“The world’s most powerful convertible PC” headlines HP’s CES 2018 line-up
Plus, HP enters the world of cloud computing with a DIY video game streaming service.
HP has thrown down the gauntlet at this year's CES, unveiling what it claims is the most powerful convertible PC currently available anywhere in the world.
Part of its popular Spectre line, the HP Spectre x360 15 is aimed squarely at creators of high-quality digital content. In addition to a 15.6-inch 4K UHD display, the x360 15 packs up to 16GB of RAM for editing large photos or video files, a dedicated Radeon RX Vega graphics card for speedy video encoding and a powerful Intel i7 8705G CPU for responsive performance across all manner of computing tasks.
As a device designed for portability, the Spectre x360 15 doesn't skimp on the battery life, either, with HP touting up to 12 hours of battery life plus Fast Charge Technology capable of recharging the battery from 0% to 50% in just 30 minutes.
Unsurprisingly, this kind of power doesn't come cheap, with pricing for the HP Spectre x360 15 starting at $3499 and increasing depending on your chosen configuration. HP will sell the x360 15 directly from its own website and via Harvey Norman, with availability due to be announced in the coming weeks.
If you're looking for something a little more affordable, HP today also announced the HP Envy x2, a 2-in-1 laptop designed for the "always-on" lifestyle. With a 12.3-inch WUXGA+ 1080p display and a battery life of up to 17 hours, the Envy x2 is positioned as your go-to device for all day-to-day tasks. At just 767g and with a SIM card slot for a mobile broadband connection, it's certainly got the potential to replace your laptop, your tablet and potentially even your phone as your all-in-one travel device.
Like the Spectre x360 15, the Envy x2 will be available through both HP and Harvey Norman, with HP set to release more details on availability in the coming weeks. Pricing for the Envy x2 will start at $1899, though it's possible select Australian mobile carriers will offer the device on contract when it launches, too.
To complement its newly-announced hardware, HP also revealed a video-streaming initiative targeted at gamers on-the-go. As of autumn this year, all of HP's OMEN PCs will ship with an app called OMEN Game Stream which effectively turns them into a cloud gaming server, allowing you to stream gameplay from that PC to your laptop, tablet or any other Windows 10 device.
This means that your powerful OMEN PC does all the grunt work of rendering a game, while your remote device simply receives a video stream of the action over the Internet. Provided your broadband connection is fast and stable enough, this means you can take your games with you wherever you go without having to lug your massive OMEN PC around.
