Amazon.com: Customer reviews: HP Spectre x360 13-4003dx L0Q51UA 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 256GB Solid State Drive 8GB Memory 13.3-inch Touch Screen Laptop Windows 8.1

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2016

I bought this laptop for both work and personal use. I was quite happy to see that the i7 in this laptop lives up to the i7 name. It's fast. Quickbooks, a program notorious for being slow and clunky (At least in our office) runs smoothly. the touch screen works fantastically and the display is great. As far as the I/O goes, it's got 3 USB 3.0 ports, an SD Card Reader, HDMI out, Mini DisplayPort out and a 3.5mm combo audio port.
While I still prefer my mechanical keyboard on my desktop, the keyboard on this laptop is spectacular (For a laptop keyboard, anyways). It doesn't feel flimsy or weak when I type on it.

The only thing I'm missing, is that this laptop doesn't have a CD/DVD drive. But I knew that going in. I have an external slim DVD drive for the occasion that I need it.
My only real complaints about this laptop is that the screen is too flexible and the battery could have a longer life. I find that when I touch the screen it constantly wobbles back and forth. This isn't an issue in tablet mode, but when using it as a standard laptop it does get a bit frustrating. This could probably be solved with lighter taps though.
With the battery life, while if only doing light duty things, such as web browsing or viewing a PDF/Word document is pretty good (I can go approximately 2 work days without having to charge it) if I do anything more heavy duty(for battery life) such as watching videos the battery life drops rapidly. This is also heavily impacted by the brightness of the screen, which in a well lit office has to be turned up somewhat to make the experience enjoyable.

Typically I take this laptop on-site with me and use it as my workstation while I'm in the office. When I'm at home, I use it for basic web browsing/reading and to watch movies, either hooked up to my TV or laying in bed. In all of these use cases this laptop performs excellently.

Helpful

Aragost

Long time mac user switched to Spectre

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

What can I say about this thing other than, "wow!". Great job HP on making a very classy, very MacBook'ish, PC! This thing is very very well made and doesn't feel cheap in any way. I have been using Mac computers for many many years and stopped using PCs back in the Win98 days. When I upgraded, if that's what you want to call it, to Windows ME, I then purchased a MAC and never looked back. I'm a big fan of the way Apple makes it's laptops and iMacs and have owned both for years, upgrading when needed etc. Well, it was that time again to upgrade for me, and while shopping around I wanted a hybrid laptop / tablet that I could use a stylus with. Apple doesn't make a device like this, sadly, and I wasn't willing to compromise and get 2 devices, a Macbook pro and a newer iPad. For me, being able to use a stylus (the Dell stylus in this case) was something I had to have so I could use true Photoshop and illustrator. Something an iPad can't do because of iOS. So I looked at lots of reviews and came across this HP and decided to give it a shot. To me, this is very much not a typical HP device at all, and feels like something that Apple would make. The keyboard is perfect with the exception of the backlit keys, which can actually make the letters/numbers harder to see in certain lighting situations. The trackpad is wonderful and very apple like, even the "widescreen" size of it doesn't bother me at all as it has some others. The screen is just beautiful with easy to read text and bright colors. Tons of ports for USB etc. And lots of horsepower under the hood. My only real complaint with this laptop is the speakers. While they are nice and sometimes sound pretty decent, mine crackle from time to time which annoys the heck out of me.

My hardest decision for switching to this laptop from a Macbook Pro was Windows. This really has nothing to do with the laptop itself, but I just want to point out to others who might want to switch from Mac to this HP that Windows 10 is pretty darn nice, and as close to OSX as I think Windows has ever been. There are still things I hate about Windows (why are there so many different settings panels for the same things?), and features from OSX that I very much miss (can't hit spacebar to quick view files, can't see PSD or AI icons without an Add on, wacom driver issues, hitting the plus sign to snap a file to it's zoomed size in Photoshop isn't something Windows can do, little things like those) but I have been adjusting. There are a few things Win10 does that I like a lot, for example, when I turn this laptops screen over to use as a tablet, Win10 asks me if I would like to use "tablet mode" and it makes everything much more tablet friendly. I love the new interface and Cortana is fantastic. For the life of me i can't figure out why Siri isn't part of OSX. Or why Apple doesnt man up and make a laptop like this one. Oh well, their loss, I have moved on to this and I love it!

HP, if you are reading this... keep making products like this. Well made, high end devices, and not the maker of plastic cheap stuff! Also, I love the way you guys used the name "Hewlett-Packard" on the laptop, very classy looking!!!

