HP Spectre x360 A sublimely thin two-in-one laptop that’s almost perfect

The Spectre x360 might be the fi rst transforming laptop to fi nally strike the perfect balance between laptop and tablet. Unlike most other hybrids, this 13.3-inch machine looks like any regular laptop, but in one quick and smooth motion, you can fl ip the screen back 360º to turn it into a fullon Windows 8.1 tablet. If Lenovo and Apple ever had a baby, it would be this. HP has blended the best elements of the MacBook Air’s aluminium body with the rotating hinges from Lenovo’s Yoga series of convertible machines to make a gorgeous computing device. The outside shell is minimalistic with almost no embellishments on its plain, anodised aluminium chassis and it’s only 16mm thick. But while this is one of the smallest hybrid laptops ever made, the weight is still a concern: at 1.47kg, it’s still quite unwieldy as a tablet. That makes it hard to hold for long periods, but once Hands down, the HP Spectre x360 has one of the best screens of any laptop we’ve tested, offering some of the best viewing angles we’ve ever seen — backed up by a wide colour gamut and a very bright panel. While this two-in-one comes with a glossy, glass-fronted display, we had almost no problems using it outside in the sun. This is a rarity and makes it usable in any scenario. Like the little engine that could, the Spectre x360 can deftly take on any generalusage task, from simple web browsing to playing a virtual hand of Hearthstone with the quality settings at their highest. And you can squeeze a surprising amount of battery life out of this petite 13-inch convertible laptop — in PCMark 8’s tough Home test, it managed a solid 4:38hr That said, this isn’t a gaming machine: don’t expect to it to play much more than low-impact indie games. HP and Microsoft have put together one of the you start using them, the fl exibility of the alternate physical confi gurations proves useful. HP has also come up with a hinge design that blends in. So instead of noticing the hinges, your attention is drawn to the unusually wide trackpad. Nearly double the width of a traditional pointing device, the Spectre x360 offers an expansive and smooth surface to glide your fi ngers over. It’s also accurate to a millimetre, thanks to Microsoft’s Precision trackpad software. We did have some issues with accidental taps when using the keyboard, but its palm rejection is generally pretty good. The keyboard follows a traditional layout with a white backlight to help you see the keys in the dark. The keys feel a bit mushy and don’t offer the crisp typing experience of a MacBook, but the typing experience on is more than serviceable, and most users won’t notice unless they’re sticklers for the very best. sharpest-looking two-in-one convertible laptops ever. Without any foreknowledge, most people would think the HP Spectre x360 was nothing more than an attractive, all-aluminium laptop. Thanks to a pair of well-engineered gear hinges, the transforming element of this laptop adds almost no extra weight, awkward proportions or clunky mechanics. Instead, the x360 only inherits the added fl exibility of a two-in-one machine, letting you use it more ways than just on your lap. It’s well worth a look over the many, many other hybrids.