Horse ComputexDell is refreshing its flagship 13-inch laptop, the XPS 13. The product was first shown at CES and when I first saw it they wouldn’t even let me take a picture of it. At the time, the entire company confirmed that it would have the most affordable price point for any XPS product yet.
Now it’s unpacking, so we can see not only what the price point is, but how it got there in an era of rapidly rising prices.
It starts at $699 and $599 for students. Well, that makes it directly comparable to the MacBook Neo, especially given that the Intel processors under the hood will provide a longer lifespan for buyers.
A premium laptop for $699
Dell makes it look amazingly easy
As you would expect from a premium product at a mid-range price point, there are a variety of configurations available. The base model comes with Intel Core (not Core Ultra) processors, 8GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and 256GB of PCIe Gen 4 storage.
Of course, it comes with Intel Core Ultra variants. Obviously, these will cost more, and Dell didn’t price the configurations in its press release, and neither company does. They start with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, as the Core Ultras will be Copilot+ computers.
It’s XPS, so you already know it’s made of aluminum. There are two colors, Sky and Storm. Note that Sky Dell looks more white than sky blue “Sky”. Used for XPS 13 in 2022.
It has a 13.4-inch 2560×1600 display with a variable refresh rate of 120Hz. Dell shows how good the display is in its press release, covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Having thoroughly reviewed many XPS laptops at this point (who knows how many already), I would vouch for this. Dell’s LCD panels have always been best-in-class in high-end configurations, so if the company says it’s good, I believe it.
It is 12.7 mm thick and weighs 2.2 pounds, so it is lighter. 2024 XPS 13 (and previous generations) was 2.6 lbs.
Better than the MacBook Neo
Better than $100 I’d say
Obviously, Macs use Apple Silicon, so comparing the chips is not an apples-to-apples (I did that on purpose) comparison. It’s still worth considering the potential longevity of the A18 Pro on the MacBook Neo, because I wrote about it before.
Both products are made of aluminum and both start with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but that’s where the similarities end.
The Dell XPS 13 has two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (Thunderbolt for Core Ultra models, but we’re not talking about that), while the MacBook Neo has one USB 3 and one USB 2. The XPS 13 is also lighter at 2.2 pounds, while Apple’s product is still 2.7 pounds.
It has a bigger and better display with a similar pixel density but a variable refresh rate of 120Hz.
Indeed, rather than just being a budget product, the XPS 13 is positioned as a premium product at a budget price.
Select Dell XPS 13 configurations with Intel Core processors will be available soon, starting at $599 for students and $699 for everyone else. Other configurations, including Core Ultra models, will arrive later this summer.
