Dell XPS 13 review: Dell is coasting (and that’s fine)

The Dell XPS 13 has lengthy been one of many prime suggestions for Home windows customers searching for a MacBook Air various. The mannequin I reviewed in 2020 was top-of-the-line devices I’ve ever reviewed; all the pieces from the display to the construct to the efficiency and battery life was exceptionally sturdy. 

Intel’s twelfth Gen and thirteenth Gen processors have made computer systems like {that a} little bit of a… fantasy. Positive, Apple and AMD are doing an excellent job on each the ability and effectivity fronts. However the XPS is an Intel line via and thru, and lots of of Intel’s twelfth Gen choices have proven themselves to be one-trick ponies in that regard. You may get energy from the H-series, you may get (a point of) effectivity from the U-series, or you may get… a few of each, I suppose, from the middle-of-the-road P-series. 

In flip, Dell has cut up up its XPS 13 line. You may get XPS 13 Plus, a P-series OLED machine that prioritizes energy over effectivity. Or you may get the common XPS 13, a extra conventional and barely cheaper U-series clamshell with a deal with portability and battery life (our mannequin has an MSRP of $1,149, $350 cheaper than comparable Plus SKU). If the XPS 13 Plus is for an eclectic and specific energy person, the XPS 13 is for, nicely, everybody else. (The XPS 15 and XPS 17 have thirteenth Gen choices, however twelfth Gen remains to be the phrase in relation to the 13-inch clamshell.)

So anyway, I’ve been utilizing the common XPS 13 for the previous few weeks. And, like, it’s high quality. It’s simply high quality. It’s worse than its 2020 predecessor in some methods and higher in others. It continues to convey a few of the finest construct high quality within the 13-inch area. The show is okay. The audio system are high quality. There’s an off-purple colour choice! It’s actually top-of-the-line Home windows laptops you should buy, and it additionally doesn’t come near the efficiency or effectivity that at this time’s MacBooks can present, which says a factor or two in regards to the present state of the Home windows laptop computer area.

Let’s begin with the class the place the XPS 13 is a far-and-away winner: portability. At 2.59 kilos and 0.55 inches thick, this XPS is a dream for journey. I introduced it on a weekend ski journey and was capable of squeeze it into the entrance pocket of a backpack that included my ski boots, helmet, and various gear. There are only a few different laptops that may’ve been that straightforward to convey. 

Construct high quality is the opposite space the place the XPS line has lengthy stood out, and this 13-incher continues that development. It’s manufactured from aluminum (“low-carbon” aluminum, particularly) and glass. The end obtained a bit scratched up after being battered round in my backpack for a few weeks, however not less than it doesn’t decide up fingerprints (which was a difficulty I had with the darker Plus). 

The XPS 13’s keyboard and touchpad proceed to be a few of my favorites available on the market. The touchpad is actually an enchancment over the invisible haptic one which the Plus sports activities, with a clean floor and a satisfying and responsive click on. It is a bit small as they go and may not be my best choice if I had particularly giant fingers. The keyboard can be clicky and comfy, with respectably glossy backlighting. The arrow keys are half-height, however such is life generally. 

Lastly, I discover no fault with the show. It appears fairly good, with crisp particulars and colours that popped. It kicks again little glare and was the right panel for the dimmest to the brightest of settings. It reaches 500 nits of brightness, however I by no means discovered myself needing to crank it greater than 20-30 p.c. 

Now, I’ve seen some complaints in regards to the lack of alternative this XPS 13 affords in relation to show high quality. Particularly, you’re restricted to a 1920 x 1200 60Hz IPS panel on this mannequin, and lots of have referred to as for an OLED choice. The spec sheet I used to be despatched does point out {that a} 4K choice is on the market, which might be one thing not less than, however that isn’t at present listed on Dell’s web site.

I perceive the place these complaints are coming from — extra choices are all the time good — however I’ll say that I’ve by no means used an OLED XPS that I actually favored. On the XPS 13 Plus, the XPS 15, and the newest OLED XPS 13, it was clear that the additional pixels had been considerably consuming away at battery life. These elements don’t essentially wreck the machines, however they’re important sufficient compromises that I usually discover myself recommending different OLED laptops as alternate options. All that mentioned, these looking for a harder-core display could also be higher suited to the XPS 13 Plus, which has a greater diversity of decision choices. 

In terms of the video calling expertise, I’m a bit extra underwhelmed. I want the webcam had been higher — my colleagues on Zoom calls famous that I regarded high quality, however my backgrounds had been fairly washed out. The microphones are as first rate as you would possibly count on from a tool like this; I introduced this unit to Instances Sq. for a current Vergecast episode and located that it did a good job of filtering out varied sirens, shouting individuals, and basic kerfuffle that surrounded me, however my voice nonetheless sounded fairly processed. 

Audio, nevertheless, left a bit to be desired. The whole lot sounded fairly good, however I had the amount between 90 and one hundred pc more often than not once I was watching movies in an effort to catch each phrase, and the downward-firing audio system (4W of whole output) weren’t loud sufficient to be heard in public areas. I used to be placing my ear to the keyboard deck whereas recording the aforementioned Vergecast section and nonetheless might barely hear the hosts. 

