HP debuts wooden laptops as it expands use of unique materials

Earlier today at Computex 2019, HP announced plans to continue exploring the use of unique materials in its products. The new HP ENVY Wood Series does just that, by offering several of its laptops in various authentic wood styles.

Use of wood will be accompanied by other materials, which seems to be plan since we have yet to see how it will wear and tear in laptops. There will be a total of three styles for customers to pick from including Nightfall Black with Natural Walnut, Ceramic White with White Birch, or Natural Silver with Pale Birch.

New and unique material decisions

Today’s unveiling is not HP’s first attempt to use out of the norm materials in its laptops. The company released the HP Spectre Folio last year which featured a leather exterior that many folks ended up liking. According to the company, its new HP ENVY Wood Series is an expansion of the Spectre Folio, showcasing a belief that customers will appreciate its ability to think outside of the box.

It’s unclear how the wood is protected, which leads to questions about how appearances will fare over time. The neat part about this material decision is that each laptop will have a different look since each piece of wood will have a unique pattern. This could be good or bad, depending on whether or not you like the pattern received.

The HP ENVY Wood Series will span the company’s ENVY 13, ENVY x360 13, ENVY x360 15 and ENVY 17 lineups. Each of which will sport the latest Intel Core or AMD Ryzen Mobile processors, support Amazon Alexa, a fingerprint reader, and more.

Pricing and availability

HP plans to begin shipping its new ENVY Wood Series sometime in the fall of 2019. HP did not offer any insights in regards to pricing, painting an unclear picture of what premium consumers should expect to pay. When HP debuted Spectre Folio, pricing started at around $1,500.

9to5Toys’ Take

When it comes to big tech companies, significant design changes tend to occur every four to five years. With the release of a leather-wrapped Spectre Folio last year and the Wood Series slated to debut roughly one year later, HP is signaling its belief that changes can occur at a much more frequent pace.

While this is not always the case with PC makers, it does more common when comparing Apple’s behavior. That being said, the company may be speeding things up with a rumored MacBook Pro redesign that is believed to be coming roughly three years after its most-recent (and controversial) design.

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