We recently reviewed the HP Elite Folio here at XDA and found it to be a great ARM-powered laptop. The Elite Folio is HP's return to using leather on a laptop, but it's a bit different this time. HP had already made the Spectre Folio, and that uses real leather. The Elite Folio, on the other hand, uses vegan leather. We've seen a few laptops show up with unique materials, like Microsoft's Surface Laptop 4 and its Alcantara cover. This brings up some questions about how these materials compare to more traditional devices. In this case, does the vegan leather on the HP Elite Folio make it heavy compared to other laptops of the same size?

First, it's important to know what vegan leather is. While real leather is made from animal skin, vegan leather is created artificially. The materials used for vegan leather can come from many different sources. Some types of vegan leather use plant-based materials, while others might use plastics like polyurethane. Aside from what's implied in the name, an advantage of vegan leather is that it's thinner than real leather. That means it's lighter, too, and easier to work with. You'll notice that the Elite Folio has a cleaner look than the Spectre.

Additionally, the Elite Folio isn't completely covered in leather. You'll only find leather on the outside of the device, with the keyboard deck being all-metal. The Spectre Folio used leather on the inside, despite still having a metal structure underneath. The Spectre also had a lip of leather around the frame, but the vegan leather of the Elite Folio is easier to bond to the chassis. Thus, there's less wasted material around the frame.

Another thing to consider is that the Elite Folio uses an ARM processor. This system-on-a-chip is built on a smaller process than the Intel processor in the Spectre Folio. Plus, it reduces the complexity of the internal components of the laptop. This can help save some space and weight inside the laptop.

Is the HP Elite Folio heavy compared to other laptops?

Because of everything we mentioned, the Elite Folio comes in at just 2.92 pounds, while the latest Spectre Folio weighs 3.24 pounds. That does make the Elite Folio slightly lighter. But what about other laptops? Let's take the HP Spectre x360 14, which has a similar size of display. In fact, most of the dimensions of the Spectre x360 14 are nearly identical to the Elite Folio. The weight is pretty close too, with Spectre x360 weighing just slightly more at 2.95 pounds. Again, it's worth taking into account that the Spectre uses Intel processors, so there's some variation in the internals as well.

In conclusion, the leather on the HP Elite Folio doesn't make it heavier than you'd expect. It's noticeably lighter than the HP Spectre Folio, which used real leather. And compared to all-metal laptops of the same size, it's not too far off, either. You can enjoy the added comfort of vegan leather without feeling it in your backpack. If you're still exploring other options though, you can check the best laptops out there, which include the HP Spectre x360 14. If you'd rather stick to HP, we also have a list of the best HP laptops you can buy right now.