HP ENVY x360 13 vs HP Spectre x360 13: Which is Better?

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Do you want to know which one is worth spending on between the HP ENVY and Spectre? Read this HP ENVY x360 13 vs HP Spectre x360 13 comparison to find out.

At First Glance Comparison

The concept of hierarchy used across various systems also extends to the laptop industry. In fact, it is a tradition for every company to offer products that range from a cheap line-up to more pricey ones known as flagship devices.

This has largely contributed to the common notion that the more money you spend, the better the product you get. While this notion may be undebatably true, this HP ENVY x360 13 vs HP Spectre x360 13 comparison gives enough reasons to question the authenticity of the rule.

On very few occasions will you see the lower-priced sibling put up a good challenge for its flagship sibling. In this case, you could say that the HP ENVY x360 13 is one of those lower-end siblings with enough juice to stand beside its expensive flagship sibling.

If you happened to take a look at both laptops’ specs sheets before even seeing how they look, you will be forced to ask yourself what makes the Spectre 13 superior.

Reasons for this are the similar key configuration options they share across some aspects. Asides from that, it is easy to identify why the HP Spectre x360 13 is the flagship device. 

Though the HP ENVY x360 13 is gorgeous enough to pose as a premium laptop, the HP Spectre x360 13 has a better-looking design. You can just feel the elegance exuding from the laptop when you have it in your front.

However, looks is not all there is to it, is it? The HP Spectre x360 13 may be quick to pass the eye test, but I can bet the performance tests won’t be a clean sweep.

Hence, I’m very intrigued to find out just how the HP Spectre x360 13 makes up for its price point. Without further delay, let’s get right into the business of the day.

Design, Dimension, and Weight Comparison

HP has constantly endeavored to tap into the overlooked section of laptops users who crave premium features at affordable prices. The HP ENVY x360 13 is a testament to HP’s will to cater to this category of users.

Instead of cutting down production costs by swapping out some key luxury components for inferior ones, HP did otherwise. HP trickled down the key features of its flagship Spectre line to its ENVY models.

As a result, the HP ENVY x360 13 shares a lot of similarities with its more expensive Spectre x360 13 sibling. It is almost as though both the HP ENVY x360 and the HP Spectre x360 13 share the same design DNA.

Also, this design places the HP ENVY x360 in a higher category. The laptop feels like one that belongs to a much higher category than it actually is.

At its price point, you will barely come across a more stylish and premium-looking laptop than the HP ENVY x360. I was so impressed by its build to the extent that I pushed the idea of having it added to our mainstream category of laptops on www.itechguides.com!

Yes!, that’s just how impressive this laptop’s build is.

Part of the secrets to the HP ENVY x360’s impressive design is the high-end touches it features. The smartly inscribed Envy logo on one hinge and the modern metallic HP emblem on the lid are some of its tasteful design touches.

Another feature that helps the HP ENVY x360 achieve its premium status is its all-aluminum chassis that feels sturdy and durable. Its chassis is finished with Nightfall Black shade.

The HP ENVY x360 is also available in a bright white tone if you are not a fan of black. If the HP Spectre x360 13 wasn’t being considered, the HP ENVY x360 could have easily stolen the show.

Regardless, the HP ENVY x360 is one laptop that will certainly turn heads. In its own right, it is a gorgeous laptop.

Though the HP ENVY x360 doesn’t feel or look more superior to the HP Spectre x360 13, it is elegant enough. Besides, you will barely be able to list up to five laptops that are as elegant as the HP Spectre x360 13 – so it is no surprise that HP ENVY x360 13 cannot compete as well!

Being as elegant as the HP Spectre x360 13 would mean HP ENVY x360 13 will have to offer better features than the Spectre’s chamfered edges, faceted corners, and edge-to-edge display.

HP Spectre x360 13 looks like an aluminum slab that has just been subjected to a gem cutter’s creative exploits. Furthermore, the details of this laptop’s design do not only suggest creativity, but it also suggests excellent craftsmanship that was practiced through fine construction techniques.

