HP Made A Leather Laptop Because Why Not?

HP Made A Leather Laptop Because Why Not?

HP just announced its brand new convertible which, according to the company, is reinvention of the PC. Okay, consider me interested. I do love a bold claim.

Meet the Spectre Folio – the world’s first leather laptop. If you thought that was a case – nope. That’s part of the device. In addition to looking super sleek, it acts as a natural hinge for when you’re swapping between modes. Ok, consider me very interested.

Being a convertible, the Folio can do all the things you’d expect of it – including laptop, tent and tablet modes. But it does have one neat difference. Instead of folding the screen backwards, it actually pulls forward to cover the keyboard. It can then connect in two different places – either at the base of the key tray for tent mode or at the bottom of the device for tablet mode.

Images of folded laptops where the keyboard is tucked under to rest on a hard surface freak me out because I’m a weirdo. So I’m very into this alternative.

Interestingly, HP is also saying that the Folio has the smallest motherboartd in the world, which it developed in conjunction with Intel. The message of innovation is being pushed hard and you have to commend HP for it.

But whether the Folio can actually deliver remains to be seen. After all, what it has under the hood is quite normal. Considering the starting price, the design and casing and design is going to have to be damn impressive.

Here’s what we’re looking at.

  • 13-3-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080)/4K UHD display. Note – the latter may not ber available immediately
  • 8th-gen i7-8500Y Amber Lake-Y processor
  • Intel UHD 615 GPU
  • 8GB SDRAM
  • 256GB SSD
  • 12 – 19 hours of battery life (we have seen mixed reports on this, with many landing on 15)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, headphone jack ports
  • HP Digital Pen with USB Type-C
  • 12.6 x 9.23 x 0.6 inches
  • 1.46kg – 1.49kg
  • Full-grain leather shell in ‘Cognac Brown’ or ‘Bordeaux Burgundy
  • WideVision FHD IR Webcam with Windows hello authentication (no fingerprint sensor)
  • Bang and Olufsen speakers

Despite how cool the Folio sounds (plus how gorgeous it is, which is to be expected from the Spectre range) I do have a few reseverations.

First and foremost – the heat factor. Surely that leather exterior must have some impact on how much heat it’s going to generate, especially when the laptop doesn’t have fans. I’m really interested to see how HP has addressed which would presumably have been a glaring issue in the design phase.

Secondly – the weight. Starting at 1.46kg, it’s over 300g heavier than last year’s Spectre. I’ve also heard that it’s over half an inch thick. Both of these specs are surprising for laptop category that is known for portability and comfort.

Of course, we’ll need to reserve judgement until we actually get to review it properly, but these things are definitely worth keeping in mind.

The HP Spectre Folio Will start at $2,799 in Australia and be available from November 2.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.