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HP Elite X3 Review: A super phablet that’s stuck with a faltering OS

HP Elite X3 smartphone

The Pros

  • Beautiful screen
  • Continuum compatible
  • Great support from HP

The Cons

  • It's big, even for a phablet
  • Only on Windows 10 Mobile
  • Expensive

These days it’s hard not to feel a sense of doom and gloom surrounding Windows 10 Mobile.

A series of major services have withdrawn their apps from the platform in the last few weeks and even Microsoft appears to have admitted that the operating system is more trouble than it’s worth by dropping support for the Windows Mobile version of Minecraft.

With that in mind, I admit that I felt a pang of regret that Windows isn’t a viable option as my everyday mobile OS when I tested Hewlett Packard’s Elite X3. As a premium phone that deserves to stand alongside the likes of the iPhone 7 and Google Pixel, the Elite X3 is a phablet fan’s delight. Yet, the reality is that very few people are likely to experience it because of the operating system it runs on.

HP Elite x3

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

Display

5.96-inch diagonal WQHD (2560 x 1440) AMOLED multitouch display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and anti-reflective coating

5.5" (139.7-millimeter) AMOLED Full HD 1080P (1920 x 1080)

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (2.15 GHz, 4 cores)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Hexa Core Processor

RAM

4GB

3GB

Storage

64GB eMMC

32GB storage

Dimensions (in.)

83.5 x 7.8 x 161.8 mm

156.5 x 75.9 x 8.4 mm

Weight

194g

150 g

Rear Facing Camera

16MP FHD

21MP, auto focus, Dual LED flashlight

Front Facing Camera

8MP FHD and Iris camera

8MP, fixed focus

OS

Windows 10 Mobile

Windows 10 Mobile

Battery

4150 mAh Li-ion polymer

2870 mAh non-replaceable Li-polymer battery

Network Connectivity

802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2x2) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 LE combo (Miracast supported); NFC; WWAN: 2G/3G/4G, LTE-A with carrier

Bluetooth 4.0 EDR, 802.11ac WiFi featuring MIMO technology (Dual-Band 2.4GHz and 5GHz)

Sensors

Ambient light sensor & proximity combo, Accelerometer & gyro, eCompass, Pressure, Hall effect, NFC, GPS

Light sensor, G sensor, E-Compass, Proximity sensor, Hall sensor, Gyro Sensor, GPS/AGPS

SIM Type

Dual Nano SIM

Dual SIM

Launch Date

September 12, 2017

July 18, 2016

Misc

IP67-rated, MicroSD expandable up to 2TB, 2 Stereo speakers (one with earpiece); 3 integrated omni-directional microphones, 1 external microphone (from headset jack), Audio by B&O PLAY

microSD memory slot up to 128GB (SDXC compatible)

Display

HP Elite x3

5.96-inch diagonal WQHD (2560 x 1440) AMOLED multitouch display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and anti-reflective coating

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

5.5" (139.7-millimeter) AMOLED Full HD 1080P (1920 x 1080)

Processor

HP Elite x3

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (2.15 GHz, 4 cores)

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Hexa Core Processor

RAM

HP Elite x3

4GB

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

3GB

Storage

HP Elite x3

64GB eMMC

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

32GB storage

Dimensions (in.)

HP Elite x3

83.5 x 7.8 x 161.8 mm

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

156.5 x 75.9 x 8.4 mm

Weight

HP Elite x3

194g

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

150 g

Rear Facing Camera

HP Elite x3

16MP FHD

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

21MP, auto focus, Dual LED flashlight

Front Facing Camera

HP Elite x3

8MP FHD and Iris camera

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

8MP, fixed focus

OS

HP Elite x3

Windows 10 Mobile

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

Windows 10 Mobile

Battery

HP Elite x3

4150 mAh Li-ion polymer

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

2870 mAh non-replaceable Li-polymer battery

Network Connectivity

HP Elite x3

802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2x2) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 LE combo (Miracast supported); NFC; WWAN: 2G/3G/4G, LTE-A with carrier

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

Bluetooth 4.0 EDR, 802.11ac WiFi featuring MIMO technology (Dual-Band 2.4GHz and 5GHz)

Sensors

HP Elite x3

Ambient light sensor & proximity combo, Accelerometer & gyro, eCompass, Pressure, Hall effect, NFC, GPS

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

Light sensor, G sensor, E-Compass, Proximity sensor, Hall sensor, Gyro Sensor, GPS/AGPS

SIM Type

HP Elite x3

Dual Nano SIM

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

Dual SIM

Launch Date

HP Elite x3

September 12, 2017

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

July 18, 2016

Misc

HP Elite x3

IP67-rated, MicroSD expandable up to 2TB, 2 Stereo speakers (one with earpiece); 3 integrated omni-directional microphones, 1 external microphone (from headset jack), Audio by B&O PLAY

