14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft no longer seems to be interested in building Windows 10 Mobile hardware, although everyone hopes to see Redmond launch a Surface Phone, but instead the company is betting big on partners building devices that could help keep the operating system relevant in this highly competitive market dominated by Android and iOS.
And while Microsoft expressed its commitment to Windows 10 Mobile on several occasions, the most powerful Windows phone ever comes from HP, a long-time partner for the software giant, not necessarily in mobile, but also in Windows and PC businesses.
The HP Elite X3 is in all regards a state-of-the-art phone, coming not only with an exquisite look, but also with hardware that puts it in line with high-end phones running Android or iOS.
As we’re now reviewing the Elite X3, we wanted to give you a little preview of what’s to come, so we’re going to detail the first encounter with the device today, saving all information for the full review that will be published in the coming days. We’re going to split this article into three parts, namely hardware, software, and conclusions, so read on to find out what the HP Elite X3 is about at first glance.
Hardware
Just by looking at the spec sheet, it becomes very clear that the HP Elite X3 is one of the best phones on the market right now, coming with a Snapdragon 820 processor, a 5.96-inch super AMOLED display and Gorilla Glass 4, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage and microSD card support, 16-megapixel camera, and Bang & Olufsen speakers.
On paper, everything sounds fantastic, but how’s this in real life? The HP Elite X3 might feel a little bit too big, especially if you’re used to 5-inch phones. The device, however, has a very premium look and both the front fascia, with the Bang & Olufsen speakers, and the back cover, which has a rubbery texture, feel nice to the touch.
Getting used to its size is just a matter of time, and if you come from the Lumia 950 XL, it doesn’t take more than a day to understand how awesome this phone is. Especially given the quality of the display, which is brilliant to say the least, offering vivid colors and balanced contrast and (most of the time) correctly adjusted brightness.
The camera of the phone provides the best performance in the Windows 10 Mobile device lineup, and most of the photos look good, especially in HDR mode, but we’ve also discovered some setbacks that could be addressed in future updates.
For example, the camera sometimes loses focus, especially during video recording in low-light conditions (a problem that we’ve also complained about when reviewing the Lumia 950 XL) and it sometimes takes too much between the moment you press the camera shutter and when it takes the picture. If you’re trying to capture a moving object, chances are it will get all blurry, and it’s all because the camera is not as fast as you’d expect it to be.
Battery life is simply amazing and it really pays off to offer a 4150 mAh unit because you get at least one day of battery life easily per charge.
We’ll discuss more about this in our full review that will be published in the coming days so stay tuned.
Software
In terms of software, there’s not much to talk about here, especially in the case of long-time Windows 10 Mobile users (there are fewer of them, though, as many seem to abandon ship as a result of Microsoft’s dropping interest for Windows phones).
On the HP Elite X3, Windows 10 Mobile feels a more reliable operating system, and it’s very clear that HP pressed Microsoft to improve the operating system with features that weren’t originally there, such as fingerprint support.
The majority of features, or let’s call them the essentials, that you find on Android and iOS are here too, and you also get some nice exclusives that certainly come in handy, as is the case of the live tiles. The Start still looks awesome and is the most beautiful home screen in the mobile market at the moment, but once again, Windows 10 Mobile still has one major problem: the lack of apps.
There still are apps that Windows 10 Mobile doesn’t have and transitioning from Android and iOS could become a painful process. What we missed the most were online banking and food delivery apps, which we use on a regular basis on other platforms.
Once again, we’ll talk more about this in the full review that will be published soon, when more screenshots and camera samples will be included.
Early conclusions
At first glance, the HP Elite X3 is a fantastic device that has one major drawback: the operating system. We know this is going to anger many Windows Phone fans, but this is the pure truth.
Windows 10 Mobile is evolving, there’s no doubt about it, but no matter if we accept it or not, it’s still behind Android and iOS, not necessarily in terms of apps, but also when it comes to features. Microsoft has promised Redstone 2 to bring many more improvements to phones, so hopefully this would improve the experience on the Elite X3 as well.
In the end, there is absolutely no doubt that this is the best Windows phone ever released. And the saddest part is that it’s not even manufactured by Microsoft, which tells a lot about Redmond’s strategy regarding phones. I’d go as far as saying that this is HP’s Surface Phone, but we’re pretty sure that Microsoft plans to offer even more than that on its flagship phone (if it ever builds it, of course).
We’re still playing with the HP Elite X3 for a few more days before publishing the review, so some of the opinions posted here could change in the meantime. Feel free to ask us anything or post your opinions on the HP Elite X3 in the comment box after the jump.
