HP SPECTRE X360 16 Review: Gorgeous Convertible Laptop

The HP Spectre x360 16 is a fantastic upgrade to an already fantastic laptop. It’s a little noisy at times and expensive, but it has an excellent design as well as good battery life. It’s difficult to improve on a good recipe, but HP has done exactly that with the Spectre x360 16. Now that HP has Intel’s Evo certification, it increases the bar for what to anticipate from these laptops.

Design

HP utilizes the angled geometry of the back corners to store a handful of ports. On the right, there’s a USB-C port, and on the left, there’s a 3.5mm headset connector. This isn’t the neatest cable layout, but it’s definitely eye-catching.

The construction is sturdy, with a tough chassis made from recycled CNC aluminium. HP includes a protective sleeve that should keep the chassis free of dings and scratches.

Given its 16-inch screen, this is unavoidably a huge and heavy laptop. It weighs 2.01kg and measures 24.53cm by 35.8cm by 1.99cm. The power brick is also quite large.

Performance and Other Features

The x360, like many other 16-inch laptops we’ve seen recently, replaces a 15-inch variant. By decreasing bezel proportions and shifting to a bigger 16-by-10 aspect ratio, HP was able to accommodate a larger display into a similar-sized chassis.

Furthermore, HP’s convertible hinge makes it simple to open the x360 16 with one hand. Unfortunately, the x360 lacks HDR and Dolby Vision capabilities, as well as a fast 120Hz refresh rate.

The Bang & Olufsen speakers have a lot of loudness and are distortion-free. It enables maximum access to music by pushing sound outwards. There is also an AI system that enables noise reduction mechanism during video calls.

The webcam, which is a crucial feature of this laptop, is located above the screen. The shutter of the 5MP camera is controlled by a hotkey. Moreover, the HP Command Centre app allows you to handle a variety of camera capabilities.

In addition, HP Command Centre has a Beauty Mode that reduces wrinkles. The full-size keyboard has a springy and responsive movement, making it a comfortable typing surface.

HP SPECTRE X360 16 Review: Gorgeous Convertible Laptop

Competition

When it comes to powerful, large-screen convertibles, HP doesn’t have much competition. For instance, the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 hasn’t been updated in years. LG’s Grams, on the other hand, are more concerned with lightweight than with power.

It’s possible that other businesses were put off by the bulky notebooks with revolving panels. The HP x360 14-inch model, for example, weighs 4.4 pounds, which is quite a bit more than the 3-pound 13-inch counterpart.