Verdict
The Dell XPS 13 Plus is a fantastic - looking laptop computer , flaunting press clipping - edge feature article such as the haptic feedback trackpad and contact board . But Dell ’s obsession with creating a tops - skinny laptop computer has seen compromises to both the performance and bombardment life , making it unmanageable to justify the eminent price .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
When it comes to the XPS grasp , Dell has become even more obsessed with good looking than Kim Kardashian and Cristiano Ronaldo combined .
antecedently , Dell had slimmed down its XPS laptops and introduced the jaw - dropping edge - to - edge screen that obliterates the screen bezel .
And with the new Dell XPS 13 Plus in 2022 , Dell has gone even further , adding a zero - lattice keyboard , borderless trackpad and a glow - up touch venire .
With the company carve out a report for being ahead of the breaking ball for laptop design , the XPS 13 Plus really does find like a laptop from the future . But with Dell making several compromises to achieve such beauty , is this a instance of too much style over inwardness ?
Here are my thoughts on whether this is one of the best laptop alternative you’re able to currently buy .
Design
Despite numerous years of reviewing laptop , I ’ve never before realize anything quite as prominent as the Dell XPS 13 Plus . Dell has ban all the conventional stylings of your default laptop , creating something that looks completely alone , and far more tempting than evenApple ’s MacBook Air .
The keyboard draws the eye first . It stretches out across the intact width of the deck , with no space between each key . It look bang-up , but go away an impression that it could advance literal . In recitation , I have n’t found that a major issue . The keys are chunky enough to stab easily when typewrite quickly , and while I ’ve made a few typos tapping out this review , I do n’t call up the number is any more than would have hap using a more traditional keyboard .
Key change of location is a tad too shallow for my liking , but has a satisfying hearable clink when pressed down . A white backlight shines through the transparent inscription , and while is n’t very seeable in a brightly lit room , it ’s utile for when typing in the dark .
You ’ll discover there ’s no trackpad below the keyboard – or , at least , not a visible one . Instead of choose for a forcible trackpad , Dell has instead positioned tactual feedback motors beneath a glass panel . It functions like a touch screen , but with vibration simulating the flavor of a traditional trackpad . I was n’t impressed with similar technology on theSurface Laptop Studio , but it feel far more raw here ; it ’s strong to trust the panel is n’t moving when you press down .
It ’s possible to customise the options of the trackpad , too , to make the vibrations more vivid and the cursor speed faster . Dell even offers the alternative to prepare up gestures , so you could adjust volume by hold down three fingers , or trade between apps by using four digits . It ’s all very clever and intuitive ; the experience has converted me from a haptic feedback sceptic into a stiff worshipper in the engineering .
Above the keyboard , you ’ll notice that a touch panel has replaced the more traditional course of Function keys . Glow - up icons provide shortcuts for the likes of volume tweaking , mike muting and playback controls . reserve down on the Function key , and all of those icons will be replaced with inputs for the likes of F1 , F2 , F3 and so on . It ’s a cunning feature that feels futuristic – but it does n’t provide any customisation or app - specific shortcut such as Apple ’s Touch Bar on theMacBook Pro . And , potentially , I can see those glow - up icons evidence a beguilement when exploit in the dark .
Another jaw - dropping look of this laptop computer is how slender it is – although Dell has prefer for a tapering feel , which is a little deceiving to the centre . In reality , the Dell XPS 13 Plus has a deepness of 15.28 mm marvellous , which is noticeably compact than the 11.3 millimetre MacBook Air M2 . Nevertheless , I find the XPS incredibly easy to skid into a small bag , and it was lightweight , too , at just 1.23 kg – which is marginally light than the MacBook Air .
The downside of such a close design is that it does n’t leave much elbow room for ports . You only get two USB - cytosine connection ( withThunderbolt 4support ) , with one of those likely to be taken up for recharging the laptop . There ’s no USB - A porthole for erstwhile peripheral and USB sticks , and no headphone Jack-tar for those with pumped phone . It ’s a classic example of Dell prioritising form over function , and it could well be a flock ledgeman for many .
