit.
I considered Asus Zenbook UX305 before, but given it has the same hinge design as the problematic UX303, I stayed away from that.

 

Not waiting around for the new MBPs coming in probably a couple months?

 

This sounds like an Return/ RMA issue. It is almost certainly a manufacturing default - even if you had dropped the laptop the hinge shouldn't come loose. I've found that HP direct are very good about this sort of thing and have a very good global repair/ servicing network.

Can't speak to this though I'm afraid. Glass is incredibly hard which also makes it brittle. Dropping a pen with enough force on it might break it. Give it a go when you return/ RMA - they may fix this too. Or you may just get an entirely new device.

Some of the broadwell CPU owners can probably speak better to this. I know that gadgetrants has owned his for quite a while. I've had mine for around 9 months now. No hardware complaints at all. That said I do take relatively good care of the device and keep it in a padded laptop sleeve when travelling.

Perhaps in the very long term (> 2 years) I can see some issues with the hinge. It operates purely via friction I believe and the earlier comment about rubber gaskets seem to confirm this for me - I believe that rubber gasket is what provides the friction to hold the monitor. With many repeated opens and closes I can see that the hinge might wear to the point where it becomes floppy; I've had that issue with a different laptop before.

But again that is pure speculation, the device is not even 2 years old so I don't think there can be any statistics about that.

Definitely not under ultrabook type loads. I'm typing with it directly on my thighs right now and the aluminium feels cold to the touch.

You will experience heat issues: (1) on first getting the device (as windows does its updates/ optimisations etc in the background) - I had atrocious battery life for the first 2-3 days of use because of this and (2) if you run anything heavier than an ultrabook load e.g. processing photographs, gaming, etc.

For processing photographs the device becomes warm but nothing uncomfortable while retouching, etc. However, when you export your photos to a photobook or to jpg, that will heat the device up and it will become unbearable on the lap - that is a natural part of this type of form factor I'm afraid. When the CPU is running at 70C the body is going to become too hot to place on the lap - that said, it takes around 1 minute to settle back to normal after that kind of load.

I cannot believe that the screen would crack by itself. That's literally not how glass works. I mean, I might understand if it was a small minority where perhaps the glass isn't tempered properly or something and therefore under high internal stress - but something like that likely show when they drill the 2 holes for the microphones.

It's probably the case that the laptop was chucked in a bag with some keys or other hard object and if the unfortunate occurs where the keys become wedged between the screen and keyboard, then it will break.

Also, there is a fairly generous bezel of around 2mm of aluminium and plastic between the outside and the glass - even a light impact wouldn't cause damage. I've got a 2mm dent in the corner (admittedly much further away from the screen) from when I was carrying it to another room and accidentally hit the wall; besides some cosmetic damage to the case, there is no damage to the laptop.

Final thought: HP has announced that it is releasing a mid-release refresh of the device with OLED display and Intel Iris Graphics. It is supposed to hit stores (within the next month or so). If you have the patience to wait, that is the one I would buy today (or cash in on the inevitable price drop on older units when the refresh comes around).

I also notice that all of your previous laptops have discrete graphics - are you planning to use this for gaming? This device is definitely not suited to gaming (caveat that for the Intel Iris graphics) - it runs Dota2 decently and in a playable framerate but you wont approach even middling settings.

Edit: Gizmodian snuck in before I posted my comment. But obviously MBP and Spectre x360 are 2 different classes of devices. Compared to your old laptop the i7-6600U will be much faster under any sort of load.

However, even the current MBP Retina is still twice as fast as the 6600U (but it does sip 3 times as much battery under load). It is really an apple and oranges comparison.

The better comparison is from a MacBook Air which should have relatively similar performance (once they release the 2016 skylake model).

Comparisons of the 3 CPUs here.
6600U = my spectre x360.
T8300 = your old MBP
4770HQ = "current" MBP Retina (the 2016 one will be much quicker again).

 

Any links for that announcement? I've been waiting for OLED and (hopefully) 16GB RAM.. But I haven't read any more details on when they'd be released since CES when they announced that the refresh would come "sometime this spring." I have a silver Spectre x360 with i7-6560U (Iris) and I like it, but the display could be better - there's too much light bleed on edges and the lowest brightness setting is still too bright for reading in a dark room. OLED would fix both of those issues. I also feel the laptop is going to be limited by the 8GB of RAM - my utilization is at 85% already and I can definitely see that going up in the next few years. I really want to like this laptop but those two things (and rather loud electrical noises when the laptop is on, maybe the SanDisk SSD?) are nagging me.

 

Wow @illuzn what a phenomenal post. I agreed with every single detail/point you raised.

