As you can tell by the title, isn’t there always a hunt for the thinnest laptop in the world, in the universe, the galaxy? Well, actually, it’s more of a focus inside the computer market, considering this is where the rivalry thrives. Premium and slim lines of laptops are always competing, and naturally, slim is currently “in”; not in just the way you would think, but also in showcasing a certain level of architectural expertise. It’s tricky to have good internal hardware, and still be called something as prestigious as, “the thinnest”. Beyond the factor of looking exquisite, the device should, all the while, be functional and sturdy.

Acer, as stated along the release of its slim line of Swift 7 notebooks, claims to want to “lead the trend in style”. By measuring just .39 inches in thickness, and weighing just 2.48 pounds, these stick-thin Swift devices sport an aluminum unibody, with their inner surface glowing with a gold hue, contrasting its black outer finish. In case you didn’t think about it, this .39 inches is insanely thin, especially for a 13-inch laptop. Speaking of those 13 inches, most would be happy with the 1920 x 1080 pixel count, but not so much if you were hoping it was touchscreen. It does feature full-HD, IPS, and has been reviewed to exhibit great color reproduction and brightness.

After considering the measurements, ahem, the incredible less-than-10mms that the Swift 7 notebook has, internals are the next important thing to take a good look at. How in the world can one fit good stuff inside, meaning, good enough hardware for consumers to pick Acer over the competition? It’s tricky, and due to some considerable deficiencies, it may not be as easy as hoped to confidently choose Acer’s ultra-thin.

Getting right to internals, beginning with processing power, the most current information shows that Acer is using Intel’s new seventh-generation Core i-series, the Core i5-7Y54, making it the slimmest standard clamshell laptop on record. If considering Acer’s main competition on this front, take a look at the HP Spectre 13 (which is nearly 10mm thick like the Swift 7), the recent Asus ZenBook 3, and even Apple’s 12-inch MacBook. But as far as other specs, HP doesn’t have anything over the Swift 7. Connectivity options on the Acer are limited, including just two USB Type-Cs (working only at USB 3.1 Gen 1 speed, but at least there’s the Type-C adapter in the box), and a mic/headphone combo port.

Remembering that incredible level of thin, you’ll notice there are no vents on the bottom of the Swift 7, something you can happily blame on the low voltage Intel CPU. This kind of effortless, fan-free, non-active cooling is designed for ultra-thins. Lastly, the Acer Swift 7 skinny minny (I just felt like calling it that), comes with a dual-channel of 8GB LPDDR3 RAM, a 256GB SATA SSD, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and runs Windows 10 Home-64 bit out of the box. Battery life is one of the “yesses” you can give to the Swift 7, running on a 4-cell Lithium-ion battery for 8 hours of regular system run-time.

Slipping under the 10mm mark is pretty much the “can you do it” dance most computer companies are aiming for. This one does it, but you won’t get absolutely everything. Besides the lack of touchscreen, let’s also inform you of the lacking backlit keyboard. More vital is the absence of USB 3.1 Gen 2 port’s speed (Thunderbolt as well). With the scarcity of connectivity options, you’ll need to acquire some dongles to have on hand. It’s also understandable to look towards either the Dell or HP “equivalent” if you’re striving for more power. The bottom line? The Acer Swift 7 ultra-thin laptop is a fanless, quiet little machine with some battery life you can rely on. With a competitive starting price of $999.99, it is available now.