41 people found this helpful

Helpful

JNCB

Warning: HP is shipping many units with defective batteries

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2015

Verified Purchase

Warning: many batches of the HP Spectre x360 are being shipped with defective batteries. This is a known problem at HP. If you search their forums, you'll find hordes of people who are getting <6 hours of battery life out of the box, even with very conservative power management and usage. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people.

Personally, I max out at 4-5 hours even with minimum brightness and light web usage. Some users in HP's online forums report as low as 2-3 hours with bare bones usage. I contacted HP's warranty service and was escalated to case management. Here are the excuses they provided me, as well as other customers:

1) "4-5 hours is normal for this computer; the 12.5 hour estimate is for idle/standby time (i.e. lid shut with screen off)."
False. Many users can and do report getting close to 12.5 hours with very conservative usage. CNET's video playback drain test ran 12 hours (near minimum brightness). PCMag's battery drain test ran 8 hr 45 min on 50% brightness. It seems that some units are defective (like mine), while others are not.

2) "Your battery only has 3 cells; the users getting 12.5 hours have more battery cells than you do."
This is an outright lie. Every single HP Spectre x360 model for sale on HP's site has exactly 3 battery cells.

3) "You must be using your computer differently than other users."
Yes, actually. I have dimmed my screen to the minimum, disabled startup programs and bloatware programs, and minimized the number of apps running simultaneously. I have factory reset the laptop and ensured the BIOS is updated. And still, I get half the battery life others get with moderate usage.

My advice: buy at your own risk. I deeply regret my purchase and am now outside the return period because I initially believed it was my fault as HP claimed. If you feel like taking a gamble on battery life, the HP Spectre x360 is otherwise an excellent machine for the reasons mentioned by the other reviewers. It has a beautiful design, responsive touch screen, firm aluminum construction, pleasant keyboard, and a sturdy convertible hinge.

But none of those features do you much good when the battery is dead.

122 people found this helpful

Helpful

L.L.

Great at first but then.... not so much

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2016

Verified Purchase

This laptop worked great for the first few months, but since then I have had problem after problem with it. First, the power plug stopped working so the computer wouldn't take a charge anymore. I had to send it in for repairs (thankfully I was still under warranty and it was at no cost to me) and they replaced the motherboard. Unfortunately, when I got it back it had TWO more problems! Now the audio jack was broken and I kept getting the "blue screen of death". The computer would randomly shut down (with the blue error screen) at least once everyday. Also, Google Chrome would continually stop working (freeze up and close down without warning). I had to send it back a second time (it was still under warranty so I didn't have to pay). I've now gotten it back and although the audio jack is fixed I am still getting the blue error screen at least once everyday.

I am thankful that HP tried to fix my laptop without charging me, but this is ridiculous. It is just one problem after another it seems. Because I have had so much trouble with this laptop I don't think I will be buying from HP again. In the beginning this computer was great. It was the perfect size, weight, and had all the features that I wanted, but it just has too many functioning problems and from what I have read on the internet others have had similar issues with this and other hp laptops.

Helpful

Daniel J Foley

90% the way to perfect, but it's drawbacks can be super frustrating.

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

So far, works like I expected. Battery life is great for someone who wants to bring it to work for a solid 8 hours without having to charge it. It's lightweight and thin enough to travel well. The only downside is the track pad and backlit keyboard.
Pros:
1. Works well as a mobile computer. I use it for processing intensive things Photoshop, Illustrator, Tableau, and Excel. Hasn't failed me yet.
2. Battery life. You get what you pay for. Lasts a good long time, especially if you pay attention to shutting things like the backlit keyboard off, and lowering the brightness of the screen.
3. Form. Feels like solid metal, but lightweight. Thin and strong at the same time.

Cons:
1. No physical buttons. You can adjust the size of the right click button in the software, but it's still not very useful if I can't feel where the separation is.
2. Buggy clicking. The right click just doesn't register sometimes. Three or four clicks are necessary. I ended up getting a separate mouse in the end.
3. The backlit keyboard: You can have it on, which drains battery life, and is too bright if you want to watch a movie in the dark. You can turn it off, but the "Turn on backlit keyboard" button lights up and is still distracting in the dark. There are BIOS workarounds for it, but unless you are an advanced user, don't mess with your BIOS.

If you purchase this, I would recommend using an external mouse and keyboard if you are doing power user stuff.

Helpful

YMC

Yoga vs Spectre

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2016

Verified Purchase

Man oh man do I like this computer. For starters, I just want to say that I had the HP Envy Spectre 14 (non touch screen) for four years. This is with heavy every day use. I eventually wanted a new laptop because the battery crapped out, and I can't go past 30 minutes without needing to charge it. So that got frustrating. Also, I wanted to take draw notes for chemistry; so I wanted a touch screen.

