Customer Ratings & Reviews

I spent 29 years in computer IT, I KNOW COMPUTERS! I have built them from scratch, dissected thousands of them and have personally owned well over 100 in my long career. In summary I have never seen worked on or owned a laptop as PHENOMINAL as this HP Spectre Folio! I mean this thing is not only a masterfully work of art synonymous with holding and touching fine jewelry like Tiffany, but its form and function, the beautiful thin screen and the way it seamlessly folds into a tablet or tent for watching a movie is outstanding. Forget for the purpose of this review about specs and here's why, with great engineering as in a Porsche for instance of an analogy regarding speed, when a car like that is engineered it far exceeds behind the wheel the specs on paper what is written vs. how it actually flies on the road and handles in the turns. This i7 processor feels more like a quad or I'll go as far as saying an i9. EVERYTHING about this laptop is over the top EVERYTHING! In fact I am a Porsche owner and unboxing this beautifully packaged laptop was reminiscent of the first time getting in the drivers seat in that amazing leather new car smell and starting that engine, although in the Spectre Folio's case you wont even hear a hum as it's fanless. If you are on the fence about this purchase at all, don't be, by far this is the nicest piece of electronics I have ever purchased in my life! Thank you HP for creating such an incredible laptop, thank you Best Buy for selling it!

I am using this laptop for my business, very light and fantastic quality. Leather made it very classy and using pen to sign documents or take a notes is huge deal.

This is my second HP Spectre. I have been using one for the last year, and have loved it. My son needed a newer computer with the stay at home school. So I ordered this Spectre Folio Leather 2 in 1. Same great computer. Slim and can take it anywhere. Might not like it the leather version as much as the standard Spectre, but still very good. This computer price was much better then my first Spectre. The leather is very nice. Finish is very good. Quality for the price is great. Has worked flawlessly since I have owned it.

