HP introduced its third generation Spectre x360 15 at CES 2018 in two very distinct SKUs: One with Kaby Lake-R and Nvidia GeForce graphics and the other with the uncommon Kaby lake-G and Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics. Based on our experiences with both types of configurations, the performance delta between them is very wide especially for a convertible notebook where SKU options are usually narrow. Our preview of the 2018 Spectre x360 15 at CES includes more photos and comparisons with the 2017 model.

Our test unit today is the Kaby Lake-R configuration with the Kaby Lake-G system to come at a later date. This configuration comes with the same Core i7-8550U CPU and GeForce MX150 GPU as last year's model, but temperatures and fan noise are actually quite different since this latest revision has undergone some changes both internal and external. Aside from the usual storage (up to 2 TB NVMe SSD) and RAM (up to 16 GB DDR4-2400) options, the 4K UHD touchscreen and CPU/GPU combinations are fixed.

Direct competitors in the 15.6-inch convertible space include the Dell XPS 15 9575, Asus Zenbook Flip 15, and Acer Nitro 5 Spin. Nonetheless, comparisons will also inevitably be made between the Spectre and traditional flagship 15-inch laptops like the XPS 15, MacBook Pro 15, Lenovo ThinkPad T580, and Gigabyte Aero 15X.

We refer to our existing reviews on previous generation Spectre x360 15 SKUs for more information on the series.