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The HP Spectre x2 ($1,149 as tested) will appeal to you if you think a touch-screen tablet is the Windows 10 PC you should be carrying around. It has a speedy, but power-efficient Intel Core m7 processor, 4G LTE capability, and it comes with a full-size mechanical keyboard cover. This Windows tablet is lightweight, has a full HD, In-Plane Switching (IPS) screen, and comes in at less than $1,200. We’re not sure that the Spectre x2($449.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) is the ultimate PC for everyone, but it’s a solid laptop alternative if you need to type often, but still want the portability of the tablet form factor.
Design and Features
A slate tablet with a detachable keyboard case, the Spectre x2 shares a similar design with the Microsoft Surface Pro 4($699.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) and its predecessors. The Spectre x2 has a matte-silver finish on its back, with a chrome HP logo. A stainless-steel, U-shaped kickstand pops out of the back panel when you slide the release on the left side of the tablet. The kickstand offers a wide range of angles, so you can use it from a seated or standing position, propped on a table, or on your lap. Like the Surface tablets, the kickstand may dig into your leg if you’re using it on your lap.
The aluminum-clad Spectre X2 measures 0.31 by 11.93 by 8.23 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.88 pounds alone and 2.72 pounds with its keyboard cover attached. That’s a bit heftier than the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, which is 0.33 inches thick and weighs 1.73 pounds sans keyboard. It’s a measurable difference, but you’re unlikely to notice unless you compare them side by side. The keyboard case adds 0.21 inches to the tablet’s thickness (for a total of 0.52 inches), but the depth and width remain the same.
The backlit, chiclet-style keyboard cover that’s included with the Spectre X2 a better proposition than the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, which doesn’t come with a keyboard, only a stylus. It’s also a much prettier keyboard, with an aluminum deck that lends a bit of rigidity to what would otherwise be flappy when connected to the tablet. The two-stage magnetic connector on the keyboard helps steady it, and raises the keyboard to a more comfortable angle. All of the signals from the keyboard pass through the magnetic connector, including the power for the lighting.
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The keys themselves have a full 1.5mm keystroke and are mostly full size, with half-height function keys and a small Delete key as notable exceptions. Using the keyboard is comfortable enough for short sessions in your lap, and for extended sessions on, say, a table at a coffee shop. The one-piece touchpad is wide, so you could theoretically use the system with keyboard and touchpad alone.
Of course, that would nullify the reason for using a tablet in the first place, which is the 10-point touch screen. On the whole, the display is responsive when playing games, manipulating on-screen user interface elements, or simply navigating the Web in the Microsoft Edge browser. Multitouch gestures like pinch-to-zoom and two-finger scrolling work without a hitch in Edge, but not in Google Chrome.
The 12-inch 1,920-by-1,280 screen is taller than most 1080p laptop screens, and matches the 3:2 aspect ratio and native resolution of the entry-level Microsoft Surface 3 tablet($688.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window); the Microsoft Surface Pro 4’s 12.3-inch screen has a much higher 2,736-by-1,824 resolution. A slate with a 3:2 aspect ratio display is easier to hold in your hand than tablets with 16:9 screens, like the Dell Latitude 13 7000 Series 2-in-1 (7350)($1,299.00 at Dell Technologies)(Opens in a new window).
The slim frame means there’s limited space for ports. There are only two USB-C ports and a headset jack on the entire tablet. The AC adapter uses either of the USB-C ports to charge the Spectre x2, so only one port is available when the tablet is plugged in. If you want to use a USB flash drive or an external solid-state drive (SSD), you need to use the included USB-C-to-USB-Type-A adapter. Likewise, to connect an external display, you’ll have to pick up a third-party USB-C-to-DisplayPort or -HDMI adapter separately. It’s not all bad news, however; there’s a microSD card slot for additional storage, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth handle wireless connections.
In addition to Wi-Fi, the Spectre x2 comes with a built-in 4G LTE modem and a Verizon SIM card. You’ll have to sign up for a data plan on your own, since none is included. At the time of this writing, Verizon’s monthly plans run from $20 for 2GB to $710 for 100GB of data. During testing, we were able to view streaming videos, research stories, and work on cloud-based apps over 4G LTE without a hitch. It was just like being connected to Wi-Fi.
You get a 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) and 8GB of system memory. There’s 199GB of free space out of the box, though there are a few apps like Netflix, Snapfish, and Candy Crush Saga that you can uninstall as well. That said, there really aren’t too many preloaded apps, which is nice. HP backs the tablet with a one-year standard warranty.
Performance
The Spectre x2 is equipped with a Skylake-based Intel Core m7-6Y75 processor with integrated Intel HD Graphics 515. Like the Core i7 line, the Core m7 processors are the top-of-the-line CPUs with the best performance. This shows in the Spectre x2’s PCMark 8 Work Conventional score of 2,841 points, which beats tablets equipped with previous-generation Core M processors like the Dell Latitude 13 7350 (2,426 points) and the Toshiba Portege Z20t-B2112($2,043.82 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) (2,607), and even Core i7-powered laptops like the Lenovo Yoga 900($949.99 at Lenovo)(Opens in a new window) (2,564).
See How We Test TabletsThe Spectre x2 finished a little behind the Lenovo Yoga 900 in the multimedia tests, but fared well on the Handbrake (3:17), Cinebench (221 points), and Adobe Photoshop CS6 (4:36) tests. Tablets with the older Core M processors, like the HP Elite x2 1011 G1( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) and the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix 2nd Gen($1,299.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), scored much lower on the multimedia tests, while on the whole, systems with Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, like the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and the Lenovo Yoga 900, were faster. As expected for a tablet with integrated graphics, 3D gaming test results were mediocre. You’ll be able to play games with moderate requirements like Diablo III and DOTA 2, but you’ll have to dial the quality settings down to do so.
Battery life was very good at 9 hours 38 minutes on our rundown test. That will make it possible for you to watch movies and TV shows during a cross-country flight, with plenty of power left over for when you land. That’s still behind the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (10:19) and the Lenovo Yoga 900 (10:56), but better than the Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi($599.00 at eBay)(Opens in a new window) (5:54) and the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro($949.99 at Lenovo)(Opens in a new window) (8:19).
Conclusion
The HP Spectre x2, billed as a laptop replacement, has the power and speed to run complex applications, more than 9 hours of battery life, and unlike the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, it comes with a built-in 4G LTE modem, and its keyboard cover is included. That said, the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 holds remains our top pick for high-end slate tablets, given its higher performance, longer battery life, higher-resolution screen, and better legacy connectivity. If you want to save $150 and don’t want to have to pay extra for a keyboard, though, the HP Spectre x2 is worth considering.
4.0
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With its sturdy detachable keyboard, high-resolution screen, and built-in 4G LTE capability, the HP Spectre x2 slate tablet comes close to being a practical replacement for your laptop.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/hp-spectre-x2