Dell XPS 13 specs
Value: $1,649
CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB SSD
Show: 13.4-inch, 1920 x 1200
Battery: 11:07
Dimension: 1.6 x 7.Eight x 0.6 inches
Weight: 2.Eight kilos
What do you get if you put one in all Intel’s new Tiger Lake processors right into a Dell XPS 13? Much more superior. The $1,649 laptop computer retains all of the issues we cherished about this yr’s earlier mannequin, resembling a smaller body, four-sided InfinityEdge bezels and a bigger keyboard. However this refresh brings Intel’s 11th Gen Tiger Lake processor and a number of promised options, together with higher CPU and graphics efficiency and longer battery life. You additionally get Thunderbolt Four and Wi-Fi 6.
However does Tiger Lake dwell as much as the hype? Sure and no. Sure, as a result of you possibly can play sure AAA video games on an built-in GPU, albeit on low settings. And sure, in lots of instances, the general efficiency is top-notch as nicely. The battery life even surpasses Intel’s new Evo requirements by two hours. However a scarcity of legacy ports and a considerably dim show are a fly in an in any other case fairly pristine ointment. Regardless, pound-for-pound, the Dell XPS 13 is without doubt one of the greatest laptops in the marketplace.
Dell XPS 13 pricing and configurations
The most recent base mannequin of the Dell XPS 13 prices $999 and has a 1.7-GHz Intel Core i3-1115G4 CPU with 8GB of RAM, a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, an Intel UHD Graphics GPU and a 13.4-inch, 1920 x 1200 non-touch show. The $1,099 model upgrades you as much as a 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU and an Intel Iris Xe Graphics GPU.
My overview unit prices $1,649 and kicks issues up a notch with a 2.8-GHz Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, double the RAM and storage, and provides a touchscreen to the combo. The $2,499 mannequin provides you 32GB of RAM, a 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD and a 3840 x 2400-pixel contact panel.
Dell XPS 13 design
The XPS 13’s exterior is the colour of a skinny sheet of frozen condensation simply earlier than the solar rises to provide means on a crisp winter day –– or Frost White as the corporate likes to name it. The lid of the premium anodized aluminum chassis is adorned with a center-laid, shiny silver Dell emblem.
The corporate correctly determined to maintain the twin-coil hinge. It makes opening the laptop computer with one hand extremely straightforward. And something that lets me benefit from the pristine white inside of the laptop computer is a plus in my e-book. Just like the opposite Frost White fashions, the newest model of the XPS 13 sports activities the stain and fade-resistant proprietary Arctic White glass fiber weave on its keyboard deck. A large glass touchpad occupies a big portion of the palm relaxation. The white backlit keyboard waits expectantly to your fingers to interact.
At 2.Eight kilos, the 11.6 x 7.Eight x 0.6-inch XPS 13 is on the heavy aspect of the equation. The Asus ZenBook 13 UX325EA (11.9 x Eight x 0.5 inches) weighs a slight 2.5 kilos whereas the HP Spectre x360 (12.1 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches) sits at 2.7 kilos. Solely the 13-inch Apple MacBook Professional (12 x 8.Four x 0.6 inches) is heavier, tipping the scales at 3.1 kilos.
Dell XPS 13 safety
Hiding within the XPS 13’s energy button is an embedded fingerprint reader that enables for straightforward logins by the use of Home windows Hey. It is a good, straightforward means so as to add an additional layer of safety. Nevertheless, I would like Dell to get cracking on both including a bodily shutter or a kill swap for the webcam.
Dell XPS 13 ports
As with most trendy iterations of the XPS 13, it’s a laptop computer of few ports. However because of Tiger Lake, it’s gotten a few enhancements. You’ll discover a Thunderbolt Four port on both aspect of the system with a headset jack on the suitable aspect and a microSD card slot on the left. And whereas Dell is type sufficient to incorporate a USB-C to USB-A adapter, it makes the necessity for a USB Kind-C dock all of the extra pressing.
Dell XPS 13 show
Look ma, no bezels! No bezels so far as the attention can see. Dell as soon as once more flaunts its design prowess with a four-sided InfinityEdge show. The elimination of the thick backside chin allowed Dell to suit a 13.4-inch, 1920 x 1200-pixel shiny contact display into an 11.6-inch chassis. All whereas maintaining the webcam in its correct place (above the show).
Watching the Fly Like a Woman trailer, I used to be actually impressed with how vibrant the colours have been, significantly the orange shirt worn by one of many interviewees. It simply actually drew the attention, particularly in opposition to the distinction of her mahogany pores and skin. Particulars have been clear sufficient that I might simply see the fragile filigree alongside the entrance of the shirt.
