Spectre X360 15, 2018

So excited to finally have the X360 I've been waiting for for over a year now. I had bought the late 2017 version during black Friday sales at bestbuy, but returned it once I found out the new model would include a num pad as well as in slight increase in battery size. My version includes the MX150 GPU which is fine for my needs.
So far I love it! In the first 2-3 weeks I have not experienced any fan issues or overheating, it is not running hot, the trackpad doesn't include the sensitivity issues experienced with the late 2017 version, and includes the fingerprint login feature.
I am keeping tabs of battery life with and without keypad lighting, while either surfing the web, streaming video both on screen and projecting to another screen, all with screen brightness around 30%. Have consistently gotten around 9-10 hours with battery saver on.

I initially noticed this on HP's site on Feb 24, well ahead of the anticipated Mach 18th date, so that was nice.
Has anyone else gotten one of these newer models yet and if so how do you like it so far?

 

Hey crs1!
I am really flirting with the idea of buying the Vega GPU one that will appear in about a month's time.
Same model, just a different GPU (CPU GPU combo)
The only thing that worries me is the screen hinges.
Does the screen wobble at all while you type on it? How sturdy is it?
Also, is the pen included?
Thanks in advance!

 

By the way, am I right to assume that we are talking about the 15inch version?

 

It is the 15" X360 yes...and I love it!

So I'm thinking that the wobble you're concerned about is when the keyboard is face down, screen facing you? I really have not tried typing on-screen in that configuration, however, the hinge seems really sturdy without making it difficult to maneuver. There may some wobble I'm thinking, just because you are pushing, however lightly, against A screen supported only at the hinge. You press at the top/middle, it will move slightly. Not a deal breaker for such a wonderful laptop. The first 2 weeks of ownership have been better than expected. Oh wait, there was one thing...the screen would sometimes, very slightly, brighten on its own, but not even 5 percent. Most people might not notice. I though it might be the adaptive lighting settings but that was turned off in advanced power settings. It did stop on its own several days later though.

 

The pen is included, however , it is the battery operated one. I have used it briefly and it works fine, no lag.

 

How's the sound on it, is it better than on the 2017 version?

Thanks

 

The sound not only is louder but also clearer. Separation also is very good I noticed. It's an upgrade over an already decent sounding 2017 model.

 

Thanks for that, tempted but just want to wait and compare to dell's new two in one and there 9570 before I pull the trigger.

 

Thanks crs1.
Regarding the screen wobble, I am more concerned if it is present while typing on the keyboard in actual laptop mode.
I have seen some laptops with similar hinges having the screen really trembling while the laptop is on a desk and the user is normally typing on the keyboard.

 

No wobble at all in normal laptop mode. The screen stays put.

 

Hi there, I am also interested in this machine and I just have a few questions for you.

1. Can you open the lid with one finger or one hand?
2. Is it really heavy for an ultrabook?
3. How is the thermals? I don't know if you are a gamer but if I'm going to buy this I might hook up an external gpu.
4. Is the screen nice considering it is not an infinity display like the XPS 15?
5. Lastly, how is the build quality? Is it all aluminium?

 

Hi I have a question on the screen, what's it like for fast movement, is there any ghosting.

Thanks

 

I have not, so far, noticed any ghosting at all. I have had the chance to watch parts of several movies that include lots of fast action scenes and didn't see anything unusal.

 

I am unable to open the lid with one finger and am okay with that really. I think if it's too easy the 2 in 1 options could be compromised buy unstable movement. At 4.6 lbs, some would consider it heavy, I don't. In tablet form it is a little bulky but it is still useful in certain situations despite its size.
I have yet to do any extreme functions other that browsing, 5-8 tabs open while listening to a bluetooth speaker, watching videos. What I have noticed is that the fan has hardly run at all compared to my previous HP Pavillian Dv6T from 2013, which ran almost all the time. I will be editing music and video files on this soon, so hopefully it stays as cool as it does now.
The screen is very nice, detailed and colorful, I have no complaints in that area.
Build quality is first rate and gorgeous to look at. It is CNC machined from block of aluminum from what I've read. It has a very high quality look and feel to it. I absolutely love this laptop!

 

Thanks for your feedback and inputs. Now I am more confident to buy this laptop for my mom.

 

Hey crs1,
As the Vega M model just came out, I am now really struggling not to buy it before the a few reviews come out.
One thing that might be a dealbreaker for me is RAM.
Is it upgradeable, or is it soldered on the motherboard?
And if upgreadable, whould you happen to know if it goes all the way up to 32G?

