There weren't many downsides to last year's HP Spectre 13. HP made a competent and uniquely stylish notebook that provided a lot of power, connectivity, and battery life in a thin-and-light shell. But HP had bigger plans for the Spectre line, and, after a bit more self-editing, the company has developed the 2017 Spectre 13 notebook.

On the surface, this seems like a relatively minor spec update with 8th-generation Intel Kaby Lake processors inside, in place of the 7th-generation CPUs in the previous model. However, the new Spectre 13 offers more than just a spec jump: HP figured out how to shrink the device's footprint while adding more power and features, without removing anything crucial from the original's blueprint.

Design

The new Spectre 13 isn't radically different from the original that came out last year, but it looks and feels like a very different laptop. The framework is nearly the same as the original, though: a 13.3-inch display held up by C-shaped metallic hinges that are attached to a CNC aluminum and carbon fiber chassis. HP refined the design to be more angular than the original device and with a smaller footprint. The corners on the new Spectre 13 are noticeably sharper, yet still rounded, and the chassis' edges have an elegant slant.

Ars had the ceramic white and gold model to review, and it's a bright, upscale change of pace for HP. The new Spectre 13 comes in the company's traditional dark ash and copper colorway, but the ceramic white truly makes a statement. HP used an "advanced electro deposition" coating to fuse metal and paint to create a matte white finish on the chassis and lid. It's smooth to the touch, doesn't capture fingerprints much, and is somewhat reminiscent of the new Google Pixelbook's aesthetic. However, where Google went subdued, HP went stylish—the soft gold accents make the entire laptop look chic without being garish.

Specs at a glance: HP Spectre 13 2017 (as reviewed) Screen 13.3-inch FHD IPS LED touchscreen OS Windows 10, 64 bit CPU Intel Core i7-8850U (1.8GHz) RAM 8GB HDD 256GB SSD GPU Intel UHD Graphics 620 Networking 802.11b/g/n/ac (2x2) Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 combo Ports 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports, 1 USB Type C 3.1 port, audio combo jack Size 12.79 x 9.01 x 0.4 inches Weight 2.45 pounds Battery 4-cell 43Whr Warranty 1 year Starting price $1,299 Price as reviewed $1,399 Other perks IR front-facing camera

The Spectre 13 is nearly identical in dimensions to its predecessor, measuring 12.79 x 9.01 x 0.4 inches, but HP did shave a tiny bit off its length and width. That's commendable considering the updated model has quad-core, 8th-generation Intel CPUs, compared to the dual-core 7th-generation processors in the previous Spectre 13. The laptop's weight has increased ever so slightly to 2.45 pounds from 2.43 pounds, which HP made a point to mention is about the equivalent weight of a No.2 pencil. The new Spectre 13 is still a super-thin, super-light laptop that, even when refined, doesn't take up much space on your lap or on your desk.

Touchscreen—yay or nay?

HP also managed to slim down the Spectre 13 even after adding a touchscreen panel, an option that wasn't offered in the original. You couldn't get a touchscreen on any configuration of the previous ultrabook, but HP has made it standard with the new Spectre 13. HP representatives expressed their happiness about that because the company wanted to add a touchscreen option to the original Spectre 13 but couldn't do so. At the time, the company focused on making a thin-and-light ultrabook that didn't compromise power, and apparently a touchscreen wasn't a feature with which it wanted to (potentially) compromise the design.

But laptops have evolved before and since then and so have laptop manufacturers like HP. According to the company's research, 83 percent of premium-notebook customers choose touchscreen devices, and HP wanted the Spectre 13 to be an option for that group. My feelings about touchscreen laptops have evolved over the past few years as well. I prefer to use touchscreens on two-in-one devices like HP's Spectre x360 or the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga. It feels more natural to flip the device into tent or tablet mode before tapping away at the screen, rather than doing so on a screen that's tilted at about 120 degrees. After testing many convertibles, I periodically find myself reflexively tapping at my MacBook Air's display expecting something to happen.

While using the Spectre 13, I didn't use the touchscreen often, but I did use it. Touch provided a quicker way to switch between Edge tabs without me needing to swipe my cursor up to the top of the browser and selecting e-mails to delete en masse. Touch on the new Spectre still feels a bit unnatural since the display bounces back slightly when I tap the screen (I like to call this the "tap wobble"). However, the touch response on the 13's screen is great; I never had to tap more than once on an icon or tab to complete the action I wanted. As someone who still uses a non-touchscreen laptop as her primary device, a touchscreen isn't something I desperately want my laptop to have. But it is a feature I'd use if it were available to me at no extra cost.