I used to be shocked that the XPS 13’s panel measured solely 69.4% of the DCI-P3 coloration gamut. The result’s nicely beneath the 83.6% premium laptop computer common and it implies that the MacBook, Spectre and ZenBook are rather more vivid at 80.9%, 77.4% and 76.1%, respectively.
However once we measured for display brightness, the XPS 13 bought some vengeance, averaging 469 nits. That was sufficient to outshine the 382 class common in addition to the ZenBook 13 (370 nits) and Spectre (369 nits). Nevertheless, the MacBook Professional was barely brighter, at 485 nits.
Dell included its CinemaColor software program that adjusts the gamma, white level, and saturation based mostly on what you are watching (Film, Sports activities and Animation) or in the event you’re in a low-light scenario (Night).
The 10-point capacitive contact panel is responsive and agile, maintaining tempo with my frantic doodling in Paint.
Dell XPS 13 audio
By no means underestimate the little man. Dell has circumvented my loathing of bottom-mounted audio system considerably by putting them alongside the edges of the system. The positioning ensures that they weren’t muffled after I used the XPS 13 on my lap. Consequently, the ultraportable served up massive sound, not sufficiently big to fill the highest flooring of my duplex, however sufficient to deal with my smallish dwelling and eating rooms.
The drum package on Frank Ocean’s “Tremendous Wealthy Children” was good and crisp and the “Bennie And The Jets” reminiscent chord was clear. Except for Ocean’s disaffected vocal, the synthesized parts of the monitor actually stood out as did the horns. Nevertheless, there was a little bit of distortion when the background vocals got here in to harmonize. Not sufficient to be off-putting, thoughts you, however sufficient to be noticeable.
The XPS 13 comes with Waves MaxxAudio Professional preinstalled, which has over 20 presets to provide the optimum listening expertise. It covers numerous genres from Rock to R&B, you simply need to be prepared to tweak the settings once in a while.
Dell XPS 13 keyboard and touchpad
Large keys, little laptop computer. Dell elevated the scale of the keys by 9%, making it straightforward for anybody to peck out a message, even these with large sausage fingers. Regardless of their dimension, the island-style keys are nicely spaced and provide agency, bouncy suggestions. I hammered out my typical 70 phrases per minute on the 10fastfingers typing take a look at.
The two.5 x 4.4-inch glass touchpad offered clean and agile response whether or not I used to be navigating internet pages or performing multitouch Home windows 10 gestures.
Dell XPS 13 efficiency
It’s Tiger Lake, hear it roar! Intel’s third 10-nanometer chip is constructed on the brand new Willow Lake structure, a chip format designed to enhance energy effectivity and efficiency. Utilizing Intel’s new SuperFin course of, the corporate has efficiently launched larger clock speeds that Intel claims will translate into 20% higher efficiency.
Paired with 16GB of RAM, the XPS 13’s 2.8-GHz Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor placed on a strong present. I had 30 tabs of Google Chrome going, some operating numerous Google Docs and Sheets, others streaming Twitch and YouTube, whereas some ran Tweetdeck. The XPS 13 continued unabated with none stuttering or dangle time.
The pocket book additionally carried out nicely on our artificial benchmarks. As an illustration, it scored 5,254 on Geekbench 5.0, our total efficiency take a look at. It surpassed the premium laptop computer common and Spectre (Core i7-1065G7 CPU) which reached 4,074 in addition to the MacBook Professional (4,399, Core i5 CPU) and ZenBook 13 (5,084, Core i7-1165G7 CPU).
The XPS 13 had a hiccup on the Handbrake take a look at, taking 18 minutes and 22 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p, which is barely slower than the 18:19 common. The ZenBook 13 clocked in at 17:51 whereas the MacBook Professional had a time of 12:43. Nonetheless, the XPS 13’s time was nonetheless quicker than the Spectre’s 21:13.
After we ran the Puget Photoshop take a look at, which loops by means of 21 completely different Photoshop duties 3 times per run, the XPS 13 reached 588, which beat the MacBook Professional’s 569. That’s not sufficient, nonetheless, to overhaul the ZenBook 13’s rating of 742.
On the File Switch take a look at, the XPS 13’s 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD duplicated 4.97GB of multimedia information for a switch fee of 729.Three megabytes per second. That rating simply missed the 749.9MBps class common, however was a lot quicker than the Spectre’s (M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD) 312.2MBps. Nonetheless, the ZenBook 13 (M.2 PCIe 3.Zero SSD) proved to be the quickest at 966.8MBps.
