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Seampfire
 
 
 
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    April 19, 2017
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    April 19, 2017
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    April 19, 2017
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Seampfire's Reviews
 
Only at Best BuyWrite or sketch easily on the screen of this HP Spectre laptop. Its digital pen and Windows Ink software let you create art by hand, and its Intel Core i7 chip and 16GB of RAM ensure speedy processing while multitasking. This 13.3-inch HP Spectre laptop includes a 512GB solid-state drive to hold all your files.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
The best 13" ultrabook of 2017
on April 19, 2017
Posted by: Seampfire
I researched 13-15" Ultrabooks for 2 solid days before deciding to buy this one. I strongly recommend typing on any laptop you intend to buy. Open Wordpad, and type a paragraph to see how many mistakes you make. I tried the 15" version of this specific model, and it didn't work for me - the keys were too far apart, and I kept having to move my palms. After agonizing for hours over the pros and cons of several different high-end 13-14" Ultrabooks, I came up with a list of "must have" features. This Ultrabook met or exceeded all of them! I considered buying a Dell Inspiron 7378 for $900 less, but I'm really glad I went with this one. The closest competitor is the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, and you can find lots of comparison videos on the web. I'd ruled out the HP Spectre because until a few months ago, only the silver interior and keyboard were available. This Charcoal/Ash model is gorgeous, with no distracting "bling" when you're working.
The 4k display is perfect, and a few YouTube 4k videos sold me. I was worried that text would be too small (I'm 53), but it's perfect with 350% scaling, which seems to be the max for Windows 10. I'm typing this on my lap with the screen about 2 feet from my eyes. Of course you can scale up text in most apps with reverse-pinch. The screen is just a tad less bright than my iPad Air 2, but it's very usable in the shade on a sunny day.
I'm very picky about keyboards. The keyboard "island" layout is perfect, and it actually feels nicer than the Lenovo X1 Carbon this is replacing. I have no problems with the trackpad. Boot time is very fast. With Windows Hello, I'm up and running in less than 15 seconds. Build quality is excellent overall. The hinges have just the right amount of give.
I haven't used the 1080p webcam, but that and the legacy USB slot are both a big advantage over the Dell XPS13. The Dell's main advantage is that it's fanless, but the only time the fan bothered me was when I had the unit heavily loaded while using it in bed.
The only negative so far is that the battery life is less than 8 hours. I bought a 20,000 mah external battery to offset that. Bottom line, I highly recommend this Ultrabook. I think it's the best you can get right now, unless you simply must have iOS. In that case, be prepared to give up touch, tablet and tent modes, and several hundred more dollars.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+22points
22of 22voted this as helpful.
 
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Seampfire's Answers
 
Only at Best BuyWrite or sketch easily on the screen of this HP Spectre laptop. Its digital pen and Windows Ink software let you create art by hand, and its Intel Core i7 chip and 16GB of RAM ensure speedy processing while multitasking. This 13.3-inch HP Spectre laptop includes a 512GB solid-state drive to hold all your files.
 

Why is this computer more expensive than the 15.4" one? Nowhere on the HP website is this setup mentioned in this color.

It should be about the same price now. My take is that it's harder to engineer a more portable laptop (less space and weight to work with). The display might be a little cheaper for HP, but packing the same capability into an Ultrabook isn't easy.
6 years, 11 months ago
by
Seampfire
 
Only at Best BuyWrite or sketch easily on the screen of this HP Spectre laptop. Its digital pen and Windows Ink software let you create art by hand, and its Intel Core i7 chip and 16GB of RAM ensure speedy processing while multitasking. This 13.3-inch HP Spectre laptop includes a 512GB solid-state drive to hold all your files.
 

How's the battery life on this laptop with the 4K screen?

It's about 6 hours. But my understanding is that you can change the resolution to 1080p and gain a few more hours, if you're in a place where you need 8+ hours.
6 years, 11 months ago
by
Seampfire
 
Only at Best BuyWrite or sketch easily on the screen of this HP Spectre laptop. Its digital pen and Windows Ink software let you create art by hand, and its Intel Core i7 chip and 16GB of RAM ensure speedy processing while multitasking. This 13.3-inch HP Spectre laptop includes a 512GB solid-state drive to hold all your files.
 

Is there an sd card slot on this laptop?

No
6 years, 11 months ago
by
Seampfire
 
Only at Best BuyWrite or sketch easily on the screen of this HP Spectre laptop. Its digital pen and Windows Ink software let you create art by hand, and its Intel Core i7 chip and 16GB of RAM ensure speedy processing while multitasking. This 13.3-inch HP Spectre laptop includes a 512GB solid-state drive to hold all your files.
 

Has anyone discovered an external USB-C battery power bank that works with this machine? HP is very strict about not supporting other power sources. Anyone find a USB-C dock that works well and powers the laptop?

I'm trying the Anker 20100 MaH battery with the LED dial. The laptop displayed this: "For full performance, connect a higher capacity power adapter." I hope it works, because it cost me $85 (with the wall charger).
6 years, 11 months ago
by
Seampfire
 
Only at Best BuyWrite or sketch easily on the screen of this HP Spectre laptop. Its digital pen and Windows Ink software let you create art by hand, and its Intel Core i7 chip and 16GB of RAM ensure speedy processing while multitasking. This 13.3-inch HP Spectre laptop includes a 512GB solid-state drive to hold all your files.
 

DDR3 memory, or DDR4? HP didn't post it on their website, sales rep couldn't tell me, so... anyone who bought this, does it actually have the memory (RAM) listed on the product details page on Best Buy, or was it a typo from them?

DDR3
6 years, 11 months ago
by
Seampfire