The HP Spectre Foldable PC is a kind of uncommon programs that comes throughout our check bench perhaps a couple of times a 12 months promising a genuinely totally different tackle the well-established laptop computer. On this case, it is a lot greater than a easy laptop computer, or perhaps a convertible 2-in-1, since HP pitches it as a 3-in-1 PC. With an expansive 17-inch OLED show that may fold down the center, this one machine is usually a 12.3-inch laptop computer, a 17-inch pill, or perhaps a moveable desktop with a kickstand. With contact and pen assist and included equipment like a Bluetooth keyboard and pen, this eye-popping and versatile machine has loads going for it. Sadly, the value is sky excessive—a double-take-inducing $4,999.99—and the system’s coolest new options additionally include some main drawbacks. What we see within the Spectre Foldable PC is an intriguing showpiece from HP, dwelling as much as the corporate’s Readers’ Selection accolades for 2-in-1 laptops, however it’s not a system we are able to advocate you purchase on the present pricing.
Setting the Stage: The Folding Principle
I as soon as had an off-the-record dialog with an Intel government (whose title I’ve lengthy since forgotten), who flat-out informed me that the way forward for private computing was a single system that would fold or unfold to perform as your cellphone, your pill, your laptop computer, or your desktop. This dialog happened nearly a decade in the past, as producers had been simply determining sensible methods to make 2-in-1 laptop computer designs feasibly transition between laptop computer and pill modes, and the concept appeared type of foolish in its sci-fi ambitions however directly nearly achievable.
Since then, it has been fascinating to look at producers lurch ahead in matches and begins of innovation, attempting to get nearer to this imagined “all the things” system. With HP’s new 3-in-1 design, we’re maybe nearer than we have ever been however nonetheless a good distance off from that foldable, pocketable dream machine.
The HP Spectre Foldable is the most recent PC product delivered to market that is clearly based mostly on Intel’s Challenge Horseshoe, which laid out this actual folding laptop computer/pill idea again in 2020. The middle of this proof of idea was a hinge that would bend a versatile OLED panel right into a U-shape. Regardless of the “foldable” title, these folding OLEDs do not actually fold—they bend. They’ve to keep up a particular radius in that “horseshoe” bend so as to preserve working as a result of something tighter (not to mention a creased fold) would break the panel and completely harm the show.
Because of this, the HP Spectre Fold, just like the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED earlier than it, is a flexible display with a spot when closed. The query is whether or not it manages to fill any figurative gaps in your computing wants and whether or not that funky folding design is price the additional cash.
The Design: One Gadget, Three Modes (or Was It 4?)
The HP Spectre Foldable is billed as a 3-in-1 system, together with capabilities for a 12.3-inch laptop computer, a 17-inch pill, and a 17-inch moveable desktop. However HP truly snuck a fourth mode into the combo, with a center possibility for laptop computer customers that repositions the included keyboard accent to disclose an additional portion of the underside display that is form of just like the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (2023) however not fairly as giant for the additional display area.
These totally different modes are because of the design, which bends a 17-inch OLED panel in half and pairs it with a slim Bluetooth keyboard that magnetically sticks itself to the opposite half of the display to offer you an expertise much like utilizing a clamshell laptop computer.
This keyboard can truly shift to a second place in laptop computer mode, providing you with what HP calls an “Expanded 1.5 Display” that reveals a bit extra of the underside show, or it could peel off fully to open the show out to a full 17-inch pill. If you wish to use that 17-inch pill as a form of all-in-one desktop, you’ll be able to prop it up utilizing a built-in kickstand that units the display upright at a snug 120-degree angle.
With all of those choices for folding and unfolding, or sticking and unsticking the accent keyboard and pen, you do, in reality, get the choice to change amongst a compact laptop computer type issue, an outsized pill, or a surprisingly moveable desktop-like expertise.