The XPS 13 did higher once we upped the workload to 25GB, delivering 806.2MBps and completely scorching the ZenBook 13 (583.6MBps) and the class common (572.8MBps).
Dell XPS 13 graphics
The arrival of Tiger Lake additionally heralds the arrival of Intel’s new built-in graphics chip, Intel Iris Xe. With this new part, Intel is promising players can play extra video games at 1080p by doubling the efficiency of the earlier era chip. I examined it by enjoying Management.
I led a Bureau member to a downed ally, preventing off waves of Hiss alongside the best way, telepathically flinging objects at 34 frames per minute on low settings at 1920 x 1200. The sport was nonetheless playable on Medium, however there was some stuttering at 23 fps. The sport grew to become downright unplayable on Excessive because the body fee dropped all the way down to 15 fps.
On the Sid Meyer’s Civilization VI benchmark, the XPS 13 achieved 55 fps, crushing the 28-fps premium laptop computer common. The ZenBook 13 (Intel Iris Xe) and MacBook Professional (Intel Iris Graphics) got here nowhere shut with scores of 21 and 18 fps, respectively.
Within the 3DMark Evening Raid take a look at, the XPS 13 obtained 12,593, crusing previous the Spectre’s 6,226 and the 8,010 class common.
Dell XPS 13 battery life
The brand new 11th Gen processors aren’t simply bringing higher efficiency and graphics, you additionally get longer battery life –– not less than, that’s the plan. Tiger Lake brings with it Intel Evo, the second stage within the firm’s Undertaking Athena initiative. Evo comes with numerous necessities for laptops to obtain Intel’s certification. A type of is not less than 9 hours of battery life for 1080p techniques.
The Dell XPS 13 lasted 11 hours and seven minutes on the Laptop computer Magazine Battery Check, which consists of steady internet browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. It outlasted the 9:50 premium laptop computer common in addition to the MacBook Professional’s 10:21. The Spectre clocked in at 13:19 whereas the Tiger Lake-powered ZenBook 13 tapped out at 13:47.
Dell XPS 13 warmth
To check the Dell XPS 13’s cooling capabilities, we ran a 15-minute, fullscreen video and measured sure factors on the laptop computer. The touchpad measured 81 levels Fahrenheit whereas the center of the keyboard reached 89 levels. The laptop computer’s undercarriage reached 101 levels.
Dell XPS 13 webcam
At 0.1-inches, the 720p webcam is without doubt one of the world’s smallest webcams. Regardless of its Lilliputian dimension, the shooter takes first rate pictures. I used to be most impressed with how nicely it captured coloration, as proven by my pink, purple and blue braided locs. Though it’s grainy, I nonetheless noticed the elements in my braids and the weave in my sweater sample. Nonetheless, in the event you’re on the lookout for sharper pictures, you’ll need to spend money on an exterior webcam.
Dell XPS 13 software program and guarantee
Dell bundled a strong suite of helpful branded software program with the XPS 13. Dell Energy Supervisor helps you to handle energy consumption by way of preset profiles to increase battery life or to squeeze each little bit of efficiency out of the system. Buyer Join is your conduit to a Dell technician in the event you want system help. Digital Supply retains monitor of all of your software program downloads and restores them after a system wipe or crash.
The corporate not too long ago up to date Dell Cell Join so it now performs good with the iPhone. Now everybody can swap pictures, paperwork and movies seamlessly between your smartphone and laptop computer.
Third-party apps embody Killer Management Heart, which helps you to set community bandwidth precedence. The laptop computer additionally comes with a 20GB of free Dropbox storage for a yr. There may be, in fact, some Home windows 10 bloatware, resembling Netflix, Hidden Metropolis: Hidden Object Journey and Solitaire.
The Dell XPS 13 ships with a one-year {hardware} guarantee with onsite and in-home service after distant prognosis. See how Dell fared throughout our annual particular studies: Tech Help Showdown and Finest and Worst Manufacturers.
Backside line
The Dell XPS 13 continues its reign as an ultraportable powerhouse. I imply, it was already bringing its A-game with a smaller body, lack of bezels and enormous, comfy keyboard. Now with one in all Intel’s new Tiger Lake chips, the $1,649 laptop computer has a strong enhance over last-gen techniques. It stays to be seen how nicely the XPS 13 will maintain up in opposition to equally specced laptops on this part arms race.
However for the cash, I want the pocket book’s display was only a bit brighter and the battery life was only a tad longer. For these issues, you may need to contemplate the Asus ZenBook 12 UX325EA. However for magnificence, energy and longevity, the Dell XPS 13 is the laptop computer for you.
