The HP Spectre x2 is like the Surface Pro, but cheaper and lower-specced

What timing: Just a day after Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 4, HP is unveiling a similar-looking 2-in-1 of its own. Though HP has made laptop/tablet hybrids before, the new 12-inch Spectre x2 is the first from the company to rock a built-in kickstand, à la Microsoft’s tablet. Far from being just an imposter, though, the x2 sets itself apart in several key ways, with a more adjustable kickstand and a sturdy, potentially more comfortable keyboard. Oh, and that keyboard actually comes in the box (ahem, Microsoft).Slideshow-324981

With a 12-inch display, the x2 is roughly the same size as the last-gen Surface Pro 3, and weighs 1.85 pounds (the new Surface Pro 4 weighs less, ranging from 1.69 pounds to 1.73). Also like the Surface’s stylus setup (likely based on N-trig tech), the x2 works with a pressure-sensitive Wacom-made active pen, although in this case, it’s sold separately. So far, then, the general concept is the same: a thin and light tablet that magnetically clicks into a keyboard cover. The biggest difference lies in the hinge. Whereas the Surface’s kickstand is flush with the chassis, the x2 has a U-shaped, easel-like frame that pops out when you press a release. Aside from the fact that this design allows the tablet to have a thin 8mm-thick profile (just slightly thinner than the SP4), the main benefit is that the kickstand can be arranged at any angle, as opposed to just two or three stages. Though it is indeed versatile, I quickly found in my demo that it wasn’t any easier than the Surface to balance in your lap.

As for the keyboard, the keys here are far more substantial than what you’d otherwise get on a product like this. Specifically, the buttons have 1.5mm of travel, making them nice and cushy, and they’re backed by a sturdy panel and palm rest that doesn’t flex or bend under pressure. In my short time with the device, I made all but one typo — otherwise, my typing was flawless, if I do say so myself. As a bonus, the touchpad is quite spacious too. Just keep in mind that the price of a more substantial keyboard is more substantial heft: Though the tablet itself weighs just 1.85 pounds, that weight balloons to 2.69 pounds with the keyboard attached. Also, the Surface Pro 4 now has a new (and supposedly sturdier) keyboard, so this might be less of a differentiating point than HP thought it would be.

Again, what’s nice is that the x2 starts at $800 with the keyboard included in the box, as opposed to being sold as a separate $130 accessory — something Microsoft’s gotten away with for years. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 4 not only comes without the keyboard, but also starts at $899 with the same RAM and storage, nearly a hundred bucks more. All told, then, it has the potential to be a good deal, but that lower total price comes somewhat at the expense of specs. In particular, the display tops out at 1,920 x 1,280 resolution; though that’s probably fine for most users, it’s still lower than the 2,763 x 1,824 offered on the SP4. On the inside too, the x2 makes do not with new sixth-gen Core i5/i7 processors, but sixth-gen Core M chips instead. (Although it’s worth noting the base SP4 also comes with a Core M chip.) As we’ve found in our own reviews, Core M is lower-powered than more robust Core-series CPUs, but doesn’t actually offer a big advantage in battery life. Speaking of the sort, HP is promising 10 hours of runtime.

In addition to a choice of Core m3, m5 and m7 processors, the x2 will be sold with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and a solid-state drive with 128GB, 256GB or 512GB of storage. (The Surface Pro 4 goes up to 16GB of memory and a full terabyte of storage.) The x2’s tablet piece has two reversible USB Type-C ports, with a dongle included in the box for connecting to devices that use the older USB-A standard. You’ll also find a microSD reader and three cameras, including an 8-megapixel shooter and Intel’s depth-sensing RealSense setup around back, with two 5MP cameras taking stereoscopic shots. Unfortunately, though, because the RealSense cameras are located on the rear side, you can’t use them for the Windows Hello login feature in Win 10. Rounding out the spec list, there are also four speakers, including two on the tablet, and two Bang & Olufsen ones on the keyboard. (This, too, helps explain why the keyboard cover is heavier than on competing devices.)Slideshow-326590

The Spectre x2 starts at $800. All models come standard with a Verizon-compatible LTE radio, though you’ll need to either purchase a data plan or add it to an existing one. That means if you otherwise use AT&T or some other carrier, you can just ignore that bit.

UK pricing for Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4, Lumia 950 phones and other goodies

It’s fair to say that Microsoft’s latest launch event was its most interesting for a long time. We finally learned that Hololens will be made available to developers early next year, clapped eyes on the first flagship Windows 10 phones, checked out the updated Microsoft Band and met the Surface Pro 4. Then the company surprised us all with the unveiling of its first laptop: the Surface Book. Microsoft is wasting no time in getting some of these to market, so you might be wondering how much each of them will cost. As always, we’re more than happy to be your guide.

Surface Pro 4

By now, you should know what to expect from Microsoft’s Surface Pro lineup. The Pro 4 is slightly thinner than its predecessor, but offers around 30 percent more power. With its 12.3-inch display, it comes in 0.3 inches bigger than the Surface Pro 3, but the footprint remains exactly the same size thanks to a smaller bezel.

