HP Spectre, Envy Updated: Powerful Processing, Luxurious Touches
HP introduced its newest premium laptop, the 13.3-inch Spectre, calling it the thinnest laptop in the world. It debuted alongside exclusive designs by Tord Boontje and Jess Hannah, as well as updated Envy models. Here's an up-close look at the new offerings.
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Hewlett-Packard used the occasion of The New York Times Luxury Conference in Versailles, France, April 5, to introduce a number of new devices. These included limited-edition laptops made in collaboration with designers Tord Boontje and Jess Hannah, and -- for the CEO who likes just a bit of bling -- the Spectre 13.3, now the world's thinnest laptop, according to HP. (A spokesperson offered: "Believe me, we made sure.")
The newest Spectre is 10.44mm thick (or, 1.04 cm) and weighs 2.45 pounds. (For context, the Apple Macbook Air, which also has a 13.3-inch display on the diagonal, weighs 2.96 pounds and has a width of 1.70 cm at its thickest point.)
The Spectre x360, which was met with a number of positive reviews, offered HP a few lessons, said Michael L. Nash, HP vice president of customer experience and portfolio strategy.
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"We noticed there was a customer who was very interested in having a superthin, superlight device. And frankly, it's someone who wants more of a precious piece of jewelry, almost," he explained.
The Spectre 13.3 attempts to speak to that desire. It has a CNC aluminum top, a carbon fiber bottom, and is, in HP's parlance, "Ash Silver" with copper finishes. It's reflective and bright -- and looks, indeed, to be made from jewelry.
A Little Less Bling
HP also introduced three new additions to its Envy line of laptops, which HP calls more entertainment and content focused, versus its premium Spectre line.
Two Envy designs, with the option of a 15.6- or 17.3-inch display (on the diagonal), feature a new hinge design that's invisible on the front, and that, when opened, tucks itself down and beneath the bottom of the laptop, nudging the machine up to an angle that HP says makes for more ergonomic typing and creates a better viewing experience.
HP also slimmed down the Envy physique by bonding the display to the glass (which has the option of touch capabilities) instead of leaving an air gap, as it has in the past.
Additionally, it introduced a 15.6-inch Envy x360 -- which, as the name suggests, folds back 360 degrees on geared hinges. It weighs 4.5 pounds and measures 1.88 cm (18.8 mm). HP says its battery lasts up to 11 hours. Like the other new Envy machines, it offers the latest sixth-generation Intel Core i processors up to an i7 and features audio by Bang & Olufsen, also with HP's Audio Boost technology.
Far More Bling
In partnership with industrial product designer Tord Boontje, HP will also be offering for auction -- with proceeds going to the Nelson Mandela Foundation -- a Boontje-designed version of the new Spectre.
Its lid and keyboard are covered in 18-carat gold and then a midnight-blue coating; 40 hours of CNC milling work then etches an intricate Boontje design into blue, revealing the gold. If that weren't enough, approximately 800 Swarovski crystals are then hand-glued to the laptop.
If something simpler, but no less glamorous, is more your style, there will also be a limited-edition Spectre designed by Jess Hannah, a Los Angeles jewelry designer who gained Instagram fame (and then regular old fame) for her fine, clean, clever aesthetic.
Hannah went for a gold-and-pavé-diamonds approach, and treated the keyboard to her signature Allegra typeface -- perhaps even more striking than the HP logo in raised diamonds. While a diamond-dotted power button isn't for everyone, many may be wishing that the Allegra typeface is here to stay.
The Spectre, which runs Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system, will be available for preorder April 25 at HP.com and BBY.com, starting at $1,169. On May 29, it will arrive in Best Buy stores, starting at $1,250. A limited number of the Boontje and Hannah versions will be auctioned during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Take a closer look and let us know what you think of HP's latest offerings in the comments section below.
(All images taken at an HP press event in New York City by Michelle Maisto/InformationWeek.)
HP designed its newest Spectre with a certain customer in mind, a customer desirous of an incredibly thin and light device that feels as luxurious as jewelry. The result is what HP claims is the world's thinnest laptop, at 10.4mm.