HP has made sure that the first impression of the Spectre Folio is one of exceptional quality. The packaging is first rate. The notebook is packed on top of the box with a black tissue paper wrapper, Upon pulling back the black paper, the high quality full grain leather wrapped around the notebook is revealed. It's soft and screams luxury. Upon lifting the notebook out of the box the smoothness of the leather is felt (mine was Cognac Brown); very nice. As you open the case you feel a nice balance between the top and the bottom of the notebook, both are about the same thickness and weight. On the right side are 2 USB C, thunderbolt 3 ports, on the left there is one USB C port. Any of the ports can be used to connect the USB C charger. HP claims the i7 version will get 15 hours on a charge and the i5 version will get 17 hours. During setup you are introduced to Microsoft's Hello, it's facial recognition technology that can be be used to login. It is similar to Apple's Face Id, except it also uses IR to iluminate the subject, so it can be used effectively in the dark. This was the first time I'd used Hello and it worked extermely well, you see some flashing red led's and your logged on very quickly (after you've registered your face). Included in the box is a USB C to USB A adapter, a HP Stylus (Tilt Pen which uses 1*AAA battery) with 4096 pressure levels and a 65W power adapter. When getting the notebook set up, one of the first things I noticed was the wonderful keyboard, given the thinness of the base, the keys still have a decent amount of travel and a great feel. The keyboard is very nicely backlit, with light around the key as well as some light thought the keys. The keys are nicely spread out with the feel of a nice full size keyboard (less the numeric pad). The next think I noticed the georgous, bright screen (400 nits), I adjusted the screen up and down and did not see any color shift, even at very wide viewing angle. Now about the screen it's quite diferent from most laptops, instead of being hinged at the bottom of the screen it's hinged in the middle, allowing the bottom to rest infront of the keyboard or to be pulled out so the bottom rests covering the keyboard with the trackpad visible (Tent mode). This would certainly be useful for watching a video or for giving a presentation. If you pull the screen further, it slides down flat over the keyboard, making the the notebook into a 13" tablet that's less than 1" thick at the spine, and less than 1/2" at the front. But it's very solid, there are magnets that guide and keep the screen in its normal, tented and flat positions. It takes a a little pull to release the screen from it's laptop position, but it's not an unreasonable tug. After having it up and running, you notice how quite, it is, no fans. But it has either a Intel i5-8200Y or i7-8500Y processor in it, these are Intel's latest, top of the line, low power processors they support turboboost up to 3.9Ghz or 4.2Ghz, but they only ramp up when necessary. This is suspose to greatly increase battery life. I did some testing, browsing, streaming video and watching video locally (at all times connected via wi-fi). All videos were very smooth (<10% CPU utilization), I ran for just over 10 hrs and the battery life had dropped to 20%, so I doubt it would have been 15 hours, but not that far off. Getting over 10 hours I consider impressive. Now this computer is suspose to have a fast charge function, and charge to 50% in under 30m. I did not see this speed in my initial testing (on any of the ports) - keep reading. The next thing I went to do was edit some photos, I looked long and hard for a micro SD card slot,some HP specs said it existed, others did not; my unit did not have one. I was dispointed there was no microSD card card slot. So I attached a handy multifunction USB C device with a SD and microSD card reader (and multiple USB 3 ports + HDMI & LAN) and it was promptly recognised, and I could easily move photos to the notebook (guess I could have also gotten them from one of my cloud accounts, but since the camera was handy it was the first thing to come to mind). All the editing was smooth, I used the pencil (tilt) to mark up a photo, it worked well, allowing different thickness of lines based on the pressure on the stylus, It allowed me to outline objects with great accuracy; one function I really wanted to see/use. At first I was editing like a laptop, I then "tented" the screen, I found this much more easy to do and more accurate. Pretty happy about the pen's usefullness. Now having used the system for sometime (on a table) I reclined to my couch, and used it in my lap. I found a new use for it, a leg warmer (not a heater). The base of the unit does get warm, but not really hot; the leather feels nice warm. The leather really feels nice in you lap compared to the usual hard plastic or metal. I then streamed some music throught the onboard speakers.... kind of tinny; I then played with the audio controls and the sound was greatly improved, but still lacked any low end. I streamed to an external BT speaker and I was impressed, very impressed. So the B&O speakers did not impress me, they could get loud, but they did not sound great. The HP Audio Boost with them works pretty well, especially with better speakers. I was pleased with the enhancements for music and for video. I also connected a HD monitor to the USB C Multi-function adapter (mine not supplied) to insure the notebook could drive a second HD monitor, No problem! I then tried attaching a 4K monitor, it was promptly recognised and I extended my diplay to have the HP Folio notebook + a 4K monitor as a second display. Yea, it worked as I'd hoped. I then connected a Ethenet cable and it was up and running on my LAN, again just I'd expected. This is one of the big advantages of USB C and Thunderbolt 3, the ability to attach multiple high speed peripherials, this notebook has 2*Thunderbolt 3 ports + one USB 3.1 C port; really a lot of expansion functionalty. After some more testing I found there was a HP Bios update (throught the HP Update utility); after applying it I re-tested the fast charging and it now seemed to work, the BIOS update said it fixed a issues where the "system incorrectly reports the status of the battery as fully charged", that must have been it. Another note, I have the 256GB unit without WAN support; after the system is fully installed there is only 194GB available after cleaning up the system install/update files. So plan your purchase accordingly, this notebook cannot have it's memory or storage upgraded, what you purchase is is what you get. HP's web site says it will ship with SSDs of 256GB, 512GB, 1TB & 2TB. Given what the base price of this unit is, I'd suggest starting with more than the 256GB SSD. Especially since you can't just insert a microSD card to update the storage available (this disapointed me the most about this machine - loose 1 star). But it you choose wisely it's a beautiful notebook, which will surely get a second look wherever you take it. And whereever you take it it feels good in your hands, just over 3.2 lbs with possibly 15 hrs battery life, it is still a powerful notebook. Especially if your looking for something different or just want to show off a little, it is pretty (and nice).

Great bye awesome computer Was real lucky caught this thing on sale and they only had one left. Then light fires up quickly just overall a great computer so far

I was looking for a 2 in 1 but the other ones scared me because of the exposed keyboard in the back once you went into tablet mode this covers it and once I don’t see the keyboard I forget about it and go into tablet mode. I saw complaints about sound but to me it’s fine because giving the settings in which this can be used ... it’s sounds great. Yes the price is because of the style (nothing like it) and the amazing feeling you get as it switches from laptop to tent to tablet! This is the best 2 for 1 ever and it comes with a usbc to USB adapter and Stylus .., I’m happy!

This is the best looking laptop. Very handy and the leather look is awesome. Super light weight laptop

