The newly released HP Spectre x360 14 puts up a good fight against Apple’s 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro. So, which laptop is better? We have compared HP Spectre X360 14 vs M1 MacBook Pro in order to give you the best review here.
Specs
| M1 MacBook Pro | HP Spectre X360 14 | |
| Display | 13.3-inch (2560×1600) | 14-inch (1920 x 1200) |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Processor | Apple M1 chip | Intel Core i5 11th Gen |
| Capacity | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard | Standard Notebook Keyboard |
| Operating system | macOS Big Sur | Windows 10 Home Basic |
Design
Both laptops weigh the same at 3 pounds, but the M1 is slightly thinner at 0.61 inches thick when compared to 0.67 inches thick of the Spectre x360. With the M1 MacBook Pro, Apple keeps the MacBook Pro design exactly the same as before. Also, its color options stay the same with Silver and Space Gray.Â
On the other hand, the HP Spectre x360 14 comes with stunning gold-colored aluminum edges and hinges. Not to mention that the laptop also features an all-aluminum chassis. These make the HP Spectre x360 14 really stand out from all the laptops in its category. And, when compared to the M1 MacBook Pro, the HP Spectre x360 14 gives it a run for its money. Personally, I think the HP Spectre x360 14 offers a fancier look here.
However, when it comes to build quality, there is no doubt that the MacBook Pro is in the lead here. With both laptops, you can easily open the lid with just 1 hand. Even though the port selection continues to be very slim on the M1 MacBook Pro, this time it only features 2 Thunderbolt/USB-C. Meanwhile, the HP Spectre x360 14 gives you 2 USB-C, a USB Type-A, an HDMI 2.0, and a Micro SD reader.
Display
The 2020 M1 MacBook Pro comes with a 13.3-inch Retina display that can reach 303 nits at full brightness. With this display, the M1 Mac pulls off some solid color (range of 100% sRGB and 89 Adobe RGB).
The HP Spectre x360 14 comes with a 15.6-inch full HD display that can reach 362 nits at full brightness with a color gamut range of 97% sRGB and 77% Adobe RGB. So, the Spectre x360 14 isn’t as far behind the M1 as I expected it to be here. Additionally, the Spectre also has a manual shutoff switch for the webcam to avoid any cyber spying.
Performance
Now, let’s get down to performance and test results of both machines!
Geekbench 5 & Cinebench R23
At the single-core performance, the M1 MacBook Pro is in the lead with 1,733 points when compared to 1,521 points of the HP Spectre x360. Moving onto multiple-core, the result isn’t too different. While the M1 MacBook Pro scored 7,578 points in Geekbench 5 multiple cores, the HP Spectre x360 only reached 4940 points.
With the Cinebench test, the M1 finished with flying colors at 7,760 points when the HP Spectre x360 14 is only at 2,181.
Video Editing
In our 4k video editing test, the HP Spectre x360 witnessed 11907 dropped frames at full quality. But, at half quality video editing, the Spectre x360 only saw 755 drop frames followed by 2 drop frames in fourth quality. So, at medium quality this laptop will run 4k video editing pretty smoothly.
Meanwhile, the M1 MacBook Pro only has 5481 dropped frames at full quality followed by 375 at half quality and zero at fourth quality. For video rendering, the Spectre x360 finished at 10 minutes and 31 seconds while the M1 MacBook Pro only needed 5 minutes and 51 seconds. So, if you have to do a lot of video editing, then the M1 is the perfect option here.
In addition, during the 4k editing exporting, the MacBook Pro M1 had no fan noise whereas the Spectre x360 had about 37 decibels. But, for a windows based laptop that’s very quiet when it comes to 4k video editing.
Pros & Cons
| Â | Pros | Cons |
| HP Spectre X360 14 |
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| 2020 M1 MacBook Pro |
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Price
With a starting price of $1,329, the Spectre x360 14 is among HP’s most expensive laptops. And, the upgrading option to an OLED display raises its price by $90.
At the same price range, the M1 MacBook Pro has 2 configurations at $1,299 for 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and $1,499 for 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD.
The Bottom Line
Overall, the M1 MacBook Pro is a strong laptop with long battery life. And, it has proven itself a worthy winner in this match-up. However, well-engineered laptops like the HP Spectre x360 14 with Intel processors aren’t that far behind. Plus, with the benefit of having an Intel processor, the Spectre x360 14 is still a great option if you have to run lots of Intel-supported apps.
Let us know what you think about the HP Spectre X360 14 vs M1 MacBook Pro in the comments!
