Dell today announced a big update to its popular XPS 13 laptop. The new model features several design improvements, a bump to 8th Generation Intel processors, and longer battery life.
The XPS 13, which Dell is calling “the world’s smallest 13-inch laptop,” sheds some size compared to its predecessor. The new model weighs in at 2.67 pounds with a tapered thickness ranging from 7.8 to 11.6mm, a 24 percent reduction in overall volume compared to last year’s model. Its 13-inch display is available in 1080p and 4K options and features automatic calibration for improved video playback, something Dell is calling “CinemaColor.”
In addition to its slightly slimmer profile, the new XPS 13 moves the webcam to from the bottom-left of the display to the bottom-center. While still not the ideal angle for webcam chats, this move at least eliminates the awkward off-angle view provided by the previous webcam placement. The webcam is also compatible with Windows Hello, allowing for more convenient log-ins.
The new XPS 13 also sees some aesthetic changes. The familiar silver and black model is still available, but Dell has also introduced a new color combination featuring a “rose gold” exterior with “alpine white” interior and a woven glass fiber palm rest that is supposedly resistant to palm-related stains. Dell says that the new palm rest material “looks and feels like silk” while denoting a “sense of elegance.” Fancy.
Inside, buyers will have the choice of either the Intel Core i5-8250U or the Core i7-8550U. Both are 4-core/8-thread parts with max turbo frequencies of 3.4GHz and 4.0GHz, respectively. The XPS 13 can be configured with up to 16GB of DDR4 2133MHz memory while graphics are provided by the Intel UHD 620. Storage options include PCIe and SATA SSDs up to 1TB.
In terms of connectivity, the XPS 13 is packing two Thunderbolt 3 ports for charging, data, and video output, one USB-C 3.1 port, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone port.
Dell is also highlighting the XPS 13’s battery life, claiming that it beats all other 13-inch competitors. Dell claims that the i7 model with 4K display can reach 11 hours and 12 minutes on a single charge, while the i5 1080p version lasts an impressive 19 hours 46 minutes.
For Linux fans, Dell is once again offering a “Developer Edition” of the XPS 13, which comes pre-loaded with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and all compatible drivers.
The new Dell XPS 13 starts at $999.99 and is available to order today — January 4th — direct from Dell’s US and EU websites. The Developer Edition is also available today starting at $949.99.
They also claimed 22 hours of
They also claimed 22 hours of battery life on the previous model so I’m guessing it’ll be around 11 hours again for real life usage.
I’d like one of these but
I’d like one of these but with a Ryzen 2700U. I’d accept the somewhat lower CPU performance for having a real GPU.
With the latest slowdown on
With the latest slowdown on Intel side I would not be surprised if AMD Ryzen 2700U CPU is actually faster.
I find it weird that there
I find it weird that there are developer editions of a multimedia laptop like the XPS, but none for the Latitude lineup.
Surely developers want good keyboards and the XPS’ looks like Macbook tier garbage. Oh and ‘all compatible drivers’ aparently doesn’t include the fingerprint reader. They can keep Cortana and whatever ‘Waves Maxx Audio’ is, but a fingerprint reader I would really like.
I own an XPS and it is
I own an XPS and it is certainly not garbage but rather a very good business laptop. The keyboard is decent for a laptop but no more than that.
I agree a fingerprint reader would be nice: just because the camera now works with Windows Hello does not help if you are running Linux.
As for “Waves Maxx Audio” I wonder if Dell have fixed the speaker crackle issue which Maxx audio had an effect on in previous models.
As for battery life I would wait for real world testing, I never trust any laptop manufacturer claim on this. My own experience on a 4K XPS is that 5-6 hours is the most I get. That is almost a full days work – just enough “almost” to be really irritating
Could someone post the link
Could someone post the link to this notebook on Dell’s site, I tried looking for it, but dell.com is terrible.
http://www.dell.com/en-us/sho
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-xps-13/spd/xps-13-9370-laptop
No R7-2700u, no sale. Sorry
No R7-2700u, no sale. Sorry Dell, you are living in the past thinking Intel is a value brand name.
2.67 lbs? Smallest 13”
2.67 lbs? Smallest 13” laptop? Hardly. You can get 15” laptops that are .5 lbs lighter.
For 2.67 lbs, I expect a dedicated GPU or 45w CPU.
They should really have more
They should really have more configuration options for these. Why can’t I have a model with a 256gb SSD, 16gb RAM, and a 1080p screen? To get 16gb of RAM you have to pay for the 512gb SSD and the 4k screen I don’t want….