I really am not going to be long winded with this review. Functionally, it's an incredible notebook. The hinge design looks and feels built to last. It's got a Surface Pro like feel to it. I do wish that the Pen wasn't attached with holder that you stick to the Notebook. I think it should have been a part of the actual leather binding. The pen does well, though it does exhibit some issues when held at an angle, otherwise it works fantastic. Performance wise, this is a nice system. It's got a 256GB NVME drive which I tested was Reading over 3000MB/s and Writing around 1600MB/s. It only takes about 10 seconds to start up and load the desktop. I didn't notice any hiccups or any issues when multi-tasking. It does have a 2 Core 4 Thread 8th-Gen I7-8500Y. The battery life on it is quite incredible. I was able to get around 10 or so hours of use on a single charge on one of the performance power presets. With using the most conservative I'd bet you could get around 14-16 or more. It is rated for up to 18 hours though. I like how you can orient the screen several ways, however, my unit has a Dead Pixel that's Red in the center bottom of the screen. Sadly, manufacturers will only appease a customer with a replacement if it meets a minimum of 7 or 8 dead pixels. It's incredibly distracting if what I'm doing has a black screen as it shows up like the Sun peeking through the clouds. We will see if I can get it replaced though cause it's pretty upsetting to have such a nice and expensive unit have a dead pixel on arrival. Despite this, it's definitely a worthy contender to the Surface Pro and Surface Go.

The HP Spectre Folio 2-in-1 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop is a technical marvel. Really enjoy picking it up and using it. First off, the packaging makes it look like you are unwrapping a high end piece of jewelry or expensive clothing. Black paper with a discrete 'HP' sticker holding it together greets you, along with a lovely aroma of quality leather. Unwrap the black paper and you see the cognac brown laptop, looking just like a folio notepad. This helps make it look not like a typical laptop, but something a lot more discrete. And this is NOT a typical laptop. Sure, it opens up into a traditional layout with a screen an a keyboard, all the while protected in a nice leather package, but instead of hinging all the way around back, leaving the keyboard exposed on the back, there is a hinge half way up the back of the screen allowing the screen to fold face up over the keyboard, keeping it protected and leaving the leather on the back side to protect the laptop. The screen also slopes forward in front of the keyboard to stand the screen up like a tablet would, for watching movies. You can have the laptop ask you with a prompt when it transitions from laptop to tablet or to just do it automatically. Full Windows functionality remains when it's in tablet mode. Included with the laptop is a Windows Ink pen and an included AAAA battery. With the touchscreen on the laptop, and when in tablet mode, you can use the Windows Ink Pen to navigate, write, draw, scribble on the screen. Very intuitive buttons and smooth action make it very easy to get to grips with. I'm a Graphic Designer, so it's nice to be able to sketch ideas while writing in meetings, rather than just typing meeting notes. I downloaded Plumbago, a Microsoft product which allowed me to have different paper types to write on and a variety of pens/colors etc, and it works flawlessly on this laptop, especially in tablet mode. The keyboard is very MacBook-esque, low profile, sharp travel keys, backlit and responsive. I'm typing this review on it now and its smooth and fluid. There is an indent on the back of the screen on the right side to attach a stylus loop to store the Windows Ink Pen. It would be nice to have the option to mount it on either side of the laptop for those left handed people (myself included) out there, but it's hardly a deal breaker, but a nice to have. Video quality is fantastic on the 1920x1080 touchscreen with dark blacks and crisp images. The Bang and Olufsen speakers, sure, they work, but they sure are small in this package and don't pack a tremendous punch. But this isn't an audiophile computer to start with, and it is so beautiful, that the sound can be forgiven. The laptop is a little heavy, definitely heavier than your average folio, but that does mean that you can open the top with just one hand as the weight keeps the keyboard on the desk. But placing it in a backpack to go to work, it didn't feel noticeably heavier than any other laptop I've carried around. One of the standout features to me, compared to my previous HP Spectre, is the lack of fan sound. My previous laptop would constantly have the fans running and get unbearably hot on my lap. Not with this new HP Spectre Folio... it's quiet as a church mouse and doesn't appear to get too hot at all. Performance has been fantastic so far, picking it up throughout the day in both laptop and tablet mode, it fires up quickly each and every time I open it, and it locked by optional facial recognition. Overall very happy with the performance, design, weight, resolution and practicality of this 2 in 1 laptop - tablet combo. It's become my goto, for quick browsing of the internet, to taking notes with sketches in meetings. I've already recommended it and shown it off to several work colleagues who are also besotted with how it looks and how it performs. Nice work HP, nice work. The Spectre line continues to get better and better with each iteration.

