The final time we checked out one among HP’s premium Spectre x360 convertible notebooks, we had been blown away by its model, highly effective {hardware} and glorious keyboard. But that was only a 13-inch mannequin — what if HP took all of that goodness and put it in an enormous 16-inch laptop computer? That’s principally what the corporate is providing with its new Spectre x360 16. It’s huge. It’s lovely. And this time, it comes outfitted with NVIDIA’s new RTX 3050 GPU. If you are in search of a pocket book with a big display that may additionally deal with a little bit of gaming and inventive work, the x360 16 is a compelling choice.

Strangely sufficient, HP does not actually have a lot competitors relating to highly effective, large-screened convertibles. Dell hasn’t up to date the XPS 15 2-in-1 in years, and LG’s comparable Grams try for lightness greater than energy. It might be that different corporations had been scared away by having heavy notebooks with rotating screens — the 4.4-pound x360 16 is downright hefty in comparison with the 3-pound 13-inch mannequin. But it isn’t too far off from the 4.3-pound MacBook Pro 16. If you are in search of a big show, you’ve got in all probability already relegated your self to carrying round a heavy machine. (And at the very least it is lighter than the XPS 17, which clocks in at as much as 5.5 kilos!)

Design sensible, the Spectre x360 16 is extra glam than Dell’s minimalist XPS line. Both corporations went for modern, all-metal circumstances, however HP’s {hardware} options metallic accents alongside its edges (even the hinges get some bling). The Spectre line used to lean extra closely right into a bejeweled look, however now HP is making an attempt to tone issues down whereas additionally delivering some model. Little issues, just like the case’s lower off corners and the marginally softer edges, give the x360 16 an artisanal high quality. It does not seem like a cookie-cutter PC, and that’s the purpose.

Like many 16-inch notebooks we have seen not too long ago, the x360 replaces a 15-inch mannequin. HP was in a position to match a bigger show right into a equally sized case by lowering bezel sizes and transferring towards a taller 16-by-10 side ratio. That ends in a display that is 22 millimeters taller, with 11 % extra vertical viewing space, in keeping with HP. Our overview unit featured a 4K+ OLED monitor that appeared merely lovely, it doesn’t matter what I used to be taking a look at (although I’m a sucker for OLED’s deep black ranges and eye-popping colours). There are additionally 3K+ LED screens obtainable if you happen to do not wish to pay a premium for OLED.

Unfortunately, the x360 does not help HDR and Dolby Vision like Dell’s XPS line, or a quick 120Hz refresh fee like we noticed on the Surface Laptop Studio. For some, not having these options could also be a dealbreaker, particularly if you happen to plan to observe loads of HDR video, or if you happen to’re intrigued by the smoothness of getting a excessive refresh fee show. But if you happen to’re upgrading from an older PC, the x360’s display will nonetheless be a major step up.

HP’s convertible hinge makes it simple to flip open the x360 16 one-handed. Rotating it round right into a tent or pill mode takes a bit extra effort, as a result of sheer dimension of the system. Just like each convertible PC, the tent formation is a pleasant method to prop up the x360 if you happen to’re simply lounging in mattress. You also can flip the keyboard the other way up to make the show prop up by itself, which might be useful if you happen to simply want an extra display alongside a desktop. I did not discover the x360’s pill mode very helpful, although; it is simply method too heavy to carry up for lengthy, and it is merely awkward to make use of. But actually, having a bigger display for productiveness work and Netflix binging makes up for that.

Speaking of labor, typing up this overview on the x360 made me fall in love with HP’s full-sized keyboard much more than I did with the 13-inch mannequin. It’s extensive sufficient for me to unfold my fingers out comfortably, and there is a satisfying quantity of journey to each key. It’s like a live performance piano simply begging to be performed. My solely grievance is that it’s kind of non-standard: there is a fingerprint sensor as an alternative of a proper Control key, in addition to an assortment of specialised operate keys to determine. On the plus aspect, the touchpad is now 39 % bigger, and it nonetheless feels extremely easy and dependable.

Our overview unit was the top-end $2,030 configuration: You get an Intel Core i7-11390H processor (there is no Twelfth-gen help but), 16GB of RAM, NVIDIA’s RTX 3050 GPU and a 1TB NVMe SSD with 32GB of Intel Optane reminiscence. The x360 had no bother with primary productiveness duties — not a shock given its {hardware} — and I appreciated simply how peppy it made Windows 11 really feel. It opened apps up swiftly, and it did not present any indicators of slowdown as I piled on an increasing number of browser tabs.

The solely disappointing factor was its disk speeds. According to the ATTO bench, it had common write speeds of round 2 GB/s, and browse speeds that had been considerably slower than most notebooks we see as we speak. That’s actually shocking for an NVMe drive, so we have requested HP if there’s some form of driver bug hindering efficiency.

When it involves common system benchmarks, the x360 16 scored equally to final yr’s Surface Laptop 4 15 and ASUS’s ZenBook Duo. I anticipated larger numbers, although, because it has a extra highly effective GPU than both of these programs. That RTX 3050 is the lowest-end entry amongst NVIDIA’s present choices, nevertheless it’s nonetheless higher than what you’d get with Intel’s built-in Xe graphics. It was additionally serviceable for primary 1080p gaming: I had no bother enjoying a number of rounds of Halo Infinite with medium graphics settings. The x360 16 is a stable choice if you would like to play a number of titles infrequently, maybe throughout a boring work journey if you don’t wish to lug round a heavier gaming pocket book.

Big screens include enormous vitality calls for, although, so I wasn’t stunned when the x360 solely lasted 10 hours and 55 minutes throughout our battery check. HP claims it’ll go for as much as 17 hours with blended use efficiency, nevertheless it’s unclear how they examined that. Our benchmark depends on looping an HD video, so it’s not precisely aggravating. I wouldn’t anticipate a 16-inch pocket book to simply attain the 15 hours of battery life we’ve seen on smaller machines, and the x360 nonetheless presents sufficient juice to energy by a workday.

Being versatile in additional methods than one is a significant promoting level for convertibles. The x360 16 is equally at dwelling whilst you’re curled up in mattress as it’s in a enterprise assembly. The included stylus, which magnetically attaches to the aspect of the laptop computer, can also be useful for jotting down notes and easy illustrations. And, given simply how essential video calls are nowadays, the x360 can also be properly outfitted with a 5-megapixel webcam and some software program options to beautify your face. It’s definitely a step up from the 720p cameras we have seen over the previous few years. For the privateness acutely aware, you can too bodily block the digicam by hitting a operate key, in addition to disable the microphone.

Unlike many different style-focused notebooks, HP additionally features a wealth of ports, together with two USB-C connections, a USB Type-A port (in a nifty drop-down slot), a full-sized HDMI socket and a microSD card slot. And sure, the headphone jack remains to be there too; HP is not giving up on it like Dell has with the brand new XPS 13 Plus. While the x360 will be charged over USB-C, it ships with an AC adapter that plugs in over a barrel connection.

As a lot as I like our overview mannequin’s OLED display, the higher x360 16 deal is the LED-equipped $1,700 mannequin with the identical CPU, RAM and RTX 3050 GPU. It has a smaller 512GB SSD, however you may all the time improve that down the road. If you are much less involved about gaming efficiency, the entry-level $1,500 mannequin drops the RTX 3050 for Intel’s Xe graphics.

As the one big-screen convertible recreation on the town, HP may have simply phoned it in with the Spectre x360 16. Instead, it’s given us a strong premium pocket book that may do some gaming amid a flurry of Zoom calls, and look good whereas doing it.