Dell is last to market with its Ultrabook, but in many ways the XPS 13 has been worth the wait. Unfortunately, connectivity suffers from the smaller chassis and the screen’s poor viewing angles really let the side down, meaning the similarly compact Samsung Series 9 900X3B is a far better proposition if you can afford the extra £170 or so. If not, however, the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook is a great premium option.
Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook - Intro, Design and Build
Dell is very late to the Ultrabook game, with every major rival already having one or more models on the market. With a 13in screen crammed into the equivalent of a 12in chassis, classy metal and carbon fibre build, gorgeous design, good connectivity and specs, and a backlit keyboard, the XPS 13 Ultrabook appears to have it all.
Dell’s Ultrabook succeeds straight away when it comes to design. Opening the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook up, this shiny metal trim is beautifully contrasted with the black interior. The display sports a glossy black screen that runs all the way to the screen's edge, giving it the impression of having no bezel. Meanwhile the keyboard surround has a lovely matt, soft-touch finish. Similar to the finish used on HP’s premium Envy line, like the HP Envy Beats Edition 14, it’s very comfortable for your hands to rest on during typing and doesn’t really show up grease marks.
Dell has also coated the laptop’s base with the same soft-touch feel, making the XPS 13 pleasant to hold and easy to carry. Build quality throughout is truly superb, easily living up to its premium billing, and matching the class-leading Samsung Series 9 and MacBook Air.
What’s most impressive about the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook though is its small footprint. Of course, Dell is hardly the only manufacturer to manage this, and the similarly diminutive Samsung Series 9 900X3B is both thinner and lighter.
Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook – Connectivity, Usability and Screen
Connectivity on the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook is rather limited. There’s a headphone/microphone 3.5mm combi jack and a microDisplayPort for video.
There’s also no Ethernet jack, and unlike Asus with its Asus Zenbook UX31, Dell doesn’t provide adapters in the box. In Dell’s defence, however, it’s no worse than the MacBook Air 11in. One nice little feature is a MacBook-like battery indicator on the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook’s side, which uses five white LEDs to indicate how much charge you have left.
When it comes to usability, Dell’s first Ultrabook really shines – literally, as the keyboard is nicely backlit in white. It’s beautifully integrated, utterly responsive, and its clearly delineated buttons offer a positive click.
Getting to the screen, like with its XPS 14z Dell has gone for a single glass layer - and not just any glass, but toughened Gorilla glass. Unfortunately, as is the case with so many Ultrabooks, it’s the XPS 13’s screen quality that really lets it down.
Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook – Speakers, Performance and Verdict
Sonically, the Dell XPS 13 holds its own, especially for such a compact ultraportable. If we hadn’t heard what the Samsung Series 9 900X3B managed to produce from a thinner chassis, we would have been quite impressed.
Like many of its peers, the Dell XPS 13 uses ULV processors - but a dual-core Intel Core i5 2467M with support for up to four virtual cores which can Turbo clock up to 2.3GHz from its 1.6GHz default won’t have any trouble chomping through most people’s workload. The CPU is backed by the usual 4GB of RAM, and a choice of fast Samsung 128GB or 256GB SSDs. Last and least is graphics performance, which as with most Ultrabooks relies on Intel’s somewhat underpowered integrated HD 3000 graphics. For battery life, meanwhile, the Dell XPS 13’s performance is above average for the 13in Ultrabook crowd, as its 6-cell, 56Wh battery managed six hours and 42 minutes. This beats the 13in MacBook Air, Zenbook UX31, and Samsung Series 9 900X3B, but falls behind the Toshiba Satellite Z830 and Lenovo IdeaPad U300s. Dell is pricing its XPS 13 on a premium level, which is hardly surprising given its build and design. Poor screen and limited connectivity aside, the XPS 13 does compare favourably to most of the 13in Ultrabooks on the market. Many of its cheaper rivals don’t give you its flawless build quality, good typing experience or backlit keyboard, and only the Samsung Series 9 900X3B offers a similarly small footprint. Buy Dell XPS 13 from Amazon today!
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