I originally go the Lenovo Yoga (without doing any computer-hunting homework and solely based on a friend's recommendation)... and boy did I regret that. PROS about the yoga was that it was light, and the orange color is a head turner. HOWEVER, the CONS were simply overwhelming. It was exceptionally slow; I felt like my touch screen was a bit laggy, and the touch pad was a hot mess. The touchpad was flat out unresponsive at times, and it made scrolling through pages really difficult. I got so frustrated by the end of the week that I had to return it.

Then I did some research and ended up buying this computer. I wanted a core i7, touchscreen, not too big (but not too small), and it had to be light! The HP Spectre stands and delivers. The touchscreen is phenomenal (no lagging), and the touchpad is responsive! I have been a fan of HP's touchpad since the Envy 14. Not only that, I can write notes with a Dell Active Stylus easily without having to spend extra money on a HP stylus.

Battery life for me runs around 10 hours with note taking/webs surfing use. Of course, I have my screen dimmed and battery saver mode on.
I bought the model that came with Windows 8 and installed Windows 10 myself because I personally couldn't justify spending extra money for someone else to set it up for me.

Even though this product is refurbished, I cannot tell. There were no scratches; it was in pristine conditions. No software or hardware issue that I can tell of. Overall, I'm really happy with my purchase and at how much cheaper the price is compared to a brand-new one. The only thing I'm bummed about is that the touchpad is really big. Synaptics does a fine job of ignoring all the palm brushes. But it really just feels like overkill to me. Especially for someone who's hands are dirty or sweat, I can imagine dirt and grime getting into the crevice edge of the touchpad. I also wished there was a refurbished version of the black and copper spectre. That thing is a beauty.

The other thing I have qualms with isn't with the computer itself but Windows 10. I have issues with OneNote being unresponsive at times. And I live my life by OneNote. If it fails, I fail. It's only with certain things though (like running certain macros). If you're just taking notes, then it'll run just fine.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Oldpylot

The perfect crossover computer.

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2015

Verified Purchase

This is a great computer for me. I'd describe it as a "crossover", because it is a bit of a tablet and a bit of a laptop rolled into one. It is the perfect compromise for me. I looked at the other products, such as the Surface tablet and the Surface Book. This one met my needs at a price point I could justify. I use it in both the tablet form and the laptop mode quite frequently and find it works great for me both ways. As a tablet, I fold the keyboard underneath to use it as a stand. In that mode, the weight is not noticeable. I don't hold it like a conventional tablet. It is a bit too heavy for that. I did quite a bit of research before buying this computer. One of the complaints I read was about was that the track pad was a bit imprecise. I'd have to agree with that comment, which is why I have rated this computer 4 stars instead of 5. For precise work, like graphic design, I'd suggest using a wireless mouse. I've done that, and it solved all my problems. The computer came with Windows 8. The first thing I did was download the free Windows 10 update. It installed easily and has worked flawlessly. I am really pleased with my purchase and with the price I paid for the computer At $799 (refurbished), it blows the competition away. It is perfect for my needs.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Wayne S.

Price-to-Quality, this thing can't be beat. Fast. Cheap. Beautiful.

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2015

Verified Purchase

Was a little skeptical about purchasing a refurbished product, but it showed up on time in brand new condition.

Love this laptop.

Pros:
Fast, beautiful, light, quality feel. The battery life is as good as they say. Keyboard is great too. Much better than the Yoga's.

Picture quality is glorious and the flexibility of the screen is very handy. Tablet mode is a nice bonus that works well for reading or playing solitaire.

Cons:
No true complaints here.

If you're planning on using this as a legit tablet, you might want to look elsewhere. It's a little unwieldy in one hand, and though it's light for a laptop, it's heavy for a tablet. Also, the Windows home button is on the side rather than on screen like it is on most tablets. It's not really necessary since the actual start button is back, but still, it's kind of odd placement.

Also, the wide mouse pad seems unnecessary. It's easy to miss clicks at first, but you start to get used to it. You'll want to play around with the Synaptic settings a bit to suit your style (and also if you want to game with the keyboard and mouse pad. By default, you can't press keys and move the mouse at the same time).

Speaking of gaming...
With the integrated graphics, you won't be running any modern games, but if you have some early-mid 2000s games in your Steam library, those will run great. Had Doom 3 running smoothly with higher settings.

Conclusion:

I looked at a lot of hybrids before deciding on this one. Frankly, even at the full price, the cost-to-quality can't be beat on this thing. For $899, it's a friggin steal. Also, this is my 3rd HP laptop, and though I liked the previous 2 a lot, the aluminum casing of this thing puts it in a whole different league.

