Australian Review: HP Spectre 13 – The real slim shady

Ultra-thin devices often come with compromises. By shrinking the size of a notebook, a smartphone, or a tablet, you have to sacrifice something. This could result in a smaller number of physical connectors, in less raw power, or diminished battery life.

With the Spectre 13 – currently the world's thinnest notebook – HP has addressed some of these concerns. You're not limited to a Core m processor (you've got a choice of sixth generation Core i5 or Core i7); you don't have any full-sized USB ports, but you've got three USB Type-C connectors; and while you've got a 13.3-inch display, the Spectre 13 weighs 1.1kg, and is just 10.4mm thick.

Sounds pretty good, right? 

However, the Spectre 13 doesn't quite escape the ultra-thin curse. There's a few quibbles and a couple of compromises that could easily send you running back to the loving embrace of a slightly thicker PC.

My review unit had the following specifications:

Intel Core i5 Processor
8GB of RAM
256GB Solid State Drive
13.3-inch display running at 1080p
Intel HD Graphics 520 Mobile GPU

This retails for AUD$2,229. A AUD$2,999 model is available with a Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of solid state storage.