Dell Xps 13 Touchscreen Laptop - Intel Core I7 - 4k Ultra Hd Reviews
Dell'south XPS 13 squeezes more screen, more power and even Windows Hello face recognition into a tiny frame, just trips up over software issues.
The XPS 13 is Dell'due south tiptop-of-the-line compact laptop and starts at £ane,349. Various models with different processors, storage and screen resolutions are available.
The XPS line is where Dell shows off its design chops. It is a premium Windows ten rival to Apple tree's MacBook Pro and more recently Microsoft's Surface Laptop line.
Dell's standout characteristic has been squeezing the biggest screen possible into every bit small a frame equally possible by shrinking everything in the lid section of the laptop that isn't screen – much like the modern all-screen smartphone design. The 2020 XPS 13 has the biggest display notwithstanding, at 13.4in with a 16:ten ratio, and tiny bezels all the way around the edges.
That means you get a relatively large display in the body of what would traditionally take been a laptop with just an 11in screen. And what a screen it is. The version tested had the 4K touchscreen choice, which is crisper than practically anything else, super vivid, colour authentic and all-round gorgeous. It supports HDR video, including Dolby Vision. Models are available with either touch or non-bear upon FHD+ screens besides.
The body of the laptop is fabricated from aluminium, with your choice of black carbon fibre or white glass fibre on the laptop'south deck. It feels solid, sleek and unique. The wedge-shaped laptop weighs just 1.27kg and is but 14.8mm thick, with a smaller footprint than nigh of its competition.
The new, slightly larger keyboard is great. Well spaced, stable, fairly tranquility, with 1mm of key travel and expert feedback when pressed. The big precision trackpad is responsive, with a tactile simply muted click that hopefully shouldn't annoy those around you.
Windows Hello
The XPS 13 ships with not one but two biometric systems for securely logging y'all into Windows without a password.
The new pattern has a Windows Hello infrared confront recognition camera squeezed into the bezel at the peak of the screen and a fingerprint scanner built into the ability push button. That ways you can either log in with a press of the power button or simply by looking at the screen when yous open the lid. Both are fast, accurate and work brilliantly.
Specifications
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Screen: 13.4in LCD 4K (3840 10 2400) or FHD+ (1920 x 1200)
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Processor: 10th-generation Intel Cadre i5 or i7
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RAM: viii or 16GB
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Storage: 512GB or 1TB
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Graphics: Intel UHD or Iris Plus
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Operating organisation: Windows 10 Home or Pro, Ubuntu 18.04
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Camera: 720p widescreen HD with Windows Hello
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Connectivity: Wifi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, 2x USB-C/Thunderbolt 3, microSD, headphone
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Dimensions: 198.vii ten 295.7 x 14.8mm
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Weight: 1.27kg
Hot hardware, only USB-C problems
The 2020 XPS 13 ships with your option of 10th-generation Intel core chips. Most models take the Core i7 mutual to all top-spec computers, including the new MacBook Pro, Surface Laptop 3 and Huawei MateBook 10 Pro. The model tested for this review had a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and a 4K screen.
As such the XPS thirteen has lots of power on tap, making information technology capable of simply about anything, brusk of high-end gaming. Intel'south Iris Plus graphics are a step upwards from the previous HD integrated graphics, which you immediately notice when you lot outset editing images on a 4K external screen.
Used on battery the XPS 13 is nearly silent, with only depression-level fans aural when pushed a fiddling. Connect the machine to power and start doing demanding things and information technology will become a scrap hot, with the fans going adequately strong. Even with fans at maximum, they're not quite as loud as some competitors.
The deck of the laptop doesn't become overly warm, but you could feel some rut backside the R, T, Y, U and I keys. The vents on the bottom of the laptop are easily blocked by soft furnishings, pregnant the machine actually needs to be used on a hard table, desk-bound or lap.
The XPS thirteen has 2 USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphones socket and a microSD menu slot, which is very welcome. When i USB-C port is taken upwards by the charger, that only leaves one port for connecting accessories, such as a monitor, meaning you lot might need a dock or similar if using home-working tools.
A bug in a BIOS update for the XPS 13 broke compatibility with some USB-C to HDMI adaptors while I was reviewing the machine. The laptop threw upward errors for two adaptors after the update, just continued to piece of work with a USB-C to HDMI cable and a USB-C to DisplayPort dock. The bug remained until the end of the review period.
A Dell spokesperson said: "We're investigating the result and volition update on our findings. Nosotros thank customers for sharing their experience on the Dell Community."
Battery life wasn't great, averaging simply five and half hours of piece of work between charges, including 90 minutes of photo editing, lots of browsing and discussion processing, with the screen brightness fix to 70%. The 2020 MacBook Pro and Microsoft Surface Laptop three each lasted 7.5 hours nether similar conditions. Lighter apply saw closer to 7 hours between charges. Models with the lower-resolution FHD+ screen, rather than 4K, will are likely to last significantly longer as the screen is i of the biggest power drains.
A full charge took 2.5 hours with the included 45W USB-C charger in optimised way, but well under two if using Dell's fast-charge setting with the laptop off.
Sustainability
The XPS xiii is one of the virtually recyclable laptops you can buy, and is more often than not repairable. It is designed to enable repairs by authorised service personnel in the field, not just in a service centre, including replacement of the battery.
