American computer maker HP has launched its latest premium offering, the Spectre Folio in India. It is the world’s first convertible to arrive in an all leather casing. With features like 8th Gen Intel CPUs, and a HP Pen, the Folio is targetted towards business users. Here is our experience with the Unboxing and Hands-On with the device.
What’s Inside The Box?
- HP Spectre Folio
- USB Type-C Charger
- Quick Start Guide
- Power Cable Chord
- HP Pen
Design & Build
The HP Spectre Folio is a premium laptop. The Folio is completely wrapped in leather. The device has an aluminum casing inside, but it feels as if the leather was part of the device right from the start. The device feels sturdy and very premium. The feel is unlike any laptop in the market. The Build quality of the device is solid and the Folio is a joy to hold in hands.
There are also many modes on the Spectre Folio. The display is split in half and held by magnets that are as stable as any clamshell notebook. Then, the display can be flipped inward at the center and pulled forward to just behind the touchpad, where magnets hold it in media mode. Finally, the display can be pulled even further inward to a tablet mode. Unlike 360-degree convertible designs, the keyboard is covered by the display here.
Display
The display of the Spectre Folio is pretty great too. The 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 panel is a 1W panel. This means the display won’t take up much juice out of the battery. The colors on the Folio’s display are sharp, have good contrast and should be pretty good for occasional usage. The display doesn’t get a lot bright but this won’t be a problem if you plan on using this device indoors. The bezels though, feel a little chunky for 2019 and it feels like HP could have made them a little smaller.
Keyboard, Trackpad, & Speakers
The Spectre Folio has a full-size keyboard and a trackpad. But because of its thin and light nature, the keyboard on the Folio has a little travel so the keys feel a little mushy. If you are coming from a tactile keyboard, you would need to adjust to the keyboard on the Spectre Folio. The trackpad is also fine on its own, it’s just a very small one. If only HP provided a bigger trackpad with the device. The speakers too, are average for casual movie watching and get plenty loud. Tent mode of the Folio is a genius idea as it creates a sound chamber behind the display, making it easy to immerse in the media.
Pen and Touch Input
The Spectre Folio has a stylus inside the box, which is a good thing. But there is no magnetic connector for the stylus. There is though, a leather pocket HP has made near the display to keep the pen in. The touch input on the laptop works as good as it gets. The pen also is good for drawing and registering more precise touches. Overall, the touchscreen on the Spectre Folio is a good addition to the convertible and it makes it more useful.
Performance
Because of its fanless nature, the HP Spectre Folio runs on the Intel Core i7 8500Y processor and 16GB of RAM. The ‘Y’ here means it is the low power variant of the i7 and it shows in day to day usage of the device. It runs fine while doing everyday tasks like browsing the web or using Microsoft Office for your, well office work. But give the Spectre Folio something intensive and it would struggle. While trying out photo or video editing on the device, it became sluggish to use.
Gaming also isn’t a USP of the device as the device doesn’t have a discrete GPU. Overall, the performance of the Spectre Folio is good for everyday usage and office work. It is not made for gaming or editing though. But there is a Thunderbolt port for those seeking extra power and can plug in an external GPU for gaming. The RAM on the device is adequate though, as 16GB will be more than enough for most people for day to day usage.
Connectivity And Other Features
The HP Spectre Folio has 2 Thunderbolt ports and one Type-C 3.1 port. It also has a 3.5mm jack for connecting speakers or headphones. The port selection on the Folio is great and the addition of Thunderbolt makes things better. The webcam on the device is a FullHD one but the quality is average. It is fine for occasional video calls. The Spectre Folio also has support for Windows Hello facial recognition and it is very quick to login.
Pricing And Availablity
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The HP Spectre Folio will be available from authorized HP retailers across the country for a price of Rs. 1,99,990. With the price tag, the laptop is undoubtedly premium and will attract business users.
The detailed video for the HP Spectre Folio is available now.
