The laptop is available today, with models starting at $999.
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Dell is launching a new version of its renowned XPS 13 with the latest Intel chips, but the tweaks it made to the design and internals are the real highlights.
First, let’s talk colors. Along with an edge-to-edge screen, the signature design element of past XPS 13 models was a two-tone silver lid with a black carbon-fiber interior (or Frost White with Arctic White). With this latest release, Dell is transitioning into a new era for XPS, one in which the laptop comes in two monochrome hues: Sky (light blue) and Umber (purplish maroon).
Instead of a soft-touch finish, CNC machined aluminum spans both the lid and the palm rest, giving the XPS 13 a more cohesive (if traditional) design. The full-size keyboard and touchpad are color-matched with the deck and lid, which I find more visually appealing than the black keys on the MacBook Air.
Dell’s engineers found a way to significantly reduce the size of the motherboard, allowing them to cram more components into a smaller chassis. Now the XPS 13 is only 0.55 inches thick and weighs 2.6 pounds, making it the thinnest and lightest 13-inch XPS yet.
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This brings us to the most immediate shortcoming of the XPS 13: its lack of ports. More specifically, the missing 3.5mm headphone jack. Dell will sell a USB-C adapter separately, but that feels like a small concession for wired headphone users like myself. If you buy this XPS 13, you’ll need to get used to the dongle life, considering it has only two Thunderbolt 4 ports.
The XPS 13 introduced the world to the edge-to-edge screen back in 2015, and those thin bezels are even narrower on this latest version. While most premium laptops have adopted the trend, the XPS 13 takes it a step further by reducing the bezels on all four sides, not just the left and right sides. This results in a 93.9% screen-to-body ratio.
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