 

This is the support page for the new vega spectre with manuals and drivers. https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Spectre-15-ch000-x360-Convertible-PC/16779588/model/18161203

It also shows a new bios from March 19 that "- Improves system thermal condition."

The display brightness is listed at 340 nits.

 

I was too impatient to wait any longer for the new 2018 model, besides the reviews have been very good in the past. A month in and I have no regrets at all.

 

Hi,
From what i have read the RAM is soldered to the board and the vega chip can only support a maximum of 16gb. The SSD and battery can be replaced.
That said the RAM is DDR4 2400mhz, which is faster than other rivals like the new surfacebook 2.

 

Hi,
I am considering buying this laptop, and I have a few questions.

I was looking at configs at HP's website and noticed that when you have Vega selected, Bluetooth is 4.2, but when you have the MX150, Bluetooth is 5. Not a deal breaker, but just something I was wondering about if someone with the Vega could verify this.

Also, has anyone tried using VR with this? Something like a Vive or an Oculus, or even Windows Mixed Reality, because this should be capable, but was just wondering about performance.

Thanks

 

Hows the testing progressing with your new HP 8705g laptops? I find my heats up incredibly quickly under load, battery is not great, normal load, i am lucky to get 4 hours. i also find my screen kind of flickers when dimmed and on battery, its almost like adaptive brightness which i have already disabled inpower settings so i am not quite sure what the reason is. I also find the bluetooth tilt pen loses connectivity when restarting the laptop. The pen works fine without the bluetooth but the buttons wont work until i re add it as a bluetooth device, could just be a driver issue. 4k video editing in Magix vegas, premiere and resolve is almost impossible. Not happy at all. HD is ok but 4k is beyond a joke with render times. its still not instantly quick, its not slow by any means but it just lacks that extra oomph. I dont want to judge it too harshly but at the same time it is £2k worth of laptop. I am very interested if someone has tested the new dell xps with teh 8705g chip and what their thoughts are.

 

I just watched a review on the XPS15 with the same chip and they were having some issues with some games having very slow frame rates so it sounds like there are some driver issues to contend with. Welcome to the bleeding edge!

 

I just picked up the late 2017 HP Spectre x360 15 (15-BL112DX) from Best Buy. I was looking to pick up a Dell Insp 7000 13" for work/travel but there was a (seemingly) insane deal for the HP with discreet graphics on clearance.

Now, I've had it for a few days and besides the fact that the bottom does get quite toasty under load, I've been very happy with it. Two issues that I'm trying to solve are about docking and a smaller travel AC adapter. From what I have been reading, HP is either locking down their USB-C power adapters (DRM or power req's) and many usb-c and TB docks (and adapters) aren't working at all or are limited to a single video output and/or charging while the machine is off.

Has anyone found a solution (cost effective, if possible) to both power the laptop and drive dual 1080p hdmi displays with extra ports (USB, RJ45, etc.)? Also, have any smaller travel or third party adapters worked out for you folks? I'm wondering if Apple's MBP 87W adapter could be a solution.

 

Where have you heard that the HP is locking down its usb-c somehow to limit what it works with? I couldn't find anything and I'm considering the HP you got.

Did you grab it Monday at its deepest discount? right now i'm hoping it will go back down again. I have a yoga 720 that I picked up the week before but the lack of home/end/pgup/pgdown is driving me nuts.

I like that the Spectre has hdmi 2, and 2 usb-c that support display port.

 

Yeah I grabbed it last Tuesday when it was down to $1099 + tax. As for the Charger DRM, if you search HP's support forum, you'll find a lot of angry posts about this/that not working. I'm thinking about trying one of the HP zbook docs and crossing my fingers (Monoprice sells it for $180 versus $215+ on amazon).

 

If you don't mind open box from Best Buy, rated excellent condition, you can get it for $1061.99. I'm considering it myself.

 

They all dried up in store... after the $1099 sale day they went to $1279 then to $1199 then back to $1279 and got pulled from all stores within 250 miles of me and are now only available at$1279 from bestbuy.com. There is a $949 8/256gb version of it refurbished on Amazon thats probably the best bang for the buck now.

I ended up keeping the Yoga 720 15" 4k/16gb/512gb/gtx1050 i picked up for $999 a week before the $1099 HP deal.

 

Is anyone else having trouble updating the AMD driver to 18.2.1 ? mine keeps hanging each time i click on the update button through the AMD portal. i am also having issues with the screen, there is a very slight flicker when dimmed running on battery power