Dell XPS 13 (2024) With Lunar Lake Overview: Extraordinarily Light and Extra
The model new mannequin of the Dell XPS 13 is hovering on the sting of 1 factor larger, or—as a minimum—one factor really distinctive. There’s an intrinsic difficulty at work previous the number of ports and the sloped type of the 2-year-old XPS 13 redesign, now with Intel Lunar Lake, that rings a bell in my memory of the M1 MacBook Air. One factor there would make me say, “Wow, points are going to change.” It has nothing to do with the outdated ARC vs. x86 debate. It’s the dream of the lightest attainable laptop computer pc, nonetheless with a bodily keyboard, which will do all of the issues.
Nonetheless the XPS 13 (9350) config doesn’t get there. It’s solely close to it on the subject of power and battery life, nevertheless the shell stays to be a poor design that ought to change. It’s fascinating to take a look at. I might lastly profit from the considered an invisible touchpad, nevertheless not an invisible ESC key that disappears in direct daylight.
Dell XPS 13 (9350)
It sports activities actions a radical design that makes it arduous to utilize whenever you’re arduous of seeing or working in direct light. Whereas it’s extremely efficient for its measurement, it isn’t as zippy as you’d need a laptop computer pc for this value.
Execs
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Super lightweight design
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Trackpad takes some getting used to, nevertheless the actually really feel could also be excellent
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LCD is lots shiny
Cons
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Home-less keyboard and make contact with carry out row injury usability
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Effectivity is just not all you want for this value
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Sound and webcam top quality aren’t good
There are plenty of of the equivalent factors with Dell’s completely different XPS merchandise, such as a result of the XPS 14 and XPS 16. It doesn’t change with a model new chip. Nonetheless, I’ve wanted to supply the XPS 13 a try since Intel first launched its Lunar Lake chips and see what it meant for ultra-thin laptops like this one. My mannequin of the XPS 13 comes with the Intel Core Extraordinarily 7 256V and a non-touch LCD. Dell acknowledged you get one among these laptops with an Intel Core Extraordinarily 9 288V, which seems prefer it is likely to be one hell of an fascinating gadget, nevertheless you gained’t uncover that config accessible on Dell’s web site or wherever else.
There are completely different variations of the XPS 13 with Extraordinarily 7 258V, and equivalent to I acknowledged with the Asus Zenbook S 14, I would seek for the higher-end chip first whatever the worth distinction. The 256V does properly ample for main productiveness duties, nevertheless when purchasing for a model new laptop computer pc for one thing that requires a bit additional juice, I promise will in all probability be worth it. Now that the M4 MacBooks are out, we have a model new, extreme bar for CPU effectivity all through laptop computer pc chips, so I’d argue it is best to aim to confirm your subsequent laptop computer pc is as future-proof as attainable.
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Should that new laptop computer pc be the $1,400 MSRP XPS 13 (9350)? It has present, and it optimistic appears to be distinctive. The battery life is unbelievable, so long as you’re not doing one thing strenuous. It’s moreover an especially light laptop computer pc with such a clear, shiny finish you’re coping with a stone slate higher than a laptop. On the equivalent time, it’s too perfunctory for its private good, significantly at this value stage.
Dell XPS 13 Overview: Effectivity
My XPS 13 received right here with the Intel Core Extraordinarily 7 256V CPU, which is on the lower end of the middle-weight Lunar Lake chips. The laptop computer pc packs 16 GB of DDR5x RAM and 512 GB of storage. All that’s to say, that’s the lower-end rendition of the XPS 13 you’ll get, and its effectivity couldn’t match your expectations for what you might need heard about Lunar Lake.
That’s to not say it is best to disregard this mannequin altogether. Should you occur to go for this config for main productiveness, it’s an especially speedy machine in such a thin package deal deal. In Geekbench 6, the Core Extraordinarily 7 256V will score larger than the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus in single-core settings nevertheless path barely behind multi-core. It moreover gained’t beat AMD’s latest Strix Stage processors identical to the Ryzen 9 HX AI 370, which yow will uncover in PCs identical to the Asus TUF Gaming A14.
It’s a worse performer inside the Cinebench rendering test, which I found nonetheless underperformed in multi-core settings by close to 300 components as compared with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite or the Ryzen 9 HX AI 370. I’m nonetheless searching for that fabled laptop computer pc which will comprise the Intel Core Extraordinarily 9 288V, to not point out additional with the marginally higher-performance Lunar Lake chips than merely the 258V.
In actual fact, any PC with a loyal GPU may be a lot better for graphics exams like 3D Mark. The Dell XPS 14 with merely an Nvidia Geforce RTX 4050 can topple one thing that Intel’s onboard ARC graphics can try. I’m nonetheless disenchanted primarily by the gradual events on our Blender exams, the place we time how prolonged it takes for the PC to render a single image of a BMW beneath CPU and GPU settings.
