Every manufacturer has products it creates simply to maintain its innovative image; these products aren’t really expected to sell much. HP tends to do it a lot less than its competitors, seeming to concentrate more on perfecting concepts others have presented rather than planting a “First!” flag. The HP Spectre Foldable PC is one of the slickest examples of a folding or dual-screen laptop I’ve seen, but that doesn’t mean a lot in such a young category.
Unfolded, the OLED screen is a 17-inch tablet with 1,920×2,560-pixel resolution and DisplayHDR True Black 500 and new (for laptops) Imax Enhanced certification (the only service that streams Imax Enhanced movies at the moment is Disney Plus). Perched on its long edge using the thin built-in kickstand and paired with the keyboard, it’s intended for desktop use, much the same way detachables like the Microsoft Surface Pro 9 work without the keyboard physically connected.
The keyboard fits inside the Fold when closed.
HP split the six-cell, 94-watt-hour battery into two parts on either end of the display for improved balance when you’re holding it, such as for tablet use. The top (when it’s used as a laptop — it’s the left when used as a desktop or tablet) gets a little warm when charging.
There are drawbacks. Because it’s relatively thin and the way the electronics are arranged, there’s no place for a cell antenna, so it’s Wi-Fi only. When you fold it in half, there’s a 0.2-inch (3mm) gap. That gap is intentional since that’s where you sandwich the keyboard for portability. The gap also enables its thin hinges and presents fewer issues for the screen. But without the keyboard, it’s potentially vulnerable to damage.
It’s got quite a bit of electronics inside, so the screen’s not exceptionally thin — about 8.2mm, roughly the thickness of the iPhone 15 Pro but thicker than an iPad Pro 12.9. It’s also heavier than the LG Gram 17, even without including the keyboard (the LG weighs just under 3 pounds, while the Fold weighs 3 pounds without the keyboard and 3.6 pounds with it). The bezels are relatively thick for a screen in 2023, but with its quad speakers and full laptop innards, there needs to be someplace to put them. Plus, you don’t want something that will be easy to fumble because there’s no place to hold it. It’s not heavy or thick, but if that’s your need or aesthetic, it’s a consideration.
The 17-inch OLED gives you a big canvas.
Although it has just two USB-C ports, one is well placed for charging when you’re using the machine in laptop or desktop mode. You can find that port down by the hinge. But the second port is on the top left when using it as a laptop, which is awkward. When in desktop mode (full screen, landscape), they switch: the top one is on the left side and the other is at the top of the screen.
Along with the keyboard and pen, HP includes a USB-C hub with two USB-A ports, an HDMI out and a USB-C port for power delivery. But the built-in cable is short — roughly 3 inches (76mm), so either you have to use it only on the lower port or it hangs off the top section.
The kickstand allows you to position the screen within a few angles, but it doesn’t feel stable if you jostle it. It does folds neatly into the rear of the screen, however.
The hinge is pretty stiff, so the screen stays in position at a variety of angles. Without the keyboard on the lower half, though, it gets top heavy and can fall backwards.
The webcam is on the top in portrait orientation, a position people have complained about for years on iPads. Technically it wouldn’t be possible to put it on the long edge because of the fold and hinge, but the fact remains that it’s impractical. Especially if you’re using the Spectre as a desktop.
So many mixed feelings about the HP Spectre Foldable PC. I wanted to like it a lot more, especially given the high price. I understand why the more awkward aspects of the design are necessary, but some folks may just find them too impractical. Overall, though, this still feels like a “we’re trying to figure out what these should look and act like” foray into a nascent category. I think it needs another round of design tweaks before the products feel real. And I still can’t help but wish these foldable laptops were portable monitors instead, because bigger portable monitors without the carry bulk are a good thing.
Geekbench 5 (multicore)
HP Spectre Foldable PC 4,480Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED 6,749
HP Spectre Foldable PC 4,499Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED 4,909
HP Spectre Foldable PC 2,367Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED 3,015
HP Spectre Foldable PC 471Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED 571
PCMark 10 Pro
3DMark WIld Life Extreme Unlimited
Streaming video playback battery drain test (minutes)
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