I’d wager you won’t feel so bad about losing ports when you see just how fast the XPS 15 is. Our review unit featured Intel’s eight-core i7-10875H CPU, NVIDIA’s GTX 1650 Ti, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. You can configure it all the way up to the super-speedy Core i9 with 64GB of RAM. It easily trounced the Surface Book 3 in the PCMark 10 benchmark, especially when it came to multi-core testing (though the Surface’s faster GPU gave it a leg up in 3DMark). And it kept up with the ASUS Zephyrus G14 and the Intel NUC 9 Extreme, some of the fastest PCs we’ve seen this year.

The true test for a machine like this is real-world work, and it didn’t have any trouble there either. The XPS 15 converted a one-minute 4K video clip into 1080p in 43 seconds with its CPU and 33 seconds with the NVIDIA GPU, which is on par with the powerful NUC 9 Extreme. Needless to say, it didn’t have any trouble with my usual workflow, which involves juggling dozens of browser tabs, Slack, Evernote, Spotify and Audacity recordings. And while this isn’t a machine you’d really get to play games, the GTX 1650 Ti is more than enough to play most modern titles like Overwatch in 1080p.

To get that performance, though, You’d have to go beyond the $1,300 base model, which only comes with 8GB of RAM and integrated graphics. We’d recommend jumping up to the $1,850 configuration for twice as much RAM, a six-core i7 processor and that NVIDIA GPU. That’s a huge price jump, I know, but it’ll make the XPS 15 last you a lot longer. Even then, it’s still less than the MacBook Pro 16-inch, which starts at $2,400 but is admittedly more powerful. That XPS 15 configuration is also much cheaper than an upgraded Surface Book 3, which also has a lesser quad-core CPU.

As you’d imagine, the ZenBook Duo instantly stands out from every other notebook when it’s open. But it’s another story if you’re not actually looking at the screens. ASUS is still relying on its metallic ZenBook case design, which is sleek and smooth to the touch. Its matte finish gives off an air of subtle refinement — certainly more than the shinier cases from past ZenBooks. ASUS also includes an array of useful ports, including two USB Type A connections, one USB C, HDMI and a microSD card slot. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support Intel’s fast Thunderbolt 3 standard, which is technically four times faster than standard USB 3.1.

Beneath the hood, the ZenBook Duo features Intel’s quad-core i7-10510U, 16GB of RAM and NVIDIA’s GeForce MX 250 GPU. ASUS likely opted for that NVIDIA GPU to better handle dual displays. It doesn’t really lead to much more performance compared to the XPS 13’s integrated Iris Plus graphics though. Both notebooks ended up scoring almost the same in the 3DMark Sky Diver benchmark, though the ZenBook Duo edged out a victory in the newer Night Raid test. And Overwatch was a bit more playable in 720p and even 1080p with lower graphics settings, thanks to more consistent frame rates.

Unsurprisingly, given all of its horsepower, the ZenBook Duo handled all of my productivity needs without issue. But I really appreciated having 16GB of RAM when dealing with dozens and browser tabs and other apps running on the secondary screen. This is a machine meant for multitasking, after all. The more memory, the better. It also lasted a surprising 11 hours and 55 minutes on our battery test, even with both screens on. The ZenBook Pro Duo, had a hard time reaching four hours. 

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

If you’re considering the ZenBook Duo, the real question you need to ask yourself is how much do you really need two screens on a $1,499 ultraportable. ASUS did a decent job of fitting in a second display, but it leads to plenty of compromises. I wouldn’t go so far as to call the ScreenPad Plus a gimmick, but it’s not something most people actually need — not when you can get a thinner, lighter and cheaper machine like the XPS 13. Still, it’s a noble experiment — the ZenBook Duo stands alone in a sea of ever-similar ultraportables.

HP managed to fit in an IR camera for Windows Hello face authentication. That’s something we missed on the XPS 13 2-in-1, which only featured a fingerprint sensor. The Spectre’s super small camera is terribly grainy and blurry, unfortunately, but that’s the price you pay for squeezing it into a tiny screen bezel. The x360 also has a fingerprint sensor, if you don’t quite trust Windows face-mapping biometrics yet.

Thanks to its smaller frame, the x360 now features a wide edge-to-edge keyboard. Its large keycaps are luxurious, and I really appreciated the deep key travel, which feels reminiscent of Microsoft’s Surface. This is one area where, for many people, HP has an advantage over Dell. While I got used to the XPS 13 2-in-1’s fairly flat Mag-Lev keyboard, I’ve talked to plenty of folks who found it only slightly better than Apple’s uncomfortable butterfly keys. The Spectre x360’s delivers the sort of typing experience PC enthusiasts crave. It’s not as good as the legendary ThinkPad keyboard, but it’s close.

Its trackpad also feels very smooth and accurate, though I wish it was larger like Apple and Dell’s latest premium devices. Thankfully, HP dumped the terrible Synaptics touchpad drivers from its last batch of machines and added a Precision driver this time around. That gives the touchpad a much more modern feel with support for more gestures. Frankly, it’s something the company needed to do for years.

HP also includes a stylus with the x360, and while it’s no Surface Pen, it’s useful for anyone who wants to doodle a bit. There’s also a sleek leather in the box to protect it from the elements. I find it a bit unnecessary, but it fits with the premium aesthetic the company is going for. At the very least, it’ll prevent the x360 from getting the nicks and scratches that can quickly make a new laptop seem weathered.

As far as performance goes, the Spectre x360 delivers most of what we’ve seen from other laptops with Intel’s 10th gen CPUs. It’s plenty fast for daily tasks, even when I’m juggling dozens of tabs, Slack and other apps. And Intel’s Iris Plus graphics give it enough power to play a few games, like Overwatch, although I had to lower the resolution to 720p to get anywhere near 60FPS. That might not sound impressive, but it’s a huge step forward from the weak integrated graphics Intel used to rely on. It’s enough power for the x360 to play simpler and slower paced games well too, like Minecraft and Disco Elysium.

Aside from the aforementioned hinges, there’s not much about the x360 that screams “convertible” at first. It works well in the standard laptop mode — where you’ll be spending most of your time — but the ability to twist the screen around is useful if you just want to watch Netflix in bed all day. And as with more convertible machines, it’s comically large to use as a tablet, but I still found that mode useful for focused reading. If you don’t have a standard tablet around, the x360 is also a great screen for devouring digital comics.

The laptop did get a bit warm to the touch when I was playing games or doing anything demanding, and its fans are noticeable once they kick up. HP says it reworked its cooling design from last year, so it should at least be quieter than the last x360, which sometimes sounded a bit like an overeager jet engine. When you’re not gaming, you can also expect to see some solid battery life. During our benchmark, which involves looping an HD video, it lasted for a healthy 14.5 hours, almost exactly the same as the XPS 13 convertible.

There’s one issue that mars the otherwise premium Spectre x360 experience: bloatware. HP crammed in apps from Dropbox and ExpressVPN, along with its own redundant apps for things like switching audio devices. It caused me to have a flashback to the dark days of Windows XP laptops, and it’s not the sort of thing you’d expect from a pricey 2019 machine. McAfee Personal Security is also pre-installed, but at least that comes with a trial subscription (and it’s actually helpful for most users).

This week, Devindra and Cherlynn tackle the best and worst tech of 2019. Among the winners: Wireless earbuds and premium ultraportables. As for the losers well…. There’s a lot to cover. If anything, it seems like this year is a stepping stone towards some real innovation in 2020.

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Cherlynn Low
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien