HP Spectre
Portability and power—fantasy or the new reality?
THE DREAM OF POWER and portability is often pondered on these pages. We see plenty of powerful desktop replacements, and a fair selection of svelte ultrabooks, too, but very few systems have managed to successfully combine both disciplines. The latest system attempting to tackle this tricky marriage is the HP Spectre—a super-thin machine that appears to pack a list of impressive hardware into its diminutive form.
First, a quick word on looks—this machine isn’t going to excite everyone. The faux bronze rear bar and hinge are a touch too kitsch for some, and the large bezel around the screen annoyed a couple on our team as well. So, even if you like it, don’t expect everyone to swoon in a similar way. The materials do feel a little plasticky compared to a certain fruit-themed competitor, too. Even so, the system’s weight and size are well balanced—it’s light, but not flimsy, and compact without being pokey.
The screen is a sensible compromise of current tech—the 13.3-inch Full HD display offers a reasonable 166 pixel per inch, and gives the integrated Intel HD Graphics 520 an (admittedly slim) chance of rendering games at the native resolution. We’re sure there’s a marketing bod somewhere who’s apoplectic about it not being a 4K display, but at this screen size, such a move would do little more than give you a headache.
Working our way around the laptop, there’s not much on offer in the form of connectivity. The sides are too thin to house USB slots, so the only ports you’ll find are on the back edge of the machine. There you’ll find three USB 3.0 Type-C ports (one of which doubles as the charging port) alongside a 3.5mm audio jack. The latter being useful should the built-in Bang & Olufsen speakers not quite fit the bill for your public audio entertainment—the sound quality is reasonable enough, mind.
USB Type-C connectors may be the future, but as any Apple fanboy will attest, you’re going to need a USB converter until that future arrives. The good news is that most things are covered well by the Spectre itself. The keyboard is comfortable to type on, and there’s subtle under-key lighting to help you navigate in the dark. The touchpad is a good size and silky smooth in use. However, we did find the left and right buttons took some getting used to, although because you can’t easily plug in a mouse (due to the lack of Type-A ports), it’s worth persevering with that touchpad. COUNTING CORES On the whole, the criticisms thus far have been minor: Our main reservation is with the processor. The Core i7-6500U may have you thinking this is a veritable cutting-edge powerhouse, but it’s better thought of as a Core i3, as it only boasts a pair of physical cores. Yes, it does boost this with Hyper-Threading, so it can handle four threads at once, but with most Core i7s laying claim to four physical cores and eight threads, this CPU looks a little less impressive than the specs may suggest.
Our fears are born out in our benchmarks, with scores roughly half of what we’d expect at this price. At least the storage subsystem provides a fair lick of speed—and, to be fair, when it comes to normal use, it genuinely feels speedy. And given the form factor, it’s arguably the portability that is more important. That said, we weren’t overwhelmed by the machine’s stamina either—managing just under four hours when playing Full HD video is hardly remarkable. We would have liked to see much more from this machine.
Overall, while the Spectre checks many of our boxes, particularly on the aesthetic and form factor front, it ultimately pulls up short in areas where it needs to excel. More raw power from the processor would be an obvious place to start, and a better battery wouldn’t hurt either. An updated spin of this machine boasting a Kaby Lake CPU will be available soon, and that could help things significantly. As of right now, though, it’s just shy of brilliant.