HP is updating its premium thin and light Spectre 13 laptop with a new model that’s faster, offers longer battery life, and features a touchscreen display.
The new HP Spectre 13 weighs 2.45 pounds, measures 10.8mm (0.43 inches) thick, and features a quad-core, 8th-gen Intel Kaby Lake Refresh processor.
HP has also moved the stereo speakers to the space above the keyboard, allowing for a wider keyboard. The speakers are also said to be 66 percent louder than those on the 2016 model.
The touchpad is also 15 percent larger, and the laptop is a bit slimmer than last year’s model thanks to thinner top and side bezels around the display.
Prices start at $1300 for a model with an Intel Core i5-8250U processor, 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM, and 256GB of PCIe storage.
A model with similar specs, but a Core i7-8550U processor will sell for $1400. And HP will offer models up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.
HP offers two display options:
- 13.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel (160 ppi) 300-nit
- 13.3 inch, 3840 x 2160 pixel (332 ppi) 340-nit
HP says the notebook’s 43 Wh battery should provide up to 11.6 hours of battery life for models with FHD displays, while the 4K model will top out at 7.9 hours. Both versions feature support for fast charging. A 30 minute charge should bring the battery level up to 50 percent.
The HP Spectre 13 goes up for pre-order today at Best Buy and HP.com.
The notebook has a CNC aluminum and carbon fiber chassis, and comes in two color options: dark ash silver with copper accents, which is the same design as last year’s model, or a new white and pale gold color scheme.
The new HP Elite 13 features two Thunderbolt 3/USB Type-C ports, one USB 3.1 Type-C port, and a headset jack.
At that price, I’d rather buy a Macbook Air.
Curious if that new hybrid thermal system will reduce the throttling.
It will be interesting to see how ifixit rates changing the battery in this laptop.