Dell XPS 13 (2024) review: An elegant stumble

Price When Reviewed

$1,399

Best Prices Today: Dell XPS 13 (2024)

Dell has refreshed its line of XPS laptops, introducing a brand new XPS 16 and XPS 14 and altering up the sizes we’re used to. But we nonetheless get the Dell XPS 13, which retains the diminutive, portability-minded dimensions of its predecessors. For the sharp-eyed XPS followers, this mannequin will look strikingly just like the sooner XPS 13 Plus, because the entirety of this new lineup has adopted the design language launched with the Plus fashions.

What this implies for class is one factor, however for utility, it’s one other factor solely. And with efficiency leaving one thing to be desired subsequent to cheaper rivals, the perfect days for the XPS 13 could also be effectively and really behind us.

Dell XPS 13: Specs and options

The Dell XPS 13 is available in a handful of configuration choices. Ours is close to the underside, with solely a reminiscence downgrade to 8GB out there for a $100 financial savings. However, 8GB on a machine that has a base value over $1,000 feels extremely unwise, particularly because it’s non-upgradeable LPDDR5. At the time of writing, all configurations include the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor. Storage will be upgraded to 1TB or 2TB, and reminiscence comes at 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB.

Dell presents three show choices. The most simple is a 1920×1200 panel examined right here that provides a 30- to 120Hz refresh charge and 500-nit peak brightness. For an extra $300, the show will be upgraded to a 2560×1600 touchscreen with in any other case comparable specs, or to a 2880×1800 OLED touchscreen with a decrease, 400-nit peak brightness and 60Hz refresh charge.

The XPS 13 is available in both a light-weight Platinum shade or a darkish Graphite.

• CPU: Intel Core 7 Ultra 155H
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5x
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc Graphics
• Display: 13.4-inch 1200p WVA
• Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Webcam: 1080p
• Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 2.1
• Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: Windows Hello fingerprint, facial recognition
• Battery capability: 55 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 11.62 x 7.84 x 0.6 inches
• Weight: 2.7 kilos
• MSRP: $1,399 ($1,299 base)

Looking for extra laptop computer choices? Be certain to take a look at PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops out there right now.

Dell XPS 13: Design and construct high quality

Like the remainder of the lineup, the Dell XPS 13 is lavishly designed. In reality, with the compact canvas Dell needed to work with, it’d even be the higher trying of the bunch. It’s a sandwich of aluminum and glass with a meticulous meeting that readily rivals Apple. Because the XPS 13 has an extra-small footprint, there’s no house on the edges of the keyboard for audio system — as an alternative they’re downward-firing audio system on the sides of the bottom — which truly lends it a greater look than its bigger siblings whose audio system that don’t fairly meld with the remainder of the design.

Just like its siblings, the XPS 13 suffers from the identical useful faults that come hand-in-hand with the aesthetic decisions. The keyboard has its keys unfold so their edges run tight subsequent to at least one one other. The operate row is changed by capacitive contact buttons that want fixed illumination, and the trackpad is gloriously coated in a single panel for glass that stretches the width of the laptop computer but in addition utterly obscures the place the trackpad begins and ends.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

The polished design of the XPS 13 nearly highlights the one level the place it might nonetheless use work. Dell opted for curved corners, however by sticking with a hard-cornered show, the display seems somewhat off the place its 90-degree angles meet the curved corners of the lid. That’s solely additional accentuated by the 2 totally different bezel widths. This is minor, and I’d personally by no means huff over it, however Dell is staking lots on design right here, and that alternative is strictly the type we see Apple and Samsung avoiding of their laptop computer designs.

At least Dell’s construct is strong. Quality supplies add up, and whereas I wouldn’t say it is a machine that’ll tolerate actual abuse, it seems like it’s going to maintain up fairly effectively to the battering laptops take each day.

Dell XPS 13 (2024): Keyboard, trackpad

I’ve had points with Dell’s XPS keyboards because the shift launched with the Plus fashions. They could also be mechanically sound, however they current some points for consolation and consistency. And the place I made do on the bigger fashions, the XPS 13 presents some distinctive challenges of its personal.

