Ive Used A Foldable Laptop For A Month, And Im Ready To Return To A Clamshell
AdminDecember 18, 20230
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Specifications at a glance: HP Specter Foldable 17-cs0097 N
the screen
17-inch 1920x2560 OLED touchscreen
OX
Windows 11 Home
processor
Intel Core i7-1250U
ram
16GB LPDDR5-5200
warehousing
1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD
net
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
port
2x Lightning 4
Dimensions (folded)
10.91×7.53×0.84 inches
Weight (including keyboard)
3.58 kg
drum
94.3 Huh
warranty
1 year
Price (RRP)
$5,000
Otherwise
Includes HP MPP2.0 Rechargeable Tilt Pen, Bluetooth Keyboard and HP Envy USB-C Hub
Although foldable smartphones have been around for almost five years, the devices are still trying to justify themselves. And after nearly four weeks of using a foldable-screen laptop as my primary computer, I'm not sure they're ready to debut.
I'm spending my time with HP's first foldable laptop looking at the future of laptops, and I think it will benefit from a resurgence of creative ideas that respond to the unique ways people use computers. But I seriously wonder if the benefits of a 17-inch screen on a 12-inch laptop are worth the inherent drawbacks of today's foldable computers.
Early movers in the world of foldable laptops have a chance to define the space and consumers can decide if it's what they want. HP's foldable model is by far the most advanced option, and weeks of use have taught me a lot about what I do, and I don't want to see when the dust has settled.
HP Specter Foldable
Starting at $5,000 at HP
(Ars Technica may receive compensation for sales made through links in this post through its affiliate program.)
Ultimately, the question I have about foldable laptops is, "Why is this a foldable or a 2-in-1 laptop instead?"
value debt
Like it or not, laptop manufacturers are trying to create a market for computers with foldable OLED displays. Asus has launched its first foldable computer in 2022. Lenovo's second foldable PC is available for purchase, LG announced a foldable laptop for South Korea, and we now have the HP Specter Folding 17. Windows 11, working intuitively with snap layout and unique multi-screen setup, helps create this product. important
At the time of writing (and when first released), HP's foldable model costs $5,000. Foldable computers are young and flashy and can automatically command higher prices than similarly specialized laptops in traditional form factors, but $5,000 is not ideal for a foldable laptop. Asus' Zenbook 17 Fold OLED debuted at $3,500 and Lenovo's 16-inch ThinkPad X1 Fold debuted at $2,500.
HP would certainly appreciate some high-level executives and tech enthusiasts getting their hands on the Specter Fold, but the device seems keen to do more to demonstrate what a foldable PC can be.
This article will look at what made HP succeed with its foldable milestone, where it failed, and how the Specter Fold could impact the future of foldable laptops.
A 17 inch laptop in a 12 inch body
For those who use their laptop as their primary device or for multitasking, a large screen in a small space can be attractive. But finding a comfortable 17-inch laptop is a challenge, especially since many laptops this size have a separate GPU. Foldable laptops promise new possibilities for laptop users who dream of maximum portability without sacrificing screen real estate.
Foldable screens make the 17-inch size more portable than ever. The Specter Fold measures 10.91 × 7.53 × 0.84 inches folded and weighs 3.58 pounds with the detachable keyboard (2.99 pounds without the keyboard). HP's 17-inch NV laptop (with integrated graphics) measures 15.68 × 10.20 × 0.77 inches and weighs 5.49 pounds. LG's Gram 17 (also with integrated graphics) measures 14.91 × 10.19 × 0.74 inches and weighs 2.9 kg. Foldable means you can have something as simple as a Dell with 26.9% more screen real estate.
...but it's still a 17-inch laptop
But the Specter Fold is still a 17-inch laptop. Of course, carrying a foldable from point A to point A is easier than carrying a 17-inch case upside down. But when the system is configured for use, there's nothing better in terms of layout than using a regular 17-inch laptop.
When I wanted to get as much work done on the screen as possible, I unfolded the foldable device, pulled out its trusty stand to place on my desk, and used the included Bluetooth keyboard with a wireless mouse.
Extend / get as much screen as possible from the foldable device.
Sharon Harding
It was a satisfying experience and brought back memories of Microsoft's smaller Surface Pro 9. But it was no better when I was working on a regular 17-inch computer. In fact, it can be a bit worse because reflective surfaces on computers often catch hanging lights.
approach
Sharon Harding
There is also a crease running down the center of the screen. This was hardly noticeable when working with documents or browsing websites with mostly white backgrounds and black text. But when you watch videos, bending can hinder you. Even when viewing content in dark mode, it was a bit annoying.
I folded the laptop and raised the crease.
Sharon Harding
If you look closely, especially where it says "for sale," you'll see creases.
Sharon Harding
Foldable devices can really shine in some situations, like when you use your computer to read long documents. While protected like tablets, foldable devices make it easy to share your screen with someone. But while foldable devices are more robust than tablets, the Specter Fold was more durable than something like Apple's 12.9-inch, 1.5-pound iPad Pro. For easy touch navigation, HP's foldable device comes with the company's MPP2.0 rechargeable tilt pen.
