
When it comes to the best laptops, it's usually your typical clamshell designs that come up top. And while HP features such designs and delivers them with great success, the California-based company has gone all-out with its latest – the HP Spectre Foldable PC, which, as the name suggests is a tablet-meets-laptop that folds across its screen area.
Folding tech is increasing in popularity, from the latest folding phones, to folding tablets and laptops, which I've really enjoyed exploring at various tech showcases (CES 2023, IFA 2023) in recent months and years. But the Spectre Foldable PC looks to be on another level – and I want this $4,999 dream machine in my hands already (yes, that's a massive over-£4,000 equivalent here in the UK, making it pricier than many of the best gaming laptops)!
The HP Spectre Foldable PC is the thinnest and lightest of its kind – although given the sheer heft of the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, and the large scale of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold Gen 2, it was all for HP to take advantage of other designs' shortcomings. That's still impressive, seeing as this is a 17-inch tablet-like OLED display is bigger than the already large Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra's 14.6-inch panel.





This is no pipe dream of a product either: the Spectre Foldable PC will go on sale in the USA, with pre-orders from BestBuy available from 14 September 2023. I'm not sure how many people will be laying down a cool $5K for a laptop-meets-tablet two-in-one device, mind, but for those of you who can afford to splash out, this is how you go big.
Well, HP calls it a "3-in-1", as the 17-inch panel also comes with a keyboard attachment, plus a kickstand, so you can use it as a 12.3-inch laptop by folding the screen, a 17-inch tablet standalone, or a 17-inch PC with the keyboard detached by sitting the panel up on its stand. There's also a stylus included for additional input included as part of the package.
Beneath this foldable exterior, the Spectre Foldable PC houses 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processors, 16GB RAM, and Intel's Iris Xe graphics solutions. Yes, there are more out-and-out powerful options on the market, but with the promise of 12 hours on a single charge, it's that balance of power, productivity and longevity that is all-important here. I'm sold anyway, so here's hoping the Spectre comes to wider markets in the future...
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts

Mike is T3's Tech Editor. He's been writing about consumer technology for 15 years and his beat covers phones – of which he's seen hundreds of handsets over the years – laptops, gaming, TV & audio, and more. There's little consumer tech he's not had a hand at trying, and with extensive commissioning and editing experience, he knows the industry inside out. As the former Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint for 10 years where he furthered his knowledge and expertise, whilst writing about literally thousands of products, he's also provided work for publications such as Wired, The Guardian, Metro, and more.
-
I tried a cutting-edge Asus gaming tablet, but it's left me conflicted
The Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) is impressive, but also weird
-
Forget your steam decks, Asus just updated its powerful gaming tablet
The Asus ROG Flow Z13 gets a big update for 2025, making it the ultimate gaming all-in-one
-
I've tested the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro – still the top gaming phone, now with a cooler case!
Still the standout performer, with a host of added goodies
-
Asus ROG Phone 9 announced – with some seriously exciting specs
This could be a killer gaming phone
-
Asus Zenbook S14 review: astounding all-rounder showcases Intel's latest in style
Housing Intel's Core Ultra Series 2, the Asus Zenbook S14 is a great portable laptop that can deliver on-the-go gaming goods too
-
Asus Vivobook S 15 is the first to feature a new Snapdragon processor
This could be a turning point for Windows laptops
-
Asus ROG Ally could run Steam Deck OS in the future
Could there be SteamOS on your ROG Ally soon?
-
I've tried the Asus ProArt P16 – is this the MacBook Pro killer we've been waiting for?
The new range of creator-focused devices look set to offer some stern competition for Apple MacBooks