HP Spectre x360 15: With Kaby Lake-G, this laptop can do almost anything

HP’s Spectre x360 15 changes everything. Specifically, the version that wields Intel’s Kaby Lake G CPU, fortified with Radeon RX Vega discrete graphics, upends the stereotype that 360-degree convertible laptops can’t deliver top performance. And we’ve proven it by comparing the Spectre x360 15 with Kaby Lake G against its twin running Kaby Lake R, as well as some high-end clamshell designs. The Kaby Lake G version is as fast or faster than all comers.

The Spectre x360 15’s journey has been a long one. When we reviewed the first generation in 2016, it was basically designed to be a giant ultrabook with a big screen, rather than a pricey powerhouse.

Not to throw shade, but we’ve seen other vendors stuff much hotter CPUs and much hotter GPUs into 15-inch convertibles, and the results have been, well, less than stellar. That’s definitely not the case with the Spectre x360, which gives you top-notch parts including:

• Intel Core i7-8705G• 16GB of DDR4/2400 RAM• 512GB NVMe PCIe SSD (Toshiba in our build)• 15.6-inch 4K