An out-of-warranty screen repair costs £299.41, while a battery replacement costs £171.66. Dell besides has an advanced power-direction utility that can extend the useful lifespan of a battery by altering when, how and how much it is charged, either automatically by learning from your usage and charging habits or manually via diverse profiles.
Dell offers free recycling schemes, even for products from other brands, while its packaging is made from recycled materials. The firm has a number of sustainability and environmental impact schemes nether fashion for 2030, including the recycling or reuse an equivalent product per purchase and use of recycled fabric. Dell publishes the carbon footprint of its products.
Windows 10 Home
The XPS 13 ships with a choice of Windows 10 Home or Pro, and it is one of the few laptops that tin can be bought with Linux instead of Windows, with Ubuntu xviii.04 models.
As tested with Window 10 Home, the XPS 13 ships with a lot of Dell utility apps, most of which are useful, such as the avant-garde Dell Power Manager. Many tin be safely ignored or removed, just one particular utility for the included wifi fries acquired no end of trouble.
The Killer Networking utilities, which are advanced software components for the gaming wifi bit Dell chose to use hither, prevented the machine from going to slumber when the lid was shut, which is a cardinal sin for a laptop as it can lead to it turning on in a handbag and cooking itself.
No update, make clean install or troubleshooting could fix the sleeping event. Disabling the Killer utilities with the manufacturer-provided tool was the only way to set it. Killer Networking chips, made by Rivet Networks (recently caused by Intel), are aimed at gamers and allow traffic prioritisation and other avant-garde features, merely are notorious for causing these sorts of software issues, which makes it a puzzling inclusion in the XPS 13, which is by no ways a gaming laptop.
Observations
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Occasionally the laptop would come back from sleep with Bluetooth disabled, requiring a reboot.
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The mics were poor for video conferencing at a distance, just the camera was pretty expert.
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The downwardly-firing speakers could get very loud indeed, but lacked any bass and were pretty shrill.
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There's an option to turn on the laptop when the lid is opened, even if the XPS 13 is fully powered off.
Cost
The Dell XPS thirteen (9300) 2020 with Windows ten Habitation, a FHD+ non-touchscreen, 8GB of RAM and 512GB SSD costs £1,399 with a Core i5 processor or £1,549 with a Core i7 processor.
The models with a FHD+ non-touchscreen, Core i7 and 16GB of RAM toll £one,599 with 512GB SSD or £one,699 with 1TB SSD. The model with a FHD+ touchscreen, Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD costs £1,749.
The models with a 4K touchscreen, Core i7, 16GB of RAM toll £ane,749 with 512GB SSD (as reviewed) and £ane,799 with 1TB SSD. Some models are too available in white.
Ubuntu Linux models price £1,349 with a FHD+ non-touchscreen, Core i5, 8GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, £one,699 with a 4K touchscreen, Cadre i7, 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, or £1,749 with 1TB SSD.
For comparison, the Microsoft'southward Surface Laptop 3 starts at an RRP of £999, the Huawei MateBook X Pro costs from £1,299.99 and the 13in MacBook Pro starts at £1,299.
Verdict
The Dell XPS 13 is a fantastic laptop held back by a few failures, most of which are issues traditionally associated with Dell and others.
The blueprint, build, look and physical function of the laptop is superlative-form. The 4K screen is simply gorgeous, with tiny bezels all effectually. At 13.4in on the diagonal with a 16:10 ratio, it has a surprisingly big amount of real estate for getting work washed, while videos apparently look stunning. It really is a very big screen for such a small laptop.
The keyboard and trackpad are bang-up, then is having Windows Hello in both an IR face recognition camera and a fingerprint sensor.
There'south plenty of power on tap for doing everything you could want from a 13in laptop outside of gaming. Two Thunderbolt ports, a headphones socket and a microSD card slot are very welcome. Information technology could practise with one more USB-C or USB-A port, simply not many machines have more than two USB-C ports these days. Battery life could also be better, only if you want it to last longer so buy the one without the 4K screen.
The big issues are the fights I've had to take with the addition Killer Networking utilities, which required disabling to get the laptop to slumber properly, and the bug in the BIOS update that crippled a few of my USB-C to HDMI adaptors. These are things that should non happen in a premium laptop costing this much.
The Dell XPS 13 is a five-star laptop hampered by problems traditionally associated with Dell and other 3rd-party manufacturers that give Windows computers a bad name, which is a real shame.
Pros: fantastic screen, great design, good keyboard, good trackpad, Thunderbolt 3, USB-C, microSD card slot, tenth-gen Intel fries.
Cons: short battery life, only 2 USB-C/Thunderbolt iii ports, software/BIOS issues, expensive, mics not groovy for video conferencing at a altitude, speakers are shrill.
Other reviews
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Huawei MateBook X Pro review: Windows 10'southward MacBook Pro rival
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Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 review: still sleek, just no longer unique
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Microsoft Surface Pro seven review: the all-time Windows 10 tablet PC you lot tin buy
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Apple 13in MacBook Pro review 2020: going out on a high?
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Apple tree MacBook Air review: 2020'due south near-perfect consumer laptop
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Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/09/dell-xps-13-2020-review-a-fantastic-but-flawed-laptop