Summary

• HP unveils redesigned Spectre x360 14 and 16 laptops with improved displays, toned-down design, and upgraded processors. Starts at $1,499.99.
• New HP Series 5 monitors offer smoother visuals with 1500:1 contrast ratio and 100Hz refresh rate. Additional HDMI port for easier device connection.
• HP introduces world's lightest 14-inch gaming laptop, Omen Transcend 14, with powerful specs, advanced cooling system, and AI features. Pre-order starts at $1,499.99.

With CES getting underway this week, HP has taken the wraps off its new laptops for 2024, starting with the flagships for the year. The HP Spectre x360 is getting a brand-new design, and for gaming, there's also a totally new Omen Transcend 14, which HP is calling the world's lightest 14-inch gaming laptop.

The redesigned HP Spectre x360 14 and 16

The big headlining announcements of the day are the new HP Spectre x360 laptops. First off, the HP Spectre x360 14 is big news for more reasons than one. It's the first time in a few years that the Spectre x360 14 actually has a 14-inch display. For the past few years, we've seen the name of this device switch to Spectre x360 13.5, because the display was actually a 13.5-inch panel with a 3:2 aspect ratio. This time, it has a 14-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and it comes with a 2.8K OLED panel and a 120Hz refresh rate, which we've seen on a lot of other premium laptops, too.

The design itself is also totally new. Of course, it has to accommodate the new display, but it also continues the trend of toning down the design of the Spectre lineup. In 2022, HP had already made the edges of laptop thinner so the dual-tone accent color would be less prominent, but now the dual-tone design is gone altogether. The new Spectre x360 14 comes in three color options, which are Nightfall Black, Slate Blue, and a new Sahara Silver, but all of them are a single color, with only some small accents on the non-silver models.

On the inside, the laptop now comes with Intel Core Ultra processors, as you'd expect, but they specifically come from the H series, which should be a big upgrade considering previus models always stuck with Intel's U-series processors. It now has up to 16 cores and 22 threads, as well as integrated Intel Arc graphics. It also comes with up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD, just like previous models.

As for the Spectre x360 16, it's also getting refreshed with Intel Core Ultra processors and up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics, which is a pretty big upgrade considering the previous models would come with an Intel Arc A380M GPU that wasn't particularly fast. Of course, it also has the same toned-down design as the 14-inch sibling, but the 16-inch model has always had a 16:10 display, so there are no big changes there.

The HP Spectre x360 14 and Spectre x360 16 are both available today, starting at $1,499.99 and $1,599.99, respectively.

Aside from the laptops, there are also some new peripherals for consumers. First off, there are the new HP Series 5 monitors, coming in 24-, 27-, and 32-inch sizes. These models will come with displays featuring a 1500:1 contrast ratio and a 100Hz refresh rate for smoother visuals. They also come with an additional HDMI port compared to previous models, making it easier to connect more devices. There isn't much in the way of details about these monitors, including price and availability.

As for other accessories, HP is also launching the HP 960 Ergonomic Wireless Keyboard, which comes with a split design to keep all the keys easily within reach. It also comes with 20 programmable keys to allows for more customization, and it works with both Bluetooth and a wireless dongle. There's also the new HP 690 Rechargeable Wireless Mouse, which is the world's first Qi-charging Bluetooth mouse, the HP 430 programmable Wireless Keypad, the HP 400 Backlit Wired Keyboard, and the HP USB-C Travel Hub G3. Finally, there's the Poly Voyager 20 Free WIreless Earbuds, a pair of true wireless earbuds featuring hybrid ANC, and up to 8 hours of battery life from the earbuds, plus 2.5 extra charges from the charging case.

The Poly Voyager 20 Free will be available in May for $149. As for the other accessories, the HP 960 Ergonomic Wireless Keyboard will launch in April for $119, the HP 690 wireless mouse is available now and costs $59.99, the HP 400 Backlit Wired Keyboard goes for $49.99, and the USB-C Travel Hub G3 will launch in February at $69.99. Pricing and availability weren't mentioned for the HP 430 Programmable Wireless Keypad.

The brand-new Omen Transcend 14

On the gaming side, HP is introducing the brand-new Omen Transcend 14. There's been a bit of a trend around 14-inch gaming laptops in recent years, and HP is finally catching up with it. The Omen Transcend 14 is the world's lightest 14-inch gaming laptop, according to HP, coming in at 1.6kg (1,637 grams, to be more precise.

It's still plenty powerful, though. It comes with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics. HP also touts an advanced cooling solution that relies on static pressure to deliver up to 80W of cooling capability despite the thin design.

It's also a good machine for streamers, since the NPU can power OpenVINO plug-ins for OBS Studio, resulting in better gaming performance since you're not using the GPU to run those kinds of plug-ins. And speaking of AI, the laptop ships with Otter.ai enabling features like live transcript and real-time captions for meetings.

One of the highlights here is the display, which is available with up to a 2.8K OLED display with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz. It's also the first laptop wth audio tuned by HyperX, which should deliver a better gaming audio experience overall.

Otherwise, HP also refreshed the Omen Transcend 16, now with an option for a 4K 240Hz OLED display, and the Omen 16 and VIctus 16 have also been updated with 14th-gen Intel Core HX-series processors.

The Omen Transcend 14 is available to pre-order today with a starting price of $1,499.99, while the new Omen Transcend 16 will be available on January 10th starting at $1,699.99. The standard Omen 16 will also launch on the same day starting at $1,199.99, and the Victus 16 is coming later and also starting at $1,199.99.

There's a 4K 240HZ OLED gaming monitor, too

If you're more of a desktop gamer, however, HP's Omen brand also has you covered. The company is announcing the new Omen Transcend 32 UHD 240Hz OLED Gaming Monitor, and it's pretty much everything it says This is a 32-inch QD-OLED panel promising a contrast ratio of 1,500,000:1, and with a super sharp 4K resolution and a smooth 240Hz display, making it a great match for a high-end gaming rig. It's complete with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400. HP also boasts an Omen Tempest cooling solution to help prolong the battery life of the OLED panel even further.

But that's not all, as the monitor also features individually switchable USB ports so you can use it as a KVM for multiple connected devices, and you can even drag and drop files between devices connected to it, too. It also comes with buit-in 140W power delivery to a laptop so you can keep it charged while you game.

The Omen Transcend 32 UHD 240Hz OLED Gaming Monitor will be available later this year, but pricing information is still unknown.

Otherwise, HP also announced a lot of new peripherals from the HyperX brand. These include the new HyperX Cloud Mini gaming headsets aimed at younger users and coming in both wired and wireless versions, along with the HyperX Tanto Mini Wired Controller for gamers who don't want to use a keyboard. There's the new HyperX ALloy Rise Keyboard, too, a 75% keyboard with hot-swappable switches, a first for HyperX. It has swappable switches, magnetic top plates, and more customization options. It also has auto-adjusting RGB lighting based on lighting conditions. The HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Mini is a compact gaming mouse promising battery life up to 100 hours and featuring an HyperX 26K sensor for extreme precision. Finally, there are also a couple of new backpacks.

The HyperX accessories will launch starting this month with the Pulsefire Haste 2 Mini, followed by the two new backpacks in February. Most of the products will launch in the spring.