This foldable tablet can transform into a laptop and desktop

Companies like ASUS and Lenovo have been trying to win customers over to the idea of foldable laptops for a few years now. Just like Samsung, Google, and others are trying to get customers on the foldable phone train. HP is now also joining the fray with its own foldable PC, the HP Spectre Fold. While HP’s first entry into the space looks promising, it could be overshadowed by its price.

According to HP, the Spectre Fold claims the title of the world’s smallest and thinnest 17-inch foldable PC. In turn for that convenience, however, this foldable PC is priced at $5,000. This price makes the Spectre Fold more expensive than any other laptop of this type currently on the market.

However, the Spectre Fold has more going for it than just being small and thin. HP helps to justify that hefty price tag with the laptop’s design and features. The Spectre Fold has a 17-inch 2.5K (1920 x 2560) resolution OLED touch display. This display offers 400 nits of standard brightness and 500 nits of brightness in HDR. It also uses a 3:4 aspect ratio and is the first foldable screen to be IMAX Enhanced certified.

An IMAX Enhanced certification means the device has met specific video and audio performance standards set by IMAX. For the Spectre Fold specifically, it means the display can play content in the IMAX aspect ratio, the maximum brightness of HDR meets IMAX standards, and images are presented clearly with minimal noise and artifacts.

The battery also plays a role in the design as HP distributed it across the body to keep the weight balanced regardless of the device’s orientation. Speaking of weight, the PC comes in at a little under three pounds, which is pretty light considering the size.

A few other key specs of note include a 12-gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support, and a 5MP camera. The 6-cell, 94.3-watt-hour battery is said to last 12 hours in laptop mode and 11 hours in desktop mode.

As you would expect from a folding device, the Spectre Fold can be oriented into different forms. The 3-in-1 device can be used as a 12.3-inch laptop with a Bluetooth keyboard sitting on top of half the screen. But you can also slide the keyboard down a bit to enable an extended view mode. Taking the keyboard completely off activates the dual-screen mode, unless you stand it up with the built-in kickstand. When standing up, it goes into desktop mode or you can use it as a large tablet.

In addition to all of this, the laptop features AI support. This allows for several features such as walk away lock, wake-on approach, auto screen dimming, and more.

The HP Spectre Fold is scheduled to go on sale for $5,000 starting in October. It will be available on HP.com and at Best Buy stores in limited quantities. However, you can preorder the device on the company’s website right now.