CES: HP Spectre Laptops Get Intel Core Ultra, 9MP Webcam

HP has updated its popular flagship laptop, the HP Spectre x360, and the early reviews are quite impressive. HP has added Intel Core Ultra processors with neural processing for AI tasks and a 9MP webcam and Wi-Fi 7 capability. The Spectre x360 14 features a 14-inch screen and Intel Arc integrated graphics processing, while the Spectre x360 16 screen is two-inches larger, and includes the option to add an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU. Both OLED screens display at 2,880 x 1,800, 120 Hz, with VESA True Black HDR 400. The 2-in-1 laptops use Intel’s latest H series chips, which are 14th generation, Meteor Lake, integrating both x86 and Arm cores on the same chip.

PC Magazine calls the  HP Spectre x360 14 “a luxurious laptop that checks all the right boxes,” while the Mashable reviewer says “the keyboard is the best thing I’ve ever tested,” adding that the model is “tempting me to ditch my MacBook.”

The two new ultrabooks have many of the same features, “including going up to 32GB of soldered RAM and up to 2TB of storage in the form of a PCIe Gen 4 SSD,” writes Tom’s Hardware, noting that the OLED screen refresh rates are “adjustable down to 48 Hz (based on what you’re watching) with IMAX Enhanced Certification.”

The entry level 14-inch x360 starts with Intel’s Core Ultra 5 125H and maxes out at the Core Ultra 7 155H, while the 16-inch model starts with the 155H.

Tom’s Hardware notes a spec sheet standout in the high-resolution 9 megapixel camera with hardware-assisted low light adjustment.

Mashable summarizes the AI advantages that come with the NPU, including:

  • Stable Diffusion, a deep-learning, text-to-image model, gets a performance boost
  • Adobe Premiere Pro gets a “tremendous advantage,” according to an HP rep, while rendering AI effects
  • AI apps like Superpower, a platform that records everything you do and turns it into a searchable archive via an AI assistant, will see improvements, too
  • It can detect when someone is watching your screen over your shoulder — and alert you

HP’s press release lists the starting list price for HP Spectre x360 14 at $1,500, while the Spectre x360 16 starts at $1,600, available now at HP.com and at Best Buy.

At CES, HP also debuted the ultra-light Omen Transcend, a 14-inch gaming laptop PC, which weighs 3.5 pounds and is also IMAX Enhanced Certified with a 2.8K 120Hz VRR OLED display “suitable for high-performance gaming or for creative work such as digital painting and graphic design,” explains TechRepublic, noting “the most high-performance version runs on an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU” with pressurized vapor chamber cooling.

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