An improvement over the Spectre x360 is that the 13.3-inch Spectre gets up to 9 hours and 45 minutes of battery life, HP says.
The new Spectre's hinges could almost be earrings or bracelets, although they're actually the face of a concealed new piston technology that operates much the way pistons "hold the hood of your car up," according to Michael L. Nash.
The pistons also ensure an opening-and-closing experience that will feel, after three years, the same way it does on day one, said Nash.
"We kind of grabbed an idea from maybe a high-end cabinet or furniture maker. The hinge recesses back into the device," Nash explained.
The Spectre weighs 2.45 pounds and comes with a choice of sixth-generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors and 8GB of memory.
Getting Core i7 power into a super-slim case presents a challenge -- one that HP addressed with a new cooling system. Rather than put a heat sync on top of the CPU and use fans to blow air across it, it uses fans to create hyperbaric chambers that pull air across the CPU and then out of the back of the device.
Additionally, it broke down the battery into four separate pieces -- a slice that lays on top of the board pictured here.
How thin is the new, HP-proclaimed "thinnest laptop in the world"? At a mere 10.4 mm in thickness, it's far thinner than a triple-A battery.
At the New York Times Luxury Conference in Versailles, HP showed off a Spectre designed by Tord Boontje. It features an 18-carat gold finish that's revealed beneath a midnight blue coating after a delicate CNC-milling process that takes 40 hours per laptop.
Boontje's design also includes approximately 800 hand-placed Swarovski crystals. It will be auctioned for charity during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Los Angeles-based jewelry designer Jess Hannah has also applied her vision to a Spectre. Far simpler than Boontje's, it features her signature materials -- diamonds and gold.
Hannah's interior design features diamonds set in plastic over the power button so that they're illuminated when the machine is turned on -- a luxury likely not for everyone. More of the world might happily welcome a keyboard treated to Hannah's signature Allegra typeface.
HP's newest Envy laptops feature a hinge-free view from the top, and edge-to-edge flush-glass displays. The flush glass makes for a brighter display than those with an air gap between the glass and the screen.
The 15.6-inch (on the diagonal) weighs 4.4 pounds and measures 17.95 mm in thickness, while the 17.3-inch version is 6.6 pounds and 25.45 mm. Also offered are options of FHD or UHD displays, Intel Core i processors up to an i7, and UMA or Intel IRIS GFX graphics. The 17.3-inch Envy offers Intel Core i7 with Nvidia GeForce 940MX graphics.
The 15.6-inch Envy gets 9 hours of battery life, and the 17.3-inch gets 6.5 hours.
HP describes its newest Envy laptops as featuring "refined metal materials and edgy lines." A lip beneath the display scoots under the keyboard when the laptop is open, lifting the machine in a subtle way that improves screen viewing and the ergonomic experience on the keyboard.
The 15.6-inch Envy will be available on HP.com May 25, and with retailers June 12, starting at $779. The 17.3-inch will arrive June 1 on HP.com, and in Best Buy stores June 12, starting at $1,029.
The Envy x360 is the ultimate tray-table movie player, or can stand tent-style, for clear viewing during presentations, or countertop viewing. The metal touches -- attractive grilling, and clasps like an evening bag or wrist cuff -- are present here, too.
The Envy x360 gets up to 11 hours of battery life, measures 18.8 mm thin and weighs 4.5 pounds. It's available with up to a Core i7 processor and optional Intel IRIS GFX graphics, or with a 7th Generation AMD FX 9800 quad-core processor with Radeon R7 graphics.
It will be available June 1 on HP.com, in Best Buy stores June 12 and start at $679.
The Envy x360 is the ultimate tray-table movie player, or can stand tent-style, for clear viewing during presentations, or countertop viewing. The metal touches -- attractive grilling, and clasps like an evening bag or wrist cuff -- are present here, too.
The Envy x360 gets up to 11 hours of battery life, measures 18.8 mm thin and weighs 4.5 pounds. It's available with up to a Core i7 processor and optional Intel IRIS GFX graphics, or with a 7th Generation AMD FX 9800 quad-core processor with Radeon R7 graphics.
It will be available June 1 on HP.com, in Best Buy stores June 12 and start at $679.
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