HP Spectre x360

Some quick out-of-the-box first impressions for the QHD brightness.
I'm completely satisfied so far. I'm using it at about 60% of the brightness level. The 100% is too bright for my usual usage so I will never go that far for everyday tasks. I wish though that it could have some +20% at its top level just in case I need it for some extreme circumstance or anything else.

I've just watched a couple 4K videos and everything looks stunning and impressive.
Something that I wasn't expecting, the sound seems so rich (and loud) for such a thin device, it is just at 40-50% for regular use.
Feel free to ask me anything, This is the German QHD/i7/256 model

 

That's great to hear (still waiting for mine to arrive). If you're able to answer any or all of these questions I'd be very interested:

- What kind of battery life are you typically seeing in everyday use? (may take a while before you can answer this one!)
- How much do you notice the fan - does it tend to come on (and is it distracting) when watching videos, or in tablet mode when just browsing?
- Do you find it gets hot, and does this restrict how you can use it (e.g. on a lap, or in tablet mode)?
- Did you get an active stylus - if so, which one (Dell or HP?) and did you find it works well with the QHD screen?
- What percentage display scaling (if any!) do you find works best for you with this screen? (I'd guess around 150%)

Thanks!

 

I haven't bought mine yet, but hopefully very soon. And I plan to use an active stylus. I haven't ordered one yet, but I think I will go for the Dell Active Stylus, heard it was a lot better than the HP one. Or is there any other really good alternatives out there?

 

1 I can't answer about the battery I'm still on the first charging. It seems to drain fast but it's too early.

2 I've noticed the fan only during the updates install and not at all while watching YouTube. Haven't tested .mkv yet.

3 It gets slightly hotter than I expected but nothing that could limit the usage.

4 No stylus yet but I will order the Dell one unless HP comes up with something new in the next week

5 Currently working on 200% but I will try 150 too. No scaling issues so far with Firefox.

Which one did you order?

 

Thanks for the info - very helpful. I'm reassured to hear that fan noise is not a problem for you. Please do post your impressions of battery life performance once you have some data on that!

I've had the qhd/512/8/i7 model on order since 11 May - due next Friday (I actually cancelled my original order today and reordered the same model to get the bundled 3 year pickup and return warranty extension that is now being offered at no additional cost on the UK HP store - but fortunately that didn't result in any delay in the expected delivery date).

 

What SSDs are recommended to upgrade this? Around 250/500 GB specifically.

 

Been hitting some odd issues recently with audio/media playback in addition to chrome crashing. Every now and then when I use the spectre, I would notice audio would not work. In order to verify if audio is working, I'd try playing a video file or play music or youtube. In doing this, for some reason my video would not play, or google music would not start the music and youtube would show that shockwave flash crashed so no playback would work. Rebooting the machine would usually resolve the issue, but its happened a few times this past week.

One thing I've been doin a little bit more lately is using BlueStacks to run android apps and games which work quite well. I'm not sure if the use of that is affecting my audio/video issues but these issues are odd indeed.

Has anyone else come across similar issues?

 

I just got my custom build from HP 2 days ago and have been very happy using the Dell Stylus (750-AAGN) in ArtRage. I ordered the Dell after watching the MobileTechReview comparison video.

I have been using wireless Intuos 4 with my Asus G73, and I expected the Spectre/Dell stylus combo to be somewhat less responsive, but I've noticed no extra lagging. It is not as predictably responsive to pressure, but that's to be expected. Still, it's more intuitive and fun to draw directly on the screen. I expect to be able to get done most of what I need to on the Spectre with the Dell stylus. A quick search on Amazon reveals several other brands, but I couldn't find any info about compatibility with the Spectre. The Dell was $33 on Amazon when I got it a few weeks ago, but now I see it's gone up to $43
Spectre with Win 8 Pro/i7/1080p/8GB RAM/512GB SSD

 

I just got this laptop today. Initial impressions are that it has excellent build quality and nice hardware, but it's no macbook. There are one or two small blemishes in the design and a millimeter or so gap between the two aluminium parts on the bottom right. Also the left side gets hot like my previous hp and the fan gets pretty loud under heavy use. This could be because, I'm currently syncing my laptop with dropbox, so I'll see how it is under usual load. Keyboard is good and trackpad is good, but trackpad may be too big. I have the 1080p screen and impressions so far are good with better viewing angles, but nothing spectacular as my previous laptop had a 1080p screen.

