The comparison of Surface Pro 4 vs HP Spectre x360 is a tricky one because they are both touch-based laptops. Besides, both laptops have stunning designs, so if you are in the market for either one, we’ll help you decide.
We’ll do this by taking a look at how each device fairs out using their specs and other information.
At the end of this article, you’ll select the device that’s best for you.
Contents
Surface Pro 4 vs HP Spectre X360 Comparison Table
| Features | Surface Pro 4 | Spectre x360 |
| Weight | 1.73 pounds | 2.95 pounds |
| Display and Resolution |
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| Processor |
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| Connectivity |
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| Memory (RAM) | 8 GB LPDDR3 with a speed of 1866 MHz | 16 GB LPDDR4X with a speed of 3733MHz |
| Storage | 256 GB SSD | 512 GB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Camera |
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| Battery | 9 Hours | 13 Hours |
Surface Pro 4 vs HP Spectre X360
The main difference between Surface Pro 4 and HP Spectre x360 is, Surface Pro 4 has a shorter battery life than Spectre x360, and it’s less expensive. Also, Surface Pro 4 also has fewer ports and a smaller storage size compared to Spectre x360.
– Weight
Winner: Surface Pro 4
Surface Pro 4 (also called Microsoft Surface Pro 4 or MS Pro 4) is less than two pounds. As a result, it’s easier to carry around, and as a student, you can slide it into your backpack and forget it’s even there. If you are a remote worker, you can move it around with ease while you work at different locations. The biggest downside of Spectre x360 is the weight, which is almost three pounds.
As a confirmation of Spectre’s weight, we made a comparison of Surface Laptop 4 vs HP Spectre x360. The Spectre weighs more than its counterpart, so its weight is a lot for a laptop.
– Display and Resolution
Winner: Surface Pro 4
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has an amazing 2736 x 1824 screen resolution that gives you a better view of your work. You’ll find this useful for video and graphics editing because you have a larger screen to work with. You can also multi-task by opening different apps on the screen, and they’ll all fit. As a result, it’ll increase your productivity, and you’ll get more done in no time.
It’s also a touch-based device, more like Microsoft Surface Laptop. For Spectre x360, it has a smaller screen compared to MS Pro 4, standing at 1920 x 1280. This means you might not be able to place different apps on the screen as you’d like. This can hinder your work when you want to screen record by placing apps side-by-side on the screen.
– Processor
Winner: Spectre x360
Spectre x360 comes with a Core i7-11657G7 processor, which packs impressive performance. An analysis of Microsoft Surface Pro 8 vs HP Spectre x360, shows Spectre performs better. We repeated the analysis for
HP Spectre x360 vs Surface Book 3, yet, Spectre comes out on top. Starting at a base clock speed of 2.4 GHz, which rises to 4.7 GHz on Turbo Boost, this makes it suitable for gaming. Besides, Core i7 has Hyper-Threading, which allows you to do more tasks at the same time. MS Pro 4 has Core i5-6300U, by the number in its name, you’ll know it won’t perform like Core i7-11657G7. As a result, what’s possible on Spectre x360 will not be possible on MS Pro 4. This means you can’t run applications that use more than two cores on Core i5-6300U.
Benchmark tests also show Core i7-11657G7 has faster core speeds than Core i5-6300U. This allows for quicker data transfer, and you’ll complete your tasks in less time on Spectre x360 than on MS Pro 4. Yet, you’ll find the MS Pro 4 useful for day-to-day tasks like Word processing and Photoshop.
– Connectivity
Winner: Spectre x360
If you’d prefer a laptop with modern connectivity features, it’s the Spectre x360. It comes with a Thunderbolt port that’ll let you connect devices like TVs. The USB-C ports allow data transfer of up to 10 Gbps, so you can enjoy fast transfers. If you have data on an SD card, you can transfer it to your Spectre via its microSD card slot.
The HP Spectre x360 14 reviewed in this article has an HDMI port (v2). As a result, you can connect it to an HDTV to get a bigger view while you work on projects. What’s more, it has Wi-Fi v6 and Bluetooth v5; the latter allows for connection up to 240 meters. In contrast, Wi-Fi permits higher bandwidth sharing on Wi-Fi networks.
For Microsoft Surface Pro 4, it has fewer connective capabilities. First, it does not have HDMI and Thunderbolt; this can let you down when you need them. Second, it has Bluetooth v4 and Wi-Fi v5; the latter has a shorter range than Wi-Fi v6. While the Bluetooth v4 does not permit connection for more than 60 meters, this is less than that of v6 (240 meters).
– Memory (RAM)
Winner: Spectre x360
The LPDDR4X 3733MHz memory is the fastest DRAM, and both Spectre and Surface Laptop use this kind of RAM. For Spectre, it has 16 GB RAM, and with its Intel Core i7, everything works fast. This will increase your productivity because you’ll experience no delays in your work. Also, with 16 GB of RAM, you can work on many applications at a single time.
MS Pro 4 has eight Gigabytes of LPDDR3 memory at 1866 MHz which is small to what you’ll get on Spectre x360. This means you can’t do as much work as you’ll like on MS Pro 4 compared to Spectre x360. Yet, MS Pro 4 will run Photoshop, but anything more than what the RAM can handle will cause a slowdown. This means MS Pro 4 cannot handle many heavy-duty applications at the same time.
– Storage
Winner: Spectre x360
The Spectre x360 has a 512 GB Samsung NVMe SSD, which is fast for boot-ups and file transfers. For the latter, the SSD can do 764MBps, so you can transfer Gigabytes of files in minutes. Its 512 GB of storage allows you to store your important files and documents. Also, it’s an NVMe drive, so you’ll get higher throughput and fast response times while working with it.
