HP's Spectre x360 Is The New MacBook Air Killer, Challenges Dell's XPS 13 As Well

Dell's XPS 13 gained considerable attention after its specs came close to Apple's MacBook Air challenging the premium ultrabook. As with other tech products, that position may no longer just be for one as HP's Spectre x360 is catching up with several reviews hinting that it might just be a powerful MacBook Air competitor. Can Apple hold it ground? Will these products change the game or share the limelight until new MacBooks come out?

HP's Spectre x360 is a clearly a high-end laptop from the get go. It comes with a flip function that allows it to transform as a tablet. This gives people a 2-in-1 gadget type of deal. What makes the laptop impressive is that the hingers appear completely invisible. Users will not have to worry about such sticking out from the back. People will not usually notice they exist.

HP's vice president for portfolio strategy and customer experience, Personal Systems, HP, Mike Nash, emphasizes: "The HP Spectre x360 is transformational as it has the productivity of a high end notebook, tablet mode for on the go, tent mode for play and stand mode for watching entertainment in a stunning ultra-thin device."

HP's Spectre x360 comes with an aluminium build measuring 15.9mm thick and weighing 3.3 pounds. The device runs on an Intel Core i5 or i7 Broadwell processor offering a 13.3-inch laptop screen eqipped with 1080p or Quad HD resolution. Other specifications include 4GB or 8GB of RAM and SSD storage starting 128GB to 512GB. Even with everything mentioned under the hood, HP claims the device can last from 10 to 12.5 hours.

The battery life is possible because HP has gone for configurations that allow the laptop to refresh only parts of its display that are changing or working actively. This helps the device become more energy efficient. According to HP: “The touch panel on the HP Spectre x360 is optically bonded to the display, increasing brightness and pulling each pixel up to the surface of the display.” HP emphasized during the company's briefing the battery life of the x360 compared to the MacBook Air supporting talks that it is an attempt to take on Apple and its laptop line.

The device starts at $899.99 for those satisfied with Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. As for those looking to upgrade to a Quad HD display, Core i7 chip, 8GB of memory and 512GB of storage, the price increases to $1,399.99.

The final verdict may have to come after Apple releases its refreshed of MacBook laptops. Expectations revolve around the company releases a 12-inch MacBook Air model and a refreshed 2015 MacBook Pro edition. The company has not given any details yet.

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