HP's journey to "reinvent" the PC begins with leather. The company today took the wraps off of the Spectre Folio, a new convertible that trades in the sleek aluminum exterior typically found on premium notebooks, in favor of a leather-clad folio design that combines a bit of classic flair with the powerful tech inside.
The default model of the Spectre Folio features a combination of "Cognac Brown" leather and ash grey metal that complement each other nicely. The company also plans to offer a second "Bordeaux Burgundy" leather option down the road.
Meanwhile, the folio-style design allows you to move between laptop and tablet positions, as is common among all convertibles. Where the Spectre Folio stands out is in its ability to move to a "display forward" position, which lets you pull the bottom of the display out over the keyboard when you're ready to just consume content.
On the inside, HP hasn't skimped on power. You'll be able to get the Spectre Folio with Intel's 8th Gen Core i5-8200Y and i7-8500Y chips with support for gigabit wifi. Each configuration packs 8GB of RAM, along with 256GB of PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage. The display is a 13.3-inch 1080p IPS panel with touch, although HP says it will also offer a 4K option in the future. Otherwise, you're looking at a 1080p webcam with IR for Windows Hello, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, one USB-C 3.1 port, and one USB 3.1 Type-A port.
Battery life is promised to hit around 18 hours on the wifi-only models, though an LTE model will also be available with battery life landing closed to between 13 and 15 hours. HP has also thrown in a pen, so you're ready to ink out of the box.
Availability
The HP Spectre Folio is up for preorder now at Best Buy and HP, starting at $1,300 for the Core i5 model. The Core i7 with LTE model, meanwhile, will be priced at $1,500. The Core i7 model is expected to hit store shelves in Cognac Brown starting October 29. Meanwhile, the "Bordeaux Burgundy" and 4K options are expected to be available starting in December.