The Drawback With Folding Screens
Nevertheless, the problem with any folding display—or not less than each single folding display I’ve ever encountered—is that the fold visibly disrupts the show panel. Regardless of how intelligent you get with the hinge, or how flexible and resilient the OLED producer claims the versatile panel to be, some slight warping on the bend is unavoidable. Fold it closed, and it is kind of wonderful, however open it up and it by no means manages to be completely flat once more. You will discover a stripe of distortion operating via the center of the display for so long as the system lasts—and it does not get higher over time. As a substitute the fixed opening and shutting additional stresses the plastic movies that the OLED is printed on, and it slowly degrades.
When the show is on and glowing, this warping is much less noticeable. However it by no means fairly goes away, and it is inconceivable to disregard when the show is off, as reflections on the panel floor spotlight the bend much more. It does not simply look totally different, it seems regarding, and that impression is not improved while you decide up the 17-inch pill and really feel it flex ever so barely within the incorrect path. Due to the folding display, the Spectre is simply not as strong or safe as a daily laptop computer or pill.
Detailing HP’s Spectacular Engineering
Regardless of this, it is also true that HP’s engineering and design groups clearly went to nice lengths to attempt to repair this drawback, and it’s fairly spectacular how far they’ve come. The slim chassis measures simply 0.33 inch thick in pill mode, giving it a surprisingly cheap weight for an enormous 17-inch pill.
Inside, the body has been strengthened with steel plates to scale back flexing, and the U-shaped bend is supported by a fancy hinge that is made to cradle the 5mm bend when folded closed but additionally open flat, offering stability when open at 180 levels. However in case you’re used to the satisfyingly strong really feel of an iPad in your fingers, then this would possibly not really feel the identical. As a substitute, it feels extra like a laptop computer opened up so far as it can go, with the hinges opened out to the purpose that any additional stress may break one thing. Certainly, to my fingers, holding the 17-inch pill is just a little nerve-wracking. (This may clarify why many of the advertising photos HP offered to the press present the pill laid out flat on a desk.)
HP additionally put a completely unique inner design collectively for this technique. The battery is definitely two cells, with one inside every half of the system and linked throughout, which mix to supply the facility of a single 93-watt-hour battery. The twin battery design retains the burden even throughout the 2 halves of the folding chassis. HP has additionally strategically positioned the controller board alongside the highest and backside edges of the machine if considered in laptop computer mode. (They’re on the fitting and left edges in desktop mode.) That is meant to guard the fragile board and preserve it as removed from the flexing stress level because the system opens and closes.
Nevertheless, the pill mode is the weakest level on this multimode design, and each the desktop and laptop computer modes are extra satisfying and extra snug. On the again of the 17-inch pill is a slim kickstand that flips out to prop up the show like an exterior monitor. In contrast with the extensive kickstand on the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, this skinny foot does not appear to be it might present as a lot stability, however the desktop mode was surprisingly freed from any wobbling or tipping when propped up, thanks partly to delicate rubbery grips alongside the underside edge in desktop mode.
However the true star of the present is laptop computer mode—or, extra precisely, the a number of laptop computer modes. You need to use the folded show with the keyboard on prime, pushed flush in opposition to the fold for a standard clamshell expertise, or slide it midway down the folded display for that Expanded 1.5 Display mode. The magnetically hooked up keyboard hangs midway off the laptop computer, bending at a seam that places the palmrest and touchpad at a delightful angle.
One cool trick that the Spectre Foldable has is that it could flip off the parts of the display which might be coated, utilizing inner sensors and the magnetic keyboard attachment to register which elements of the show are coated. The interface then resizes the show space to simply the uncovered portion, whether or not that is one-half within the laptop computer mode, the prolonged laptop computer display mode, or the total panel.
You possibly can even pull the keyboard off totally, however depart the laptop computer folded, providing you with a dual-screen structure throughout the highest and backside. Or, in case you’re wanting extra for a side-by-side setup, you’ll be able to flip the folded pill on its facet like a ebook, however the slim halves do not depart sufficient room for greater than scrolling a information feed or watching TikToks.
We discovered yet another sudden quirk of the multimode design: Laptop computer mode solely works a method. One half is the designated “display” portion, the place the webcam is about into the bezel. You will get the keyboard to stay to the opposite facet with its magnetic positioning, however it does not do the coated display trick or reorient the highest and backside of the show. That is awkward sufficient for day-to-day use, however it additionally implies that the keyboard will all the time magnetically latch to the identical half of the display. It can slide into totally different positions on solely that half of the display. This will ultimately present as put on and tear or scuffing on the bezel from that repetitive attaching and repositioning of the keyboard on simply that facet of the display.