Dell XPS 13 Overview: Assemble Top quality and Usability
As any one that makes use of loads of laptops usually, I end up typing with quite a few completely completely different keyboards usually all by way of my workday. Given that, I must have experience with the newfangled XPS design due to my time with the Dell XPS 14 and XPS 16 laptops. Then I returned to it with the XPS 13 and its flat panel, no-space keyboard, and invisible trackpad, and it nonetheless in a roundabout way made me actually really feel like a fish out of water.
I’d develop to adore it if I spent ages with it and obtained so used to the space-less keyboard that I would battle to get the equivalent actually really feel on completely different keyboards. Why would I, though, when the experience is worse than completely different laptops?
Worse nonetheless is the contact carry out row, which merely disappears when the PC is turned off. Worse, with this eggshell shade, the light-up contact keys disappear like ghosts in direct daylight. The sunshine-up keys might develop to be an accessibility nightmare for anybody with imaginative and prescient factors.
All that is such a shame on account of I would in some other case have the benefit of using the XPS 13. This issue is light at solely 2.6 kilos. For comparability, an M3 MacBook Air weighs 2.7 kilos. It’s only some grams lighter than an Asus Zenbook S 14. Previous the load, it’s packing WiFi 7 and a shiny present for indoor and outdoors use. However, there’s no draw back worse than routinely hitting the improper key whilst you’re typing, merely since you probably can’t actually really feel out the place your fingers are besides you’re wanting on the keyboard.
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Dell XPS 13 Overview: Show, Webcam, and Sound
This 13-inch laptop computer pc has show display screen, an okay webcam, and mediocre sound top quality. The 13.4-inch LCD runs at a 1920 by 1200 resolution with a VSS between 30 and 120 Hz. No, it’s not as inky and pretty as OLED, which you’ll get on prettier configs than the 9350, nevertheless on the very least, it’s shiny.
The 1080p webcam appears to be truthful beneath shiny light, nevertheless points start to look fuzzy as rapidly as any dim fluorescent light illuminates you. With out space for bodily audio system, there’s solely lots you probably can rely on from the sound on a thin laptop computer pc. The XPS is good ample for listening to it by your self, nevertheless it certainly has a thin top quality that’s immediately apparent whenever you swap off from any 14-inch laptop computer pc to this 13-inch one. It might probably get moderately loud, on the very least.
Dell XPS 13 Overview: Battery Life
The Dell XPS 13’s battery life could also be its largest selling stage. When Dell and Intel first launched this config at IFA, it was part of the company’s declare that you simply’d get close to 24 hours of battery life from an x86 chip. That’s an infinite promise, and we already knew it was solely examined in video playback.
In our private video playback exams, the place we ran down the battery watching a 24-hour YouTube video, the laptop computer pc conked out after 23 hours. That’s very good and the form of battery you’d want from such a lightweight design.
As for every day use, it’s moreover a extremely sturdy contender. An entire workday of typing on it, with out plugging it into any exterior shows, resulted in me nonetheless having spherical 40% battery left over. I forgot to price it and can nonetheless go half a workday with out reaching for the plug. The battery drained far faster when supporting a few monitor, as anticipated. It’s a higher finish outcome than I had with the Asus Zenbook with the equivalent chip, so Dell nonetheless has an unimaginable inside design to rely upon, even after I don’t jive with the skin.
Dell XPS 13 Overview: Verdict
The Dell XPS 13 (9350) appears like a laptop computer pc that costs, at most, $1,100, which is the place it at current stands on sale sooner than the tip of November. I do know I’ve already acknowledged this design is simply not my jam, nevertheless even at a less expensive value, I would hesitate to achieve for this over one factor additional regular. It’s merely one in all many lightest, most well-balanced laptops I’ve used. It hangs out in my backpack and barely locations any additional weight on my shoulders than the hoard of paperback books I tend to carry spherical.
Plus, it has an outstanding battery life that gives to its longevity and retains me from bringing a charging brick in all places I am going. The charging unit that comes with the XPS 13 is already comparatively small and lightweight, so that’s a plus. When put like that, there’s lots I want to love about this laptop computer pc, though possibly not with this configuration. Then as soon as extra, the next step up, with the 258V, 32 GB of RAM, 1 TB of storage, and an LCD, costs $1,700 MSRP (at current $1,500 on sale). The OLED touchscreen mannequin is way more costly. Even on sale, I can’t take into consideration purchasing for a super-thin laptop computer pc for that value when there are completely different machines you’ll get.
It’s a splendidly usable laptop computer pc and possibly one you probably can begin to like. Nonetheless I’m a curmudgeon, and I don’t desire it after I faucet a key and by likelihood faucet two. Possibly I must blame myself for my imprecise digits. As a substitute, nonetheless, I’ll blame the laptop computer pc.
Exchange 12/10/24 at 9:38 p.m. ET: This story was updated to proper the reference to the laptop computer pc’s “fanless” design.
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