I'd been looking for a laptop for a while now and was settling on the fact that not much is available as far as performance and versatility without spending thousands. Upon setting my eyes on this device, I was amazed at the novel way the screen folds in ways no other unit does. The leather added a nice touch and I thought it would help protect it. So when I received it in this obsidian black jewel box with magnetic closure, I was surprised as I've never received a laptop with such flair. Typically they come shipped carefully wrapped in efficient packaging with minimal attention to detail. HP has added a new level of luxury to tech and it's quite refreshing! Unboxing was a treat: obsidian black jewel case with thin silver script "SCEPTRE" in the center opens to reveal tissue paper held closed with HP label wrapped around a black fiber satchel within which is the HP Sceptre in all its glory and with it, the luxury leather scent permeating the air. Yes people, this is real top grain leather in cognac brown not unlike that found in fine Italian sports cars. It comes well accessorized too with pen, usb-c to usb-a adapter, and a cloth braided power cable to boot. Power it up and you have a crisp 1080p screen, full sized backlit keyboard, ultra premium B&O sound system, and face ID. Setup was quite easy and the onscreen assistant was courteous. Face ID works great with the IR sensors picking up facial contours It's very fast and responsive for only 8Gb of RAM, though I'm sure the SSD has something to do with that. One thing that's missing is the fan, quiet just like a tablet. Having such a powerful processor like the i7 and no fan sound made me think this thing was going to start burning my legs at some point; slight warmth though I couldn't tell if it was my body heat transferring to the leather back. In laptop mode, the screen bends to about a 75 degree angle to which (at 6'5") was not uncomfortable. Movies and Youtube vids came in loud and clear when in theater mode with the now rear firing position of the speakers and surround sound is exceptional in any position. In tablet mode, I loved the way the screen completely hides any clue of a full keyboard rather than every other convertible unit folding it on the back. Pen input was precise and using the Paint program allowed me to familiarize myself with it though I didn't quite like the tapping sound tip to screen made. You don't fully understand the quality and unique abilities of this unit unless you fold the screen over in laptop mode and let it hang, then you truly see just how thin it is and how you've found the perfect combination without compromising anything! I have only 2 cons: highly reflective display made viewing difficult in some situations and the keyboard skips characters after using the trackpad while writing this review to make corrections which is a bit disconcerting, but manageable. If cognac brown leather and specs don't wow you enough, you'll want to wait a couple of months for a Bordeaux leather, 4k screen, up to 16gb ram, and possibly bigger SSD. Hp always had their eye on a premium experience with the higher end units; I believe combining good specs with cutting edge design and premium materials has elevated this model to a luxury experience.

Good afternoon this product it’s excellent.recommended

In the world of laptops, it’s been pretty much the same thing forever, aluminum or plastic. Hp has truly created something that’s different, beautiful and finely crafted, words that I usually don’t use to describe a pc laptop. The leather has the smell of a high end Mercedes S class or a BMW 7 series and feels every bit as nice. In terms of performance it has the specs to match its looks... Core i7, 8gb of Ram, and a 256 SSD drive. For my needs the performance has not left me wanting. The battery life HP claims I think is a bit ambitious at least if the battery is set for performance, but it is still much better than my other laptop from 2017. It will get the majority of people thru their day no problem. Streaming 2 hours of a Monday night football game and the battery only went down 10 to 15%. This is one of the best examples of a laptop and tablet all in one. With the leather it feels so much better to use in tablet mode than other 2-in-1s. Using it in tablet mode with the stylus the palm rejection isn’t very good at all, I think this is more a software issue than the hardware itself. Besides this my only other knock would be the track pad is on the smaller size, It’s not really an issue once you get use to it. If you are a windows user and want something that has the brains, the brawn and without a doubt the looks, then this is the laptop you’ve been waiting for!

You must see and hold this beautiful convertible to appreciate it. And it will stimulate your sense of smell as well. I'm not kidding. The diminutive but built-like-a-tank metal tablet and its metal base and lighted keyboard are encased in an attractive pebble leather protective sleeve. No picture will do this device justice. Every aspect of the presentation exudes quality and durability and it weighs only 3.24 pounds. The hardware is more than capable of everything I could throw at it. 8GB of memory, 256GB PCI-e solid state hard drive, and a core i7-8550y processor. The IPS 13.3-inch touch screen is beautiful to behold, whether you use it as a tablet or as a laptop. A digital pen for the inkers (and you know who you are) is included so you will not be deprived of any productivity function! There is a USB-C port which the AC converter utilizes, a USB-A dongle for connection of legacy devices, and two Thunderbolt ports on the other side of the base. And, yes, there is a conventional headphone jack as well! The Bang & Olufsen quad audio is excellent. Wi-Fi sports the fastest AC speed of your router. I ran this rig all day connected to Wi-Fi, doing office tasks and periodically streaming audio and video. I think most would obtain all day battery life. Unless you must have the biggest and heaviest rig, opt for the best. This one does everything well and looks so good doing it. Highly and unequivocally recommended!