 

Just a quick update regarding the battery life from 100% to 12%. I got +7h30 under heavy browsing - 70 open tabs in Firefox - constant steaming and updates. The brightness was at 60% and always on. This is after the third charging

 

I have the i7/8gb/512 QHD customized. After about a month, here are my observances:

1. Battery Life #1 ~6hrs @60% screen and Speakers On
2. Battery Life #2 ~7.5-8.0 hours at 30% screen and speakers/bluetooth off.
3. I got the Dell Stylus (750-AAGN) stylus for $35 on Amazon. Very responsive and feels good in-hand.
4. QHD screen is beautiful. Got the Star Wars Digital pack and Episode III is stunning on it.
5. After a while of being on, the unit gets warms to where using it as a Tablet becomes a challenge.
6. Got a matte screen protector to offset the glare. Sub-quality. Choices are limited as they are all new.
7. Touch screen is VERY responsive. No issues here.
8. Decided to only update drives via HP Support Assistant. Tried direct Intel updates and crashed WIFI.
9. Trackpad works very well. Took a while to get used to it..now am spoiled on it.
10. Speakers are louder than expected. Not Beats quality, but has enough punch to it when needed.

 

Ι have a small audio issue: when i have music playing (either youtube or media player) and switch between app and desktop (with scrolling from the left of the screen) the sound screeches for a moment. It doesn't happen all the time, but quite often.

 

Did you get the latest Realtek updated driver. I had some issues but they all fixed now.

 

I don't know, i don't install the updates manually

 

Also, my IE11 has started sucking big time: i use it only because it is so much smoother than the other browsers but a few days now it gets extremely heavy at times (with just 4-5 tabs open) and i cannot press anything. Moreover, there are some sites (like winbeta) that fingerscrolling does never work at all!

 

How are you measuring battery life? I have Battery Bar Pro installed. It consistently reports run time of over 11 hours! (Light use, Email, Web, board games, updates, Virus scans, some video, etc.) And Powercfg reports an average 11:33:19 run time since the OS was installed.

I have the FHD screen. I use Metro IE 11 and have had no issues with browser or any other issue. I find build quality to be excellent. Fit and finish are flawless. The absolute best ultrabook I have ever owned. My previous best ultrabook was an HP Spectre 13t 3000. It was very similar to the x360, but I sold it at a ridiculously high price just as it disappeared from the market. I replaced it with an Asus UX303LA, which was a great ultrabook except for mediocre battery life.

Jim

 

Hey guys, just got this laptop yesterday, mostly everything's fine but there's a small problem. My touchpad won't turn off in tablet mode, or tent mode, but the keyboard turns off. This is quite annoying and i haven't found a solution to it yet. Has anyone experienced this problem before?

 

Once you run the HP Support Assistant, you'll get a BIOS Update amongst others that will correct the issue.

 

is the qhd display bright enough?

 

As I mentioned in my initial post, for my needs, the QHD is bright enough. I use it usually at 60% and I don't need to reach 100%
Although I feel that it would be better to have the option to reach +20% of brightness. The crispiness of the QHD though it's great so I don't mind losing some extra nits.
Also I don't find the glossiness annoying at all since only a couple of times I had a mirroring effect.

 

Well, another issue I seem to be having lately. I hadn't measured the battery life but until few days I calculated about 8.5 hours. The last days though I get less than 7 hours by the clock (brithness at 50%, just browsing with few tabs, some music, some writing, simple stuff, nothing heavy).

Could it be an update that changed something? As I mentioned above, I have some audio issues too. Can I do something?

 

Do the USB ports still work in tent/tablet mode?

 

Yes, all 3 USB ports work when in tablet mode. I plugged in my 64gb stick into each port to verify access works properly.

 

I have noticed that the left hinge has a minor difference compared to the right one. While the right when closed is at its place the left is 1mm more pronounced. I feel that this affects the balance also in laptop mode when it's used on flat surface since on certain angles the laptop doesn't stay 100% flat.

Has anyone else noticed that? Should be something to be covered by the warranty or is it just a cosmetic issue? I feel that this is an issue of the hinge since I have the laptop for just 5 days

 

Don't have one yet myself but if you bought it from a store I would go in a return it for a new laptop.
If you bought it online if it bothers you that much I would also reluctantly return it since it would take a couple of days maybe weeks to get a new one, but still I would return it if after 5 days the hinge is out of place and makes it unstable. That would really bug me.
Good luck!

 

Well, it seems Ι must have a similar issue. If Ι press with my palm the area right to the trackpad, the laptop lowers just a tiny tiny bit. I don't think it's the hinge, it must be that the button cover is slightly tighter on this side, or something like this.

I barely notice it, practically it's not even an issue.But psychologically it bugs me to think that a machine of that price has such an issue.

 

Mine has no such issue. Maybe you should get a replacement.

Jim

 

I am sad to inform you all that the Nordic version of this still have the American keyboard layout, but with Nordic signs added.

This means that some buttons are missing (example: Right CTRL), some are moved (Example: <> button, ' button) and some are changed in size (examle: shift keys and return key)

Sadly, this means that I will not buy one. And I really wanted to!

