The HP Spectre x360 16 is the newest addition to HP's Spectre x360 line of svelte, business-oriented 2-in-1 laptops, and it's due to come out in October 2021 -- just in time to ship ready for Windows 11.
At Tom's Guide, we thought very highly of the new laptop's smaller sibling, the HP Spectre x360 14, naming it one of the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy. The newer, bigger 16-inch HP Spectre x360 16 is even more exciting because it has updated components, a 5 MP webcam with HP's GlamCam image improvement tech, and the option to upgrade to a UHD+ OLED display.
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Here's everything we know so far about the HP Spectre x360 16, including how much you can expect to pay and where you can buy one for yourself.
HP Spectre x360 16 price and release date
The HP Spectre x360 16 should be available for purchase at a starting price of $1,639 via HP's website starting in October 2021, and it should also start showing up on Best Buy shelves in the fall. The 2-in-1 comes in two elegantly named color schemes: nocturne blue with celestial blue accents, or nightfall black with pale brass accents.
HP Spectre x360 16 design
The new HP Spectre x360 16 appears to sport the same slick 2-in-1 design as the HP Spectre x360 14, which our reviewer found to be sturdy yet portable. The chief difference is the HP Spectre x360 16 is bigger, weighing in at 4.45 pounds and measuring 14.09 x 9.66 x 0.78 inches.
That extra size gives this laptop enough room to fit a 16-inch, 16:10 display with a 91% screen-to-body ratio. The screen bezels do look quite thin in photos, though there's room along the top bezel for a new 5 MP camera with IR sensors, a physical privacy shutter, and support for HP's new GlamCam auto-retouching algorithm.
HP claims this is also the first HP notebook to be made with recycled CNC aluminum, which is a nice touch. It also comes with a protective sleeve and black HP Rechargeable MPP2.0 Tilt Pen stylus included in the box, at no extra charge.
HP Spectre x360 16 ports
The HP Spectre x360 16 has a sparse port selection, just like the HP Spectre x360 14. But you'll find enough options to get you through most workday challenges.
The HP Spectre x360 16 sports 2 Thunderbolt 4/USB-4 Type C ports, one USB Type A port, an HDMI out and a headphone/microphone jack. It also has a microSD card reader, which is handy when you need to pull images or files off an SD card.
HP Spectre x360 16 display
The HP Spectre x360 16's display is a 16-inch IPS touchscreen with a 16:10 display ratio (3,072 x 1,920 pixels), and HP claims it can deliver up to 400 nits of brightness and achieve 100% sRGB color spectrum. Of course, we'll have to get one in for lab testing to verify how accurate those claims are.
HP also claims you can get up to an OLED display on the Spectre x360 16 if you're willing to pay extra. This is potentially a big deal because OLED displays deliver more vibrant colors, deeper blacks, and better contrasts than most screens.
HP Spectre x360 16 performance
The HP Spectre x360 16 can be configured with up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11390H CPU, which is more than enough power for most daily tasks. The notebook ships with 16 GB of RAM, as well as a 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD for storage.
Like other x360 2-in-1s, the Spectre x360 16 doesn't appear to be configurable with a discrete graphics card, so you'll be limited to gaming with the Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics chipset. However, the sounds of games, movies, and music should be pretty good coming out of the laptop's Bang & Olufsen quad speaker array.
HP Spectre x360 16 webcam
There's an HP True Vision 5MP IR camera built into the HP Spectre x360 16, which should make you look pretty good on your next Zoom call. The IR functionality also lets you log into Windows with your face via Windows Hello, and there are two integrated microphones for capturing your voice.
Plus, HP has integrated its new GlamCam software into the camera itself. GlamCam seems to chiefly concern itself with automatically touching up your image on the fly, with a Beauty Mode to ensure you look good, an Auto Frame feature that keeps you centered in the shot, even when you move around, and Lighting Correction brings the right amount of lighting to your face when moving from room to room.to adjust your image in response to ambient light.
HP Spectre x360 16 outlook
The HP Spectre x360 14 was a big hit here at Tom's Guide thanks to its stylish, sturdy design, powerful components, and great display.
Now it looks like HP is delivering a similar suite of features in a larger format with the HP Spectre x360 16, and we can't wait to get one in for review so we can test it out for ourselves. We're especially excited to see the quality of the OLED display, and find out how well HP's GlamCam tech actually works, given how omnipresent video calling has become during the pandemic.