HP boasts that the Specter Fold can be converted into a 12.3-inch laptop form factor (the keyboard is magnetically attached to the "deck area") or even a 14-inch laptop (if you make the keyboard a bit smaller). position, revealing the screen accessible in response to the attached keyboard).
But HP's Specter Folding 17, with two batteries and an MSRP of $5,000, arrives on steroids.
Sharon Harding
The 1.5/14-inch screen mode made it difficult to use the computer on my lap.
Sharon Harding
These are particularly unique parlor tricks for a 17-inch laptop, and have proven useful when used with small folding tables or on my lap (unless I accidentally knock the keyboard out of position). The foldable device is much more suited to tight spaces than a typical 17-inch device, but the 12.3- and 14-inch form factors didn't help my productivity at all.
Like the dual 13.3-inch displays on Lenovo's Yoga Book 9i.clamshell, the Specter Fold encourages you to view apps in a small area north of the keyboard when docked in the computer's deck area and then partially slides up. But when it comes to additional applications, there is enough space for a chat window or scheduler. Looking down to see a screen was distracting when using the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, but was a bit more tolerable on the HP device. This can happen because there is no ring to break things. Instead, the windows collapsed in a way that felt surprisingly natural once I got used to it. But staring at that area for too long is not comfortable.
Ultimately, foldable devices don't offer a more efficient way to get things done than you can get with a regular laptop. This contrasts with the Yoga Book 9i, which has a much larger screen than a 17-inch foldable. The Lenovo laptop is taller (11.78 inches) and wider (8.03 inches) than HP's foldable, but thinner (0.63 inches), with a slightly lighter starting weight (2.95 pounds).
HP's foldable PC offers a 17-inch work experience in a 12-inch form factor, while Lenovo's dual-screen laptop offers new ways to work and multitask in a 13-inch form factor. Both designs will appeal to different users, but I feel the dual-screen format is more important for multitasking and changing the way you work on an ultra-light laptop.
However, I must underline the versatility that the Specter Fold has given me over the last month. Your keyboard won't replace my mechanical keyboard, but the chocolate keys have enough movement to make keystrokes meaningful and create a smooth rhythm even when the keyboard isn't connected to a computer. While resting on the couch or at the kitchen table, it was easy to put the computer in a central position and keep the keyboard close to me to change the volume or pause and adjust. And despite its small build, the computer makes a lot of noise. HP doesn't list maximum speaker power or volume for the Specter Fold, but there are four Bang & Olufsen speakers that were able to fill my living room, even without the speakers set to maximum volume.
Built to fold
Long-term durability is critical to the success of any foldable. HP says the Specter Fold's hinge will last about 25,000 cycles, about the same as a standard HP laptop.
The laptop's hinge relies on a virtual pin, meaning the pin is in front of the hinge, not on it, so the device can lie nearly flat. However, a small gap of 0.12 inches (3 mm) is visible when the computer is turned off. The gap allows room for charging the keyboard (laptops have an induction coil), but leaves room for potentially harmful debris.
almost flat.
Sharon Harding
You can see the gap.
Sharon Harding
Foldable for laptop.
Sharon Harding
Hinged area with open laptop.
Sharon Harding
The HP Folding Display control panel is located on one of the shorter edges of the display panel (instead of one of the longer edges of the display panel where it is normally located). Next to the HP display control panel is the computer's touch control panel. All this relieves the load on the hinge area. That's one of the reasons HP says the Specter Fold is so expensive. It's not clear how many users my review unit went through before I got my hands on it, but the laptop made a creaking sound when folded and unfolded.
Overall, HP's foldable model feels durable and premium, as you'd expect from the Specter series. Additionally, brands like Lenovo and Asus have launched their own brand of foldable laptops. The warranty period for foldable and foldable PCs from these OEMs is one year. However, we still don't know how long foldable devices will last.
Extended / My review unit covered 99.4% of the DCI-P3 color space, according to my colorimeter.
Sharon Harding
HP has built its smart foldable device to stand on its own. Instead of relying on a keyboard cover and/or a detachable origami-style stand, HP's foldable model has a built-in stand. This means I don't have to remember to carry any accessories to protect my computer and I can easily use it in full screen.
Extendable / foldable HP support legs.
Sharon Harding
However, this type of kick does not allow for certain angles as they can be quite sharp. I couldn't get the device to make a 90-degree angle with my desk.
Next-generation performance with next-generation value
Foldable devices are not for those looking for a computer with the right quality-price ratio. But the Specter Fold's value proposition is worse than what we've seen in other foldable laptops.
The other foldable laptops mentioned in this article were released with a current generation CPU, but the HP Foldable uses the latest generation Intel chips. Of course, this year's mobile CPUs do not give much benefit than the ultraLalite laptop of the last-generation, and I recommend the next generation thin and light laptop as a difficult alternative for people I want to save money on a computer. Laptop computer. . In the year but foldable computers (especially HP) are not for cheap. It should be a premium machine with the latest hardware.