Mine will be a year in July and I have to say it's holding up well (knock on wood!). I suppose the hinge might slip or snap tomorrow, but at the moment both sides look rock-solid. Also no issues with my trackpad. This is my second HP (not counting the x360 Pavilion I just bought one of my kids) and my expectations were about as low as they could go when I bought it, based on our previous machine (which, admittedly, was an entry-level $400 laptop). But the Spectre has totally changed my feelings about HP. FWIW I tend to keep my machines for 2-3 years then resell them to help finance the next laptop, which means I try to keep them in good shape (I'm the guy who painstakingly wipes off all the smudges before shipping to the new owner, and then watches the original unboxing video to make sure I pack it back up just like the way I got it -- yes, I realize that's neurotic!).

-Matt

 

I thought it's going to be sometime in September, if it's in just a couple of months, I might be able to wait just to see what they've got. Though as of lately, Apple products doesn't excite me as they were used to.

That is good to hear. I don't know much about laptop hinge design, frankly I never thought about it before in my laptop buying decision. It is just mentioned in one of the reviews online that Asus has problematic hinge on their zenbook line. It is also mentioned in one review that the Spectre has geared hinge for durability, and I found their hinge design on slashgear hands on photo: http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/hp-spectre-x360-components-3-1280x694.jpg

This is good to hear too. My Envy 17 laptop has a not-so-good thermal design, so it often throttles under load. I use that laptop for my desktop replacement, and it is too big to use on a lap, so uncomfortable heat is not really an issue (though throttling is an issue, so playing 3D games is not enjoyable as it should be).
This Spectre though, is not going to be used for heavy stuff. So by your response, it is a relief to know heat is not going to be an issue.

Frankly this issue is what worries me the most. Google search brought me to hp discussion threads about this, and many claims they just close the laptop at night, and found the crack when they opened it the next day. I was thinking if it caused by users closing it from the corners, hence flexing the glass, and overtime it cracks the glass? Or is it possible that the 4 stubs on top of the keyboard bezel that act as feet for the tablet/presentation mode somehow pressed into the glass when the lid closed?
I hope this is not a widespread issues, and won't affect mine if I decide to get this.

I suppose I can wait, but let's see haha. Sometimes I just get too impatient.
I am not in the US though, I live in Indonesia, and it took a little longer for the latest items reached our shores. I don't want to spend too much too, and I am guessing the OLED and Intel Iris version will be expensive. I am more likely benefited from the dropped price of older units.
We have 2 versions of laptops in our market, the official units and grey-imported units. The official Skylake i7 Spectre x360 (silver) goes around $1,450 while the grey-imported units with roughly the same spec priced around $1,050.
So far, this laptop is the best spec for the price (beside the Zenbooks). Lenovo for some reason is expensive here, even the older, grey-imported Yoga 3 Pro with slower Core M processors priced a little more than the Spectre. The Yoga 900 cost the same as the black/gold version of the Spectre, which I am not willing to spend that much for an ultrabook.
I am not planning to game on this laptop, so lack of discrete graphic is not an issue.
Thank you so much for your inputs and suggestion.

 

To be honest I thought all the Iris models came with OLED as standard. Iris wasn't even an option when I bought mine 9 months ago - it seems to be now. I'm reading the same announcements as you but Spring ends at the end of May right so they have to release it by then (by my reasoning).

That hinge design looks over engineered but actually makes me feel better about its longevity.

Actually in reflection it must be accurate. The moving middle section of the hinge is not freely floating and moves in lock-step with the screen - it only bends fully back when the screen is fully bent back into tablet mode.

Actually, the thermal design is sub-optimal. In order to sane skin temperatures, the laptop will allow itself to run at full turbo-boost for around 5 minutes or so. After that, the TDP threshold (and accordingly speed) ramps back to around 10W. At this power output temperatures drop to around 50C on the CPU and externally a little above your core body temperature - it causes me to perspire having it on my skin but is not uncomfortable.

Also, I should mention that "heavy" is different for everyone. Right now I have 3 tabs open in edge and another 5 apps open (email, onenote, etc. for work). The skin temperature is cold to the touch - admittedly it is around 15C ambient right now.

Watching youtube causes the skin temp to warm up a bit (by around 5C) its probably the temperature of your hands or extremities. This probably goes for other similarly taxing tasks.

Those stubs are rubber and have around 1mm of travel. It's actually there to prevent the screen from crashing into the body and potentially damaging the screen. I highly doubt this is the cause.

Actually, one other thing I have thought of though. It may be possible that windows update or something is causing the laptop to turn on at night. Now if it is running a particularly taxing update, I could conceivably see how it would heat up one corner of the screen hugely and differential heating might cause the screen to shatter. Now if this were the case, I would expect all of these cracks to be concentrated in the bottom left of the screen (where the CPU is located and vents to the outside). Again, it would seem like a pretty improbably scenario though and I wouldn't expect widespread reports.

No pricing on OLED or Intel Iris yet so I can't say. Iris chips are more expensive though so I would expect a $100 bump to the retail price. Ditto for OLED; those panels are definitely more expensive. I'd agree with gizmodian though, I would actually like an OLED display over an IPS display - I guess after being spoiled by the deep blacks and rich colours on a smartphone you come to expect the same on a laptop.