81 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dat

the laptop look like brand new

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

Before bought this laptop, I know it gonna be overheat because of its design, and I also read about a lot of review able this laptop. I heard a lot of customer complained about the wifi issue, screen flickering after windows update, and also virus (lol); but all these are just about the software issue, not the laptop. Since I am a a programmer, and computer technician, I don't really afraid to buy refurbished laptop and these wrong negative review from customers. When I opened the box, the laptop look like brand new, without a single scratch. I immediately run crystaldisk info to see how long the M.2 SSD has been powered on. It turned out that the SSD only powered on for 21 hours. I know the reading is not too accurate, but it will give me a close idea how long the laptop has been used before refurbished. After that, I run some test with valleybenmark on 1080p. The fps goes from 21 fps to ~ stable 13 fps after 1 minute because of overheating. Laptop is very hot (83 degree, fan 47%) and the fan is loud, but the bottom case only has 39-43 degree, which I don't really think it can burn your lap just yet. But the laptop is running cool and very quiet with normal application like words, google chrome, pdf reader, and some IDE, etc. Since I know that I only use this laptop for school and work and use my custom PC for gaming/heavy programs, this laptop is perfect for me. This laptop can run league of legends well if you wondered, but not for intense graphic game like Black Desert online etc.
About the battery that other people complained: Mine battery last about 4-5 hours watching HD videos with max volume on speaker, and 70% brightness. When using IDE, pdf reader for school with 50% brightness, it last about 7-10 hours. I didn't test it with windows 8.1 since I clean installed (not upgrade) windows 10 and updated all the drivers, bios, and disabled bluetooth right after I bought the laptop.
The laptop can physically see it; it is way better than from videos and picture you see online. Though this aluminum case can be scratched easily if handle not careful.
Other note: I bought the Dell 750-AAGN pen for the laptop instead of HP version, and it worked very well. I also purchased "Etekcity Reversable Neoprene Notebook Laptop Notebook Case Sleeve Cover Bag 15.4" 15.6"" to protect the laptop in my backpack.
-------
In short: laptop is light, easy to carry around. Not good for gaming, but very good for school work. Battery is not the best, but i'm satisfied with it.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK!

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

GOOD: I bought this laptop after a lot of research on what is the most cost effective laptop to buy, I wanted to get the most bang for the buck. And this is by far the best thing you can find out there, it is fully loaded with everything u need in a laptop. It is light, rigid, well built, and will be perfect for desktop use or on the run. The charge will hold for about 4 to 5 hours ( i tried two different laptop from this seller, and contacted hp they said thats the average, so you wont get the 9-12 thats advertised) It is a lot quieter than most other laptops but not completely silent, in a quite room you will hear the fan go (never to the level that bothered me). Never had a problem with the touch and fully it functions in all the positions that are advertised. speakers are pretty loud, although some videos on full volume werent very clear and some "ticking" noise was coming from the speakers (also never bothered me).

BAD: the one thing that did bother me, and i wish it was designed better is the touch pad. it touches, and responds excellent. but because it is as wide as it is, the right click on in is kinda placed more to the right. and i OFTEN missed it, and had to press 2 or 3 times until i get the right click. after sometime of use i kinda got used to it, but still wish it was designed better. not the biggest fan of it.

NEUTRAL: i am currently waiting for my third laptop to get here. the first one had a " white burn mark" if thats what you wanna call it on the screen that can only be seen on a black back ground. that didnt bother me much either becuase it is literally only visible on a pitch black back back-ground and it didnt effect the touch in any way. i returned the first one because the remaining time on the battery wasnt showing after i updated to windows 10. but then found out this is not an HP problem, its a WINDOWS problem.

second one i received had a bad TAB button. The button just didnt work.

Third one is on the way and i hope ill keep this one for good.

Helpful

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star

HP Spectre x360 13-4003dx L0Q51UA 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 256GB Solid...

›

Customer reviews

Customer reviews

HP Spectre x360 13-4003dx L0Q51UA 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 256GB Solid State Drive 8GB Memory 13.3-inch Touch Screen Laptop Windows 8.1 - Natural Silver/Black (Renewed)

Top positive review

Top critical review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

HP Spectre x360 13-4003dx L0Q51UA 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 256GB Solid... › Customer reviews

Customer reviews

HP Spectre x360 13-4003dx L0Q51UA 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 256GB Solid State Drive 8GB Memory 13.3-inch Touch Screen Laptop Windows 8.1 - Natural Silver/Black (Renewed)

Top positive review

Top critical review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

HP Spectre x360 13-4003dx L0Q51UA 2-in-1 Intel Core i7 256GB Solid...

›

Customer reviews