If Microsoft made laptops, it'd make this: HP Spectre x360

Power ranger

Another area where HP and MS swapped spit is the 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio, which apparently works over longer ranges with throughput not dropping off as quickly in either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands. While I’ve no idea if that’s true or not, what I can say is that wireless reception in my office, which is a bit of a black spot, was impressively reliable, so it appears there’s something in these claims.

The hinge is both clever and a bit odd looking

Battery life is a Spectre strong point, again due to some system fettling by the HP/MS team. This includes a more efficient (and quiet) fan and shutting down unnecessary parts of the system like the sensor in the hinge that works out what mode the Spectre is in; that does things like disable the keyboard. Apparently the Microsoft bods reckoned you can idle this sensor most of the time.

HP also opted to remove all the status lights, so if you like your laptop to have a row of LEDs that light up like a Christmas tree when it does something, the Spectre may not be the machine for you. I’m told the Quad HD screen features something called Panel Self Refresh technology which avoids changing pixels unnecessarily to further reduce power draw.

The fan is efficient and quiet. The SD card slot is full depth

The outcome of all that power saving is that HP reckons a full charge will get you through 12.5 hours. Looping a 1080p video using VLC with the display at three quarters brightness put the Spectre to sleep in 8 hours 15 minutes. That’s not bad and suggests the twelve and a half figure is achievable in mixed use. Spank the battery hard by running PCMark8 continuously and the lights go out after 5 hours 30 minutes.

Like most thin 'n' light laptops, this isn't a machine you buy with the intention of taking it apart and rummaging around in its innards. Even with the Torx screws out, the back panel didn’t want to come off. The stereo speakers fire downward out of said panel and do a reasonable, if not spectacular, job. There is plenty of volume available, though.

The laptop Microsoft helped build

The Reg Verdict

Microsoft's involvement in the development of the Spectre hasn’t resulted in anything spectacular but this is still a very smart and competent package. The impressive battery life, high quality keyboard, generous allocation of ports combined with a stylish design and high quality materials have resulted in a machine worth every penny of its £900 asking price.

If it was my money I’d probably cough up the extra £200 for the faster chip, higher-def screen and larger capacity SSD in the Core i7 version but I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed if I could only stretch to the i5 machine. Shame there was no free white Persian cat in the box, though. ®