Windows Central Insider
I just tried Dell's new XPS 13 at Computex, and I am shocked at how amazing this device is for just $699 ($599 for students.) It's basically a flagship Windows laptop, complete with high-quality materials and build quality, an incredible 120Hz display, a great keyboard and trackpad, and good performance under the hood.
I don't think there's another laptop on the market right now that is as good a deal as this new Dell XPS 13 is at $699. It's so much better than the MacBook Neo that it's not even really a contest. In fact, Dell is so confident in the new XPS 13 that it even had MacBook Neo samples at its showcase so that the media could compare them side by side.
That comparison was stark. The XPS 13 is a better device in pretty much every category. It has thinner display bezels, it's lighter, it has a 120Hz refresh rate with a high-density display, it has an amazing keyboard and excellent trackpad, and it has ports that are actually capable of fast data speeds.
It even has Windows Hello face unlock, something that doesn't exist on any Mac. You can only get fingerprint unlock on the higher-end $699 MacBook Neo, which is the exact device the XPS 13 is competing with. Except, it's not competing, it's destroying it.
I can't put into words just how serious I am about this. My jaw dropped when I placed the XPS 13 side by side with the MacBook Neo. It's like they are from entirely different worlds. The XPS 13 looks and feels like a flagship laptop, and that's probably because it is. Historically, XPS 13 has been an expensive laptop, costing well above $1,000 normally.
The new XPS 13 doesn't cut any obvious corners to reach its new $699 price point. It still feels every bit as premium and nice to use as the $1,000 XPS 13 before it. This would be like if Apple made the MacBook Air a $699 laptop, instead of building a cheaper MacBook Neo.
And that's why the XPS 13 is the new best deal in laptops, because not only is it a better deal than the MacBook Neo, but I also think it's a better deal than the MacBook Air. Sure, the MacBook Air is more powerful, but in day-to-day tasks, they are evenly matched, and I think the performance-to-price ratio is perfectly acceptable here.
The display is one of the main reasons why I believe this laptop really is a MacBook competitor. Apple figured out years ago that high-density displays are key to making a device feel premium, and Dell understands this, too. The XPS 13 features a 2.5K 120Hz panel that simply looks phenomenal. Text is crisp and clear, and the 120Hz refresh rate is an added bonus that you definitely don't have on the MacBook Neo or Air.
XPS 13 also has thinner display bezels, meaning you get a larger 13.4-inch display into a chassis size that's overall smaller than the MacBook Neo, which has just a 13-inch display. When compared side by side, the MacBook Neo looks 5 years old.
The device is lighter than the MacBook Neo, making it the preferred device for carrying around in a backpack. It's also thinner, at least, it feels thinner, thanks to the way Dell has designed the XPS. In reality, they are about the same in total thickness, but because the XPS 13's keyboard deck is thinner than the MacBook Neo's when open, the XPS 13 feels razor-thin, making the MacBook Neo look bulky in comparison.
The device features just two USB-C ports, but both ports are much more capable than those on the MacBook Neo. These are Thunderbolt ports, complete with power delivery for fast charging and super-fast data transfer speeds.
I also love the keyboard, which ditches Dell's Lattice key design in favor of a more traditional one that makes typing feel so easy and smooth. The trackpad is also nice and large, though it's not haptic like on higher-end devices. It uses a dive-board mechanism, which is perfectly fine and satisfying to click.
We haven't yet been able to benchmark the new XPS 13, but I'm expecting good things from the Intel Wildcat Lake chip that's powering things under the hood. For day-to-day tasks, web browsing, email, and productivity tasks, this should be a more than capable machine.
The $699 model matches the MacBook Neo in RAM and storage configurations, too. It has 8GB RAM and 512GB storage, though Dell does say that a model with 256GB storage is coming soon, which I assume will be cheaper than $699 or $599 for students.
We'll have to wait and see how Windows performs with 8GB RAM on this device, but I'm not worried. While lots of people think that macOS runs better than Windows with 8GB RAM, this reality isn't true for the kind of workflows that buyers will need this device for. Windows is very intelligent when it comes to memory management, swapping apps and tasks between RAM and storage when necessary, just like the Neo does.
Overall, I'm beyond impressed with what Dell has achieved here with the new XPS 13 at $699, and I can't wait to get my hands on one to review and live with. I truly believe that the MacBook Neo's reign as the best deal in computing is well and truly over, all thanks to Dell.
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