HP refreshes 13-inch Spectre x360 with 7th-gen Intel chips and smaller bezel, starts at $1,050

HP today is announcing the launch of a 2016 version of its 13.3-inch Spectre x360 touch-friendly convertible laptop. The new version is thinner and lighter than last year’s model, carries a smaller bezel, and offers longer battery life. It starts at $1,050, which is $150 more than the base price of the 2015 version.

The new machine, which is available now through HP and Best Buy’s websites, ships with a 7th-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 chip, an Intel HD Graphics 620 integrated graphics processing unit (GPU), two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of solid-state storage, and up to 15 hours of battery life (25 percent more than the original version). You can get 90 percent of a full charge in 90 minutes, Mike Nash, vice president of customer experience and portfolio strategy at HP, said in a briefing with reporters last week. And now there’s support for Windows Hello authentication through face recognition.

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The device is, all around, “much smaller” than its predecessor, Nash said. There’s less room to the left or right of the keyboard, while the keyboard itself retains its full size. There are now four speakers, instead of two. And at 2.85 pounds, it weighs 0.32 pounds less. One thing HP cut is the travel on the keyboard. The keys go down 1.3mm, instead of 1.5mm.

But taken together, especially given the high quality of the 2015 15.6-inch Spectre x360, this new laptop sounds like one of the most promising Windows laptops to come out this year. Meanwhile, Microsoft is expected to release new hardware at an event in New York later this month, and Apple is thought to be planning a launch of new Macs this month, too.

Nash wouldn’t talk about whether HP would come up with a refreshed version of the 15.6-inch model.

Also today, HP is introducing a 13.3-inch Envy laptop, a 27-inch Envy all-in-one PC, and a 27-inch 4K Envy display.