HP Spectre x360 14: A Game-Changing Convertible

HP still sells the Spectre x360 13, but you can forget about it. The Spectre x360 14 is an elegant convertible laptop that ditches the older system’s 13.3-inch touch screen—and its familiar 16:9 aspect ratio— for a 13.5-inch panel with a squarer 3:2 ratio, for a superior view of text and web pages.

- ERIC GREVSTADT

Basically, it says, “I see you and raise you” to the 16:10 display of the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1. Add to that some immaculate engineering, gorgeous OLED screen technology, and a stylus pen and USB Type-A port that the Dell lacks, and the Spectre edges out the XPS 13 2-in-1, snatching the Editors’ Choice award as our new favorite premium convertible.

SPECTRAL ANALYSIS: SLEEK, SVELTE, AND STYLISH

The Spectre x360 14 is an Intel Evo laptop, so it flaunts the chipmaker’s latest innovations, including rapid wake, Thunderbolt 4 ports, and an 11th Generation “Tiger Lake” processor with Iris Xe integrated graphics. The $1,299.99 base model at HP.com combines Core i5 power with 8GB of memory, a 256GB solid-state drive, and a 1,920-by-1,280-pixel touch screen. One of HP’s Sure View Reflect privacy screens is optional; a rechargeable tilt pen and carrying sleeve are standard. (The stylus clings magnetically to the side of the laptop instead of fitting into a niche.)

Our test unit steps up to an OLED touch panel with 3,000-by-2,000-pixel resolution and 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, as well as a quad-core, 2.8GHz (4.7GHz turbo) Core i7-1165G7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD bolstered by 32GB of Intel Optane Memory. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth are onboard, though users who roam far from hotspots will be sad there’s no WWAN option.

HP Spectre x360 14

PROS High-fashion styling. Dazzling OLED touch screen with 3:2 aspect ratio. Handy shortcut keys and utility software. Rechargeable pen and carrying sleeve in box. Lively performance (apart from gaming).