Unlike the HP ENVY x360 13 that has rounded corners, the HP Spectre x360 13 has a gem-cut construction and accurately chiseled angles. It is possible for the Spectre x360 to obtain this form because it was cut from CNC machined aluminum with defined edges.

The Spectre x360’s corners are cut like a diamond which makes it look damn good. These design elements ensure that the Spectre x360 will almost certainly be the center of attraction if it ever finds itself in a room full of premium laptops.

In addition, it maintains its luxurious and attention-grabbing looks irrespective of the color variant. Just like the HP ENVY x360 13, the Spectre x360 also comes in a Nightfall Black color that looks ravishing.

Contrary to the other color option HP offers for the HP ENVY x360, you can also buy the Spectrex360 in two other color options. You can choose between the Poseidon Blue and Natural Silver color options.

Even though it looks like a delicately forged jewel, the HP Spectre x360 has an exceptionally sturdy build. It boasts of the kind of rigidity common to Apple laptops. 

Likewise, the HP ENVY x360 also feels very solid. I could hardly notice any flex on both laptops’ chassis. 

Also, both laptops’ hinges offer just the right blend of swiftness and sturdiness to keep their screens steady while also offering one of their biggest features – flexibility. After all, they were designed to be flexible enough to transform into different modes.

This means that both the HP ENVY x360 and Spectre x360 have the flexibility to be used in tablet modes. As a result, their sturdy, flexible hinge will allow you to also use the Spectre x360 and Envy x360 in the studio, tent, and tablet mode with little effort.

The rigidity of both laptops also extended to their keyboard decks. Both laptops’ keyboard decks barely gave in when I applied slight pressure on them.

Asides from that, it looks as though HP made use of the same keyboard and touchpad on both the HP ENVY x360 and Spectre x360. They both feature chiclet-styled keyboards.

Their keys are big enough and they are sufficiently spaced to avoid clicking any two keys by mistake. Besides, the keys stretch through the entire space on the deck, which makes them well-sized for people with large fingers to type with ease.

Both laptops’ keys respond with a bouncy and slightly soft action, so they feel comfortable under the fingers. If you’ll pardon my nerdiness, I’m inclined to state how much I like the typeface and clean font style on the keyboards.

Another feature I love about both laptops’ keyboards is their two-level backlighting feature. This feature will allow you to easily pull an all-nighter whenever you want to. 

With all of these, it impossible to not love the keyboards on the HP ENVY x360 and HP Spectre x360. However, they both aren’t entirely perfect. 

For instance, I had issues with the wrist-rest on both laptops because of how short they were. At times, my hands hung off when I typed.

Asides from that, both laptops offer a better typing experience than you would expect on a laptop as thin and light as they are. On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I typed at 82 words per minute with the HP ENVY x360.

Meanwhile, I achieved 85 words per minute when I took the test on the HP Spectre x360. The results I got with the two laptops far exceed my 68-70 words per minute average.

One could say I got faster at typing, but it also goes to show just how excellent these laptops’ keyboards are.

As for the touchpad, they are both assisted by windows precision drivers. Hence, executing Windows 10 gestures on both laptops wasn’t an issue at all. 

Though both laptops’ touchpads were responsive and sensitive enough, the HP Spectre x360’s glass touchpad has an edge over the HP ENVY’s textured mylar plastic.

Even though both laptops’ touchpads are short, the Envy x360’s touchpad is slightly larger at 4.4×2.5-inches compared to the Spectre x360’s 4.4×2.2-inches. 

In terms of dimensions, both laptops have incredible form factors. While the HP ENVY x360 measures 306.7 x 214.6 x 14.9 mm, the HP Spectre x360 measures 306 x 218 x 13.6 mm. 

The HP Spectre x360 is slightly lighter than the HP ENVY x360. It weighs 1260 g, while the HP ENVY x360 weighs 1300 g.

