James Phang

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HP Spectre Fold 3-in-1 Laptop

Folding screen technology has been making its way through products from televisions, smartphones, and laptops. On the laptop front, there have been a few laptops with foldable displays released such as the Asus Zenbook 17, Lenovo Laptop Yoga Book, and Lenovo Laptop ThinkPad X1 Fold. The ability that foldable display laptops allow the user to change the display size according to their needs. HP has released their take on the foldable display laptop with their HP Spectre Fold 3-in-1 laptop.

Adaptive Foldable Display

The HP Spectre Fold 3-in-1 laptop has three modes. The first mode is like a traditional clamshell laptop, the 17-inch folds in half and with a slim Bluetooth keyboard that magnetically sticks itself to the lower half of the screen. When the keyboard is shifted further down to reveal a bit more of the bottom display giving the user an expanded screen. When the keyboard is removed and the display is fully unfolded the laptop can be used as a tablet. The display can be utilised similarly to a desktop when the 17-inch display is propped up using the built-in kickstand that sets the screen upright at a 120-degree angle.

Specs and Design

The HP Spectre Fold comes with a 12th-generation 1.1GHz Intel i7-1250U CPU, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. HP Spectre comes with two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C that support charging and DisplayPort output, two USB-A ports, and HDMI output. It also comes with a stylus that magnetically docks on the right edge. In laptop mode, the Spectre Fold can last up to 11 hours. In desktop mode with the whole display in use, the battery life dups to around 9 hours.

Summary

The HP Spectre Fold 3-in-1 laptop offers an impressive portable machine that is capable of changing screen sizes according to the user’s needs. Within an instant, it can turn from a laptop to a tablet or desktop within seconds. However, the device comes with a premium price tag of £5,000 with a slightly older CPU. This device is not suited for many users due to its price tag and the use of a foldable display. There are a lot of real use case scenarios that this device to cater. Foldable technology at the moment is still in its infancy and still expensive to manufacture leading to a premium price. As the technology and process continue to be refined and developed, we should find the price of foldable display devices decrease to a level that it can be affordable for a larger demographic.

Video: The HP Spectre Fold is a Truly Cutting-Edge Showstopper by Engadget