Dell XPS 13 Review: This Time It’s Practically Perfect

The Dell XPS 13 has been so perilously close to hone for so long that the tardy iteration left me a little surprised . I was plow it this way and that to find something I could blame it for , not because I want to unfairly dong the product , it ’s just that nothing is perfect . But Dell has so refined this version of its best 13 - in laptop that the number with it are all minute and deeply personal . This is a near perfect laptop .

Dell XPS 13 ( 2019 )

What is it ?

Photo: Alex Cranz (Gizmodo)

The 2019 refresh of Dell ’s good laptop .

Price

Starts at $ 900 ; Reviewed at $ 1,660

Photo: Alex Cranz

Photo: Alex Cranz (Gizmodo)

Just about everything .

No Like

Some people might find the two - shade figure unattractive .

We blab out a lot aboutthe 13 - inch MacBook Probecause , for many multitude , this is what comes to mind when you say “ good laptop . ” It does n’t count if you ’re a macOS or a Windows 10 lover , everyone can agree that the Apple lineup is wonderfully engineered and cracking for the majority of masses . late , Huawei’sMateBooklaptops are the rare Windows 10 laptop computer that derive closely to that kind of world-wide appeal ( and largely because their design is so distinctly inspired by Apple ) . The XPS 13 used to ape Apple , too , but it has since moved on to its own design language that ’s just as pretty .

As with previous interlingual rendition of the XPS 13 , which are still useable for sale onDell ’s difficult to voyage web site , the 2019 versioncan be had for as little as $ 900 . That acquire you a 1080p non - touch showing , an Intel i3 - 8145U CPU , 4 GB of RAM , and a 128 GB SSD — though a computer with 4 GB of RAM and an i3 CPU is a forged flock . Going up to $ 1,210 gets you the same 1080p non - touch display , but an i5 - 8265U , 8 GB of RAM , and a 256 GB SSD , which is a far better config . We reviewed the $ 1,660 version with an i7 - 8565U CPU , 16 GB of RAM , and a 256 GB SSD . Besides being the most powerful loop , it ’s also the only one with a 4 atomic number 19 touch display .

All the iteration of the unexampled XPS 13 look the same , and most the great unwashed will find the hardware attractive , even though Dell has abandoned the aluminium unibody look popularized by Apple . While I quite like it , reactions from colleagues were sometimes less enthusiastic . Some feel it await cheap . In part , I think people do n’t like how the gimmick uses multiple material , yield it a cobbled together look . With the gimmick close , all you see is aluminum , with a finish that picks up scrape easily . Flip it open , and the insides are glass and carbon character . From afar , the white carbon fiber of the equipment I test can look bland , but the experience of using that material is exceptional . The carbon paper fiber ribbon rest distributes heat differently than a metal palm rest does . It ’s sunnily warm when I unfold it up after commuting through a New York winter violent storm , while staying cool when the computer ’s guts are cranking and the fans have kicked in .

Everything about the part of the computer you spend most of your clock time looking at is elegant . The display and bezel appear as one seamless piece beneath the glass . The XPS 13 still has some of the slimmest bezel you could find on any laptop , a craze it helped originate years ago . Constantly reduce bezel led to an unfortunate flaw in recent year . With no bezel leave to contain a webcam , Dell engineers opted to stick one below the display , apply people on the other conclusion of your Skype call an uncomplimentary feeling up your nose .

A low webcam is kind of tolerable in Huawei ’s MateBook X , which at least hides the webcam behind a clever mechanism in the keyboard . Sure the shots are unflattering , but the webcam disappear when not in utilisation . Onprevious versions of the XPS 13 , it ’s just been this ugly slight mole on the bottom bezel . Now , it ’s in good order back up top where it belongs . Dell action the exploit by using amuch smaller than average webcam(it ’s still 1080p resolution ) . It puzzle out astonishingly well for being such a physically smaller camera setup . It ’s good enough for a Skype or teleconference call — though it would n’t be my first alternative for a Twitch stream .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

Heck the Dell XPS 13 would n’t be my first choice for video game streaming stop . While it ’s enough fast , with the i7 I review pulling off sexual conquest right in line with the likewise configured MateBook 13 , the Dell XPS 13 lacks the discrete computer graphic card choice the MateBook lineup and the faster ( but similarly priced)Razer Blade Stealthoffer . or else , it has the Intel 620 mix GPU . That means it will be fine for most work , but will never contend , performance - wise , with theMateBook 13orRazer Blade Stealthwhen it comes to games .

The Dell XPS 13 does deal some comely assault and battery life though . The machine I reviewed has a bombardment - sucking 4 K exhibit , and still managed 9 hours and 26 min in our test . The 2,160 by 1,440 MateBook 13 last just 8 hours and 9 minutes on a charge . The Razer Blade Stealth survive 10 hours and 11 minutes , though , the one we tested , with the same i7 central processing unit as the XPS 13 , also has a less demanding 1080p display . I ’d expect 1080p versions of the Dell XPS 13 to perform similarly , if not better than , the Razer Blade Stealth .

I set up myself thinking about the Stealth a lot as I reviewed the XPS 13 . They ’re likewise configure devices that are price about the same , and both have a nice penetrating design that ’s refreshfully different than what Apple has been throwing at us for a decade . But the Razer Blade Stealth is a little bigger and heavier . It ’s .58 inches thick , while the Dell XPS 13 is .3 inches at its thinnest point and .46 column inch at its thick-skulled . The XPS 13 starts at 2.7 lbf. while the Razer Blade Stealth begin at 2.82 . With loud lover , a USB - snow port , a Thunderbolt 3 port wine , and two USB - A 3.1 ports , the Razer Blade Stealth does n’t feel quite as pliant as the Dell XPS 13 with its three Thunderbolt 3 ports and that single MicroSD identity card expansion slot .

William Duplessie

But though they are standardised , they ’re intend for very different intention . The Razer Blade Stealth , which comes in smuggled or pink , is intended more for gamers , while the Dell XPS 13 , which come in Alpine White , Rose Gold , or Platinum Silver , is mean to be for anyone , and for most people it ’s the good , small , and cheaper laptop . If you ’re out to buy a very serious laptop and you do n’t require a Mac , then the novel Dell XPS 13 should be one of the first machine you await at . It ’s take a while , but Dell all-fired well-nigh perfected the 13 - in laptop .