Still , Dell has certainly come after in making this a great - looking laptop , particularly since it retains those nigh - unseeable bezels around the cover . And it ’s still manage to crush in a 720pwebcamup top , which offers tremendous capture quality for a laptop computer . It even support facial identification for speedy preindication - in via Windows Hello – and if you do n’t wish the idea of a laptop computer analysing your face , you could expend the fingerprint sensor rather .
Speakers sit down underneath the laptop , but at an slant so they pump audio out of the sides of the laptop rather than right away at your desk . This ensures you do n’t get softened music when playing melodic line through Spotify . Speaker quality is excellent , have boom bass part , high-pitched mass and enough detail to love movies without needing to get to with earpiece .
The laptop computer ’s worldwide shape quality is superb , too . The deck is made up of canvass of glass , while the eyelid is uncompromising aluminum – this is a premium laptop computer if ever I ’ve find out one . Personally , I ’d have liked to have visit it arrive in more color pick – Platinum and Graphite are your only choice right now – but the Dell is hardly lacking in the looks department .
Display
Dell provides three choice when it comes to the 13.4 - column inch screen : an LCD Full HD ( 1920 x 1800 ) , OLED 3.5 K ( 3456 x 2160 ) touchscreen , and an LCD 4 K ( 3840 x 2400 ) touchscreen . I was send the latter of the trio , although from judge the specification alone , I ’d reckon theOLEDmodel is the better option ; the engineering science considerably advance line and colour truth .
But for this review article , I can only test the sample I have before me . It ’s an telling panel , with the gamy resolution ensuring a super - knifelike image when watch video . It also offers more or less more screen space than the modal 13 - in laptop computer , since Dell has been capable to reduce down the size of the bezel .
The XPS excelled in colorimeter exam , displaying a maximum brightness of 482 nits . This is n’t quite as bright as Dell ’s quoted 500 - nit public figure , but still substantially bright than the vast majority of laptop computer on the market . The result is bold and vibrant imagery , while also check you’re able to use this laptop computer alfresco without having to squinch at the screen .
Contrast came in at a superb 2058:1 , which mean light and dark colours will stand up out from one another for more telling depth . I ’ve only ever check ranking laptop computer screen contrast with OLED panel , although Dell does allow for that option , too .
Colours await natural on the XPS screen , although it does n’t have the broad of colour gamuts . By offering only 74 % of Adobe RGB and 78 % of DCI - P3 , there are better options for those with colour - sensible workload such as video editing . But the XPS 13 Plus is n’t designed to be a workaholic in the same vein as the MacBook Pro . or else , it ’s a productiveness laptop with a fashion academic degree .
Performance
Dell has once again partner up with Intel for its XPS range , offer three dissimilar flavours of the latest twelfth - Gen chips : Congress of Racial Equality i5 - 1240P , Core i7 - 1260P and Core i7 - 1280P. My review sample distribution features the middle option , paired with a thumping 32 GB of RAM ( you could prefer for more affordable 8 GB and 16 GB configurations alternatively ) .
As you ’d expect , the productivity performance is fantastic , comfortably pop the question enough power to blaze away through multiple workloads at once . I did n’t ever notice any slowdown during a work day , where I ’ll have had numerous web browsers open , Spotify banging out tunes and YouTube providing me with a much - need understanding to drag one’s heels .
But while I personally find performance to be corking , how does Dell stack up against its rivals ? concord to my benchmark result , it does n’t make out well .
Both theApple M2and AMD ’s latest chip deliver substantially faster multi - core stop number , making them more competent devices for heavy workloads and multi - tasking . Even the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 2 see well result , despite sharing the exact same processor as the Dell XPS 13 Plus .
I assume that Dell ’s hobby of a super - tightfitting conception has lead in strangle performance , with the fan fail to maximise performance . I ’ve noticed that the bottom of the laptop can become perceptibly fond , to such an extent that you ’ll belike want to fend off resting the portable on your lap .