On the entire, the 3-in-1 hybrid design seems like a set of options looking for issues. The laptop computer mode works greatest as a daily laptop computer, as a result of the prolonged 1.5 display mode does not depart a lot room for the additional portion of display to be helpful for something. HP has expanded on the Home windows Snap utility to place home windows above and under the fold, however it’s not as easy to make use of because the Home windows model alone, and truly transferring home windows from one a part of the display to a different is not intuitive to me. Making an attempt one thing so simple as full-screen video can go incorrect in a number of other ways, because the system typically winds up placing the video throughout a fold.
The desktop mode might be one of the best of the bunch when it comes to being easy and easy, however it comes with its personal quirks. The webcam that was correctly positioned above the show in laptop computer mode is now on the facet bezel in desktop mode. Additionally, the oddly positioned Thunderbolt 4 ports—which I am going to element later—are positioned in order that just one is handy at any given time, whatever the use mode.
Utilizing the HP Spectre Foldable PC
Clearly, the standout characteristic of the Spectre Foldable is the magnesium chassis and folding show design, however you may have extra to think about on this system than most some other PC.
The three-in-1 performance implies that the size are markedly totally different relying on what mode you may have the Spectre in. Opened as much as full pill or desktop dimension, the Spectre Foldable measures 0.33 by 14.8 by 10.9 inches and weighs 2.99 kilos. That is simply sufficient for a snug desktop expertise, however it’s approach too huge for a snug pill to hold and maintain. That is extra of a pill you will wish to lay flat on the desk.
However that is drastically totally different in dimension from the compact bundle you get when the PC is folded closed, measuring 0.84 by 10.9 by 7.5 inches, and weighing 3.58 kilos with the included keyboard and pen hooked up. That is loads simpler to hold round or slip right into a bag.
HP has in-built an excellent cool trick for each the keyboard and pen: Wi-fi induction coils inside cost the units at any time when they’re magnetically docked on the machine. For the pen, which means it can cost at any time when it is not getting used, so it is all the time prepared while you seize it. The keyboard, alternatively, fees at any time when it is magnetically docked in laptop computer mode, so it can prime up the battery because it’s used. Nevertheless, HP features a charging cable for the keyboard, because it’s potential you may run down the keyboard battery whereas utilizing the system in desktop mode, which may’t presumably cost the keyboard in any other case.
The keyboard offers a surprisingly sturdy and steady typing expertise for being wafer-thin and hinged within the center. I used to be anticipating extra-shallow keystrokes and the form of barely-there design that you just’d get from most 2-in-1 pill keyboard covers, however this was a lot nearer in high quality to a typical laptop computer keyboard. The touchpad, which makes use of a mechanical click on as an alternative of a haptic touchpad, was much more satisfying. The result’s a surprisingly sturdy really feel whereas tapping and swiping.
Because of a quartet of Bang & Olufsen audio system positioned across the edges of the show, HP’s audio is spectacular right here, too. The every-edge-has-a-speaker method implies that you will get first rate sound whether or not utilizing it as a laptop computer, a pill, or a desktop.
After all, the show is greater than only a fancy folder. The OLED panel achieves 99.9% DCI-P3 colour protection and options IMAX Enhanced certification for HDR and colour, which means that it seems well-lit and vibrant at any angle and in any lighting. Our brightness check registered 396 nits of brightness for regular content material, however HP claims as much as 500 nits for HDR content material.
The built-in webcam shoots 5-megapixel photos, and it contains each IR for Home windows Hiya and a bodily privateness shutter with a tough swap. HP’s video controls add visible enhancements like background blur and filters. In my time with the system, the digital camera’s video all the time appeared sharp and detailed with lifelike colour.
