HP Spectre x2 (2017): 12.3" 3000x2000, Kaby-Lake-U+Iris Plus

HP just announced yet another variation of their 12" tablets. This time it is the new Spectre x2, which has improved significantly.

Main Features:

Display: 12.3" IPS WLED with a 3000x2000 resolution
CPU: i5-7260U Kaby-Lake with Iris Plus 640 graphics, i7-7560U Kaby-Lake with Iris Plus 640 graphics
RAM: 8 GB or 16 GB
SSD: 128 GB up to 1 TB PCIe/NVMe
Ports: 2x USB-C 3.1 Gen1 (5 Gb/s) with USB-PD and DP Alt Mode (NO Thunderbolt 3!), 3.5mm audio jack, micro-SD card slot
Pen: HP Active Pen, Wacom AES
Cameras: 13MP back camera, 5MP "wide dynamic range" wide-view front camera, IR camera for Windows Hello
Fans: Dual Fans
Connectivity: 2x2 802.11ac WLAN and Bluetooth 4.2, NO LTE option
Keyboard: 1.5 mm key-travel, with glass trackpad and optional SecurePad with Fingerprint-Reader integrated into the trackpad (this points to a Synaptics trackpad)
Battery: 41.58 Wh, HP claims up to 8 hours and fast-charging 0-50% in 30 minutes
Kickstand: 165° maximum angle
Size: 11.57" (L) x 0.52" (H) x 8.15" (D) (tablet)
Thickness: 7.7mm tablet-only, 12.3mm with keyboard
Weight: 2.51 lbs with keyboard
Included: Pen, USB-C to USB-A adapter; HP sleeve


Price: starting at $999
Release Date: June

The most interesting part is of course the display, 3000x2000 pixels in something other than 13.5" is completely new. HP also claims "our brighest display yet", so maybe this will be somewhat outdoor-usable.

It has two fans inside, so it will be very interesting how well this keeps the device cool and silent. Let's hope they took some inspiration from the VAIO Z Canvas.

The pen tech isn't specifically listed, the website mentions HP Active Pen, the video says "utitlizes universal pen". Whether this means anything in regard to the Dual-Protocol Pen is unknown yet. HP used the term "universal pen" before recently but without explanation.

Disappointing though is the lack of Thunderbolt 3, which they only offer on the siblings Elite x2 1012 G1/G2.

Press release: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/press-release.html?id=2463023
Official Website: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/spectre-x2/overview.html
Full spec-sheet: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/images/HP_...245_2462036_tcm245_2461929_tcm245-2462036.pdf

 

lol just came to post this! Also some artists are going to be very happy with the Envy 17!

 

Hoh boy! Another 12 inch machine! Oh boy!
My nipples are spinning in gleeful anticipation!
<sarcasm mode: off>

 

Not enough USB-A ports, but it could be interesting if this goes on sale to $700 with keyboard and pen in a few months. Though I don't see how this differs from Lenovo's offering, unless this has a larger battery or something, but that doesn't look to be the case, especially at 8 hours. When are we going to get a Windows 2in1 device that is a bit thicker and offering 12 solid hours of battery life out of the tablet portion?

 

@MobileTechReview, if you end up doing a review of this, please give props to HP for featuring a lefty through the whole promo vid!



Go lefties! We need more love, cuz we're uh "creative"

 

'but it could be interesting if this goes on sale to $700 with keyboard and pen in a few months.'

Interesting to whom? Anyone born yesterday? I've literally got three 12 inch machines at my bedside right now. /as does anyone else who will even notice this 'new' product exists/.

 

As a natural-born lefty, that my parents "reprogrammed" early on, I always wonder what could have been...
Occasionally I joked to my parents that I could have become the next Einstein or Picasso if they hadn't screwed up my brain!

 

It's not too late, switch now (Jaime Lannister did it ) and experience the wonder of new mirrored world!

Unleash the genius within you... (my new lefty slogan )

 

Yeah, I might not put myself into such a drastic forced change but I had actually read about people learning to become lefties again and thought about trying... guess I should clear the schedule for the genius inside of me

 

I can't wait to see how this turns out. I like that they were able to switch to a core U and it looks like they even put thunderbolt 3 in it (see that microsoft). Even with the fans though, I bet this will throttle and if not throttle, the fans will sound annoying.