The new display uses Microsoft’s PixelSense technology: a super-thin optical stack that hosts over 5 million pixels. It supports 1,024 levels of pressure with the new pen (which now has an eraser) that can attach to the side of the Surface magnetically. A sixth-generation Core Intel processor (up to a Core i7) powers the hybrid, paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Pre-orders are already open and you can see the pricing breakdown below.

Surface Book

Undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the day was the Surface Book, Microsoft’s first homegrown laptop. The company calls it a laptop at least, but being a Surface device, it’s still possible to detach the touch- and stylus-friendly display from the keyboard to use as a tablet. The keyboard element isn’t just a well-crafted peripheral, though, as buried within is the NVIDIA GeForce GPU and various other components that contribute to the Surface Book’s total computing power. Microsoft wasn’t shy about pitching the premium device as the “ultimate laptop,” claiming several times it’s twice as fast as Apple’s MacBook Pro. That level of performance wrapped in a silver magnesium chassis doesn’t come cheap, though, with the base model (128GB SSD/8GB RAM/Core i5/Intel HD graphics) going on sale for $1,499 when it launches in the US on October 26th. Pricing goes all the way up to $2,699 for a 512GB SSD, 16GB of RAM, a Core i7 chip and an NVIDIA GPU.

Unfortunately, we have neither a UK release date nor any rough pricing for the Surface Book just yet. That said, using the prices of the Surface Pro 4 on both sides of the pond as a guide, we expect Microsoft’s “ultimate laptop” will start at around £1,200 when it eventually comes to the UK.

Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL

With the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, Microsoft has finally launched high-end Windows phones worth taking a look at. The Lumia 950 features a 5.2-inch Quad HD AMOLED screen, Qualcomm’s hexa-core 1.8GHz Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 20-megapixel camera with ZEISS optics (f/1.9 aperture lens and optical image stabilization), 32GB of storage, and it can be charged wirelessly or via its USB Type-C port.

It should come as no surprise that the Lumia 950 XL is a tad bigger than its counterpart. The XL comes with a 5.7-inch Quad HD AMOLED display and features a quad-core 2GHz Snapdragon 810 chipset with 3GB of RAM. Other than that, it shares the same features as its smaller sibling. Another bonus is the fact both devices have microSD slots, include removable batteries, and come in black and white.

Lumia 550

Microsoft also added another handset to its mid-range Lumia portfolio: the Lumia 550. It comes with a 4.7-inch 1,280 x 720 display (315ppi), a quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor and 1GB of RAM. The handset also features Cat 4 LTE (up to 150Mbps), 8GB of internal storage (with microSD support) and a 2,100mAh battery. Microsoft says it will be its most affordable 4G phone, but it’s not saying how much it’ll cost in the UK. The $140 US price converts to around £91, so we expect you’ll be expected to pay roughly £100 for the Lumia 550 when it launches in December.

Microsoft Band 2

While the original Band was useful, it certainly wasn’t the best-looking wearable we’ve seen. Luckily, Microsoft appears to have taken feedback on board and has responded by launching the Band 2, a more comfortable, curved wearable with metal accents, extra sensors and new app functionality. The Band 2 is already up for pre-order for £200 ahead of its November 19th launch.

Microsoft’s upgraded Band is a little sleeker, and smarter too

For all its promise and potential, the original Microsoft Band wasn’t exactly a runaway hit. It’s OK — they can’t all be winners. Even more surprising than the Band’s existence in the first place is that Microsoft is taking another crack at the fitness gadget formula with a 2015 model of its oft-scorned wearable. It’s a little smarter and a little sleeker, and maybe — just maybe — that’ll be enough to change a few minds on the matter.Slideshow-326562

In case you forgot (or never had a Band to start with) the major gripes with last year’s version dealt mostly with lackluster design and comfort — sort of a big deal when you’re supposed to wear this thing all over the place. After a bit of fiddling around, though, Microsoft seems to have had varying degrees of success fixing what ailed the Band. First, it’s not a clunky mess anymore. With its bright, curved OLED screen, this year’s Band comes off a bit more like a Gear Fit, which is hardly a bad thing — of all the Fit’s faults, people generally seemed to dig the look. Microsoft also moved the new Band’s battery out of the top of the bracelet and into the bulbous clasp, making the whole thing feel way less stiff and cumbersome than before. Is it the most comfortable wearable I’ve ever tried on? No way — it’s still a little stiff for my taste though choosing the right size option should help at least a little. On the plus side though, Microsoft says the Band’s two day battery life wasn’t impacted by the design change, and those pesky charging spots won’t ever touch your skin (and get dirty) again.

What people weren’t really concerned about was shoehorning another sensor into the Band, but Microsoft did anyway, bringing the total count to eleven. That means we now have a barometer in addition to sensors for motion, heart rate, light, location, skin temperature, galvanic skin response, V02Max and more. Microsoft’s wearable might not be the prettiest thing out there, but it’s certainly one of the most observant. Throw in the ability to communicate with Cortana and support for third-party apps from Uber to Starbucks to Subway (for when the urge for a generic sub is just too much to bear) and we’ve got a surprisingly substantive upgrade to a seriously divisive device. We won’t render a verdict on this thing until we get to review it properly — it’s set to launch on October 30 — but this road won’t be an easy one for Microsoft. Mass opinions haven’t really crystallized around specific fitness gadgets they way they have for smartphone brands, but we’ll soon see if Redmond did enough to bring the Band back from the brink.

