Dell XPS 13 (9360) - Review 2022

Online gossip has information technology that Dell will launch a new XPS 13 in early 2022, with a white example instead of the current choice of argent or rose golden and with three USB-C ports replacing the existing ports. **THIS NEEDS A LINK OR SOMETHING. We're eager to see information technology, but this latest XPS 13 (starts at $799, $one,299 as tested) is more enough to keep us satiated, with its upgrade in the form of Intel's eighth-generation "Kaby Lake R" processor, blowing away laptops based on seventh-generation silicon and reclaiming the ultraportable Editors' Option that the previous model lost to the Razer Blade Stealth. Nosotros won't be able to make a final call until we see a Stealth with the new CPU, but you won't likely go wrong with either ane.

The base model of the XPS xiii comes with a seventh-gen Cadre i3 and a skimpy 4GB of RAM and 128GB solid-land drive. The version reviewed here packs 8GB of retention and a 256GB PCIe SSD, merely its main attraction is the Cadre i7-8550U, the kickoff quad-core (rather than dual-cadre chip) in Intel'southward xv-watt family. The processor has a lower base of operations speed (ane.8GHz), simply higher turbo speed (4GHz) and numerous internal enhancements from the previous generation.

The engine swap sounds similar something out of Hot Rod mag ("We put a Hemi V-8 into a Mazda Miata!"), merely gives the XPS 13 a new lease on life. It'due south all the same non congenital for playing demanding games, but crunches through productivity tasks in noticeably less time.

Equally earlier, you tin can get the Dell with either a ane,920-past-1,080 non-touch display like our test unit's or a 3,200-by-ane,800 resolution touch screen. A Core i7-8550U configuration with 16GB of retentiveness and the superfine screen is $1,749. Both models regularly see discounts and coupons on Dell.com.

Slim and Trim

Even if you've never seen i, y'all're probably aware of the XPS 13'due south claim to design fame: he InfinityEdge display that pioneered today'due south trend toward ultra-thin screen bezels, letting Dell squeeze a xiii.3-inch laptop into a frame (0.half dozen past 12 past 7.nine inches) smaller than 12.5-inch models like the Lenovo ThinkPad X270 (0.8 by 12 by 8.2 inches) and barely bigger than the tardily eleven.6-inch MacBook Air (0.7 by xi.viii by 7.vi inches).

The Dell's claim to blueprint infamy is that the top bezel has no room for a webcam, leaving the latter awkwardly placed below the bottom left corner of the display for a looming, unflattering image of your nose and chin. While the two.vii-pound arrangement is no burden in a briefcase, we can't say the same for the couple of books you'll want to deport to stack below it for Skype conferences.

The laptop is crafted from machined aluminum with a soft-touch carbon fiber composite keyboard deck and palm residuum. On its right side are a USB 3.0 port capable of charging handheld devices, an SD card slot, and a Noble (not Kensington) lock slot.

At that place's some other USB 3.0 port on the left edge, along with a Thunderbolt 3 port with USB-C and DisplayPort functionality, an audio jack, a bombardment-gauge button and row of LEDs, and the Ac adapter connector. Technical purists will annotation that the Thunderbolt 3 port has two, not iv, PCI Limited lanes; the only peripherals we know that may not piece of work with it as a upshot are desktop gaming graphics menu boxes.

Winning Features

The XPS 13's speakers are behind tiny grilles on the sides instead of the usual slits in the bottom. They produce in a higher place-average sound, short on booming bass but loud enough to fill a room with articulate tones free of distortion.

The unit's palm residue is more comfy than its keyboard—the latter is on the shallow side (Dell says it has 1.3mm of travel) and a little stiffer than we similar (the infinite bar in particular requires a firmer bear on than the mere castor of a pollex we're used to giving). But the total-sized, backlit keyboard has a snappy typing experience that rewards exercise with brisk speed. The cursor arrow keys are in the proper inverted-T arrangement. They team with the Fn key for Home, Finish, Page Upward, and Page Down. The big, buttonless touchpad offers ultra-shine gliding and borer.

The Dell'southward 13.3-inch, full Hard disk drive display is uncommonly bright and sharp, with a matte finish that encourages viewing from broad angles. Colors are nicely saturated and contrast is high, with bright whites and deep blacks. Details stand out then clearly that we dialed Windows' default zoom from 150 down to 125 per centum with no ill effects. Indeed, we'd vote to stick with the splendid 1080p screen because the 3,200-past-1,800 panel would exist too squinty at this size, except maybe for hardcore prototype editors.

Quad-Core FTW

To show what a difference Intel'southward eighth-generation CPU makes, nosotros put both the new and old XPS 13 into our benchmark tables, along with the just other "Kaby Lake R" car we've seen so far, the Lenovo Yoga 920 convertible, and seventh-generation Cadre i7 portables led by the Razer Blade Stealth. The new Dell started out strongly by posting the highest score in our PCMark 8 Piece of work office productivity test, topping the Stealth (3,580 to 2,799 points, respectively).

And the new chip'south two extra cores positively crushed the competition in our thread-intensive Cinebench measurement and Handbrake video-editing workload. The "Kaby Lake R" XPS 13 finished the latter in 1 minute and 12 seconds, almost a full minute ahead of the Razer and older Dell. Similarly, the Yoga and new XPS xiii ran abroad from the dual-core entrants in our Adobe Photoshop image-editing scenario, once again lopping a infinitesimal off the fourth dimension required for the do.

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On the other hand, while it topped the charts in our 3DMark graphics criterion, the XPS 13 still relies on integrated rather than discrete graphics, then neither information technology nor whatever other of these ultraportables will excel at annihilation more than casual games—they were nowhere nearly the thirty frames per 2nd required for smooth gameplay at native resolution and high image quality in our Heaven and Valley gaming simulations.

Finally, the new Dell finished a potent second in our bombardment life rundown, lasting for well-nigh 16 hours of unplugged video playback (or almost twice the time of the 7th-gen Stealth). The Yoga 920 was even more impressive, cruising for 22.5 hours.

The New Ultraportable to Beat

With its spectacular boost in both muscle and battery life, Intel'due south new mobile processor instantly draws a line between haves and have-nots in the laptop marketplace—at that place are even so plenty of fine portables with 7000- rather than 8000-series Cadre CPUs, only no surprises when an otherwise comparable automobile with the quondam goes head to head with the latter. That's why we're taking back the ultraportable Editors' Pick that the 13.three-inch Razer Blade Stealth won in its last become-round with the XPS 13, at least until a "Kaby Lake R" Razer reaches PC Labs. The new CPU revitalizes Dell'south perennial contender, making a great laptop even greater.