The sleekest laptop you've ever seen is ... leather?

The first leather bound PC, HP's Spectre Folio. — AFP Relaxnews

This week HP announced its reinvented PC: the HP Spectre Folio, the world's first convertible leather PC starting at US$1,299.99 (RM5,384.49).

If you're looking for a PC that's just as aesthetically timeless and chic as it is versatile and innovative, look no further: HP has just revealed the Spectre Folio, a convertible laptop housing one of the smallest motherboards to date set between "100% chromed tan, full-grain leather" in either cognac brown or Bordeaux burgundy.

The innovative yet classic exterior provides several benefits compared with aluminum or plastic. Using leather is not only unique, but also functional. Its durability replaces the limited flexibility of a traditional hinge, allowing the PC to easily fold into three distinct positions with the assistance of interior magnets: tent, tablet, and traditional laptop position.

Additionally, the leather makes it possible to omit the need of a fan; the material is naturally thermal and, therefore, keeps the device cool with a little help from a metal heat distributor that moves the heat to the empty space between the 13.3in touchscreen display and the backlit keyboard.

This PC manages to remain lightweight at 3.28 lbs (1.49kg) thanks to the tiny motherboard – "one of the smallest motherboards in the industry" notes the brand – and the 8th Gen intel Core i5 and i7 low-power processors.

To add to the list of world firsts, according to HP, the Spectre Folio is the "first gigabit class LTE Intel based laptop", which allows it to remain connected at all times for the entire duration of its 18-hour battery life that can be charged to 50% in a half an hour.

The PC will be available in cognac brown beginning Oct 29 with the Intel Core i5 processor starting at US$1,299.99 and the Intel Core i7 processor starting at US$1,499.99 (RM6,213.17), but if you can wait until December, you could have either option in Bordeaux burgundy with a 4K UHD panel option.

The slick Spectre Folio takes a new approach on integrating style into PC design – which is probably the most innovative aspect of this laptop. However, the novelty is a functional one that may inspire other manufacturers or "manucrafturers", to use the terminology of HP – over the upcoming years. Certainly, laptop aesthetics could use an upgrade, but is genuine leather the way to go in a more and more environmentally conscious world?