In recent years, the PC industry has witnessed a gradual yet persistent race among companies to develop foldable laptops that could genuinely entice consumers. Lenovo introduced its foldable ThinkPad, Asus ventured into this arena with the Zenbook Fold, and HP, refusing to be left behind, has ventured into the foldable market with its HP Spectre Fold.
The Spectre Fold, according to HP, boasts the distinction of being the world's thinnest and most compact 17-inch foldable PC. While there are limited offerings in the 17-inch foldable laptop category, the Spectre Fold's weight of just under three pounds is remarkably light for a 17-inch device.
However, prospective buyers should be prepared for the price tag: the Spectre Fold starts at $4,999.99. This positions it among the most expensive laptops ever released and significantly exceeds the price points of its competitors like the ThinkPad X1 Fold at $2,499 and the Zenbook Fold at $3,499. Given this high cost, expectations for the Spectre Fold's performance and features are understandably elevated, but whether it lives up to these expectations remains to be seen.
In terms of design and functionality, the Spectre Fold follows a familiar pattern. It can be used as a flat 17-inch tablet and, with its built-in kickstand, transforms into a 17-inch laptop when propped up on its long edge. Folding the tablet at a 90-degree angle and attaching a magnetic Bluetooth keyboard to the bottom half converts it into a 12.3-inch clamshell. The underlying idea of these devices is to offer greater versatility than traditional laptops or Windows tablets and to deliver a large screen experience in a conveniently portable form factor.
So, what sets the Spectre Fold apart from the ThinkPad or Zenbook? According to HP, it's AI. HP claims that the Spectre Fold is the "world’s first foldable PC with built-in AI for security, wellness, and gesture controls." This integration is expected to offer features like personalized computing experiences, screen time reminders, touch-free content control, and presence detection to lock the computer when you step away and wake it when you return. While these features are not groundbreaking for high-end laptops, their practical effectiveness will need to be assessed.
Under the hood, the Spectre Fold is powered by Intel's Core i7-1250U processor, equipped with 16GB of RAM, and boasts 1TB of storage. The device features a 3:4 OLED panel with a resolution of 1920 x 2560, promising an exceptional display quality, a hallmark of HP's Spectre line. Additionally, for video calls, HP includes the GlamCam feature.
The ThinkPad X1 Fold and Zenbook Fold were both impressive devices, but they encountered challenges that made it hard to justify their luxury price points. The X1 Fold faced issues such as poor battery life and a tiny keyboard, while the Zenbook had various software glitches. HP aims to address these concerns with the Spectre Fold, but its steep price of $5,000 may still give potential buyers pause.
| First Name | Last Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Peter | Griffin | $100 |
| Lois | Griffin | $150 |
| Joe | Swanson | $300 |
| Cleveland | Brown | $250 |