This computer is beautiful and everything about the experience feels premium. When you first open the box you can smell the leather and the computer is packaged very nicely. Pros - Beautiful leather case. It looks and feels great. It lives up to the pictures. I walked in with it under my arm and my family was surprised it was a computer. - Solid feel from the hinge to the keyboard (both have a good weight and no wiggle) - Amazingly thin and lite - Bright and sharp display - Applications and websites load quickly. No lag or freezes even when multitasking. - Very good audio given the thin form factor - Includes a stylus and a color matched leather holder that can be attached to the computer (one very minor gripe is that this holder is an awkward spot for inserting / removing the stylus in desktop mode). - Tablet mode - Compatible with my old HP Elite USB-C Dock (supports three displays and adds 3 USB A ports, P/N 841575-001). Things to Consider - Only 3 USB-C ports means that you have to remember to bring the USB A adapter if you are using most USB accessories. A cheap wireless USB A mouse isn't a good idea for this reason (it has built in Bluetooth so I would recommend looking for that type of mouse). - No CD-ROM drive (if you still use this) and no card reader. Even connecting a thumb drive requires pulling out the adapter. This is to be expected given how thin this computer is, but it is a compromise. - Camera for video conferencing is not the greatest quality, but it works. While this form factor has inherent compromises, I believe the trade-offs are worth it, if you value portability and style. Using the built in Bluetooth helps cut down on cords and if you can find a compatible dock this thing is a multitasking beast in a leather suit.

HP has been on a roll and it has not been afraid to try new things to the market. This Spectre Folio is a perfect example of that. HP decided to partner with Intel to bring the product to the market. Upon opening the box you can tell immediately that this is a premium device. The box itself is of a minimalist design and I appreciated that. This leather clad 2 in 1 is just amazing and I really love this more than I thought I would. The leather is real and feels great in the hands and aesthetically speaking there is nothing else like it on the market which makes it the first of its kind. It is also a direct competitor to the Surface. :::Hardware::: The hardware in this product is decent and under the hood you will find a Intel Core i7-8500Y processor it is dual core with 4 threads. It also includes the following; 8GB of ram, 256GB of fast SSD storage, 13.3 inch FHD 16:9 touch sreen with stylus support right out otf the box. You will also find 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports, 1 USB Type-C 3.1 first gen port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. :::Functionality:: Now there is no doubt that this is a sleek and attractive deivce. But that comes at a price. HP opted to go with a more energy efficient parts in the Folio 13. The i7 performs well but is only a dual core and is more on par with a i5 in terms of processing power. The I7 is no slouch but still I would have preferred a different version of the i7. The amount of ram could have been better in my opinion a low voltage DIMM would have been a better choice here. Most premium devices offer anywhere from 12-16GB of ram. Battery life is not what HP claims I have managed to get 8 hrs of battery life mixed usage. It takes about 2 & 1/2 hours for a full charge. The screen is plenty bright for most users it is a tad shy of 300 nits of brightness. For those who opt for the LTE model using this in bright outdoor light is not practical. The 1080p screen has good RGB coverage, and good enough for my use. The screen is not detachable and I am just fine with that. It has three modes regular, flat and what I will call media mode. laying the screen flat works great when using the stylus. Media mode the screen sits a slant and the keyboard will be hidden. The stylus uses a AAAA battery and is active and has good accuracy and minimal lag input. I found it to be great when using One Note. Sound quality is respectable with HP usual B&O branded speakers. The sound is rich and has decent bass for a small device. I a glad that this device has a 3.5mm jack. The keyboard is good and the keys feel good when typing. The keyboard lettering is bold and I appreciate that being that my vision is not the best. Most keyboards have small lettering on the keys.It is also backlit and that is a plus for a device like this. I was surprised this came with a stylus and it functions well. For a device like this I expected HP to provide a leather care kit but they did not. Anyone who owns leather items know that you must maintain the leather to keep it clean & hydrated otherwise it will age poorly. I think some may be concerned about the quality of the leather I believe it should not be a concern as long as you care for and maintain the leather just like you would in your car. :::Pros::: - Sleek & professional design - Stylus included - Braided USB C charging brick - Good battery life :::Cons::: - Paltry amount of ram (8GB is too little) - A leather care kit was not included :::TL;DR::: This is an attractive device that brings something new to the market. It will give its competitors a run for their money. Sure it is not perfect and despite a few flaws I still would recommend this device.