There’s one space wherein I actually should register my grumpiness, nevertheless, and that’s the port choice. This XPS 13 has a grand whole of two ports, each of that are USB-C / Thunderbolt 4. One will generally be occupied by the charger, so just one is reliably and constantly out there. 

Even for individuals who have absolutely embraced the USB-C life-style (and I acknowledge that this group is rising every single day), I simply don’t assume two is sufficient. The unit ships with a USB-C to USB-A adapter and an optionally available USB-C to three.5mm adapter, which is good, however neither of these adjustments the truth that you possibly can solely plug one factor into this machine whereas it’s charging. Actually, one factor. If you wish to each cost your cellphone and use an exterior webcam for a video name, higher hope you introduced a dock! 

Look, I do know that that is the course that ultraportable laptops have been heading in recent times. However even amongst these, the XPS 13, in addition to its Plus sibling, is excessive. The M2 MacBook Air has two USB-C ports, however its devoted MagSafe charging port basically affords an additional USB-C. (Oh, and it has a headphone jack as nicely.) 

I really like the portability this machine affords. However the truth that individuals would possibly want to hold a number of dongles and docks round with them, to me, is factors off in that class.

The place the XPS 13 Plus promised transportable energy, the XPS 13 guarantees transportable… much less energy, I suppose? Our $1,149 unit features a Core i5-1230U, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. This unit, nevertheless, seems to be offered out on Dell’s web site at present. What you should buy is a Core i7-1250U, which is at present $1,199 for a 16GB / 512GB / touchscreen mannequin. A equally configured M2 MacBook Air is at present promoting for $1,699, which makes Dell’s pricing enticing — although the efficiency advantages Apple delivers for that further value aren’t insignificant, as we’ll quickly focus on.

The U-series XPS is a big step down from the P-series XPS 13 Plus (which was already dropping badly to the MacBook) in relation to the uncooked numbers. Benchmark scores had been decrease nearly throughout the board. Particularly stark was the 30-minute loop of Cinebench, the place the XPS 13 obtained near 50 p.c of the Plus’s rating. It’s clear that the XPS 13’s efficiency modified considerably after the primary 10-minute run.

With all that mentioned, I didn’t observe a lot of a distinction between the XPS 13 and the XPS 13 Plus throughout my day by day use. They’re each completely quick for work in Chrome, watching Succession, chatting on Discord, and such. They’re each a little bit of a nightmare whenever you attempt to use packages like Lightroom and Premiere; count on crashes, lags, and a usually disagreeable time.

One factor to notice in regards to the XPS 13, although — the followers get going very simply. They had been audible with a pair Chrome tabs and Slack open. Throwing on the Silent cooling profile (accessible within the My Dell app) will shut them up if the blowing bothers you, so the noise itself isn’t regarding. That is simply for instance that my pretty customary workplace workload was taxing the Core i5 a bit.

On the plus facet, this XPS is doing a a lot higher job of not frying itself than earlier XPS fashions have. All through intense benchmark testing, the CPU stayed at a constant temperature nicely underneath 70 levels Celsius. Even higher, the chassis and keyboard remained fairly cool, even once I was doing pretty taxing work. XPS fashions I’ve reviewed prior to now (the Plus included) have tended to boil after only a few hours of standard use. I’m lastly, lastly complimenting a Dell pc’s cooling system. I believed I would by no means stay to see at the present time. Properly finished. 

Talking of issues which have improved: battery life. I averaged six hours and 42 minutes of constant use round medium brightness, working with round a dozen-ish Chrome tabs and occasional Spotify streaming overtop. That could be a step down from final yr’s XPS and is lower than half of what I get from the MacBook Air on the identical load — however it’s over an hour higher than what we noticed from the Plus and remains to be one of many higher outcomes I’ve seen from a current Home windows laptop computer. I nonetheless very a lot want I didn’t should cost the machine a number of instances a day, however that appears to be par for the course in Home windows land lately. The 45W AC adapter juiced the machine as much as 52 p.c in an hour with gentle Chrome use.

Prior to now, the XPS 13 was a hands-down contender for one of the best laptop computer available on the market. However the Apple-silicon MacBook has since barrelled onto the scene, and it wipes the ground with a lot of the ultraportable Home windows laptops that cross my desk each day. This XPS isn’t any exception. In comparison with the M2 MacBook Air, battery life is worse. Benchmark efficiency is worse. Display screen, whereas good, is worse. Port choice is worse. Audio is worse. The XPS is barely lighter, and I subjectively want the texture of its keyboard. However it has two main benefits now: the cheaper price (which isn’t one thing I’m used to praising in regards to the XPS line) and the truth that it runs Home windows, an working system that many individuals like an terrible lot.

And that has me a bit nervous. I’m nervous that this would possibly simply be the very best model of an ultraportable, thousand-dollar-range Home windows laptop computer which you could purchase on at this time’s market. It’s a really high quality machine — however I don’t really feel that I can enthusiastically reward it the best way reviewers used to. The XPS is not what sells the XPS; Home windows is what sells the XPS. And I’m wondering if Dell, or any OEM, will give you one thing actually revolutionary within the subsequent few months that may break that mildew. Within the meantime, although, please give us just a few extra ports.