Typing, I used to be in a position to attain a brisk 117 words-per-minute at 99 % accuracy in a single run by way of Monkeytype’s take a look at, however this felt like an exception, as extra usually I used to be caught nearer to 100 phrases per minute with under 95 % accuracy. Monkeytype’s default take a look at additionally doesn’t entail punctuation or modifiers. Most of the discomfort with the keyboard comes from shifting forwards and backwards between hand positions and resetting to the house row. Since the slim gaps and flatter keys don’t present as a lot tactility for locating house by contact, each shift away leads to a barely slower reset. My confidence on repeated presses of the identical key was additionally low. And reaching away to the backspace or, even worse, the capacitive delete key, might introduce extra bother. The arrow keys additionally require me to shift my hand off of the laptop computer solely, which additional makes navigating a trouble.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

I do know Dell could make an ideal keyboard — the Inspiron 14 Plus’s keyboard stands as among the finest I’ve used — however this design ethos stands in the way in which of what is perhaps wonderful mechanics beneath.

At least contact navigation is strong. The trackpad on the XPS 13 isn’t almost as huge as it’s on the XPS 14 or 16, extending from the left fringe of the house bar to the suitable fringe of the suitable Alt key roughly. It takes up a lot of the vertical house out there to it. Since it’s nearly not possible to keep away from resting my palms on it, it’s good to see impeccable palm rejection from the trackpad. And the place the XPS 14 tended to disregard any swipes if I began them from exterior of the trackpad’s elusive boundaries, the XPS 13 will begin to register them simply as quickly as my finger crosses the brink of the trackpad. The trackpad additionally has a satisfying haptic suggestions to clicks throughout most of its floor.

Dell XPS 13: Display, audio

You’ll discover choices from plain to presumably attractive for the XPS 13. Here we’ve examined the bottom show configuration, which is a 1920×1200 IPS panel. At its small 13.4-inch display dimension, it’s fairly sharp. The 30- to 120Hz refresh charge additionally gives clean visible suggestions whereas working the system. While the upgraded, sharper choices embody touchscreens, this configuration doesn’t. It does embody a robust anti-glare end that mixes with a excessive peak brightness (measured at 547 nits) for simple visibility in lots of situations, although. The readability and visibility are the principle execs of this show, and it presents a fairly colourful and correct panel that covers 99 % of the sRGB shade house, although it leaves loads of room for enchancment within the DCI-P3 shade house. While almost all colours have been correct with lower than a dE of two.0 (lower than dE 1.0 for many), one shade of blue was off by a dE of 5.5 and will trigger some points for color-centric work. 

Like the remainder of the XPS line up to now this 12 months, the XPS 13 has spectacular little audio system. They’re made all of the extra spectacular with how small the laptop computer itself is. Listening to speech, the audio comes by way of loud and clear even at decrease quantity ranges. Bumping the quantity excessive can see the speaker rattle and warp somewhat, reverberating within the system, however there’s no denying these are potent audio system. Keeping the quantity inside tame ranges, they’ve a pleasant steadiness to them and provide shocking bass.

Dell XPS 13 (2024): Webcam, microphone, biometrics

Dell’s 1080p webcam is an efficient one right here. In addition to the satisfyingly sharp element, it manages to supply pure shade and even holds up in less-than-ideal lighting circumstances, equivalent to dimmer rooms. It can undergo from washed out photos if an excessive amount of mild is in entrance of the lens. The webcam additionally serves up Windows Hello facial recognition for fast logins. A fingerprint scanner on the nook of the keyboard provides a second biometric choice.

The mic system captures my voice effectively for calls, and eliminates some mild background noise, however it’s not as profitable at neutralizing different voices, equivalent to a podcast I had taking part in from my telephone in conjunction with the laptop computer.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Dell XPS 13: Connectivity

Dell presents sturdy wi-fi connectivity with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. My connections to earbuds and headphones have been secure, and the system is all the time fast to reconnect to Wi-Fi when it wakes up from sleep.