I have never really cared for 2-in-1 designs. I always felt that the tradeoff for the switch-ability between tablet and laptop always kneecapped one or both of the modes. Now I have had a few work computers that were 2-in-1s but I never used their tablet mode. The HP Spectre Folio is the absolute first where I've used both modes, and feel that both of them are an outstanding experience. First, let me start off by saying that you will be spending A LOT of time showing this thing off to people when they see it. The Folio makes a statement and people are digging this computer. I have had computers where people have said, 'Hey, that's a nice computer.' but this is the first where people have wanted to touch it and play around with its different configurations. If I were single, I would say that it would be almost effective as having a cute dog in starting conversations with women! If you are anti-social or an introvert, this may cause you some discomfort if you take it out in public. Ok, with that out of the way, how is the Spectre Folio in use? It is an outstanding laptop and 2-in-1. I won't be playing any games on it so I really don't care that it only has a 2-core i7 processor and 8GB of RAM. I plan on using this mostly for writing and research and it has been a stellar experience doing both. Typing on this things is so nice because the keyboard is almost absolutely silent and it is so nice to have your palms resting on the leather instead of cold aluminum or plastic. The trackpad may be small but it is incredibly responsive and easy to use. In tablet mode, it covers the keyboard instead of just flipping the screen around and having the keyboard on the back. Yeah, I know that those other 2-in-1s deactivate the keyboard when you do this, but I always thought it looked silly and quite frankly, I didn't like the knocks that the keyboard deck would take when used that way. With the screen folded over, it makes it so nice to use the pen in landscape mode to sketch out ideas with the really great pen that HP gives you, but in portrait mode it REALLY shines. Scrolling through web pages is so great this way because you can see so much of the page in this tall mode and the way it is folded over makes one side thicker than the other so it is kind of like holding a folded back magazine and not just some big slab of computer. It is even great using while standing up and walking around because it is so easy to cradle in the crook of your arm and writing with your other hand on the screen. I've NEVER felt that that was a great way to use a computer but I've already done it twice and it just feels right. I won't probably ever be using it for watching videos, I've done that before and invariably the person in front of me will recline their seat and then I have the keyboard jabbing me in the gut in order to see the screen properly. This is the first computer where I might try again on my next flight. Its 'tented' mode puts the screen at a perfect viewing angle and leaves the trackpad available to control playback. Look, I can gush all over this thing for a ton more column inches but here is the bottom line: if you want a stylish computer that is as equally easy and nice to use in both tablet as well as laptop forms, just go get the Spectre Folio! I have only two things I would like HP to address in subsequent iterations of the Folio: 1: Make it so the pen holder can go on either side. There is a slight indent on the back of the right side of the screen but not one on the left. Another way me and my left-handed people are spit upon. 2 - HP FINALLY made a nice brick for a laptop (it is just like my favorite from Dell) but they insist on pairing it with a long outlet plug. Please add an attachment that can go onto the brick that adds the plug in a fold in/out configuration. I've added an aftermarket plug adapter to make it more compact but it doesn't have to be this way. The Folio is so stylish and slick, and they went about 3/4ths of the way with this power brick design but the actual plug could be better. You will notice that neither of the two concerns/issues revolves around the leather. That is because I think this stuff is going to be virtually indestructible. I mean, I have had a ton of metal computers get scratched up and I expect this one to be no different but this auto-grade leather seems super tough to me and it might 'weather' to a really cool distressed look. If you want an extremely nice computer that is quiet, functional, and stylish, I can't think of another 2-in-1 that fits that bill. I can't see anyone being disappointed in this computer. If you are seriously considering the HP Spectre Folio, just pull the trigger and get it, you have shown already that you have style and taste just by considering it. Show that you have the brains too by buying it! (BTW, in the pictures I forgot to put the USB-C to USB-A dongle in the photo, but HP does give you one.)

The HP Spectre Folio is a sweet laptop 3-in-1 that looks, feels, smells and works like a premium laptop. It is wrapped in 100% full grain leather, which gives it a great smell and feel; and makes it fingerprint free! The only places for fingerprints are on the screen and keyboard. Animal lovers probably will wish they had used synthetic leather rather than real leather however. Unlike other 3-in-1 laptops, when in tablet mode the Spectre Folio keyboard is completely covered by the screen. This is so much nicer than when the keyboard ends up on the bottom with the keys facing downward. It is a smartly engineered design. One thing I noticed right away is how quiet this laptop is. I have yet to hear the fan working! The Bang & Olufsen speakers do a pretty good job of projecting a clean stereo sound when watching movies too. The screen is Full HD, not 4k, but on a screen this size it really doesn’t matter. Images still look amazing. A stylus is included and it has a home in a sleeve that can be attached to the side of the laptop. Again, a better solution than other laptops that have the stylus sleeve attaching via the usb port. Speaking of usb ports, the Spectre has three Thunderbolt usb type c ports (one for the power cord). In case you have peripherals that haven’t adopted the usb type c format yet, one converter cord is provided in the box. At almost 3.5 lbs., it is a little on the heavy side for its size, and compared with the Spectre from a couple years ago, it is thicker as well. Then again, the older model Spectre didn’t have a touchscreen or tablet mode like this one does. I am really digging this laptop. The cognac brown color resembles the color and feel of a football. Gaming aside, this laptop seems to have the power to handle anything pretty easily.

