Oliver Haslam·

HP Attempts To Reinvent Laptop Design With Leather-Clad Spectre Folio

If you’re anything like us, you’ve seen enough plastic and metal notebook computers to last a lifetime, and the thought of something coming out of left field is one that doesn’t crop up too often. The folks at HP have somehow managed to come up with something that has caught our eye though, with the new HP Spectre Folio eschewing the standard notebook construction for something made of leather. HP believes it’s reinventing the PC, but we’ll have to wait and see about that.

With a magnesium frame that is attached to the exterior leather, the new Spectre certainly has a familiar yet new look about it. The company claims that its huge battery will allow up to 18 hours battery life, and with an 8th generation Intel Core i7 and 8GB of RAM alongside a 356GB SSD, there should be enough oomph here for most. The display is a 13.3-inch FHD affair, although there will also be a 4K panel available later this year for those who don’t mind losing a little battery life.

Of course, the internals aren’t what makes this notebook so interesting. HP’s leather computer does resemble a notebook when closed, although it can easily switch between notebook and tablet modes with surprising ease – something the Spectre line has always been good at. We’ll need to see this thing up close and personal before we can decide whether the whole leather thing is a gimmick or something that makes this new computer truly interesting, and at the moment, it could really go either way.

If you’re looking at the Spectre Folio and liking what you see, it will be a Best Buy exclusive, as well as available on hp.com. An Intel Core i5 model will cost $1,299, and the aforementioned Core i7 model will be $1,399.

Those who want an LTE variant with a Core i7 processor can get exactly that for $1,499, while the 4K display option with burgundy leather will be available this coming December.

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