Battery Life and Pricing
One of the things that first impressed us about the XPS 13 back in 2015 was its impressive battery life results. At the time, the just under 8 hours of battery life was very impressive for a notebook in the Ultrabook size class.
The 2018 iteration of the XPS 13 with its 52Wh battery manages to stay in the same 8-hour battery life range, equipped with the 4K display. While we got slightly longer out of our battery test on the previous generation XPS 13, these are still the longest lasting notebooks we've been able to review thus far.
Pricing
The configuration of Dell XPS 13 9370 that we were sent for review comes in at a staggering $1,899. However, that is one of the highest end configurations possible.
If I were to personally purchase this notebook, I think that I would aim for the 1080p screen (which should come with an additional battery life gain), i5-8250U, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. At this configuration, you could pick up the XPS 13 for a way more reasonable $1,200. While 16 GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD are certainly nice to have, I think most users will fall comfortably within the 8 GB/256 GB configuration.
Compared to similar flagship thin-and-light notebooks such as the HP Spectre x360, this pricing is right in line with the competition.
Before my time with the Dell XPS 9370, I wasn't expecting a whole lot of change from the previous version. From the outset, it just looked like a slightly new chassis design and shaving some thickness off by moving to all Type-C connectors.
Instead, what I found were thoughtful design changes to the XPS 13, which enhanced user experience all while making the device thinner AND perform double-digit percentages better than the previous generation, a rare trifecta.
While the move to exclusively Type-C connectors very justifiably might be a dealbreaker for some, I think if you can learn to get past that and embrace the dongle life, the XPS 13 9370 is the best option in the thin-and-light notebook category.
Paired with a Thunderbolt 3 dock like the CalDigit TS3+ we just reviewed, the performance presented by the i8-8500U in the XPS 13 could present a compelling desktop replacement for all but the most demanding users.
While it's not the cheapest notebook in this category, the Dell XPS 13 9370 is the best example of a thin-and-light notebook we've seen to date. The advancements over the previous Dell XPS 9360 are well worth the additional price tag.
OMG! The webcam makes you
OMG! The webcam makes you look half ginger, half octopus. 😉
remember the good ole days, 5
remember the good ole days, 5 years ago when you could get an i7 & 16GB of DDR3 for $330 total. Fast forward 5 years into the future where you could buy a whole laptop with 8GB i5 for $1200 that is slower.
progress
What about the number of PCIe
What about the number of PCIe lanes running to that TB3 comtroller chip/s! Is that 2 or 4 PCie lanes and what is the Make and Model of that laptop’s TB3(dual or single?) controller chip? It’s still an ultrabook and oh so overpriced but you know is just like Apple’s overpriced Tat with Intel Inside and gimped of all performance and oh so very thin as to be useless.
Hey hey hey Kids! It’s Krusty the clown announcing our new Krusty U brand Fish-En-Chips. Now with that great fission by-products glow so you can eat them with the lights out.
“Additionally, Dell has
“Additionally, Dell has finally moved to a x4 interface for the Thunderbolt 3 ports on the new XPS 13, something which the community of external GPU users will be thrilled to hear.”
Paragraph 9, first page. You’re welcome.
And the TB3 controller Chip,
And the TB3 controller Chip, its make and model? and Thank you by the way. Missed that part and hey let’s get more info on that Laptop’s MB. By the way that “x4 interface” what is that “x4” stand for it looks like it needs some qualification as to just what there is x4 of. How about putting a PCIe 3.0 out in front there to make certain, otherwise it could be PCIe 2.0, or slower and x4 does not have any meaning without some from of qualifying terms added like PCIe 3.0, PCIe 2.0/other. But I’m always looking for the PCIe 3.0, 2.0 information when I see x4(I still overlooked that anyways).
As far as the MB is concerned in let’s get a sample of that MB from the laptop’s maker that provided the laptop sample and look at all the controller chips/root hubs and see where they go and see if any PCIe bandwidth is being shared on the laptop’s total PCIe lanes or Chipset lanes.
I want to if Know the laptop is using external(Not Provided by the chipset) controller chips and those Chips ID-Numbers. I’d like to see a sort of Buildzoid(What he does for GPU cards) sort of breakdown done on this laptop’s MB.
“you’ll find 2 Thunderbolt-3 enabled ports” Yes there are 2 ports but are they sharing the Same TB3 controller’s single TB3 controller for those single TB3 controller SKUs that Intel makes or is it that Dual TB3 Controller chip SKUs that Intel also makes, or does the TB3 come from the Intel chipset.
Then The Intel graphics drivers, are They Intel generic or are they the laptop OEM’s customizied version of the Intel graphics drivers that only the laptop’s OEM can update.
Lot’s of Problems with HP Raven Ridge laptops and OEM cusstomizied Graphics drivers, the usual Laptop OEM graphics drivers nonsense there.
What about Bloatware and the laptop’s OEM provided system software for things like hotkey functionality, backup, etc.
Really and realistically I could probably do with a link to the laptop’s repair manual for more detailed information so I’d be happy with a links to this SKUs repair manual. But I’m not wanting to ever purchase a laptop with OEM customizied Graphics Drivers and be put between a rock and the OEM for any graphics drivers updates. If the laptop’s maker can not build the device to support Intel’s/AMD’s/Nvidia’s generic graphics drivers then the OEM/retailer can keep that Laptop on the shelves until the cows come home.
Laptop’s are pretty much a crapshoot and I’m all for laptop makers legally required to provide a device schematic with all the little PCIe traces(labled PCIe 3.0, 2.0/other) shown and all the Motherboard’s chips IDs required by law. And you know that every Laptop OEM has these schematics(FCC/other Federal agencies get them also). And that’s what the laptop’s potential customer needs to be offered along with a software manafest(Listing what software is essential and what software is extraneous) and Don’t forget Those Graphics drivers are they the Laptop OEM’s customizied versions or The Generic Graphics drivers(That Intel, AMD, and Nvidia can update instead of the laptop’s OEM).
You mean it costs more money
You mean it costs more money to build a whole system in a uniquely compact form-factor than it does to get a desktop CPU and some RAM? WHOAH WHAT WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN
Had the previous generation.
Had the previous generation. Lovely laptops, good performance and ultra portable
I like the “Review Terms and
I like the “Review Terms and Disclosure” Please keep using them. It is nice to see as it provides correct review perspective. What I hate most about ~some~ (not necessarily any or yours) is insane bias that makes no sense, other than paid marketing.