High-end Windows Phones make a comeback with the Lumia 950 and 950 XL

You could be forgiven for forgetting that Windows Phones were ever really a thing — iOS and Android devices keep making headlines. After all, it’s been ages since we got a high-end phone from Microsoft or one of its partners. It was… frustrating to say the least, especially if you were one of those people who fell under the spell of Microsoft’s mega-marketing blitz. Now, though, we’ve got two new high-end Windows Phones — the Lumia 950 and 950 XL — ready to bring the best of Redmond’s new vision of software straight into our pockets. I spent a little time here in New York CIty to futz around with both, and one thing seems clear: While the hardware doesn’t feel like Microsoft’s best, there are plenty of good ideas here. Slideshow-326526

Let’s start with the Lumia 950 (and disregard for a moment how the weirdo naming scheme Microsoft adopted from Nokia would imply that this thing is somehow inferior to a two-year-old phone). It’s a surprisingly light thing, with a body hewn almost entirely of plastic — definitely not what you’d expect from a supposed premium Windows Phone. Still, between its light chassis and the 5.2-inch Quad HD AMOLED screen running up front, it’s an awfully comfortable thing to hold for a while; it was a welcome change after having used an iPhone 6s Plus for a week or two.

Meanwhile, I’m told the 20-megapixel camera on the 950’s back is capable of capturing better photos than even the Lumia 1020 did (with the added benefit of fitting nicely in a pocket). That’s thanks in part to an f/1.9 aperture lens and optical image stabilization, and while the few sample photos I shot in this dark, rave-y warehouse environment turned out surprisingly well, I’ll hold off my judgment until we can take this thing outside. The 950 also rocks a USB Type-C port along its bottom edge instead of the usual micro-USB, but a spokesperson confirmed that it’ll play nice with wireless chargers too (just in case you were worried). Microsoft went with Qualcomm’s hexa-core Snapdragon 808 (clocked at 1.8GHz) with 3GB of RAM to power the show and it’s about as quick as you’d expect a high-end chipset to run in a Windows Phone — that is, very.Slideshow-326539

The “XL” moniker might make you think the only difference is it has a bigger screen. Erm, not quite. Sure, the XL’s Quad HD AMOLED display comes in at 5.7 inches diagonal, but it also packs a slightly snappier (on paper, anyway) 2.0GHz Snapdragon 810 chipset again paired with 3GB of RAM. I say “on paper” because Windows Phone was always one of those platforms that never needed a lot of horsepower to provide slippery-smooth performance — that’s mostly the case here too, though that speedier silicon should help when you connect the phone to a display via a dock accessory and get your Continuum on. That’s probably where the liquid-cooling tech (originally seen in the Surface Pro 3) comes in — lashing these things to a big screen must certainly pushing these things to the limit, though not many Microsoft staffers were keen to dig into detail here. I didn’t mind the 950’s lightness so much, but the 950 feels similarly airy… and lacking in the sort of material gravitas that older high-end Lumias were known for. I know, I know: I’m probably alone in loving slightly heavy phones, but at least the 950XL is surprisingly easy to hang on to thanks to its weight and despite its bigger screen. Oh, and the icing on the cake? Both phones have expandable memory slots and removable batteries.

A bombastic Continuum demo drew cheers during the presentation, and for good reason — the ease with which these phones basically turned into tiny computers was near-astonishing. Connecting the phones to a display with the help of a tiny adapter box let the multiple Universal apps preloaded onto the phone — think Word, Outlook and the like — breathe easier with more screen real estate. The jury’s still out on how many normal, phone-shopping consumers will want to turn their phones into mostly capable desktops, but you know what? Continuum really, properly works. Neither Lumia is equipped to seriously replace a laptop thanks to the feature, but it’s a welcome touch for when you need just a little more room to get things done.

Microsoft has plenty to be proud of her: After cooking up a mobile platform that seemed destined for very little, Windows 10 feels like a really meaningful step forward. What remains to be seen is whether people shopping for smartphones will take a chance — even a deserved one — on Microsoft’s mobile comeback. For Microsoft’s sake, and for the sake of the competition that’ll push all players to do a little better, I hope they do.

The Lumia 950 vs. the competition: A battle of flagships

The smaller of the new Lumias is quite the powerhouse on paper, but how does it stack up against the latest iOS and Android devices? At first glance, Microsoft’s newest flagship, the Lumia 950, seems plenty powerful with its 1.8GHz hexa-core Snapdragon 808, 3GB of RAM and 5.2-inch Quad HD AMOLED display. However, we’ve got the face-off after the break with a side-by-side comparison between the Lumia 950, iPhone 6s and Nexus 5x so you can decide for yourself which one best suits your needs.

Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.