Porsche Design Book One leaves a lot for Surface Book 2 to live up to

Not satisfied with neither being one of the most sought-after auto brands nor itsstylish handset pursuits , Porsche has decided to get into the computing business with the Porsche Design Book One. 

Announced during MWC 2017 , Porsche and Microsoft have joined forces to build one of the slickest 2-in-1 laptops yet.

Microsoft must be mighty proud of whatever it’s got lined up with the Surface Book 2 to help this design behemoth craft such a gorgeous device – because boy, is it a sight.

The Book One is a 13.3-inch, 15.8mm-thin device inside a milled aluminum housing with a matte anodized surface finish and a hinge designed in the same vein as Porsche’s approach to designing a transmission for a sports car. Not only does the hinge allow the device to rotate 360 degrees, but detach from its keyboard base completely.

Going for an unsurprising $2,495 (about £2,004, AU$3,250) when it launches in the US this April, the Book One comes packing Intel’s latest Core i7-7500U ( Kaby Lake ) processor at 3.5GHz, backed by 16GB of RAM and 512GB of Intel-brand, PCIe solid-state storage. All of this rests behind a 13.3-inch QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) touch display with inter-plane switching (IPS) for wider viewing angles.

Here's the device in one of its many (standard) hybrid positions

Backing up that awfully stark asking price are two USB-C ports, two more standard USB 3.0 ports, one Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) port and a 5MP infrared webcam for Windows Hello login through Windows 10 Pro. At the very least, Porsche is offering a completely current system in terms of substance and style.

The Book One appears to be aimed at a similar crowd to that of the Surface Book: creative professionals or just creative types with cash to spare for their work or hobby of choice. The sharp, well-backlit keyboard and Porsche-designed, magnetized stylus help give that much away.

Porsche really wants you to appreciate its laptop hinge, too

Not only does this mark a first computer from Porsche, but an all-new product category for the design firm. So, perhaps there will be more where this came from. But – one thing at a time – we’ll get to reviewing this one first.

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