Just a warning to you all who are dependant on "special" keys, like programmers etc.

If you mainly use normal chars (and åöö), it will work just fine for you, most likely. Just a heads up.

 

On Czech layout the right CTRL missing too and ENTER is on one line. But I like context menu button, which was missing for me on Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga.

(Sorry for image sharpness)

 

Best Buy's website has the i7/256GB SSD/8GB RAM config listed at $1,299.99 now, whereas it's always been $1,149.99 before (which was the price I paid for it). I think the QHD model also got its price increased as well, but I'm not as positive of their original pricing (it's now $1,499.99, I think it was $1,399.99 before).

So for any potential buyers out there looking to buy this from Best Buy, make sure you're not getting ripped off. Hopefully this is just a pricing error on their website.

 

whats the general opinion on spectre, if someone's budget is $700, is it worth expanding it to get the $999 spectre variant?

 

After some further examination I also found that the hinge doesn't really affect that imbalance, it's more an aesthetic issue.

I have that exactly impression alkpit it's not a real issue that would bother me spend 2 months for a replacement. Also this aappears only in some certain angles in laptop mode so probably the empty space for the SD card doesn't provide the necessary weight to keep everything in place on a flat surface. It is not aa serious issue that would void the use of Spectre but it is a fail for a premium product.

 

Mine does not do that. There is something wrong with yours.

Jim

 

With my model it's that the right rubber stand, the one towards me and not the screen, is a bit up on the air. I don't know if it was like that from the start since I use the laptop mainly on bed and I have to press the are between the trackpad and the right corner to feel the light bounce, but it's really a fail.

Maybe there is a way to stick something under this rubber stand?

 

Absolutely worth it. Ram bumps to 8GB and storage bumps from 128 to 256.

 

It really depends on what your needs are and what you value most. I think the Spectre at $999 (i5, 8gb/256gb touch convertible) with great aluminum build quality is a good bang for the buck at that price. However, If I was set on a $700 budget, I would consider something like the Asus UX305 (core m, 8gb/256gb ultra-slim, no touchscreen).

 

Yep, they increased it. For $1399 on HP.com, I got the i7/512SSD/8GB/QHD. So I saved $100 and got double the SSD and higher resolution screen. Maybe they are gearing up for the summer and back to school "sales."

 

go to best buy, let them match the hp.com site`s price of 1399 for the top model and get a Mover`s box Best Buy coupon (10%) from your post office on top.

You are welcome :- )

 

Well I finally received my qhd/i7/8gb/512gb model and I'm more than happy with it. My main worry prior to purchase of this model was whether the QHD screen was going to be sufficiently bright, and I have to say I've been very pleasantly surprised on that front. I find I don't want for brightness at all in any indoor conditions (including beside a large window in a bright room). It's true that when using it outdoors a few extra nits would be helpful, however this is very much a secondary use case for me, and in any case it's still acceptably usable if you find somewhere in the shade. For me this is a very small price to pay for the overall sharpness and quality of the screen. Also fan noise and heat are a non-issue so far, which was my only other slight concern prior to purchase.

The only minor defect I notice is a slight looseness to the trackpad (i.e. it has half a millimeter or so of travel before reaching the start of a click, so just tapping on it lightly without actually registering a click makes a noise loud enough to be distracting, and if you release completely between clicks, you hear two click sounds for each registered click). I'd be interested to know if any other x360 owners don't experience this behaviour.

Everything else about the machine (overall design and build and finish, keyboard, the convertible hinge, touch screen, performance) has lived up to my (very high) expectations.

I also bought the Dell active stylus, which I find works very well.

 

After an even thorough investigation I should also confirm that the problem is caused by the left rubber stand. It seems like it is non positioned in the right angle as the other rubber and this causes this slight instability under some angles. I don't know if the QHD is also a couple grams heavier so this seems even more prominent here. Anyway it is a stupid mistake for HP to lose some credibility due to a rubber stand. Alkpit if you find any solution I would be interested too!

Great news! Enjoy your Spectre! I think that we have exactly the same reaction for the QHD, I also agree that a couple of extra nits would be useful but it's not a deal breaker for me either. Regarding the touchpad when I touch click it registers immediately but usually I hear some slight noise since I'm not that used to touch clicks. When I click "normally" I just hear one full click also no delay noticed here maybe sometimes it is a bit too sensitive which is something that I have to fix through the properties.

Since I'm using FAR too more the touch screen I will buy asap the Dell stylus, so any update or details regarding its performance it would be more than welcome!

 

Just got my Spectre x360 - QHD display, i7, 8gb RAM, and 512gb SSD.

