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You’ve probably heard about these new boys in town, the Hp Spectre and Surface Pro and they both sound pretty good. Now I’m not here to tell you which one to get but just to shed a light on both and then you can decide. So first off, let’s dive into the specs.
HP Spectre x360 (2020) Spec Sheet: 
- CPU: Intel Core i7 (quad-core, 8MB Intel Smart Cache, up to 3.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX150 (2 GB GDDR5 dedicated)
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR4 (3200MHz)
- Screen: 13.3-inch 4K (3,840 x 2,160) AMOLED Display
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Ports: 1x USB-A 3.1, 2x USB-C 3.1 with Thunderbolt 3, microSD card reader, combo audio jack
- Connectivity: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 (2×2), Bluetooth 5
- Camera: HP TrueVision HD 1080p IR Webcam
- Weight: 2.87 pounds (1.3 kg)
- Size: 12.04 x 7.66 x 0.67 inches
This version starts at 110,000 shillings on Amazon + 4,000 shillings shipping.
Design
High Quality: The HP Spectre x360 (2020) is a high-quality piece of hardware. The brushed metal finish means the whole laptop feels robust, and the same build quality extends to the namesake 360-degree hinge that enables it to swap between laptop and tablet modes.
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Lightweight and thin: Despite its sturdy chassis, the HP Spectre x360 (2020) is as lightweight as they come, weighing in at just over a kilo. It’s easy to hold in one hand, and the near bezel-less screen means that the overall size is only a little larger than the display itself.
Quite a good Keyboard: The keyboard is softly backlit in white with nice large keys. Unfortunately, there’s no Numpad – and the arrow keys are frustratingly truncated. The trackpad definitely beats out many of its contemporaries, though, with a wide touch area and satisfyingly firm click.
Performance
16GB works magic: The HP Spectre x360 (2020) chews up everyday work tasks with ease. Web browsing, streaming videos, and using the Microsoft Office software suite are all smooth and easy to do on the HP Spectre x360.
Graphics: The Iris Plus graphics dominated older integrated graphics in our tests, powering through with high scores in our graphical tests compared to previous models.
Gaming on the HP Spectre x360: Recent triple-A releases aren’t likely to run well without severely dropping the resolution and graphical quality, but slightly older games or titles without demanding graphics should run fine. We enjoyed a spot of Tomb Raider and the excellent indie gem FTL: Faster Than Light with good performance at 1080p.
Privacy: This is the ideal laptop for anyone wary of the risks posed by an online presence, with multiple features designed to keep you and your data secure.
Surface Pro 7 Spec Sheet
- CPU: Intel Quad-Core i7
- Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics; Intel Iris Plus Graphics
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR4x
- Screen: 12.3-inch, 2736 x 1,824
- Storage: 128GB-1TB SSD
- Ports: 1x USB-C, 1x USB-A, 1x Surface Connect port, microSDX card reader, headphone/mic jack
- Cameras: 8MP r
ear-facing autofocus camera (1080p full HD video); 5MP front-facing camera (1080p full HD video) - Weight: i3 / i5, 1.7 pounds (775g); i7, 1.74 pounds (790g)
- Size: 11.5 x 7.9 x 0.33 inches
This specific version goes for about 170,ooo shillings on Amazon with free shipping. The lower end 8GB, core i5 starts at about 90,000 shillings.
DESIGN
It looks normal: It’s still a lovely design that feels well-made, but it’s simply not exciting anymore. The rear and sides of the Pro 7 are solid metal, which gives the chassis a sturdy feel but is liable to scuff should you drop it. The screen is fairly well protected by the metal encircling it, and look as bright and colourful as ever, a testament to the display quality of the Surface line.
Keyboard Cover: As any Surface owners will know, the Pro 7 looks incomplete without its keyboard cover. We’ve got the Signature Type Cover in a dark ochre, which snaps satisfyingly onto the base of the Pro 7 with its magnetic clasp. The Pro 7 itself is an all-black affair; with the Type Cover attached, it looks particularly classy.
There’s a tell-tale problem on the box of the keyboard. This piece of hardware hasn’t been changed for three generations, and of course, the Pro X has its own unique version.
Tablet and Laptop: The role of the Surface is a halfway-house between tablet and laptop, and Microsoft’s design choices have certainly reflected that. The Type Cover’s keyboard still feels good to use, far better than the Touch Cover (which uses capacity pads instead of physical keys).
PERFORMANCE
Internal hardware: This tablet is rocking one of Intel’s new 10th-generation CPUs. It brings improved general performance over older processors and also comes equipped with Intel’s new Iris Plus integrated graphics. This unit has a quad-core i7-1065G7 processor and 16GB of RAM, making it the most powerful version of the Pro 7 This model has 512GB of storage, which can go up to 1TB).
Power: It’s more competent in every area, whether that’s 3D rendering, video encoding or crunching equations. It’s worth noting that if you’re looking to do serious professional studio work like 4K video editing, you’re still probably going to want a proper laptop.
Graphics and Gaming: Gaming in 1080p is actually viable here – not at ultra settings, certainly, but good enough for a spot for Fortnite if you have a mouse. We tested a handful of games (including Portal, Dirty Bomb, Everspace and, you guessed it, Crysis) and it handled most of them pretty well.
Battery Life:
The Pro 7’s battery is pretty lacklustre, falling short of the older Pro 6 in battery life tests. It can hit the advertised 10.5-hour battery life from full charge if you’re simply word processing. However, in practical terms, any strenuous tasks will cut that in half or worse, though this is typical for laptops.
Movie playback impacts the battery pretty badly too, unfortunately. It’s by no means a dealbreaker, but we just wish the battery had a little bit more juice. At least it charges quickly, using Microsoft’s proprietary Surface Connect port.
FEATURES
Windows 10: one of the weirdly most attractive features of the Surface tablets remains present: Windows 10, issued directly from Microsoft. It’s instantly familiar and software-compatible and lacks any extra irritations.
USB C Support: The Pro 7 also now has USB-C support. The USB-C port doesn’t have Thunderbolt 3 data transfer speeds, but it’s still a good addition.
Surface Pen: This Surface also comes equipped with superior Surface Pen sensitivity along with gesture control. These features were introduced in previous models and remain backwards-compatible here. If you already own the new-model Surface Pen, it performs better than ever on the Pro 7.
Others: Then there’s all the usual stuff; Windows Hello for facial recognition login, tablet mode for easy on-the-move changes, Your Phone sync for connecting with Android devices. Of particular mention is the instant-on performance. The Pro 7 boots seriously fast. With Windows Hello active it can be unlocked before you’ve even finished opening the Type Cover.
Take Your Pick
I honestly do like the Surface Pro 7. It’s a powerful tablet that doubles as a perfectly competent laptop, although actually trying to position it on your lap with the keyboard attached is an exercise in futility.
I just wish Microsoft had been a little braver in the design department. The Spectre crushed the designs and work rate aspects. Now it’s up to you to choose what you want.
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