Unlike the HP ENVY x360, the HP Spectre x360 came equipped with a Thunderbolt 3 port. I found it quite surprising that the HP ENVY which is supported by an AMD chipset didn’t come with a Thunderbolt 3 port. 

Asides from the absence of a Thunderbolt 3 port, every other port selection seems to be okay. The HP ENVY x360 comes with a USB 3.1 Type-C port, 2 USB 3.1 ports, and 1 HDMI 2.0 port.

It also offers a microSD card slot and a headphone/mic combo jack.

On the other hand, the HP Spectre x360 comes with 1 USB 3.1 Type-A port and 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Overall, the HP Spectre x360 wins this round for its excellent design and build. Even though the HP ENVY x360 also has an incredibly premium-looking design, it still doesn’t measure up to the HP Spectre x360’s fantastic design and elaborate construction.

Hence, the HP Spectre x360 scores a nine in this HP ENVY x360 vs HP Spectre x360 design and build comparison. Meanwhile, the HP ENVY x360 scores an eight.

Processor (CPU) Performance Comparison

The HP ENVY x360 and HP Spectre x360 completely vary in terms of their processors. While HP offers a quad-core AMD Ryzen 5 2500U processor for the HP ENVY x360, it ships the HP Spectre x360 with a quad-core Intel Core i5-8250U processor.

To give more details on these processors, HP ENVY’s AMD processor has a base frequency of 2.00 GHz and a boost frequency of 3.60 GHz. Meanwhile, the HP Spectre x360’s Intel processor has a base frequency of 1.60 GHz and a boost frequency of 3.40 GHz.

I must say these two laptops deliver good standards of performance. The HP ENVY x360’s performance is impressive especially when you consider that the Ryzen 5 2500U belongs to AMD’s budget-to-midrange offering.

Technically, the Ryzen 5 processor in the ENVY x360 is equivalent to an 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processor. Hence, you should expect the ENVY x360 to be capable of handling almost all ultrabook-class tasks. 

The HP ENVY can handle tasks like document editing, presentations, web browsing, video streaming, and emailing without issues. It offers a nearly flawless processor performance.

Though this may be good news since anyone would love to have an efficient laptop, its efficient performance translates into a lot of heat generation. This is what makes me feel the ventilation on the HP ENVY could have been better.

I fully admit that ultrabooks are usually have limited space, but the cooling system on the HP ENVY is just not good enough. Even under minor workloads such as document editing, the HP ENVY can barely stay at normal temperature.

Unlike the HP ENVY, the HP Spectre x360 has a better cooling system. In the event that the laptop is subjected to a heavy workload, its fan speed will increase to cool the laptop.

Besides, the HP Spectre x360 has enough power to handle intensive workloads. Therefore, it is capable of breezing through everyday computing tasks with relative ease.

Regular computing operations like web browsing, video streaming, document editing, and sending of emails were all smoothly carried out on the laptop. We could conclude that both laptops offer excellent performances in terms of regular processor-based operations.

Of course, I’m not satisfied with just that. Like we always do, I will also carry out benchmark tests on both laptops’ to further ascertain how well they both perform.

I kicked off the benchmark performance tests with the Cinebench R20 test. In the multi-core aspect of this test, the HP ENVY x360’s 2095 score surpassed the Spectre x360’s 1832.

The reverse was the case in the single-core aspect. This time around, the HP Spectre x360 outscored its lower-priced sibling – the HP ENVY – with a score of 522 points.

In the single-core Cinebench R20 benchmark test, the HP ENVY x360 scored 434 points.

Since I had the liberty to test both laptops again on the same benchmark but a lower version, I didn’t hesitate to do so. I tested them further on the Cinebench R15.

In the multi-core aspect of the Cinebench R15, the HP ENVY x360 scored 522 points. It was unable to keep up with the HP Spectre x360 that 815 points.

The HP Spectre x360 further extended the gap between itself and the HP ENVY in the single-core aspect. While it scored 202 points, the HP ENVY x360 was unable to exceed the 100’s – it scored 174 points. 

