In the wake of the regular style- and design-related comparisons of HP’s Envy laptop line with the Apple MacBooks, and most specifically the new HP Spectre XT’s similarity with the MacBook Air, Stacy Wolff – the Vice President of Industrial Design at HP – said that the outward similarities between the mentioned HP and Apple devices were largely “due to the way technologies developed."

During the course of a recent conversation with Engadget, Wolff said that despite the fact that the HP Spectre XT – which is scheduled to hit the markets on June 8 - is fairly akin to the Apple MacBook Air in appearance, the two devices have some notable differences too.

Pointing to the ‘wedge design’ and the ‘silver color’ similarities of the Spectre XT and MacBook Air, Wolff said that the key features differentiating the HP laptop from Apple’s included the XT's rubber-coated base, its brushed metal chassis, and its different execution of the keyboard, and its addition of an audio component.

Wolff, who also shared some details about HP’s latest products and strategy in Shanghai, further disclosed that some of HP's newest laptop designs are a result of the work undertaken at its research centers in 11 different cities, along with the help of consultants for an outside perspective.

Noting that there several similarities to everything in the market that's a modern-day Ultrabook, Wolff said that HP laptop similarity with Apple’s is “not because those guys did it first, but because “that's where the form factor is leading it."