My greatest subject with the digital camera is not the digital camera in any respect, however its place. In laptop computer mode, it is centered over the show, however in desktop mode, it is approach over on the left bezel, and the digital camera orientation does not rotate as you shift from laptop computer to pill or desktop modes, making desktop webcam use appear like vertical video shot on a cellphone, and that with the extra irritation of being approach off middle. If it had a wider angle in desktop mode, it could be much less of an issue. However the slim picture and off-center place meant that, when sitting lifeless middle in entrance of the 17-inch display, lower than half of my face was seen on-camera.
An Oddly Positioned Duo of Ports
One other gripe is the port choice. To maintain issues ultra-thin and keep away from the complication of the totally different consumer modes, the Spectre Foldable solely has two ports, a pair of Thunderbolt 4/USB-C connections. This avoids the thickness that may be wanted for one thing like USB-A or HDMI, and also you’d assume it might side-step the difficulty of getting ports on one facet of the chassis in laptop computer mode, and a unique a part of the machine in desktop or pill modes.
In reality, HP positioned the 2 Thunderbolt ports (which double as charging ports for the system), in order that one is all the time positioned close to a backside nook of the display. That is helpful for powering the Spectre in laptop computer or desktop mode however it’s loads much less handy if it’s good to additionally plug in an exterior drive, as a result of the second port is now additionally all the time on the prime of the show no matter which mode it is in. HP neatly included a port adapter, which provides you USB, USB 3.0 and HDMI, in addition to energy pass-thru, however it has no extra USB-C connection, and nothing like a card slot or Ethernet connection.
The Spectre Foldable PC has Wi-Fi 6E for networking and Bluetooth 5.3 for connecting the keyboard and pen. You will additionally want it for connecting audio system or headphones, since you will discover no audio jack on the machine, an omission that makes me grumble each time.
Configurations: No Choices, Large Worth
Lastly, it is price declaring that the HP Spectre Foldable PC solely is available in one configuration: A 17-inch mannequin with an Intel Core i7-1250U processor, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, and a full terabyte of SSD storage.
You will discover no choices for additional storage or reminiscence, no selections in CPU or GPU, and no price range configurations. And boy, do I want a price range possibility was accessible, as a result of the value on this technique is absurd at $4,999.99.
That is $1,500 costlier than the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED’s $3,499 value, which we referred to as “painfully costly.” It is legitimately costly sufficient that you can decide up a pill, laptop computer, and desktop PC for the value of this 3-in-1 machine, however that is not even the worst half: It comes with a mere one-year guarantee.
This is among the greatest deal-breakers when contemplating this whole machine, as a result of so many key items of it—the folding OLED panel, the folding Bluetooth keyboard, and the spindly fold-out kickstand—are potential factors of failure that can be bent and flexed time and again. The display bezel, too, might get scuffed from the shifting keyboard, the magnetically saved pen can solely maintain a cost so many occasions, and the display might ultimately warp and deform after hundreds of repeated folds.
This isn’t a system I might wish to use with out a guarantee long-term, however simply 12 months is what you will have. That is fairly the danger to take for 5 grand.
Testing the HP Spectre Foldable PC: Versatile, However Wants Extra Vim
As a result of the Spectre Foldable is a distinct segment system, our collection of comparability merchandise is eclectic. Clearly, we have in contrast it with the 2 most related competing programs, the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED and the dual-screen Lenovo Yoga E book 9i, two totally different approaches to the all-screen idea. The Asus makes use of an analogous folding OLED panel, whereas the Yoga E book joins two OLED contact screens with a extra conventional 2-in-1 hinge mechanism.
Then we’ve got the opposite programs we in contrast in opposition to. We begin with the HP Envy x360 13.3 (2022). In dimension it is near the Spectre in laptop computer mode, and options practically similar elements, with the identical processor and graphics in addition to related allotments of reminiscence and storage. Should you’re most within the Spectre Foldable as a compact laptop computer, that is our closest match.
Then we checked out our favourite OLED-equipped 2-in-1, the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8. It could solely have one non-folding display, however with the attractive panel, well-made convertible design for laptop computer and pill use, and assist for an included pen, it brings a variety of the flexibleness that the Spectre Fold guarantees in a much less experimental type.