Acer Liquid Jade Primo

microSD memory slot up to 128GB (SDXC compatible)

Productivity focus

Bottom of X3 smartphone

Microsoft has been trying to position Windows 10 Mobile as the best choice for productivity-oriented users and the Elite X3 is squarely aimed at that market. With an OS that matches HP’s ambitions, the Elite X3 could be the ideal phone for anyone who frequently flies business class. The 5.96-inch WQHD AMOLED screen is massive and brilliantly sharp, which makes manipulating Excel spreadsheets and writing Word documents on-the-go easier than it is on probably any other phone on the market (and the screen is great for watching HD movies on, too). Then, at the office, there is the option to kick into Continuum if the additional hardware is available.

Under Continuum the phone’s Start screen becomes the Start Menu and UWP apps are scaled appropriately for a computer monitor. The Elite X3, with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 2.15 GHz processor and 4GB of SDRAM, handles Continuum without a problem.

Back of Continuum dock

Furthermore, with the specially-designed Desk Dock, which comes in the $999 CAD bundle currently advertised on Microsoft’s Canadian store, you can hard wire the phone to a monitor via HDMI and to the web through Gigabit Ethernet as well attach USB-A (x 2) and USB-C (x 1) devices such as printers and external hard drives.

HP is understandably trying to get across these advantages by promoting the Elite X3 as a phone that gives a PC-like experience. Unfortunately, because of software limitations, the reality doesn’t match up with the marketing. There are still too few UWP apps and too many constraints on multitasking under Continuum to give a phone connected to a monitor the power and versatility of a PC regardless of how convenient the display scaling is.

Windows 10 mobile’s limitations

HP Elite X3 front

Continuum is a nice bonus if you’re travelling between offices and need to write e-mails, run off a report or make edits to a presentation without wanting to lug a laptop around. If you need more than that, though, Continuum isn’t going to cut it.

As a productivity tool, therefore, the Elite X3 is let down by the current capabilities of its OS. Inevitably, that also applies to everyday use. There is a lot I like about Windows 10 Mobile: it’s fast, familiar and visually different from its more successful competitors. Even so, it feels like a neglected platform. The lack of apps is well-publicized and you can’t even stream to a Chromecast without feeling like you’re fudging it. Moreover, too many services can now only be accessed through a web browser, which is never as convenient as using a dedicated app, even on the Elite X3’s large screen.

None of Windows 10 Mobile’s limitations should distract from the merits of the Elite X3’s hardware, though. You certainly get your money’s worth in mass because the Elite X3 is a giant. Hewlett Packard gives the phone’s length and width as 161.35mm x 83.57mm.

X3 Continuum

That’s 3 mm longer and over 5mm wider than the iPhone 7 Plus and bigger still than a Pixel XL. It is also 0.6 mm thicker than both of these phones. With those dimensions, the Elite X3 is a phone that only The Incredible Hulk will be able to operate with one hand. Still, the weight is comfortable and the matt metal back doesn’t feel slippery.

Windows 10 Mobile is at a crossroads

The Elite X3 also has the kind of specs you would expect from a phone at its price point. These include a whopping 4150 mAh Li-ion polymer battery that is wireless charging compatible, USB-C wired charging, a 16-megapixel FHD rear-facing camera, an 8-megapixel FHD front facing camera, great front-facing B&O PLAY speakers, a noise-cancelling microphone, iris and fingerprint scanners, and 64GB of internal storage (expandable to 2TB if you are not using the second SIM card slot). HP has also produced a nice range of accessories such as a variety of cases, a dedicated stylus and the aforementioned Desk Dock.

As outstanding as these features are, however, they feel a bit like overkill on Windows 10 Mobile. This OS stands at a crossroads and the Elite X3’s place in phone history might well depend on which direction Microsoft chooses to go with it. With just a few significant improvements and more apps, Continuum could become a great boon to travelling professionals and allow the Elite X3 to be used to its full potential.

On the other hand, if Microsoft compromises on Continuum or effectively replaces it by focusing on bringing full Windows 10 to phones, the Elite X3 might go down as a top-class device that barely made a ripple because it was too expensive to appeal to the average consumer and too constrained by the limitations of Windows 10 Mobile and Continuum to be widely adopted by the corporate sector. That would be a shame because I’d have no hesitation in recommending HP’s Elite X3 if it ran on a popular OS.

"I felt a pang of regret that Windows isn’t a viable option as my everyday mobile OS when I tested Hewlett Packard’s Elite X3"                                                                                                                                                            8/10

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