Key Takeaways
- The HP Spectre Fold is a 17-inch foldable tablet with an OLED screen and built-in kickstand, offering versatile usage modes.
- It is one of the thinnest and lightest devices in its category, making it highly portable. It also has a large battery for extended usage.
- Sustainability is a major focus, with the use of recycled materials in its construction, eco-friendly packaging, and a commitment to sustainability throughout.
HP is entering the foldable PC market with the Spectre Fold, a 17-inch foldable tablet that can be used in various modes thanks to its folding display. This launch follows recent entries like the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, but it's still one of the first devices in this category.
It has an OLED screen and a built-in kickstand
Like other foldable PCs before it, the HP Spectre Fold comes with an OLED panel, in this case being a 17-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio and 2560x1920 resolution. The display can be folded to make for two 12.3-inch displays, and it can be used in a few different modes thanks to the built-in kickstand and the included Bluetooth keyboard.
The keyboard can be used wirelessly so you can make use of the full 17-inch screen, but you can also fold the laptop and snap the keyboard to the bottom half to use it like a more traditional laptop, now with a 12.3-inch screen. You can also snap the keyboard lower on the bottom screen, freeing up space for more apps on the bottom screen and putting the touchpad at an angle, or you can use the keyboard separately even with the laptop partly folded. Of course, you can also just use the PC as a large 17-inch tablet if you want to.
Most of this is stuff we've seen on devices like the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, but the ability to snap your keyboard to only part of the bottom screen is new, and it's quite interesting.
It's thin, but it has a huge battery
The HP Spectre Fold is one of the thinnest devices of its kind, measuring just 8.5mm in thickness when unfolded, just barely edging out both Asus and Lenovo's products. It's also lighter than the Asus' foldable PC, at 1.35kg (versus 1.5kg), so it's very portable considering its size.
Despite that, HP still packed some impressive specs in here. Most notably, the HP Spectre Fold 17 has a huge 93Whr battery, which is something you usually only see on gaming laptops. For comparison, the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED has a 75Whr battery, so you should get far better battery life here. HP also includes its signature 5MP webcam with Windows Hello support and a privacy shutter, plus support for HP Presence 2.0 to enhance your video calls. There's also a quad-speaker system, and the tablet even includes a pen that charges when magnetically attached to the side of the computer.
A potential downside of this laptop is that it comes with a 12th-generation Intel Core i7-1250U. This is a last-generation processor with a low-power design, meaning you won't get performance on par with other high-end laptops. Otherwise, the laptop comes with 16GB of RAM and up to a 1TB SSD. You also miss out on some ports, but you get two Thunderbolt 4 connections that should give you some expansion options if you need them.
Sustainability is also a big focus
As per usual with HP, sustainability is also a big focus for the Spectre Fold. HP is using 90% recycled magnesium for the enclosure and keyboard frame, 50% recycled plastic for the bezel, keycaps, and speaker enclosure, and 33% recycled materials for the keyboard module wrap. The packaging also includes no plastics and has 100% sustainably-sourced and recycled wood fiber and cushions.
If you want to grab one of these devices, you'll need pretty deep pockets, considering it starts at a whopping $4,999.99, with pre-orders available today at Best Buy. General availability will come in October at both Best Buy and HP's own website.