The black and copper unit is a thing of beauty but in my mind, I can't justify the huge price hike ($500+) for a cosmetic difference.

Prices in US dollars? That kind of makes me feel not so bad now (I'm your neighbour in Australia). The i7 goes for around AU$2000 here which is equivalent to US$1500.

 

Recent news said that OLED panels in smartphones are now cheaper than LCD panels, so the cost of the panel component might not actually be much more than the current one.

But HP are obviously going to put it in the top-of-the-range model with Iris graphics, 16 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD - and those are what makes it expensive.

Hopefully they'll put the OLED panel in some of the more reasonably priced versions. 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD are plenty for me, but I'd like it with the OLED screen.

 

I'd say its a supply and demand issue. As far as I'm aware there just is not the same level of demand in devices which are 7" and larger for OLED screens. One day that will change but I'm not sure that day is today.

 

Yes that is normal I think, even the MBP gets warm, sometimes the fan turns on when watching youtube or viewing heavy flash-based web pages.

Yes I hope that won't be an issue, I would make sure not to close the lid at night too haha

Yes OLED displays are the best, after you use smartphones with OLED, you don't want to go back.

I haven't seen the black/copper version IRL, but yes it looks gorgeous on pictures. Aside from the price difference, i would be a little worried not to scratch the thing, as I would imagine black would show scratches and scuffs more than silver.

Yes those prices are in US dollars. I think computer prices are much more expensive outside the US, same goes for cars. Those people in the US are lucky haha.

 

In windows, use Microsoft edge and turn off adobe flash. HTML5 video is much more CPU friendly. Top tip for when you just us as a Spectre owner

 

Unfortunately Edge is rather lacking in features compared to other browsers right now, in particular no plug-ins, which means no AdBlock. I use Firefox - it's rather more CPU-friendly than Chrome, since if like me you usually have a lot of tabs open from previous sessions, it doesn't load the pages until you switch to them. So you can have as many old tabs open as you want, with no CPU impact until you visit them this session.

Also, I don't know if there have been improvements very recently, but HTML5 video certainly used to use significantly more CPU than Flash. That's one reason why video sites have stuck with Flash for so long - for all its security flaws, it was more efficient and could run HD video on low spec machines where HTML5 couldn't. (However I suspect this might be quite dependent on the browser you're using.)

 

This! It's supposedly coming in June 2016 though. That said, I've learned to embrace ads because lets face it sites need to earn money too.

Yes it is more friendly but still chews up around 10% more battery than MS Edge or IE. In multiple active tabs that potentially adds up. But I have the benefit of not needing to restore tabs across sessions.

I think that depends on whether AVC/H264 is able to be natively decoding by your GPU. If it is like on my skylake processor then the CPU basically runs an idle load and consumes around the same power as idle. If not, then mpeg4 is probably better off.

 

What intel graphics and audio drivers are you using on your skylake Spectre? I'm using the "recommended" versions, but is having a lot of problems with HDMI audio.
It works if I have the computer connected to the TV when i start the computer, but if I plug in the HDMI while running, the audio will still be output to the computer speakers, and HDMI audio will not be available as a playback device.

Someone else with the same problem, or someone that have been able solved it?

 

Right click on Bang & Olufsen tray icon.

Under the playback tab select your TV and set it as the default device (you can use the drop down so that any skype calls don't go through to your TV if you would like).

I can't remember if this is a once per TV setting or if you have to do this everytime. I recall there is a priority list somewhere but can't for the life of me find it now (and I may have been imagining that).

 

The 16GB memory option for the Spectre x360 13t may or may not have launched today! Picking it requires the Processor/Graphics option to be "i7-6500U + Iris Graphics 540"

This seems to be some kind of mistake though... the i7-6500U is supposed to have HD Graphics 520, so I assume that in order to have Iris Graphics 540, the CPU is actually the i7-6560U...

 

You beat me to it!
I just noticed it as well.
I think (hope) that is a typo and it's supposed to say 6560U - it'd be nonsensical otherwise.

Sadly, no OLED yet.. maybe coming soon??

 

Is anyone a fast ring Insider for Windows? I want very much to try the pen features added with yesterday's release, but when I upgraded to Fast Ring a few weeks ago, my Spectre could not handle something (I suspect graphics related) - I had to roll back. Just wondering if anyone has tried and had success?

 

Upgraded today. Build 14328 was very unstable on my x360. I rolled back to build 14316.

 

I'm running it on my secondary device and it is extremely buggy (although I like where this is going). My other device is not a Spectre though. If its a graphics issue you may need to use the latest driver from Intel direct.

How buggy... check out this Winbeta video where a lot of the crashes are edited out.

 

Okay I'll wait on upgrading then I think.

Thanks for sharing - features look really great so I can't wait for them to get it stable...