The late 2016 version of the HP Spectre x360 13 is an excellent Windows 10 2-in-1 that provides good performance and great battery life in a thin and light chassis for a reasonable price.
In our review, we noted the lack of a 4K UHD display as one of the Spectre x360 13’s only weaknesses. It would have also been nice to have an active pen option for taking notes in the machine’s tablet mode. Now, HP has addressed both of those concerns, shipping updated Spectre x360 13 models with 4K UHD displays and active pens, as Neowin reports.
Best Buy is the first retailer to carry the new models. If you head over to the retail chain, you’ll find three machines listed, including the new Ash Silver color scheme:
Full HD display, Core i7-7500U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, active pen: $1,200
Full HD display, Core i7-7500U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, active pen: $1,350
4K UHD display, Core i7-7500U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, active pen: $1,600
This pricing is interesting because the new Spectre x360 15, which comes with a larger 15.6-inch, 4K UHD display, larger battery, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 940MX graphics, is priced at $1,500 for the 16GB/512GB model. Pricing could be adjusted in the future — it doesn’t make much sense that the 13.3-inch version would cost more than a 15.6-inch version with similar specs.
HP now lists the new configurations as well, with the Ash Silver color option adding $10 to the machine’s price and the HP Activity Stylus Pen (in natural silver) included. Interestingly, HP.com also lists a higher price for the Spectre x360 13 than it does for the equivalent Spectre x360 15 –$1,610 compared to $1,500.
HP.com pricing for some configurations is as follows, with other combinations possible using the online configuration tool:
- Full HD, Core i5-7200U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, active pen, Ash Silver: $1,060
- Full HD, Core i7-7500U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, active pen, Ash Silver: $1,410
- 4K UHD, Core i7-7500U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, active pen, Ash Silver: $1,610
The upgrade to 4K UHD and the addition of an active pen option significantly improve the Spectre x360 13 and likely make it one of the leading Windows 10 2-in-1 options available. The addition of the darker and arguably more elegant Ash Silver color makes the machine even more attractive.
Updated on 2-14-2017 by Mark Coppock: Added HP.com listing information.