After the Cinebench tests, I decided to move on to another benchmark. This time, I tested both laptops on the Geekbench 5 benchmark.

In the single-core aspect of this test, the HP ENVY x360 scored 1099 points. The HP Spectre x360, on the other hand, doesn’t look like it is willing to be outperformed by its sibling.

It scored 1379 points, clearly surpassing HP ENVY’s score.

The same was the case when I got to the multi-core aspect of the Geekbench 5 benchmark test. With a score of 5168, the HP Spectre x360 still wasn’t within the HP ENVY x360’s reach.

After all, the HP ENVY x360 was only able to score 4471 points in the same test.

In addition to the benchmark tests, I also carried out a real-world processor-based performance test on both laptops. On this test, the Envy x360 was able to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution in 14 minutes and 47 seconds using the Handbrake app. 

The HP Spectre x360 wasn’t able to finish the test at a faster speed, neither was it able to equal the HP ENVY’s speed. It took the laptop 18 minutes and 50 seconds to convert the same 4K video to 1080p resolution.

Though the HP Spectre x360’s conversion speed was quite disappointing, its overall processor performance still surpasses that of the HP ENVY. With the HP Spectre x360, you are assured of efficient processor performance with little heat emission.

In its defense, the HP ENVY x360 also offers an excellent processor performance. However, its higher level of heat emission leaves a cause for concern.

Asides from that, the HP Spectre x360 proved to be the more powerful laptop based on the benchmark test results. It outperformed the HP ENVY x360 in most of the benchmark tests.

Due to these reasons, the HP Spectre x360 scores an eight in this HP ENVY x360 vs HP Spectre x360 processor performance comparison. Meanwhile, the HP ENVY x360 scores a seven.

Memory (RAM) Performance Comparison

Both the HP ENVY x360 13 and HP Spectre x360 13 share a lot in common in this aspect. The only significant difference between both laptops in this aspect is their memory types.

While HP equips the ENVY x360 with a DDR4-2400 SDRAM, they usually ship the Spectre x360 13 with an LPDDR3-2133 SDRAM.

Asides from that, both the HP ENVY x360 13 and Spectre x360 13 feature 8 GB memory sizes. They also both have only one memory slots and the maximum RAM size they support is 16 GB.

With the specifications aside, let’s get into the details of both laptops’ RAM performance. 

On a real-world multitasking test, both the HP ENVY x360 13 and the Spectre x360 13 were able to breeze through my multiple running operations. These operations consisted of 30 running Google Chrome tabs – four of these tabs were streaming 1080p YouTube videos.

In addition, I streamed an album on Spotify while sending some messages on Twitter. Overall, both the HP ENVY x360 13 and Spectre x360 13 proved to be capable of handling the multiple streams of workflow.

Hence, I moved on to benchmark tests. On the PCMark 10 test, the HP ENVY x360 scored 9126 points in the essential aspect.

Meanwhile, the HP Spectre x360 produced a better score which was 9416 points.

The result of the productivity aspect turned out in favor of the HP ENVY x360. With a score of 7752, it outperformed the HP Spectre x360 that scored 7052 points.

However, the HP Spectre x360 13 regained its dominance when I tested both laptops on the lower PCMark version. The HP Spectre x360 scored 4410 points on the PCMark 8 Home test, surpassing the HP ENVY’s 4129 points.

Clearly, the HP Spectre x360 13 offers better RAM performance. The benchmark tests say so.

Even though it didn’t outperform the HP ENVY x360 in every aspect, it showed enough dominance to prove its superiority. After all, the HP Spectre x360 13 had better results in almost every aspect of the test.

As a result, the HP Spectre x360 13 scores an eight in this HP ENVY x360 vs HP Spectre x360 memory performance comparison. The HP ENVY x360, on the other hand, scores a seven.

Storage Options and Performance Comparison

Although we have seen that both the HP ENVY x360 13 and HP Spectre x360 13 share a lot of similarities across various aspects, we haven’t seen an entirely identical spec option.