Wired connectivity is extra of a problem, as Dell has totally embraced the fashionable ultrabook sensibilities. That is to say, it has simply two USB-C ports. They are totally featured Thunderbolt 4 ports, a minimum of, so they provide some severe expandability by way of docks. Dell even features a useful dongle with a USB-A and HDMI port on it. But for simultaneous charging and connections to a number of peripherals, a correct dock will probably be crucial.

Dell XPS 13: Performance

The Dell XPS 13 is a strong performer, however in the case of thin-and-light laptops, dimension does matter. The additional dimension of a few of its rivals — 14-inch fashions that basically aren’t a monstrous leap — spotlight that the tight confines of the Dell XPS 13 could also be strangling its potential in a lot the identical approach they did for the Dell XPS 16 in comparison with its bigger rivals.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

We see the Dell XPS 13 nonetheless providing sturdy leads to general capabilities as marked by its PCMark 10 Overall rating, which is an indicator of fine utility at over 6,000 factors. But the XPS 13 is trailing the pack right here, lagging behind three different laptops fitted with the identical CPU, and likewise trailing the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED with an Ryzen 7 8840HS processor. While reminiscence and SSD speeds play into the PCMark outcomes, we’ll see extra clearly that the CPU within the XPS 13 finally ends up being what holds it again.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Cinebench R20 places stress notably on the CPU, and right here there’s comparable daylight between the XPS 13 and its competitors. The gaps between it and the opposite laptops nearly completely mirror what we noticed in PCMark. And because the XPS 13 packs the identical CPU as most of those different laptops, it’s clearly simply not squeezing out as a lot from the chip. Extended testing reveals the rating drop significantly decrease, with a 10-minute run dropping it to 8,513, highlighting the lack to maintain excessive hundreds with out thermals throttling the CPU.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Handbrake reveals this similar shortcoming. This prolonged take a look at actually taxes the CPU to encode a big video file. If the XPS 13 have been in a position to maintain thermals down and the CPU maxed out, it will probably have carried out extra consistent with its rivals right here. But because it stands, it lags effectively behind, taking a half hour to finish the duty. Only the Lenovo Slim 7 14 Gen 9 fell behind.

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Since the built-in Intel Arc Graphics are constructed proper into the identical chip because the CPU, they find yourself affected by among the similar points, although the disparities are lowered. Intel’s Arc Graphics show modestly succesful, however the Dell XPS 13 sees outcomes that permit rivals run forward.

It’s all of the extra shameful for the XPS 13 that it’s dearer than all 4 fashions it competes with right here.

Dell XPS 13: Battery life

By all accounts, the XPS 13 is a surprise in the case of battery life. It pulled off a staggering common over 14 hours in our take a look at, which consists of a nonstop video playback with the show set to about 250 nits. However, this result’s barely soured by its competitors. The similar laptops that have been in a position to push more durable in efficiency show simply as succesful or extra of dialing again their efficiency to preserve battery life. While the Acer Swift Go 14 lags behind by only a few minutes, the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED and Dell Inspiron 14 Plus pull off an additional hour of runtime. Dell a minimum of lands a strong win towards the Lenovo Slim 7 14 Gen 9 right here, which solely mustered 11 hours (nonetheless respectable).

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

Mark Knapp / Foundry

In equity to the Dell XPS 13, it has the smallest battery of the pack at simply 54Wh, however that doesn’t reduce the truth that it’s going to lag behind in real-world use. And the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED that so handily beat the XPS 13 right here manages to take action with a 75Wh battery packed into a bigger body that solely weighs 0.12 kilos extra.

Should you purchase the Dell XPS 13?

The Dell XPS 13 is a disappointment. It is perhaps a magnificence to behold, however it all crumbles beneath the utility. Dell’s new design makes for a keyboard that feels nice on the person key stage however will be more durable to navigate. And the premium design comes at a price with out additionally coming with boosted efficiency to justify it. In our assessments, the XPS 13 typically lags behind its rivals by a notable margin, and so they’re all considerably cheaper. And that’s with the bottom configuration in thoughts, which presents a easy IPS panel and compares poorly to the OLEDs a few its rivals are providing. It’s simply too laborious to justify springing for the XPS 13 when it’s beat on so many counts.