Just as ZenBook 3 discussed last week, Asus has yet another “world’s most” statement to go along with yet another gorgeous laptop offering. The new ZenBook 3 UX390UA, stated as “the world’s first most prestigious laptop with unprecedented performance”, by Asus, is a brand new ZenBook 3 generation armed and ready for the latest era of mobile laptop computing. However, jokes aside (although that wasn’t even a joke, this is serious stuff), one of the largest pros of this new device is how ultra, it’s ultrathin-ness actually is, and all that it packs in for a fantastic experience.

Elegant and crafty, the Asus ZenBook 3, both design and price-wise, is one of the closest bodies you will find to a MacBook. At less than 0.5 inches thick, and made out of aerospace-grade aluminum (something that would feel as strong and sturdy as the Dell XPS 13 9360), the two options for color are traditional silver, and avant-garde blue with gold accents. The 13.5-inch full HD 1920 x 1080 ZenBook 3, featuring Gorilla Glass 4, weighs just 1.97 pounds, and measures 0.47 x 11.65 x 7.53 inches. This is just about the perfect size and weight for one-handed manipulation and carrying in a tote or small bag. For comparison’s sake, these measurements make it not only more portable than the XPS 13 Touch, but lighter and thinner than its biggest rival, the MacBook.

Performance is great, and although a MacBook clone externally, one notable difference is the CPU processors. In this case, Asus decided to opt out of the Core M series Intel offers for super slim laptops, but trades off for the Core i7 CPU processor, which runs at a lower voltage. This 7th Gen Core i7-7500U (2.70GHz, 3.50 GHz Turbo), comes with Intel HD Graphics 620, 4K support, a 512GB SSD, and 16GB of RAM- both of which are pretty generous.

The ZenBook 3’s port selection are not as generous, and are another reminiscent aspect of the 12-inch MacBook. With a single USB-C port on the right side, a headset jack on the left, why didn’t Asus do a little more with all that leftover space? That was a joke, there isn’t much space, here guys. Besides the slim factor here, the lack of secondary USB-C is kind of a bummer. Is the lack of the more glamorous Thunderbolt 3, a technology certainly not a requirement for laptops, a bummer as well? Although so very nice for transferring high quality data and/or large files, and sometimes used as a power port., Thunderbolt ports are not an decision maker or breaker for most. But wait, good news! Compared to the MacBook, which charges $79 for an adapter, Asus includes its Mini Dock, where the USB-C port may alter to an HDMI card reader, plus there’s USB-A and USB-C for charging, in box, as part of the package price.

Tests on the ZenBook 3 UX390UA show that the Kaby Lake CPU from Intel, alongside its buddy, the Intel HD Graphics 620, lead to “class-leading” scores. One of these tests include PCMark 8’s Work Conventional test, a measurement for a computer’s ability to combine all the day-to-day tasks: all the editing, browsing, video streaming and conferencing. With Asus’s beautiful hard drive, the ZenBook 3 scored a 3,228. Sure, this didn’t outstand the Core i7 Dell XPS 13 Touch when performing in 3D, but this does comes prove the fact that this ultraportable can perform, and possibly outperform the likes of plenty of its competition (the MacBook, HP Spectre 13, and even the XPS 13 Touch in certain areas).

At nearly 2 pounds, the superslim device might not be as light as others, but in all of its superthin design, has the performance, (plus vibrant screen and beautiful chassis) to kick butt at nearly every function available, including light gaming, like Minecraft or Diablo 3 at low settings. Battery, however, is mediocre, at just 7 hours, which is just about half an hour under the average ultraportable. At first, I was going to state that the two downfalls of the Asus ZenBook 3 UX390UA are the minimal port selection, and battery life. However, if you don’t mind carrying around an adapter, you should be fine. Starting at $1,099, the price isn’t bad either, but just keep in mind, that will put you at a Core i5 Intel CPU to begin with, and if you want all the goodies discussed here, prices will range about $1,599.