We've been fans of HP's sleek Spectre 13 conventional laptop and x360 convertible laptop for a while now. Both systems received a refresh on Wednesday to add Intel's so-called 8th-generation processors, which is to say, quad-core versions of the Kaby Lake processors that they used to have, and HP has taken the opportunity to further refine the devices.
The Spectre 13 has the biggest changes. The previous version of the ultra-slim laptop—it's just 10.4mm/0.41 inches thick—lacked both a touchscreen and 4K display option, as HP couldn't fit them into the tiny form factor. Not so with the new version; it's just as thin, but it now comes with touchscreens as standard and a choice between a 1920×1080 screen and a 3840×2160 screen. It also boasts a new finish, called "Ceramic White," which is rather beautiful. It's a matte finish that feels warm to the touch (even on the parts of the system that are metal rather than carbon fiber), with accents in a pale gold that actually manage to look dignified rather than gauche. The system also comes in HP's dark gray and copper scheme, plus the plain old silver.
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HP Spectre 13 in Ceramic White.HP
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HP Spectre 13 in Dark Ash Silver.HP
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HP Spectre 13 in Natural Silver.HP
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The Ceramic White really is a fine finish that's very pleasant to hold, and the gold details don't look bad, either.HP
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The ports are all on the back. The left-most is plain USB 3.1 gen 1 Type-C, the other two are Thunderbolt 3. All support power delivery and DisplayPort, and all can be used to charge phones while the PC is asleep.HP
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The keyboard layout is reasonable.HP
The x360's improvements are more modest. On top of the existing facial recognition, HP has added a fingerprint reader to the side. The company says this makes biometric authentication easier when the system isn't being used in its conventional laptop mode. The system ships with a new pen that charges over USB Type-C, with a 15 second charge being good for more than 3 hours of drawing. The pen includes tilt support and is compatible with all the Windows Ink features that Microsoft is adding to Windows 10. HP also added an SD card reader after photographers told the company that it was still highly desirable.
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The new Spectre x360 in Dark Ash Silver.HP
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The new Spectre x360 in Natural Silver.HP
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Being slightly thicker than the Spectre 13, the x360 can sport a full-size USB 3.1 gen 1 port, as well its new/reinstated SD card reader.HP
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And on the other side, we get a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports. Again, all the ports support charging phones while the PC is asleep.HP
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Not visible here, the top of the pen slides open to reveal its Type-C port for charging.HP
The most interesting new option for the x360 is a second generation of HP's Sure View privacy screens. Sure View is a built-in (toggleable) screen privacy filter. When turned on, the viewing angles of the screen are greatly reduced to make it much harder for shoulder surfers to spy. The first iteration only worked with TN screens; this new second generation works with the 1920×1080 IPS screen of the x360.
Both systems can be equipped with up to an i7-8550U processor (four cores, eight threads, and between 1.8 and 4GHz), with as much as 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage, and both machines support HP's fast charging; with their big 65W chargers, a 30-minute charge can take the battery to half full. Pricing for the Spectre 13 starts at $1,300, and for the Spectre x360 at $1,150. They're available to preorder now and will start shipping on October 29.
Listing image by HP
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