HP Elitebook Folio 1020 hands-on, first impressions

Announced back in December 2014, the HP Folio 1020 is one of the thinnest and lightest ultrabook powered by an Intel Core M processor.

Weighing at only 1.2kg (2.68lbs), it is one of the lightest laptop we’ve used before, though the Macbook Air 11.6 (2.38lbs), Acer Aspire S7 11.6 (2.2lbs) and the Sony Vaio Pro 13 (2.3lbs) are still slightly lighter.

However, since it uses Intel newer Core M processor, we think the Folio 1020 is directly competing with the likes of the Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi and the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro.

The Folio 1020 comes in a silver aluminum body with a matte finish in a simple clam-shell design. It has a nice smooth feel to it, elegant looks and fairly thin profile.

Inside is a 12.-5 inch IPS LCD display with a QHD resolution (2560×1440 pixels) in a bright and crisp edge-to-edge glass panel with multi-touch capability.

The Folio 1020 is powered by an Intel Core M running at a base clock speed of 1.2GHz but can boost the speed up to 2.9GHz when needed. HP paired with with a generous 8GB of RAM. While even more powerful ultrabooks only have 4GB, the 8GB memory helps keep up with multi-talking and heavy applications like Photoshop.

While performance of Intel Core M may not keep up with its cousins like the Core i5 or Core i7, we think it’s still better than Core i3 equivalents. For storage, you have a large 512GB of super fast SSD storage.

The lower power consumption of the Core M chip likewise proved to be an advantage when it comes to battery life. On moderate to heavy use, we manage to get around 4 to 5 hours on a single full charge. In power saving mode and only running on office productivity app such as MS Office or Excel, we managed to get as much as 8.5 hours.

We were surprised to learn that HP uses a new trackpad design called ForcePad which is a pressure-sensitive multitouch trackpad that is very much similar to the Force Touch of the new Macbook.

It takes a bit of practice to get to used to the trackpad that does not have those old clickable areas on the bottom corners to indicate an action.

HP added some more subtleties with the Folio 1020. There are two full-sized USB ports, an HDMI port, microSD card slot and an expansion slot or Docking Port for an adaptor that connects to a LAN port and VGA port. The Folio 1020 is compatible with the HP 2013 UltraSlim Docking Station to extend the capability of the laptop.

On top of these, the Folio 1020 also comes with a built-in NFC for quick pairing with 3rd-party accessories and a fingerprint scanner for added security (like password-less logging to Windows 8).

The HP Folio 1020 is positioned to be a business-oriented ultra mobile laptop and it’s exactly what its offering with the Folio 1020. Granted that Intel Core M might not really appeal to those who seek better performance than your typical Core i5 ultrabooks, the trade-off in terms of battery life somewhat is justified.

The Folio 1020 retails for around USD$1,600 (our unit’s configuration) and available in HP’s online store.

Hp Folio 1020 specs:
12.5-inch QHD display @ 2560×1440 pixels
Intel Core M 5Y71 1.2GHz dual-core
Turbo Boost 2.9GHz
Intel HD Graphics 5300
8GB DDR3 RAM
512GB SSD
WiFi 8021.11 b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.0
DTS Studio Sound
720p HD webcam
4-cell battery
Windows 8.1 Pro

Watch out for our full review of the Folio 1020 in a week or two.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

8 Comments

Carlo Ople says:

10 years ago

That fugly Intel logo on the palmrest is such an eyesore. Deal fucking breaker, HP!
- Reply
Wondereeng says:

10 years ago

Uhmm, Yugatech. Please see HP Spectre x360. I hope you can provide us news and reviews about that. And Dell XPS 13 2015 edition and the budget friendly Acer Aspire Switch 10 E. Hehe i’m so demanding :) :D
- Reply

Paul says:

10 years ago

Second that, will this laptop even be available locally?

The top-end HP laptop in PH at the moment is that Envy Touchsmart 15-inch with Core i7 processor and GTX 850m graphics, I still haven’t seen the Spectre x360 or any of the newer Folios in the market.

Juandering says:

10 years ago

It uses Intel Core M chips but still has a weak battery life. Same with Asus chi, why is it still has a weak battery life. I thought it gives lower power consumption.
I think they should give more importance to battery life than their “thin as paper laptop” gimmicks.
- Reply
SpiderWak says:

10 years ago

Not expensive considering the storage is a 512G SSD. But I don’t understand why they throw in a 512G in an Intel Core M machine. What else can you do with an Intel Core M laptop besides creating office reports and browsing the web?
- Reply

ahahi says:

10 years ago

“What else can you do with an Intel Core M laptop besides creating office reports and browsing the web?”

watch porn movies! play light games! etc. etc.

CallCenterKaLang says:

10 years ago

For the people whos complaining that this device is expensive – this device is not for you, nor for the call senner agents. Pls buy the starmobile laptop.
- Reply
c says:

10 years ago

hexpensive!
- Reply