For senior level management, business users and content creators, Dell presents its new XPS 13 notebook PC which packs some serious design bark to go with its under the hood bite. This performance comes courtesy of an Intel Core Ultra 7 (155H) which packs no less than 16 cores (24 MB Cache) and is clocked from 1.40 through to 4.80 GHz. This processor is paired with a whopping
32 GB worth of LPDDR5-SDRAM (7467 Mhz) and Intel Arc Graphics. Performance is suitably immense whilst navigating Windows 11 Home, multitasking or even enjoying some light gaming session to blow off some steam in Fortnite.
Moreover, this level of performance usually results in terrible battery life, but the XPS 13 can deliver some top notch performance in this regard too since you can get up to 18 hours when streaming and binging your favourite Netflix series in FHD+ display resolution or if opting to consume your content as the good Lord intended at QHD+ display resolution than you can expect around 13 hours worth of streaming via the Netflix Windows 11 app.
When consuming this media, you will be doing it via the XPS 13’s 13.4″ QHD+ touchscreen that really makes your content come alive with sharp detail and true-to-life colour, and rich, cinematic sound via the speakers that are clear even at the highest volumes. Where you are limited though is with the inputs, since you get just two Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) with DisplayPort 2.1 and Power Delivery.
In terms of content creation, the keyboard allows for a really comfortable typing experience whilst Dell’s near invisible haptic touchpad (seamlessly integrated in the laptop design below the keyboard) provides for precise responsive feedback and gestures. Like the MacBook Pro’s of old, you get a touch-based function row key, enabling you to toggle between media and function keys easily and bring forward only the icons you want.
Other features includes the now standard dollop of AI functionality accessible via the dedicated Windows Copilot key, allowing for the usual Copilot shenanigans like looking up research for your assignments/work projects/thesis. More handy though in terms of AI is the fact that you can look and sound your best on video calls via Microsoft Teams/Google Hangouts/Zoom thanks to a high-resolution 1080p FHD 2MP webcam as well as intelligent webcam and audio reduce background noise that enable this laptop to show crisp detail even in low light. AI-powered features keep you in focus, conceals or softens your background and adjusts your gaze to help you maintain eye contact – all of this works well.
All of these features come wrapped up in a thin (295.30 x 199.10 x 14.8 mm), light (1.19 kg), and quite stylish metallic frame that exudes class. Additionally, the machined (CNC) aluminum and Gorilla Glass 3 protecting the display deliver a strong, lightweight laptop that draws envious stares in the Graphite colour with tone-on-tone finishes for an elegant, minimalistic design. All of this style and performance comes at a price though thanks to a RRP of R39 999 through local retailer such as Incredible Connection (currently on special on Dell’s website for R 36,199.00). For that money, you can consider alternatives such as HP’s Spectre x360 for R43 000 or ASUS’s Zenbook S16 OLED powered by AMD’s AI 9 HX 370 chipset for R41k.