The HP argued with a 9W CPU to keep the device thin and increase the battery life. 13th Gen Intel CPU does not have 9w CPU. HP admits that the processor choice slows down the PC for intensive work, but says that users do not lose much of the overall use of CPU currently used in ultraportable laptops.
There are two performance core (p core, 1.1-4.7 GHz running), eight skills core (E Core, 0.8-3.5 GHz), and 12 cables. The nearest equivalent to the present generation is i7-1355U (2 p core 5 GHz / 8 E Core up to 3.7 GHz / 12 thread).
To compare with other modern machines, I run some benchmarks in the Spectator Fold.
HP spectator foldable
Lenovo added book 9i
Laptop framework 13 (2023, Intel)
Laptop chassis 13 (2023, amd)
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (late 2023)
Processor
i7-1250u
i7-1355u
i7-1370p
Ryzen77840u
M3max
Graphics
Iris j
Iris j
Iris j
Radeon 780m
M3max
Ram
16GB LPDDR5-5200
16GB LPDDR5X-6400
32GB DDR4-3200
32GB DDR5-5600
128GB Integrated RAM
SSD
1 TB
512 GB
1 TB
1 TB
8 TB has been tested
let me see
17-inch 1920x2560 Oled Foldable Touchscreen
2 x 13.3 inches 2880x1800 OLED Touch Screen
13.5 inches 2256x1504 IPS
13.5 inches 2256x1504 IPS
16.2 inch mini LED 3456 × 2234 at 120Hz
Price (as written)
$ 5,000
$ 2,000
~ $ 2,069
~ $ 1,669
As tested $ 7,100, from $ 3,499 Including the same cpu
The 16-inch MacBook Prote we previously tested contains much more MSRP than the Specter Fold. But with the same CPU and 36GB RAM and 1TB storage, you can get it on $ 3,499. Comparing the CPU of the next generation's U-series with M3 MAX looks ridiculous in the graphs below, but it shows that you can get the type of mobile CPU performance at a price of more than $ 4,000.
Sharon Harding
Sharon Harding
Sharon Harding
Sharon Harding
Compared to Lenovo's dual-screen portfolio, for example, Specter Fold has seen 8.09 percent in single-core performance and 11.7 percent drop in multi-core performance with Geekbench 6. It looks like a huge 60% discount on the price (58 percent higher if there is the same amount of storage on the PC).
Foldable CPU performed 36% worse than dual-screen laptop in the 10-minute acceleration test of Sincch. I have given three consecutive tests on each machine and the third score for each is shown above.
However, I will provide folding points for the peace of your mind. Even during widespread benchmarking, the system rarely becomes very hot for handle. The area around the webcam is warm, but the system was comfortable enough to hold on most of the time.
Maintain long battery life
If a laptop seller can combine the CPU performance of the Spectator Fold with a more reasonable price and battery life that you will see, the folding computer may be considered for people who are looking for an ultra -portable PC. . . Battery life rating earned by HP foldable is exemplary, not only for a foldable laptop, but also for OLED laptops in general.
Way
Sharon Harding
OLED laptops can also run with computers decorated with less powerful IPS display. And although the Yoga Book is the advantage of the 9I screen real estate, the two OLED display weighs more on the battery.
But those battery life numbers were not easy or cheap to hurt. HP includes a 93Wh battery in both packages (to distribute weight further).
What do foldable computers offer?
Extension / compactness is the most powerful resource of a folding.
Sharon Harding
HP Specter Folding 17 gives our final foldable laptop an interesting look and foldable sections still have serious limitations.
Foldable devices seem like the future, but they still face unique designs. Folding display aims for the transport, but the OLEDs destroy the battery life. Foldable laptops can distinguish themselves from small-screen laptops with similar portable tablets and more powerful features and elite display, but it is a challenge to find productivity performance, extreme battery life and price. These challenges can be dealt with by further adaptable to foldable designs with tablets considered to be less powerful but more carryable.
HP spectator foldable
Starting from $ 5,000 on HP-
(ARS Technika may receive compensation for sale made by link in this post through approved program.)
The foldable design has done nothing to increase my productivity or multitask ability. It was okay to watch the videos and share the screen, but its hardness was noticeable, even if it was not always noticeably confusing.
However, HP and other OEMs have proven that foldable computers are ripe for further searching. The initial options were obstructed by the more suspicious processor configuration and limited operating system. The Specter Fold and Yoga Book 9i tested this year used to use Windows Snap layouts well, but multiple window switching and resisted dual-screen layouts were smooth and more Screen Real Estate had an instant advantage for my productivity.
I am predicting that the foldable devices of the future will remove the design of the HP, especially when it comes to battery life. Battery Life Laptop is a major concern for users for a long time.
Foldable laptops certainly have some benefits; A 17-inch laptop found in a 12-inch laptop body is an interesting offer for those people who want to be carrying and most screen size.
But those who are looking for a laptop innovation that allows them to do something very different than they are already accustomed to, more affordable dual-screen isolation laptops are still a good alternative.
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