I wanted this laptop cause I love tech and especially unique tech. A laptop that is made out of genuine leather? Sign me up! This is certainly a unique and welcome take on the popular 2-in-1 laptop that we see so much of today. When I took it out of the box I was shocked at how thin and light it really is. Using the leather as the body of the laptop results in one of the thinnest laptops I’ve ever seen, and there’s obviously never a need to outfit it with a case. Sit it on a desk and unless someone sees the HP logo on it they will just think it is an executive portfolio notebook. The leather is premium but I do wish it came in black though instead of brown (also comes in burgundy). It is built surprisingly well, look and feels like a laptop in a leather case so I do not doubt it’ll do well against daily bumps. What makes the Spectre Folio so unique is its three screen positions: laptop, media, and tablet. Laptop is exactly like it sounds, there is a hinge that allows you to open and close the screen just like any ordinary laptop. The second position is called media and you pop the lower half of the screen out and set it between the keyboard and trackpad. This is similar to the “tent position” on other 2-in-1s, where you can prop it up to watch movies or TV but this new way is much more elegant and practical. Finally, the tablet position is where the screen sits on top of the keyboard. The hinge used for laptop mode keeps the screen at a slight angle so it’s not completely flat-perfect for using the pen on the screen. When in tablet mode your hands will be against the leather bottom of the laptop. It feels much more natural than the awkwardness of a plastic keyboard like you would find on other 2-in-1 convertibles. There is one major downside to the tablet mode though which is you cannot wake up the device without positioning it out of tablet mode. All of the buttons including the power and touchpad are sitting under the screen and the screen does not support tap-to-wake. This is a big bummer to what otherwise would be a near flawless device. The backlit keyboard itself is very good, plenty of travel considering the thinness of the device and there is a lot of space between the island-style keys. The trackpad is small but works fine. The touchscreen could be a bit more responsive. As expected on a device this thin, the B&O speakers are not going to blow you away but surprisingly they get very loud. I’m not much of an artist and my handwriting is horrible so I never take notes, but I do appreciate that it comes with the pen and an adhesive backed holder that can be attached to the leather body if needed. Spec wise you have a Core i7 dual core (4 threads) with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB M.2 storage. It’s certainly not the most powerful laptop you can buy but with a fanless design it also will never make noise. It won’t be the best choice for gaming or CPU intensive tasks like photo and video editing. However, it’s no slouch either. I have been using it as my daily Windows PC for over a week now and I have not had any issues with performance. HP’s battery life claim is an insane 21 hours of video playback. Obviously that is best case scenario and likely with the i5 CPU. I haven’t timed it but it is definitely more than I’m used to based on the fact that I’ve only put it on the charger twice and have used it at least 3-4 hours a day. And if that’s not enough it supports fast charging that’ll get you to 50% in about 30 minutes with the 65W charger that it comes with. I also love the fact that I just need to pack one USB-C charger with me to charge both my 2018 iPad Pro and Spectre Folio. Pros: Three usable positions: laptop, media, and best of all, tablet. 13” Full HD IPS 16:9 Touchscreen Leather folio design is ingenious and premium Quiet – Fanless Design Efficient Core i7 Dual Core Incredible Battery Life Fast Charging USB-C Charging 2 Thunderbolt 3 Still includes Headphone Jack Includes pen Well designed keyboard Cons: No convenient way to wake screen in tablet mode Touchscreen could be more responsive Brown (wish it were black) Overall, I highly recommend this to anyone looking for an ultraportable convertible laptop. Especially if you’ve been disappointed by the 2-in-1 devices you find on the shelves today.