For MS Pro 4, it has 256 GB of storage; this means you have lesser space compared to Spectre x360. As a result, if you need more space, you’ll have to invest in an external drive. But, the 256 GB storage should be enough if you don’t plan to store many files. This is good news if you are a college student because you can store your digital notes without fear of space.
– Graphics
Winner: Spectre x360
The Intel Iris Xe (Spectre x360) outperforms Intel HD Graphics (MS Pro 4) in every way you can think of. From Effective 3D speed, Lightning Effects, Reflection Handling, and Multi Rendering. As a result, you’ll get better graphics on Spectre; this is a plus if you are a graphic designer or a digital creator. For other graphic-intensive applications, they’ll work fine on Spectre, for example, AutoCAD.
Intel HD Graphics works fine on MS Pro 4, but not with the quality that’ll you get on Spectre x360. Besides, Intel released the Intel HD Graphics in 2015, while they released Iris Xe in 2020. Since processors get better over time, Intel Iris Xe has more features than Intel HD Graphics. This makes Intel Iris Xe suitable for your graphics needs compared to Intel HD Graphics.
– Camera
Winner: Spectre x360
When you compare HP Spectre and Microsoft Surface Pro, their cameras have similarities. But that on Spectre has an edge which is the webcam privacy shutter. The shutter blocks the webcam when not in use, so it’ll prevent snooping if you get hacked. The feature that is a match on both cameras is the IR camera which allows you to sign in using your face.
During the scanning, it’s difficult to hack, so that’ll keep out unauthorized access. Also, MS Pro 4 has a rear-facing (8.0MP) camera that can shoot HD videos. This allows you to use the MS Pro 4 for video recording, much like your smartphone.
– Battery
Winner: Spectre x360
The battery on Spectre x360 will give you more than a day of work because it lasts for 13 hours. This allows for long hours of work, and only a Surface Laptop comes close in battery comparison. If the battery goes down to zero, Spectre x360 can charge from zero to 50 percent in 45 minutes. That saves you precious time compared to other laptops that’ll take hours to get to 50 percent.
For MS Pro 4, the battery last for nine hours, and there is no fast charging. This has two drawbacks; first, it does not last long like Spectre x360. Second, you’ll spend long hours charging.
– Price
Winner: Surface Pro 4
Surface Pro 4 costs at least 680 US dollars, but it can cost more depending on the store. Yet, you’ll find it affordable to Spectre x360, which has a starting price of 1600 US dollars. That’s almost the price of a Lenovo Legion gaming laptop but not close to the price of MSI GS.
Yet, if we look at Surface Laptop Studio vs HP Spectre x360, the Laptop Studio costs more. The price for the studio is around 4000 US dollars on Microsoft’s website. That means, if you’re on a tight budget, MS Pro 4 is more affordable, but for quality, it’s Spectre x360.
Surface Pro 4 Review
Pros:
- Big screen
- Affordable price
Cons:
- No HDMI
- No Thunderbolt port
MS Pro 4 weighs 1.73lb, so it’s lightweight, and if you don’t like heavy gadgets, MS Pro 4 is the way to go. Then it has a screen that measures 2736 x 1824, that’ll allow many apps on the screen at the same time. While using it, you can harness the Intel Core i5-6300U for word processing and Photoshop. It also has a kickstand that the laptop can rest upon while you work.
While you work, you can insert your headphone into its headphone jack and enjoy your music. Or, you can use the front-firing speakers for immersive music and audio playback. For charging, you can use the Surface Connect™ charging port and continue working. You can also connect your Surface device to an HDTV via the Mini DisplayPort.
The battery of your MS Pro 4 will last for nine hours, which should be enough for a full business day. For software, it comes with Windows 10 Pro Office 30-day trial, so in this time frame, you can decide to buy it. The security measure in MS Pro 4 is the IR camera for Windows Hello face sign-in. Also, you get a TPM chip for enterprise security.
If you’d like to shoot video, you can use the rear-facing camera for 1080p HD video. MS Pro 4 starting price is 680 US dollars, depending on the store, but this can rise to a thousand dollars.
HP Spectre X360 Review
Pros:
- 11th Generation Core i7-1165G7
- Webcam privacy shutter
- Long battery life
Cons:
- Quite Expensive
The elegant design of the Spectre x360 is an awesome view. The laptop allows you to fold it at a 360-degree angle, so you can use it in three different viewing modes. These are normal laptop mode, “stand mode,” and tablet mode. Then you have the 1920 x 1280 display backed by Intel Iris Xe Graphics.
Playing media has never been more enjoyable on Spectre x360. Also, you’ll get quality video editing, thanks to its processor. With this processor combined with the graphics and its 16 GB RAM, you can work on applications with ease. On the sides of the Spectre x360, you have different ports for different purposes.
First, you have the Thunderbolt port that you can use for charging. Second, you can use the webcam kill switch to prevent unauthorized usage of your webcam. Then you have the IR camera that allows you to sign in using Windows Hello. All these show Spectre x360 has similar features to some flagship Dell Laptops.
For example, in Dell XPS 13 vs HP Spectre x360, their display and graphics are almost the same. Still, Spectre x360 weighs close to four pounds, and it costs at least 1600 US dollars. But it’s still a nice laptop with an astounding 13 hours of battery life.
Conclusion
This article is a breakdown of two laptops from the Microsoft Surface Pro vs HP Spectre series. We provided all the information to help you decide which is best for you. If you are on a tight budget, go for Surface Pro, but for a premium laptop that’s worth the money, choose Spectre x360.
If there’s anything that’ll let you choose Spectre x360, it’ll be its speed, design, and 13 hours of battery. You can go wrong with this choice.