In this storage aspect, both laptops offer the exact same storage specification. They both come with a 256 GB PCIe NVMe SSD.

HP also offers one microSD media card reader for both laptops. 

Whenever, this kind of situation occurs – where two laptops come with the exact same specifications  – I usually can’t help my excitement. For some reason, it feels more fun to compare two laptops with the same specifications.

With that being said, let’s get right into the details of their storage comparisons.

As always, I tested both laptops’ storage disks on the CrystalDiskMark 5 benchmark. The HP ENVY x360 recorded a sequential read speed of 958.7 MBps and a sequential write speed of 731.5 MBps.

Meanwhile, the HP Spectre x360 13 offered better read and write speeds. It recorded a sequential read speed of 1440 MBps and a sequential write speed of 994.2 MBps.

On our file transfer test, both laptops finished at nearly the same time. It took the HP ENVY 16 seconds to copy a 4.97 GB multimedia file for a rate of 318.1 MBps.

Meanwhile, the HP Spectre x360 13 was only one second faster. It took 15 seconds to copy the same 4.97 GB file at a rate of 318.5 MBps.

Although both laptops offer the same configuration and drive types, the HP Spectre x360 13 displayed better performance. It outperformed the HP ENVY x360 in both the real-world and synthetic benchmark tests.

Hence, the HP Spectre x360 13 scores a nine in this HP ENVY x360 vs HP Spectre x360 storage performance comparison. Meanwhile, the HP ENVY x360 scores an eight in this review for its fast storage speed.

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Graphics Card Performance Comparison

Both the HP ENVY x360 and the Spectre x360 13 share a lot in common in this aspect too. Apart from their graphic card types, every other part of their graphics cards is similar.

While the HP ENVY x360 features an AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics card, the Spectre x360 13 features an Intel HD Graphics 620 card. Both of these graphics cards are integrated and they also have the exact same base and boost frequencies.

Their graphics cards have base frequencies of 300 MHz and boost frequencies of 1100MHz. 

Though we don’t get a dedicated video RAM in either of the two laptops, their graphics card proved to be capable. Both the HP ENVY x360 and Spectre x360 13 are capable of handling casual games.

Besides, integrated AMD Radeon Vega GPUs are well-optimized for less graphically intensive popular games. Hence, you should expect the HP ENVY x360 to deliver excellent gaming performance when running undemanding games.

Based on experience, I also believe that the HP Spectre x360 13 is powerful enough to not encounter any issue with less graphically intensive games.

Above all, you need to understand that both laptops are not gaming laptops. Hence, you will need to lower the gaming settings if you want to play AAA title games. 

On our 3DMark 11 GPU performance test, the HP ENVY x360 scored 4420 points. The Spectre x360 13, on the other hand, turned up way ahead of the HP ENVY.

Its 6122 points exceeded the HP ENVY’s score by a wide margin.

Upon completing this test, I further carried out real-world gaming performance tests on both laptops at low graphics settings. The first game I ran on both laptops was The Witcher 3.

On the HP ENVY x360, the game ran at 56.4 frames per second. Meanwhile, the Spectre x360 13 offered better frame rates of 84.5 frames per second.

I also ran Dota 2 Reborn on both laptops. On this test, the HP ENVY x360 offered frame rates of 95.1 frames per second.

Surprisingly, the Spectre x360 13 came a bit short of the HP ENVY’s frame rate. It offered frame rates of 85.6 frames per second.

The Spectre x360 13 disappointed once more in another gaming test. At 24.1 frames per second, it could barely play the X-Plane 11.11.

Meanwhile, the HP ENVY x360 was able to surpass the 30 frames per second playability rate. It offered frame rates of 39.1 frames per second.

In conclusion, the graphics performance of these laptops is close in many aspects. Though the Spectre x360 13 performed better in the benchmark aspect, the HP ENVY x360 turned up properly for the real-world gaming tests.

As a result, both the HP ENVY x360 13 and Spectre x360 13 score an eight in this HP ENVY x360 vs HP Spectre x360 graphics performance comparison.

