Dell XPS 13
Prior to the official release of the new XPS 13, Dell made a rather cheeky ad where it compared the size of the XPS 13 to an apple. Witty as it may be, if you’re going to market your product at the expense of another company, you best be able to deliver. Of course, it does as the XPS 13 packs a powerful punch for such a small frame.
Notebook Dwarfism
The first thing anybody would tell you about the XPS 13 is how small it is – and that’s exactly what I’m going to tell you right off the bat: the Dell XPS 13 is tinier than Tiny Tim! The notebook itself is built around an 11in chassis that allows it to occupy minimal real estate on your desk. It is also incredibly thin and light, making this highly portable. Simply put, this machine is smaller than the 13in version of the Macbook Air as well as being just a slight bit thinner than its predecessor.
Edge to Edge
As this notebook is called the XPS 13, many would be wondering how an 11in chassis would be able to fit a 13in screen. The answer is having used the whole real estate of the top lid. The screen on the XPS 13 is designed to be right at the edge, meaning that there is little to no empty space available for the display bezel. Almost every single available square inch of it is the screen. Besides fully utilising the given space, the screen on the XPS 13 (for this review at least) has a resolution of 3200 x 1800. Oh and it is a touchscreen too.
Broadwell Has Arrived
Housed inside the tiny little frame of the XPS 13 is the highly anticipated Intel CPU with a spanking new architecture. Yes, the Broadwell Core i5 (or i7, depending on configuration) is sitting inside and powering this Ultrabook. Other noteworthy mentions inside the XPS 13 are the 8GB DDR3 RAM as well as the 256GB SSD storage system. The graphics department is handled by Intel’s own HD Graphics 5500.
On The Move
Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way, it’s time to talk about usability. The XPS 13 performs like a dream as it handles productivity tasks without breaking a sweat. In fact, multitasking with it is a non-factor as well since it handles that too with great gusto. Video playback? Barely even fazes it. Gaming? Ah, no gaming on this one unless it’s a low requirement indie game or an oldie. If you want a productivity machine, the XPS 13 is going to make you really happy.
Variable Lifespan
If you had been following the XPS 13 closely prior to its launch, you would have heard Dell announce that the XPS 13 has a 15 hour battery life. This is where things start to get a bit of explaining to do. Let’s start off with the test, the 3200 x 1800 resolution touchscreen version of the XPS 13 did not come near to the claimed length of battery use. The most I’ve managed to squeeze out of it was a respectable seven to eight hours – that’s with dimming down the screen and putting it on energy saving mode. I’ve heard that the 1920 x 1080 resolution- no touch screen version of the XPS 13- being able to survive for up to 15 hours but as I did not get that version for review, I can neither confirm nor deny at this moment.
Why Are You There?
One minor curiosity about the XPS 13 is where the webcam is placed at. Remember how the screen occupies almost the entirely of the top half? Well, that need for space affected the placement of the webcam, which is now located all the way at the lower left of the top half. This isn’t a big issue for those who rarely use it. For those who do though, you might want to get used to it.
Buy First, Think Later
Me being petty aside, the new XPS 13 is an incredible Ultrabook. It performs extremely well and is so light that you can bring it with you anywhere. If you’re on the fence about this machine, don’t be as you won’t regret purchasing this wonderfully stellar Ultrabook; unless you do so after GST hits – in which case that is all on you.
Specs:
Weight : 1.18 kg
Dimensions : 15 x 304 x 200 mm
Processor : 5th Generation Intel Core i7-5500U Processor
Memory : 8GB Dual Channel DDR3L-RS 1600Mhz
Graphics : Intel HD Graphics 5500
Display : 13.3-inch UltraSharp QHD+ (3200 x 1800) infinity touch display
Audio : Stereo speakers professionally tuned with Waves MaxxAudio® Pro 1W x 2
Storage : 256GB Solid State Drive
Connectivity : DW 1560 + BT4.0 [802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0, Dual Band 2.4&5 GHz, 2×2]
Ports : 2x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI v1.4b, 1x Mic-in/Headphone-out
PCMark 8 Home : 2171
PCMark 8 Creative : 2450
PCMark 8 Office : 2468
Value: 8/10
Features: 9/10
Performance: 9/10
Design: 10/10
Usability: 10/10
Verdict: The finest XPS available for purchase right now.