First impressions:

QHD screen is really nice! Very good with colors that are saturated just right. Brightness is very good in a brightly lit room with fluorescents. Not sure if it's bright enough for outside, but few displays are in my opinion. Trackpad is very large and takes a little getting used to. That said, I never really cared for any trackpad. I just ordered a Microsoft Arc Touch bluetooth mouse to go with the Spectre. I also really like that they included a nice sleeve.

I will be trying Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and possibly even Autodesk Maya (just for kicks) to see how it holds up in the graphics department. I rarely play games, so that's not much of an issue for me. Scaling issues are going to be an issue but I think it's still worth it to go with the higher-res screen.

512gb of storage is nice and roomy although I might get a large SD card to offload my music and photos. I'll see how flush an SD fits when I get home.

Considering the amount of computer you're getting for the price as compared to say Lenovo, Asus and others, I think this HP is really hitting the sweet spot on price/performance. Wish I could've held out for a Skylake version but my original Surface Pro (1st generation) died on me a couple of weeks ago, so I took the plunge and ordered this after a lot of research and reviews.

I designed my own wallpaper for it (not the starfield, just the logo). By the way, the closest font that I could find was Tw Cen MT but it's too bold so you'll have to make a thick border and extract the middle out to slim it down.
http://tempest790.deviantart.com/art/HP-Spectre-Wallpaper-535700919




Update 1: On my way home I tried using the computer, but it's to heavy to hold one handed while driving (just kidding). Anyway, the screen is adequate in the car while the sun is out but this screen is no match for direct sunlight if that's an issue for anyone. One nice thing is that opening the x360 where it's complete straight keeps the screen in front of you and rests very nicely on the steering wheel making it just the right height. I do use my laptops in the car at times, so this one will still work fine for my needs.

Update 2: Installed Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Autodesk Maya. Only Illustrator scales automatically and appears fine. I didn't even have to change a setting (and couldn't find one). Photoshop and Maya however both have miniscule menus. Not impossible to work with but you'd definitely need a sharp eye and an accurate mouse. Photoshop is supposed to have a new 200% scaling feature, but my version doesn't apparently have it. Maya's functions work fine, and I even did a quick simple render with no problem.

Overall, this is one good laptop/ultrabook.

 

I was wondering if someone could tell me how the spectre handles gaming? I know it only has an integrated chip, but I'm not playing new titles like gta v, far cry, or destiny. I would be playing games like Ck2, civ 5 etc.

 

Ive read the Dell Active Stylus works best - does anyone have a link to this? (assuming its the best pen)

 

Well, I have a very strange issue: there are surfaces where my spectre lies 100% flat and some that I see the slight bounce. These are almost identical surfaces (tables from the similar-looking) and I can't see any reasonable explanation for this. Can it be that some tables aren't perfectly made and the laptop appears to be unstable on them? I mean, what an unexpected mystery!

 

Some quick comments here on the X360 that I got for 2 weeks. The model that I have is QHD/i7/8G/512GB SDD version.

Display: the QHD display is extremely good. In terms of brightness, 60% brightness is sufficient for my use in indoor. For 100%, it will be too bright for me. Although I wont use it under the Sun, I think its max brightness may not be sufficient in direct sunlight.

Keyboard and mousepad: Keyboard is superb (though not as good as thinkpad series). If it get a separate page up and page down button, it will be even better. Mousepad's right botton seems to be too small (comparing to the left one). I am still adopting to it.

Build: Extremely good. I like it v much!

Battery: I can use it for 6-8 hours for my general office use (web surfing, office works, etc)

Weight: A bit too heavy. If HP can reduce the weight, it will be a great attraction.

 

Could someone please recommend a power supply that is ALOT cheaper than the official £60 HP one?

 

The active stylus from Dell is the preferred to HP's. HP's requires too much pressure to register which makes using it as a mouse difficult, too hard to pull off a double click. The Dell stylus is sold through Dell, really the only drawback is that you can't walk into a store like you can for HP's.

My Dell stylus started failing, required a reset of the battery to be detected. So being logical, I cleaned all electrical contacts on the pen it works perfectly again. Just an FYI to anyone who runs into the same issue. I use my x360 in tablet mode all the time and so can't be without a pen, so happy I got my active stylus working again without much effort.

 

I don't really have that issue. The problem appears only on perfect flat surfaces and when the angle is 110-150 degrees then it becomes perfectly stable again! Since I usually use an external keyboard when I'm working on desk I don't really really care but of course it is still an issue.

Since I'm going to use Dell stylus strictly for note taking in tablet mode do you think that the job that does is acceptable? I'm usually on the go so I need to take notes in any possible place without searching for a seating area.

 

Dell Active Stylus will work just fine for note taking. It is no Surface Pro but the combo of x360 and Dell Active Stylus is adequate for such a purpose. It does take some practice to avoid accidentally pressing the pen button however.

 

To FHD owners: how many hours do you get? I get about 6:30 hours with 50% brightness and light tasks, which I think is poor.