Dell XPS 13 Review
by Brett Howse on February 19, 2015 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Dell
- Ultrabook
- Broadwell-U
- XPS 13
Final Words
The XPS 13 is a bold move from Dell. High quality build materials, a good keyboard, a good trackpad, and the latest generation Intel Ultrabook processor all inside a chassis with a display that is two sizes too big stuffed into it. Combine that with a 1920x1080 IPS display on the base model, as well as solid state storage as the only option, and you would expect the starting price to be north of $1000. But it is not. The base price, with a Core i3, is just under $800.
The XPS 13 also carries with it amazing battery life, especially on the lower resolution base model. Broadwell-U is part of that, but the display is also a big part of that score, especially on the light battery life test, and Dell would have had to work on the entire package to achieve this kind of battery life result. Any one choice that was a power hog would have dragged the scores down.
Of course no device is perfect and the XPS 13 certainly has some niggling issues which will hopefully be resolved in revisions or updates. The auto-brightness issue is one that they will hopefully address soon. I have no issue with auto-brightness in most cases, but there needs to a way to disable it. Not only can it be frustrating at times when the display is constantly changing brightness, especially in a dim room, but it makes display calibration impossible. If the touch version also had the Yoga style display hinge, it would also increase the capabilities of this device, although that hinge style would be wasted on the non-touch model.
The display is really the one standout feature though. Finally, someone has reduced the bezel size on a laptop. If you are not a fan of smaller laptops, this may not be for you though, since really, it is closer to a typical 11.6 inch model than a 13.3 inch. It would be unbelievable if all laptops were to follow this design pattern, but for now we can hope that at least the premium devices will do so. Dell has opened the door and shown us what is possible, and it looks awesome. The one loser in this scenario is the webcam position, which at the lower left side of the screen is far from ideal. If you are a heavy user of the webcam, this could pose an issue.
Comparing the two models is difficult. On one hand, the FHD model starts at $800 and with the Core i5, bumps up to $900. That is a great starting price for a well-built device like this one, even though the base model has just 4GB of memory. Moving to 8GB means jumping up to $1000. However the move to the excellent high resolution display is yet another $300 on top of that, bringing the least expensive model with touch in at $1300. While I do love the display, and I prefer touch on notebooks, $1300 is getting pretty expensive compared to the original price, and you lose a lot of battery life as well.
Really, it is a great choice to have to make, because neither option is the wrong one. We often lament the lack of options on other laptops, but here Dell let's users decide what they value most: resolution and display quality, or battery life. The only real issue is that you can't get touch with FHD, and you can't get 512GB SSD with the FHD either.
The Dell XPS 13 ends up being responsive, small, light, and well built. Dell has crafted what I am sure most people were hoping for when the original Ultrabook specification was announced. On top of that, they have designed a laptop with class-leading battery life, and plenty of choice to let people buy as little or as much as they need. Considering the competition, this is clearly the Ultrabook of the Broadwell-U generation to beat, and from what we saw at CES it may very well go unchallenged for the remainder of the year.
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GTRagnarok - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
You can only upgrade the SSD. It's an M.2 form factor.Aristotle16 - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
I bought the Core i3 version and had serious performance issues, to the point of trying to return the device. What I found was, even after doing a clean install of Windows 8.1, that the Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Settings (located in the advanced settings of the battery profiles) were set to 0.6GHz@15W for the Balanced and Power Saver profiles, even for plugged in mode. And for the High Performance profile, the battery setting was also set to 0.6GHz. I had not thought to look at that specific setting, but I couldn't accept that this brand new device was slower than my Venue 8 Pro tablet. It's weird that they choose to have this performance setting - even for the plugged in mode mind you - on the standard battery profile that ships with the device and/or OS. So after changing that setting, the device performance is night and day. So just a heads up if you get this and it feels slow, have a look at those settings.mayankleoboy1 - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Which ssd is being used in them? A m. 2 ssd works definitely give a boost to battery and performanceBrett Howse - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
It is listed in the specifications - Samsung PM851.Chrispy_ - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Wow, that's a HUGE battery life penalty for the QHD+ screen that delivers very slightly sharper text.It's not like 1080p @ 13.3" isn't already pin-sharp, and the IGP is useless in most games at even super low resolutions, so I'm genuinely thinking the FHD screen is a better choice here....
tipoo - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
I must say, I've been liking Dells output ever since they went private.01nb - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Posted this yesterday at Engadget:"I have an XPS13 on my desk at the moment. It's definitely the best I've seen from Dell to date, but it's got some issues that would drive me absolutely bonkers.
The touchpad, for starters, is just not there. That is to say it cannot hold a candle to anything the fruit has put out for the past I dunno, 8 years. The webcam placement? I mean, I know you have a lot to do to make that bezel so small, but this is just stupid. Who wants to look at my nosehairs and boogs during a chat? And another pretty annoying bit - Dell, dude.... put a friggin right angle on the damn power plug already! Or please come up with some non-patent-infringing magsafe like tech dammit. This plug is unsightly, ungainly, and flat out terrible for this class of ultrabook.
Otherwise, there is a lot to like - the unreal screen, the size, plenty of speed, etc.
It's just a few minor issues from being able to truly unseat the MBA which i'm sure were made to cut cost. The problem is, with the new (r?)MBA due out any moment, it may not even get the chance."
Dell is on the right track. Hopefully they address the issues in the next version (and release it post-haste).
sporkloudly - Friday, April 10, 2015 - link
Did you have any issues with the buzzing noise everybody seems to be talking about?Laxaa - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Alongside the new ThinPad, this looks like a very nice machine indeed(and great to see that PC laptops are catching up with MacBooks in terms of performance and design!) My only gripe is that I wish there was a 16GB option.Hrel - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Touch is stupid, any resolution beyond 1080p is stupid. (it negatively affects EVERYTHING, as evidenced in this review.) I don't want actual glass on my laptop.If it weren't for these specific issues, mostly the glass, this would be my next executive laptop. I'm gonna need one next year. So hopefully they can fix these things before then, either that or I switch the company to Lenovo. Doesn't really matter to me, but I do really like what they did with the power adapter/battery.