Lastly, if the Spectre Foldable’s 17-inch desktop mode catches your eye, we in contrast it with our favourite 17-inch mannequin, the Dell XPS 17 (9730). And we did not skimp on the price range or options—the Dell is the closest in value to the HP Spectre Foldable. It is nonetheless loads cheaper than the Spectre, however the Dell features a discrete Nvidia RTX 4070 laptop computer GPU, in addition to a extra highly effective Intel Core i7-13700H processor. The purpose of this comparability is not even actually concerning the display dimension. It is truly as an example the form of energy you may get in a standard 17-inch machine.
The tip result’s a batch of comparisons that illustrate precisely what you get with the HP Spectre Foldable, each the great and the dangerous.
Productiveness and Content material Creation Assessments
We run the identical common productiveness benchmarks throughout each cellular and desktop programs. Our first check is UL’s PCMark 10, which simulates a wide range of real-world productiveness and workplace workflows to measure general system efficiency and in addition features a storage subtest for the first drive.
Our different three benchmarks concentrate on the CPU, utilizing all accessible cores and threads, to fee a PC’s suitability for processor-intensive workloads. Maxon’s Cinebench R23 makes use of that firm’s Cinema 4D engine to render a fancy scene, whereas Geekbench 5.4 Professional from Primate Labs simulates well-liked apps starting from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine studying. Lastly, we use the open-source video transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to transform a 12-minute video clip from 4K to 1080p decision (decrease occasions are higher).
Lastly, we run PugetBench for Photoshop by workstation maker Puget Techniques, which makes use of the Artistic Cloud model 22 of Adobe’s well-known picture editor to fee a PC’s efficiency for content material creation and multimedia purposes. It is an automatic extension that executes a wide range of common and GPU-accelerated Photoshop duties starting from opening, rotating, resizing, and saving a picture to making use of masks, gradient fills, and filters.
Relating to efficiency, I used to be most stunned to see that the HP Spectre Foldable managed to principally outpace the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, which was shocking on condition that they use the identical CPU. (Sure, that is proper, HP’s far more costly folding OLED makes use of the identical {hardware} as final 12 months’s cheaper folding OLED.) However the margins between the 2 had been fairly slim, and whereas each cleared the 4,000 level threshold for wonderful productiveness use, they fell effectively behind each different machine we in contrast them with.
The most important distinction was seen in Cinebench R23, the place the HP Spectre Foldable scored hundreds of factors behind the HP Envy X360 13.3 (2022), which makes use of the identical CPU. That is doubtless as a result of pure thermal constraints of the all-screen design limiting output of the processor whereas conventional laptops have far more room for cooling {hardware} inside. In contrast with a real 17-inch (however considerably cheaper) OLED laptop computer, just like the Dell XPS 17 9730, the HP Spectre Foldable delivered barely a 3rd of the efficiency in the identical check.
Graphics Assessments
We check the graphics inside all laptops and desktops with two DirectX 12 gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark, Night time Raid (extra modest, appropriate for laptops with built-in graphics) and Time Spy (extra demanding, appropriate for gaming rigs with discrete GPUs).
To additional measure GPUs, we additionally run two checks from the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench 5, which stresses each low-level routines like texturing and high-level, game-like picture rendering. The 1440p Aztec Ruins and 1080p Automobile Chase checks, rendered offscreen to accommodate totally different show resolutions, train graphics and compute shaders utilizing the OpenGL programming interface and {hardware} tessellation respectively. The extra frames per second (fps), the higher.
Armed with Intel’s built-in Iris Xe graphics, the HP Spectre Foldable was by no means going to be a graphics powerhouse, definitely not when put next with a GPU-packing machine just like the Dell XPS 17. However, even amongst different equally outfitted programs, the Spectre Fold fell flat.
Whether or not it was the low-powered 3DMark Night time Raid check, the super-basic GFXBench Automobile Chase, or any of our different non-gaming graphics checks, the HP Spectre Foldable and Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED swapped forwards and backwards between final and next-to-last place. This method will do exactly wonderful for duties like video streaming and even some gentle photograph modifying, however for something extra demanding, you will both desire a correct laptop computer or an precise desktop.