This HP Spectre Folio Ultrabook has a unique design which includes a rare media viewing mode, in which the display tilts forward and covers the keyboard. The digital pen works best to draw on the display in media viewing mode, because the screen has no wobble at all in the media viewing mode, this is as a result of the display being held in place with a series of magnets when it is in media viewing mode. The best thing about this HP Spectre Folio, is that this computer does not have an internal fan. This HP computer has a mobile version of the Intel i7 processor, which allows it to function while using less power, and the mobile type of processor is why it is able to be fan less without overheating. Fans inside computers do build up dust over time, which needs to be cleaned periodically to prevent the fans from being less effective at removing built up heat. It is really nice when a computer does not need an internal cooling fan, with that said, I point a fan at myself and this computer while using it, of which the airflow does blow away any built of heat from the HP Spectre Folio, but this is really only be necessary at times when I am using the computer in a hot room on a hot day. The unboxing of this HP Spectre Folio was what is expected from a premium priced Ultrabook, it was packaged in a padded box within a box, of which the inside box is really nice. The HP Spectre Folio Ultrabook and accessories were cradled by form fitted plastic sections. This form fitted plastic packaging, has a better feel compared to cardboard materials for the inner packaging materials. The 65-watt power adapter kit is quite nice, it has a braided cable on the USB-C cable side, and the power cord which plugs into the power adapter, is a premium round power cord. This HP Spectre Folio has 3 USB-C type connectors, two of which are Thunderbolt compatible. Included is a USB-C extension dongle which allows plugging in standard USB devices. The HP Spectre Folio Ultrabook is covered in a really nice quality of leather, and this leather encased Ultrabook, makes for a unique computing experience. I guess you could say this HP Spectre Folio might be less likely to be stolen, as it might appear as if it is nothing more than a leather folder containing paper. The HP digital pen that is included is mostly made of aluminum, except the end shirt clip section is plastic. The plastic shirt clip allows this digital pen to be placed on a tabletop and it will not roll away and fall on the ground like other round-only digital pens have a tendency to do. The digital pen holder is not optimal in my opinion, as it is made of leather, and the digital pen already fits too snugly in the holder, making it slightly a hassle to fit the pen into the holder, and since leather shrinks, if it ever got wet, the pen holder would end up being an even tighter fit for the pen. A rubber molded style of pen holder, which is magnetically attached, would have been a better option, but choosing leather for the pen holder was an understandable choice, since leather is the theme of this Ultrabook. I chose not to attach the leather digital pen holder to the HP Spectre Folio, since I use it at home all the time, and I place the digital pen next to the Ultrabook, and that is good enough for me. The HP digital pen does have two buttons which can be programmed. This HP Spectre Folio has 4 speakers which actually sound great, I am not sure if it is the tuning of the speakers that is done by Bang and Olufsen, or if the speakers themselves are actually Bang and Olufsen speakers, but they do sound about as good as small speakers are capable of sounding. I find it best at times when I want to hear louder music, to simply connect a Bluetooth speaker to the Ultrabook. Also, when connecting a Bluetooth speaker to the Ultrabook and playing the audio with the Bluetooth speaker, this uses less of the Ultrabook’s battery. When lifting the display, it is best to grab it with two hands by the front left and right corners while lifting, as there are two sets of magnets, which hold the lid securely to the lower keyboard section. The hinge for the display, has just the right amount of tension so as to make it perfectly easy to lift. The screen in laptop mode is secure enough to use the digital pen on, but it is common for touch screens to wobble a bit when using a digital pen, and so the digital pen does function much better when the HP Spectre Folio is in media viewing mode. I am rating this HP Spectre Folio at 4.2 out of 5 stars, as it is a really unique computing experience, and I would suggest this Ultrabook to anyone who can afford the premium pricing category that this computer is in.

I should start by saying I like it almost alot. An issue with the track pad and touch screen mentioned bellow is my biggest beef. If you like the look of a portfolio that's a laptop you should mostly like this alot. Minus quirks. It's a nice profesional instrument to take infront of clients and such. If that's what you need then I would recomend. If not I would spend 100.00 more bucks and get the spectre 360 with the increased hardware. In ranome order I would define as follows. The leather is real nice and adds strength to the lid. The leather is leather however and thus requires maintainence. Like mink oil. Also the bottom is getting not as pretty. I havnt mink oiled mine yet so will I will try saddle soap on some spots before I do. The way the lid flips is what made me pick it. Folds real nice into tablet mode with out having the key board at the bottom. Also fliping methiod is great when in truck and steering wheel infront if me which is common. Battery life not as good as described, but not bad. I think I get about 6 -10 hours depending on how I am using it. I am sure I would get 4 to 8 with alternative. Usage includes multiple Web tabs like 6 to 8, and business apps like Word, Excell, and sometimes a database app. I absolutely DO NOT LIKE the lack of settings for track pad and touch screen. There is no way to make "one tap to execute" change to "two taps to execute" which means just hovering your finger over the touch pad will launch or move something. Sensitivity setting does not work. This is the biggest reason for the lower rating. I want to give it a 3 because of this if not a 2. Holding back. The pen tip feels like it is sliding on ice. Hard to write well because pen tip glides to easy on the screen. I use the pen a lot and am still using my old android tablet where the pen drags a bit aiding in writting. After boot up memory usage is under 3gb which is nice. Haven't gotten low on ram, ssds are real nice, system performs well. Despite lesser gen8 cpu. I could write more.... but won't.