Is the throttled carrying into action a major issue ? I ’d reason that it is n’t , since it ’s still plenty herculean enough for your mean day - to - twenty-four hour period tasks , and can even handle the funny bit of Photoshopping . But if your work load is impenetrable on a even basis , and you want the best value carrying out possible , you ’d be better considering the likes of a MacBook Air or Huawei MateBook 16 instead .
The Dell arguably made up for its underwhelming CPU score by delivering A - star results for its SSD . With read and write results of 6825 M / s and 5151 megabyte / s severally , it ’s doubly as tight as most laptop for loading and pull through data point on the physical drive . This means it ’s delightfully snappy when loading up installed apps , or even booting up Windows .
There ’s plenty of storage space on offer , too , with Dell providing 512 GB , 1 TB and 2 TB options . I ’d be very surprised if anyone needs any more storage than that .
Battery
The Dell XPS 13 Plus has seen a jerk - of - war contest between style and substance over all of its features , from port to carrying out . But the one area that suffers the most is stamp battery life .
Dell admit a 55Wh battery in this laptop computer , which is relatively belittled . For comparison , theZenBook 13 S OLEDhas a 67Wh electric battery ; and while the MacBook Air ’s battery is smaller at 52.6Wh , Apple on the face of it makes up for that with the vigour efficiency of the M2 micro chip .
Dell does n’t have that luxury . When dialling down the luminousness and running our stock PCMark 10 battery test , the XPS 13 Plus managed to last a dismal 7hrs 42mins .
In the same run , the Asus Zenbook S 13 organic light-emitting diode managed over 13 hours , and for day - to - Clarence Day use , the MacBook Air lasts around 14 hr . Even theSurface Laptop Go 2delivers higher-ranking stamina , despite take a smaller barrage fire .
Sure , the Dell XPS 13 Plus may just about be able to suffer the working twenty-four hour period , but it would still be a Brobdingnagian hazard to work out of compass of a power source . It ’s easy to forgive a luck of the Dell ’s shortcoming due to its boundary - pushing design , but the via media you ’ll have to make with regard to battery life story is likely to be one whole step too far for many .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
- : The Dell XPS 13 Plus feels like a laptop from the future , with a haptic feedback trackpad , touch panel and refreshing design . If you want a laptop computer to show off to your friends , this is your better option out there .
The freehanded proceeds with the XPS 13 Plus is its short battery living . It lasted just unsure of 8 minute in our mental testing , which is far behind some of its rival .
Final Thoughts
The Dell XPS 13 Plus is an expensive laptop . The base contour retails for $ 1299/£1299 , while upgrading to an OLED dialog box takes the cost up to $ 1399/£1699 . For my review model ( with 1 TB storage , 32 GB of RAM and a 4 K LCD screen ) you ’re search at an middle - watering $ 2099/£1907 – that ’s excessive for a 13 - inch productivity laptop .
Dell could argue that its cutting - edge aim realize the XPS 13 Plus a unique choice , and it certainly is a good - looking laptop . However , you also have to factor in the many compromises made in the area of port selection , performance and battery life .
If you ’re moneyed with John Cash and worry more about kind over function , then the Dell XPS 13 Plus is an excellent laptop worth considering . But you’re able to get far better value elsewhere from the likes of theMacBook AirandAsus Zenbook S 13 OLED .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop computer we review goes through a series of unvarying verification designed to guess central things include build calibre , performance , screen caliber and battery life .
These include conventional synthetic benchmark and scripted run , plus a series of real - world baulk , such as how well it runs pop apps .
FAQs
Prices start at $ 1299/£1299 , increasing to as high as $ 2099/£1907 with the various conformation .
Yes , the Dell XPS 13 Plus does have a touch screen , but only with the 3.5 super C and 4 K options .
Dell has introduced a new design for the Plus model , include features such as a haptic feedback trackpad , a touch gore and the remainder - to - end keyboard .
Test Data
Full Specs
