When HP Elite Slice was announced most people were impressed by the simple, yet clever design with modular approach.
Including folks at ACEPC, apparently - so much that they decided to make their own version, with a very similar design.

Let's be honest, it was just a matter of time until that design got copied - and it's not like ACEPC are shy about it - their marketing materials for AK1 have several references to the HP device.

There's no flashy "Bang and Olufsen" speakers on the ACEPC AK1 device, but other than that ACEPC AK1 still manages to impress in it's own way : you get to choose from 3 different Intel SoC's - two Celerons (J3455 and J3355) and a Pentium J4205 - and there are quite a few USB ports ( 2.0 and 3.0, one type-C) and high-speed internet connectivity (Gigabit ethernet, dual-band wi-fi) so basically enough power and connectivity to make the device a good option for home-use.

As seen from the pictures, the 2.5'' HDD bay can be connected (or not) to the main device using the Type-C port.

ACEPC AK1 full specs

• CPU: Intel J3455 / J3355 / J4205
• GPU: Intel® HD Graphics 500 / 505
• RAM: 4GB DDR3
• ROM: 32 GB (eMMC)
• OS: Windows 10 Home
• HDMI: 1.4
• LAN:Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wi-fi, dual-band
• USB: 2 x USB 3.0; 2 x USB 2.0; 1 x Type-C
• Other: SD Card, detachable HDD tray, VESA bracket

As with most other Windows 10 Mini PC's, the Achilles' heel for ACEPC AK1 is the small ROM - 32 GB means that you will need to carefully manage the active services and use the built-in Windows "Disk Cleanup" app regularly.
But the 2.5 inch HDD bay is definitely useful.

If you want one, we have a coupon for you - ACEPC AK1 (the J3455 version) can be found on GearBest for $153.99 (flash sale), but if you miss it you use the coupon code GBAK11 to drop the price to a very convenient $129.99.
If that doesn't work, try GB11.11TVBo also.

The other two versions are a bit pricier : $209.99 for the J3355 version and $259.99 for the J4205 version.

If you're wondering what are the differences between the three SoC's - Celeron J3455, Celeron J3355 and a Pentium J4205 - stay tuned, there's going to be an article soon about that.