This was highlighted by how resoundingly the XPS 17 trounced all the things else in our graphics checks, scoring a whole bunch of factors the place all the things else scored dozens. And, on this rarified value zone, you actually ought to get pleasure from extra energy than built-in graphics can present.
Battery and Show Assessments
We check every laptop computer and pill’s battery life by enjoying a domestically saved 720p video file (the open-source Blender film Tears of Metal) with show brightness at 50% and audio quantity at 100%. We make sure that the battery is totally charged earlier than the check, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.
Nevertheless, we needed to barely modify the check for the HP Spectre Foldable, because it has no headphone jack and we often use a patch cable or wired earbuds throughout this check, we ran the identical check at 10% speaker quantity and located the outcomes to be throughout the anticipated vary. However that does introduce yet another caveat: We check laptops in airplane mode, however the wi-fi keyboard on the HP Spectre Foldable can also be a Bluetooth accent, so our testing may not precisely replicate the laptop computer expertise.
We additionally use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and software program to measure a laptop computer display’s colour saturation—what proportion of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 colour gamuts or palettes the show can present—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per sq. meter).
As you’ll be able to see within the charts, the Spectre Foldable posted above-average brightness for an OLED in addition to broad however not excellent colour protection.
With its cut up 93Whr battery, the HP Spectre Foldable did present prolonged battery life. In laptop computer mode, it lasted a powerful 14 hours and 1 minute. (We examined in every of the 3-in-1 modes, which we’ll talk about in a second.) That simply outpaced the entire smaller laptops and competing foldables, and was inside 5 minutes of the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8’s time. To get all-day battery life in a compact laptop computer whereas nonetheless having the choice of utilizing it as a pill or desktop is fairly spectacular.
However laptop computer mode is not the one approach to make use of the HP Spectre Fold. And, as a result of the machine will black out elements of the OLED show to save lots of energy when the keyboard is positioned over a part of the display, we needed to see how battery life modified with the totally different keyboard and show choices. So, we examined it in laptop computer mode, and once more with the prolonged 1.5 display mode, in addition to the total pill/desktop mode that makes use of the whole 17-inch show.
That is the place we received one of the best shock from the Spectre Foldable: The variations amongst these totally different modes was lower than half-hour of uptime. You will get 13-plus hours of use out the machine in any mode you select, which is a pleasing and spectacular shock.
Verdict: A Cool Concept With Appreciable Compromises
The HP Spectre Foldable PC is a novel product, exhibiting off some spectacular engineering. Nevertheless, with so many drawbacks, it feels prefer it’s nonetheless an experiment that may technically go for a completed product. The three-in-1 design is flexible and fascinating—who would not desire a compact 12-inch laptop computer that doubles as a completely purposeful desktop with a 17-inch display?—however we see approach too many wrinkles to iron out earlier than this turns into a product we are able to advocate. From the warping of the folding display to the awkwardly positioned webcam and ports, to not point out the disappointing efficiency from older {hardware} inside, we simply do not see sufficient right here to again up the wow issue of the folding design. That is an actual disgrace, as a result of the concept is such a welcome try and redefine or affect the usual laptop computer template.
However the killing blow for this technique is not the quirky characteristic set or the unsteady really feel of the design. It is the value. At $4,999.99, it is astonishingly costly, particularly while you begin enthusiastic about final 12 months’s early competitor from Asus: Basically the identical product, proper right down to the CPU, however it managed to be far more inexpensive. Then to pair the exorbitant value with a paltry one-year guarantee does not fill us with confidence in a machine with a number of potential distinctive put on factors that different 2-in-1 fashions do not have.
If extra display area and weird use modes are what you are after, we advocate the Lenovo Yoga E book 9i. It has an analogous all-OLED setup and an equally versatile vary of modes. Nevertheless, it skips the folding OLED panel in favor of a sturdy convertible hinge between the screens, and that two-screen method is more likely to enable for extra sturdiness (to not point out its higher efficiency). It is also lower than half the value, which is why the Yoga E book 9i is our Editors’ Selection for twin-screen machines, and the HP Spectre Foldable PC is only a enjoyable bragging-rights product for folks with cash to burn.
