A pop-up camera that rotates and keeps your face in the frame will come standard with HP’s latest 11-Inch Windows tablet, the PC maker announced Tuesday. The 13-megapixel shooter, which HP calls a “glam cam,” should help you videoconference and snap selfies in style.
Unveiled as part of the company’s fall product lineup, the new tablet is one of just a handful of consumer-oriented Windows tablets on the market. With an 11-inch diagonal screen and an Intel Pentium silver processor, the tablet is similar to Microsoft’s entry-level Surface Go 2 tablet, and is slated to go on sale in December for a palatable $499 starting price (keyboard not included).
That’s quite a bargain if you’re on the hunt for a Windows-powered tablet that shoots great video. And it’s not just for making you look good. HP says that when you set up the tablet on your desk using the included kickstand, you can pop the camera up and rotate it to show everyone on the call what’s on your desk. The camera even has automatic keystone correction, which kicks in to make the viewable area a rectangle no matter how angled it is.
Other than the slick camera, the rest of the 11-inch tablet’s specs are relatively pedestrian. They include up to 4GB of memory, up to 128GB of solid-state storage, and just a single USB-C port for charging and connecting peripherals. Still, the design is reasonably high-end, with the tablet itself made of anodized silver aluminum and a fabric coating for both the integrated kickstand and the back of the optional keyboard cover.
Spectre x360 16: Thwarting the Shoulder Snoopers
Bargain hunters in search of a tablet that shows them in their best light aren’t the only ones who might like HP’s fall lineup. At the upper end of the market, the company teased a sleek new Spectre x360 2-in-1 convertible laptop with a gorgeous 16-inch OLED screen and a few camera tricks of its own.
The Spectre x360 16’s camera doesn’t pop up or rotate, but it does have some other advanced features that you won’t find on other consumer laptops. Using HP’s GlamCam app, the Spectre’s 5-megapixel camera will automatically correct lighting conditions and even keep your face in the frame when you move around.
The face-framing feature is similar to the Center Stage feature Apple introduced earlier this year on its flagship iPad Pro tablet. HP says its face-tracking technology can serve other purposes, too, including detecting when you look away from the laptop to dim the screen and save battery life. The new camera will also be able to detect when someone is taking a peek at your screen over your shoulder, and trigger a pop-up alert.
Besides the innovative camera, the new 16-inch Spectre x360 16 is the latest member of HP’s flagship laptop family to have its display grow by an inch, following the introduction of the highly acclaimed 14-inch model earlier this year. It’s likely that they’ll eventually supplant the 13-inch and 15-inch Spectre x360 laptops in HP’s lineup. The 16-inch screen has a 3K resolution, which works out to 3,072-by-1,920 pixels.
Inside, you’ll be able to configure the new laptop with an Intel H-series Core i7 from the latest Tiger Lake generation, as well as an optional Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card. Despite the large screen and the serious power of these available processors, the Spectre x360 16 is still relatively thin and light at 4.5 pounds. It will start at $1,639 when it goes on sale next month.
New Ultra-Wide Envy 34 AIO
HP’s flagship all-in-one desktop PC, the Envy, is also getting an improved camera this fall. The new 34-inch Envy 34 AIO will come with a magnetically attached webcam that you can position as you see fit. The camera resembles standalone webcams sold by Logitech, Dell, and others, but it easily snaps into place on the Envy 34’s upper display bezel, and matches the AIO’s sleek silver finish.
The 16-megapixel shooter also has IR sensors for Windows Hello face recognition, as well as dual-array digital microphones. One potential downside, however, is that it must be connected to the PC via an external wired connection, potentially adding clutter to your desk.
While HP introduced a new 32-inch Envy 32 AIO last year to critical acclaim, focusing on audio performance, it hasn’t updated the larger 34-inch model in a few years. Besides the new camera, the Envy 34’s signature feature is its ultra-wide format. The PC’s screen measures 5,120-b7-2,160 pixels and is rated to display 98% of the P3 color gamut, though it lacks touch support. Inside, you’ll be able to configure the new AIO with a desktop-class Intel Core i7-11700 (many AIOs use less powerful processors meant for laptops in order to eliminate bulky cooling components). Coupled with up to 32GB of memory, there should be more than enough power for many types of content creation, and in fact HP claims that the Envy 34 outperforms Apple’s M1-powered iMac by up to 50% on common tasks in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Expect to shell out at least $2,000 for the Envy 34 when it goes on sale in October.
HP Plans First Snapdragon Windows 11 PC
If that doesn’t fit your budget, HP is also refreshing its mainstream all-in-one PCs. Available in a 27-inch screen size, the new HP Pavilion 27 AIO will start at $749 and offer an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor with 1TB of storage. While still plenty powerful for everyday tasks, the U-series Ryzen is intended for use in laptops and doesn’t offer enough power to run some CPU-intensive workflows. And the 1TB drive is a spinning platter, with no option for a far superior SSD.
HP is rounding out its AIO refresh with some minor updates to the entry-level HP AIO models, available in either 24-inch or 27-inch versions. They’ll start at just $500. The company also teased new 32-inch and 34-inch monitors with 4K or curved WQHD panels, respectively, as well as a new HP 14 laptop that will be the first Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c laptop to ship from the factory with Microsoft’s new Windows 11 operating system; the PC and new OS arrive in October.
