Putting a premium on premium, HP has overhauled its flagship Envy and Spectre devices just in time for the US holiday season.
The HP Spectre x360 was already an aesthetically pleasing convertible PC -- i.e., it can be used as a tablet or a notebook -- but now it's even thinner and lighter for stylish on-the-go productivity.
The old model weighed 1.45kg. The new one is 11 percent lighter and the 13.3-inch display is now more or less border free. Yet, thanks to new Intel processors and a new battery pack, it should deliver 15 hours' use between charges. HP claims that you will be able to recharge it again to 90 percent within 90 minutes. The final premium touch is four integrated Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers.
After ages in the doldrums, PC sales are beginning to pick up, particularly in the US, a region where HP is the most popular computer brand (29.9 percent market share), according to the latest IDC data. "Industry efforts to update products to leverage new processors and operating systems, to deliver a better computing experience encompassing more mobile, secure, and faster systems, and to accelerate PC replacements have been critical," said Loren Loverde, IDC vice president, Worldwide PC Trackers & Forecasting.
And much of the updating HP is doing with its premium range is around boosting performance and speed. For those that don't need a convertible, the new HP Envy laptop now offers 14 hours' battery life and the same fast charging tech found in the Spectre. Its 13.3-inch display for US $200 less (US$849.99 verses US $1,049.99) can also be specified as full HD, Quad HD or full UHD and like the Spectre, the screen runs edge-to-edge.
As for performance, there are latest gen core 5 and Core 7 Intel processors available, space for 16GB of RAM and for a 1TB solid state hard drive. It gets two rather than four speakers but they are also of the Bang & Olufsen-tuned variety.
The final PC to get a makeover is the HP Envy AIO 27. It will cost from US $1,299.99 but will boast a thinner 27-inch QHD display designed to reflect how consumers really use computers at home. It has a low blue light mode so that after an evening's binge watching, owners' eyes shouldn't be so sore that they can't sleep. And for the same reason the PC's base includes a four-speaker Bang & Olufsen-tuned soundbar.
"We are strengthening our leadership in premium with our redesigned PC portfolio to deliver big power in thin and light designs to be even more portable and revolutionize our all-in-one to bring amazing sound into the home," said Kevin Frost, VP and general manager, consumer personal systems, HP Inc.
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