HP Spectre 13: The Professional

Manufacturer HP
Where we got our copy Edelman
Where to buy Price Check

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Published June 14, 2017

The keyboard matches the laptop’s colour scheme, but has no keyboard backlighting – which at the over R20k price range, is something I’d expect it to have. I will say, however, that it was a pleasure to type on the Spectre 13’s keyboard. Even though the keys were soft, they were quick to respond to any inputs I had. The clickpad however, was frustrating to use, with the upper area being stiffer than the lower. I had no complaints about accuracy although the smaller trackpad size didn’t help when working for longer periods. This resulted in less than intuitive use over the time I had the laptop, forcing me to feel where the right area to click on was, as opposed to just clicking wherever. I felt that a more consistent button pressure on the clickpad could’ve benefitted the Spectre 13.

The Spectre is a 13-inch ultrabook with a 6th generation Core i5 (6200U) processor and 4GB of DDR3 memory. You’ll also get an integrated Intel HD 520 graphics chipset built onto the CPU. It’s not the highest specification laptop around – and not one for heavy duty users, especially considering that it comes with 4GB of RAM. Where it does shine, which I’ll cover more later, is on battery life.

I think it’s worth discussing who would use the Spectre 13. Professionals on the move, or executives will find a purpose for sure. I took this into account when looking at the price, which sits between R23000-R25000. The main draw of the Spectre 13 is its battery life, which measures in at around 6-7 hours. It uses an ultra low voltage processor, low voltage DDR3 memory and a SSD – all of which contribute to greater power efficiency. These power efficiency gains also allow for a smaller size by using smaller, thinner components, and less weight as a result. The Spectre 13 sits at a featherweight 1.11kg. This is another major draw for mobile users, in my view.

Like most modern ultrabooks – you’re limited on connectivity options. It’s a trade off you’re going to have to make due to the thinness of the laptop. There are three USB 3.1 ports, one being Gen 1 and the rest Gen 2. If you’re not a fan of buying adapters for extra connectivity – you’re better off looking elsewhere. I priced out options for USB and HDMI adapters in my Acer Swift 7 review, which you can access here.

I mentioned earlier that I liked the looks of the Spectre 13. They’re functional too. The charcoal and gold shell consists of carbon fibre and aluminium. While the aluminium will scratch easily, the rest will not.

To me, at least, there are two schools in laptop design. There’s the minimalist approach which emphasises simple colour combinations and minimises on the shininess. The fancier approach has manufacturers design their devices around looks. The Spectre 13 falls between the two, although I would’ve preferred a uniform colour scheme over the two-tone design in this unit.

If you buy one of these, you’re going to get a Full HD LED (1920×1080) screen. Like with the Acer Swift 7, HP made a compromise on their screen resolution. I couldn’t complain about the quality, though, since the viewing angle of the screen sits at 105 degrees, and barely washes out as you move around it.

HP also employed Bang & Olufsen speakers for this premium unit, and the quality is great. Again, low frequences are limited but this is a physical limitation – and considering how small these speakers are, I was surprised how the highs and mids emitted.

On the cooling front, the Spectre 13 remained cool with only the area below the screen getting warm after extended use. Even with the increase in temperature, it remained bearably cool. Noise levels were exceptionally low and I’m happy to report that fan noise was minimal throughout my time using the laptop.

I have to also add that thanks to the SSD and Core i5 processor, there were no real slowdowns, though the 4GB of memory was not sufficient for more than basic Office use and browsing. Since many of the services I used were cloud-based, though, the Spectre proved to be a capable laptop. I’m happy to report that despite it having mid-range specs, the Spectre 13 was a pleasure to use – at least in terms of work performance.

After around two and a half weeks of using the Spectre 13, I can conclude that it’s a great professional laptop worth considering. The price tag of R23000-25000 might turn many off, though. Overall functionality was great with response times remaining consistent even after intense usage. Battery life could’ve been better when not using Windows 10’s battery saver, with the worst time on backup power being 5 hours. I did achieve 9 hours with battery saver on, however.

I’d describe the Spectre 13 as an executive laptop, built with premium materials for someone on the move. For heavier usage, I’d look at the Core i7 model. Luckily HP offers an updated model with a 7th generation Core i5 and i7 for the same price as the previous model.

Great laptop, HP; please fix your clickpad, though?

HP, being the gracious company they are, sent us a demo unit of the Spectre 13. If laptops could wear suits, the Spectre 13 wears an Armani, tailored and all. This is a sleek-looking and ultra-thin 13-inch Ultrabook designed for users needing decent response time, while maximising batterylife. That usually means you're getting an Intel Core i5 or i7, SSD storage and 4gb of memory or more. HP also opted to use a more minimal gold and charcoal grey colour scheme. Let me state from the outset that I prefer the looks of the HP over the Acer - and there are functional reasons for this too. The keyboard matches the laptop's colour scheme, but has no keyboard backlighting - which at the over R20k price range, is something I'd expect it to have. I will say, however, that it was a pleasure to type on the Spectre 13's keyboard. Even though the keys were soft, they were quick to respond to any inputs I had. The clickpad however, was frustrating to use, with the upper area being stiffer than the lower. I had no complaints about accuracy although the smaller trackpad size didn't help when working for longer periods. This resulted in less than intuitive use over the time I had the laptop, forcing me to feel where the right area to click on was, as opposed to just clicking wherever. I felt that a more consistent button pressure on the clickpad could've benefitted the Spectre 13. The Spectre is a 13-inch ultrabook with a 6th generation Core i5 (6200U) processor and 4GB of DDR3 memory. You'll also get an integrated Intel HD 520 graphics chipset built onto the CPU. It's not the highest specification laptop around - and not one for heavy duty users, especially considering that it comes with 4GB of RAM. Where it does shine, which I'll cover more later, is on battery life. I think it's worth discussing who would use the Spectre 13. Professionals on the move, or executives will find a purpose for sure. I took this into account when looking at the price, which sits between R23000-R25000. The main draw of the Spectre 13 is its battery life, which measures in at around 6-7 hours. It uses an ultra low voltage processor, low voltage DDR3 memory and a SSD - all of which contribute to greater power efficiency. These power efficiency gains also allow for a smaller size by using smaller, thinner components, and less weight as a result. The Spectre 13 sits at a featherweight 1.11kg. This is another major draw for mobile users, in my view. Like most modern ultrabooks - you're limited on connectivity options. It's a trade off you're going to have to make due to the thinness of the laptop. There are three USB 3.1 ports, one being Gen 1 and the rest Gen 2. If you're not a fan of buying adapters for extra connectivity - you're better off looking elsewhere. I priced out options for USB…

Tech Review: HP Spectre 13: The Professional

2017-06-14

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HP's Spectre wears its tailored carbon fibre suit with style and has the performance to match its looks.

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Zubayr could be defined as any one of these traits: Grizzled, optimistic, jaded, blunt, opinionated, irreverent and reserved. His experience was once carbon dated to the glory days of Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. It still amazes him how irrelevant those have become these days.Some say his tears generate DLC unlock codes, and that the WASD combination was discovered by his typo while on Yahoo Chat.