Battery Life and Performance Comparison

Both the HP ENVY x360 13 and Spectre x360 13 feature the same type of battery. However, their battery capacity differs.

The HP ENVY x360 13 features a 4-Cell, 53.2 Wh Li-ion battery, whereas the Spectre x360 13 features a 3-cell, 60 Wh Li-ion battery. 

When it comes to battery life, you can rest assured. Both the HP ENVY x360 13 and Spectre x360 13 offer relatively good battery life.

In our battery life test which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at medium screen brightness, both laptops offered impressive runtimes. While they were both impressive in terms of battery life, the Spectre x360 13 had the edge over the HP ENVY x360 13.

The HP Spectre x360 13 lasted for an incredible 13 hours 25 minutes. Meanwhile, the HP ENVY x360 13 lasted for 11 hours 55 minutes.

Depending on your mode of usage, you could even get these laptops to last longer. Battery-saving procedures like screen brightness reduction can help the laptops last longer.

Also, you can expect the laptops to last longer if you only carry out less intensive computing operations – especially ones that don’t require the use of the internet.

Overall, both the HP ENVY x360 13 and Spectre x360 13 offer excellent battery runtime, but the Spectre x360 13 wins this round because of its longer battery runtime.

Hence, the HP Spectre x360 13 scores a nine in this HP ENVY x360 vs HP Spectre x360 battery performance comparison. Meanwhile, the HP ENVY x360 13 scores an eight for its long battery life.

Our Rating Summary

Rating Areas	HP ENVY x360 13	HP Spectre x360 13	Notes/Comments
Design	8	9	The HP Spectre x360 wins this round for its excellent design and build.
Processor (CPU)	7	8	The HP Spectre x360 proved to be the more powerful laptop based on the benchmark test results.
Memory (RAM)	7	8	Even though the HP Spectre x360 didn’t outperform the HP ENVY x360 in every part of the benchmark tests, it showed enough dominance to prove its superiority.
Storage	8	9	Although both laptops offer the same configuration and drive types, the HP Spectre x360 13 displayed better performance.
Graphics Card	8	8	The graphics performance of these laptops are close in many aspects. Though the Spectre x360 13 performed better in the benchmark aspect, the HP ENVY x360 turned up properly for the real-world gaming tests.
Battery Life	8	9	Overall, both the HP ENVY x360 13 and Spectre x360 13 offer excellent battery runtime, but the Spectre x360 13 wins this round because of its longer battery runtime.
Our Average Rating	8.6	9.5	On average, the HP Spectre x360 13 is a better laptop

Conclusion

Based on both the specs and real-world performance, we can conclude that the HP Spectre x360 13 offers better value than the HP ENVY x360. With its hardware configurations and dual Thunderbolt 3 ports, the Spectre is a more impressive device. 

You could easily deduce that it is geared towards the creation and consumption of visual media. At the same time, it is also well equipped to completely knock standard computing tasks out of the park.

The HP ENVY x360 13 is not a bad laptop either. It also has excellent hardware configurations that make it a capable budget-friendly convertible laptop for general-purpose computing tasks.

Aside from little differences, the HP ENVY x360 and Spectre x360 13 are very similar, especially in terms of their design. Both laptops feature relatively thin bezels, a compact design, and excellent keyboards. 

In addition, both laptops are convertible 2-in-1s, which means they can be used as laptops as well as tablets.

Overall, both laptops are fantastic, powerful, and are also relatively affordable. However, if you are looking for a laptop that can easily handle your highly intensive workload, then you should seriously consider the Spectre x360 13.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a less expensive laptop that can deliver efficient performances when it comes to handling everyday computing workload, consider the HP ENVY x360.

Based on our comprehensive review and comparison of HP ENVY x360 13 vs HP Spectre x360 13, we recommend:

Although we recommend the HP Spectre x360 13, you can consider the HP ENVY x360 13 if you want the less expensive option:

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