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HP Spectre 13 - 2016

Metascore

Pros & Cons

Reviews

Price: $1,529

83

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 9 expert reviews
  • Excellent:
    5
  • Good:
    3
  • Average:
    1
  • Bad:
    0
9.4

User Score

Based on 7 reviews
as scored by Amazon users

The Spectre is a thing of beauty. At 10.4mm, it's the world's thinnest laptop. It's also very light for a 13-inch device, at just 2.45lbs, making it a perfect companion for the businessman on the go. But the design... it's truly unlike any Windows laptop I've seen before, thanks to a breathtaking hinge and use of premium materials.

As reviewed by TechSpot

  • Read Pros & Cons
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  • Price:
  • $1,529 on Amazon
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Last revision on November 15, 2016

Editors Liked

  • Extremely thin
  • Great screen
  • Excellent performance
  • More ports and power than the MacBook
  • Good battery life
  • Excellent value

Editors Didn't Like

  • Limited number of ports
  • Core i7 performs more like a Core i5
  • No traditional USB ports
  • Small trackpad
  • Lacks a touchscreen

Direct Competitors and Related Products

  • 79

    LG Gram 15ZD960

  • 84

    Lenovo ThinkPad P50

  • 75

    HP EliteBook Folio G1

  • 80

    Apple MacBook 12

Expert reviews and ratings

By TechSpot on July 06, 2016 85

The Spectre is a thing of beauty. At 10.4mm, it's the world's thinnest laptop. It's also very light for a 13-inch device, at just 2.45lbs, making it a perfect companion for the businessman on the go. But the design... it's truly unlike any Windows laptop I've seen before, thanks to a breathtaking hinge and use of premium materials.

By HotHardware on July 12, 2016 85

In short, the HP Spectre is a pleasure to work with and a real beauty to behold. It's a premium machine at its $1249 price point as configured for us, (starting at $1169 for the Core i5 variant which might deliver better battery life) but you get a lot of both style and substance for the dollar with this new HP gem of a laptop.

By TrustedReviews on July 07, 2016 70

The HP Spectre 13 is thin, light and impressively powerful – but it's a compromised experience.

By Engadget on July 06, 2016 82

In the pursuit of building the world's thinnest laptop, HP both improved on its rivals while also introducing a different set of trade-offs.

By The Verge on July 01, 2016 85

"Most appealing" certainly doesn’t mean "best," though. If you are a normal person who doesn’t care about thinness and style above all else, there are better options. The XPS 13 is still the de-facto laptop for Windows, and if you want more power, Microsoft’s own Surface Book is a good option. But if you want to make a statement and are willing to take a few compromises, the Spectre 13 is a very thin stick of a laptop that speaks loudly.

By NotebookCheck on June 26, 2016 85

The Spectre is excellent if you’re looking for a very thin and very portable high quality barebones experience with more power than a Core M. What you see is what you get with the HP as there are very few configurable options. If you want something with longer runtimes and a bit more features, however, then there are plenty of 13-inch alternatives so long as thicker and heavier designs aren’t an issue.

By cnet on June 23, 2016 84

If you can work with USB-C ports and a nontouch display, the HP Spectre offers a great design and excellent performance in the world's thinnest full-power laptop body.

By PCMag on June 23, 2016 80

The HP Spectre 13 combines a thin-as-you-can-get build with top-notch performance, all at a reasonable cost. Connectivity is limited to USB-C, but there's still a lot to like about this well-rounded, well-designed ultraportable.

By PCWorld on June 20, 2016 90

In the end, I have to give HP credit for accomplishing its goal of making the thinnest laptop possible without compromises. You’re truly getting Core i7 performance in a body most manufacturers would outfit with a low-power Core m. And let’s not forget that the Spectre 13.3 gives you not one, but two Thunderbolt 3 ports and a USB-C port.

By SlashGear on July 04, 2016

Were this an ideal world, the Spectre 13 would have touch and run for longer without increasing in size. Right now, though, that's just not feasible, and if you're one of the people who is telling HP that supreme skinniness in an ultraportable is the number one goal, this is what those ambitions get you. The Specter 13 is, just like the MacBook, not for everybody, but if you demand the pinnacle of Windows 10 portability it's hard to argue with.

By Ars Technica on June 30, 2016

Overall, there are few compromises to make for the HP Spectre 13. It doesn't have any 4K or touchscreen display options, so keep that in mind if you have been wanting a laptop that supports either. You also won't be able to lean the display back very far due to the hinge's design, but that's a small price to pay. If you have considered the new $1,299 MacBook but are not married to OS X, the HP Spectre 13 is a good alternative that has more connectivity options and is also slightly more affordable.

By Gizmodo on June 29, 2016

Overall, HP’s has something great with the Spectre 13, and it’s mission to pack a powerful chip in such a slim design is an admirable one. But for $2299 (for the Core i5 base model) and $2999 (for the Core i7), it’s still a hard sell for most people. Even if you think the Spectre is the most beautiful laptop you’ve ever seen, you’re still using Windows 10, minus some of its better features. But if you want a Windows machine that looks and works like a Apple computer, then the Spectre 13 is your guy.

By Yahoo! Finance on June 03, 2016

The HP Spectre 13 is one hell of a laptop. I really can’t find much to fault it for outside of its lack of additional ports and the fact that the gold trim on its back can pick up fingerprint smudges. Oh, and its god-awful webcam. Outside of those issues this really is a fantastic machine.

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