Another change to the screen will be seen as a welcome option for some: the touchscreen comes in FHD and 4K configurations, with the 4K display adding $150 to the price of the notebook. The original Spectre 13 did not have a 4K display option; while it doesn't come standard like touch functionality does, a specific subset of users will want to shell out the extra cash for the 4K option.

Internals and ports

HP shrank the bezels surrounding the touchscreen, too: the top bezel, which holds the IR webcam, measures 9.7mm (down from 16.04mm), and the two side bezels measure 5.3mm (down from 15.03). The bottom bezel remains much larger than the rest, but this is the case on many currently available ultrabooks. Thankfully, HP didn't move the webcam to the larger bottom bezel like Dell insists on doing on some of its XPS PCs. Keeping the webcam at the top of the display avoids that up-the-nose angle that the Dell XPS 13 gives you when you're video chatting.

Aside from the quad-core CPU bump, HP redesigned the internals in the Spectre 13 to fit a 66-percent larger speaker tuned by Bang & Olufsen. The speaker grilles no longer hug the keyboard on either side but sit at the top of the keyboard just below the hinge. That's the most significant change to the look of the keyboard and trackpad area, and it looks similar to the orientation of the Huawei Matebook X's keyboard area. Compared to the original Spectre 13, this new construction gives the entire laptop a more compact and efficient-looking design.

Also on the inside of the new Spectre 13 is a new IR thermal sensor that HP claims will help prevent the device from getting hot. The new sensor predicts when the device will get warm so it can run the fans less often and more quietly before any overheating happens. The top-center portion of the chassis' underside definitely felt warm to the touch after a few hours of use, but I wouldn't call it uncomfortably hot. The temperature change was almost undetectable when I was using the Spectre 13 perched on my lap—I had to feel it with my bare hands to know it was warm at all.

The port positioning hasn't changed from the previous model: the back edge of the Spectre 13 holds two Thunderbolt 3 ports, one USB Type-C 3.1 port, and a singular audio combo jack. The slanted edges around the chassis make it impossible to stick any ports on the laptop's sides, so the thicker back bar is the only place for them. HP also includes a bunch of USB Type-C adaptors in the box, so the transition to the dongle life will be a bit easier and less expensive with the new Spectre 13 than with other laptops.

The power button sits at the top-left corner above the keys and below the speaker grille, and it's a super-slim, rectangular button that fits in well with the rest of the sharp, golden accents. The only thing missing is a fingerprint sensor, which is a bummer for anyone who has gotten used to all forms of Windows Hello biometric security. I wish HP had made the power button large enough to incorporate a fingerprint sensor into it—like Huawei did with the Matebook X—by hiding the tech in a necessary hardware feature. The Spectre 13 does have the IR webcam necessary for facial recognition unlock, so you do have one out of the two secure unlock options available.

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Valentina Palladino

Keyboard and trackpad

Thanks to the new speaker grille placement, the Spectre 13 now has an edge-to-edge keyboard that feels more spacious than its predecessor. With 1.3mm of key travel, it's quite comfortable to type on, and the keys don't feel flimsy at all. The speaker redesign really makes a difference, not only in shrinking the overall size of the device, but maximizing key size. Individual keys appear a tad larger than on the old model, and HP added a new row at the far-right side, including Delete, Home, Page Up, Page Down, and End keys. These keys don't make or break a keyboard for me, but they do come in handy for quickly scrolling through webpages or jumping to the top or bottom of a tab.

I also appreciate the dedicated keyboard backlight button, which sits just above the 5 key. Rather than adjusting to changing light conditions, the keyboard is only backlit when you want it to be. The previous Spectre 13 model also had this, and I appreciate HP continuing to give the user all the control over the keyboard backlight, especially since having it on at unwanted times can affect battery life.

Compared to the tiny trackpad on the original Spectre 13, the new trackpad is 15 percent larger. It's more narrow than it is wide, but it's still an improvement over the old trackpad. I felt like I had more space to scroll, swipe, and complete gestures, and it leaves just enough space for the two surrounding palm rests to be comfortable but not feel like wasted space. However, it is a Synaptics trackpad rather than a Microsoft Precision trackpad, so those who live and die by Microsoft gestures may feel stifled.

Listing image by Valentina Palladino