While Windows Phone seems to be dying a slow death, HP don’t seem to have gotten the memo. They dedicated the bulk of their Mobile World Congress presence to announcing a new Windows Phone, the HP Elite X3. It’s called the X3 because it’s designed to be three devices in one: a phone that also works as a laptop and desktop PC. Let’s take a closer look at this crazy design.
A bleeding-edge Windows Phone smartphone
The Elite X3 looks like the most powerful Windows Phone ever, complete with a next-generation Snapdragon 820 processor that equals that in the Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5. This is backed with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, which can be expanded with Micro SD cards. The phone’s battery is crazy-big too, at 4150mAh, and even supports Qi wireless charging. Dual SIM support is also included, which makes sense for the businesspeople that this device is aimed towards.
The X3’s hardware is intended to make full use of its Windows 10 operating system. As well as the obvious Continuum functionality, the phone comes with an iris scanner on the front and a fingerprint reader on the back, making it easy to login without doing anything so ordinary as putting in a PIN code.
Three forms
You can use the 6-inch display as a normal Windows 10 phone, but you can also connect the big phone into a laptop-shaped dock that gives you a full PC experience via Continuum. Surprisingly, this connection is wireless, so you can still use the phone as normal while it’s powering the ‘mobile extender’. The extender comes with a 12.5-inch display and a 48Wh battery; of course a full-size keyboard and trackpad are also included.
There’s also a wired Desk Dock, which lets you route video from the phone to a monitor or TV and connect peripherals, giving you a desktop-like experience. You won’t be able to run legacy Windows apps, but all universal Windows 10 apps are a go. For businesspeople with supportive IT departments, it’ll also be possible to stream apps from the cloud, but normal consumers won’t have that option.
Coming this summer
The HP Elite X3 will be released this summer. It’ll be interesting to see how the virtual apps approach HP is taking will work out, and how the Elite X3 compares to the forthcoming Surface Phone. Even for regular consumers, the phone’s horsepower and Continuum support could be pretty tempting.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
This phone looks amazing! Roll on the summer!