HP’s Elite Folio is one of the best Windows on ARM PC. It possesses a form factor that combines laptop and tablet form factors without making noticeable compromises on either form. Also, it takes the premium aspect of HP’s EliteBooks and puts it entirely into this latest device.
It’s powered by a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 processor, which implies that it came with a 5G connection. Although I got the 4G LTE model, to be honest, the 5G model only supports sub-6GHz speeds, so it’s different.
The device comes in vegan leather, the latest take on the leather Spectre Folio. There are other modifications HP made like, having a pen garage built into the keyboard and a metal keyboard deck. The entire keyboard functions are remarkable. HP Elite Folio performs better than other Windows on ARM PCs compared to other business PCs within its class, and it’s got competition.
HP Elite Folio Design
The Elite Folio’s design is quite similar to Spectre Folio, but its design is less industrial and easy to move around, unlike other metal laptops.
For people searching for a unique and beautiful laptop, the Elite Folio is the best option for you, and it has a beautiful vegan leather exterior. Also, the beautiful leather folio design is suitable for professionals.
Concerning portability, the Elite Folio is lightweight, weighing about 2.85 pounds. This implies that it’s not part of the lightest 13-inch notebooks currently being released in the market but still lighter than some devices.
HP Elite Folio Display
HP did an excellent job with the Elite Folio’s innovative display. But, the 13.5-inch Elite Folio is compact. HP maximized the use of the entire screen space by providing a panel with a 3:2 aspect ratio. The display, serving up an 88% screen-to-body ratio, is taller than wider, so the Elite Folio didn’t compromise the display space for portability.
The Elite Folio has 71% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, lower than the average premium laptop (84%). The Surface Pro X (74%) and The Gram 14 (77%) provide more coverage, but not too much.
HP Elite Folio Battery Life
The device went through a test at the CRN Test Center, and our goal was to test the battery life to approximate real-world situations, with massive usage, and had several applications and browser tabs opened at once. This implied that we generally don’t achieve the abundant battery life estimates that manufacturers stated.
Hence, the eight hours of battery life result we got when testing the Elite Folio shows that it’s still effective, even though it’s not up to HP’s promised battery life for the notebook, which is about 20 hours.
Using an Arm Chip contributed to the strong battery life of Intel Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx (Gen 2). Most importantly, the Elite Folio doesn’t require a fan.
HP Elite Folio Performance
The Elite Folio runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cc Gen 2 chip, and it has its advantages and disadvantages. Fortunately, running Windows 10 on ARM provides impressive and effective battery life that several Intel-equipped laptops can’t match up with. On the contrary, don’t expect a peak level, top industry performance with this SoC. So be careful with your expectations.
HP Elite Folio Keyboard and Pen
Even with the beautiful and stylish design, the Elite Folio is a laptop that can help you get your work done without stress. The keyboard is extraordinary. It has deep and comfortable keys, with key travel of about 1.3mm. We discovered that the keyboard is as efficient as other HP Elite laptop keyboards and entirely satisfying to use.
Regarding other input options, the Elite Folio is packed with a digital pen that is also incredible. As evidenced by the Elite Slim Active Pen packed with the notebook, laptop styluses have been progressive. The space that’s above the keyboard houses the pen and acts as a charging port for it.
HP Elite Folio Specs
Dimension | 11.75 x 9.03 x 0.63 inches |
Weight | 2.9lbs (1.32kg) |
Display | 13.5-inch 1920 x 1280 touch display |
Memory | 16 GB |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 |
SSD | 512 GB |
Battery | four-cell, 46Wh battery |
Ports | Two USB-C Gen 1, one nano-SIM card slot, one 3.5mm audio combo jack |
Cameras | HD webcam with privacy shutter |
Wireless | Wi-Fi 6, Gigabit-class 4G LTE, optional 5G |
HP Elite Folio Price and Availability
The HP Elite Folio is available for purchase, and it costs $1,889, having 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.
Conclusion
The HP Elite Folio is one of the best Windows on ARM PC. Compared to other products such as the Galaxy Book S and the Surface Pro X, it has the most fantastic form factor, with an excellent keyboard.
The major issue is that it isn’t the best business PC. It’s exciting that the market trend is gearing towards good convertibles. Formerly, Windows 10 convertibles were super uncomfortable to use. They were heavy and were designed to be laptops. And now we’re seeing more that was designed with the mindset of being a tablet.
Besides having one of the best keyboards, the HP Elite Folio possesses high-quality specs like 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage. It also has other features like the HP’s Sure View Reflect privacy display, which is extraordinary.