Dell XPS 13 (2019): Nearing Perfection

The Dell XPS 13 has been consistently excellent for so long that the latest iteration surprised me. I meticulously examined it, seeking any flaws, not out of a desire to unfairly criticize the product but simply because nothing is perfect. However, Dell has refined this version of its best 13-inch laptop to such an extent that any issues are minor and subjective. This is a laptop that comes close to perfection.

What is it?

The 2019 refresh of Dell's best laptop.

Price

Starts at $900; Reviewed at $1,660

What We Like

What We Don't Like

We often discuss the 13-inch MacBook Pro because, for many, it's the epitome of a "good laptop." Regardless of whether you prefer macOS or Windows 10, everyone can agree that Apple's lineup is superbly engineered and suitable for most users. Recently, Huawei's MateBook laptops have emerged as rare Windows 10 laptops that approach that kind of universal appeal (largely due to their design being heavily inspired by Apple). The XPS 13 used to imitate Apple as well, but it has since evolved its own distinct design language that's equally attractive.

As with previous versions of the XPS 13, which are still available for purchase on Dell's challenging website, the 2019 version starts at $900. This gets you a 1080p non-touch display, an Intel i3-8145U CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD—although a computer with 4GB of RAM and an i3 CPU is not a good deal. Upgrading to $1,210 gets you the same 1080p non-touch display but with an i5-8265U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, which is a much better configuration. We reviewed the $1,660 version with an i7-8565U CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Besides being the most powerful iteration, it's also the only one with a 4K touch display.

All iterations of the new XPS 13 look the same, and most people will find the hardware attractive, even though Dell has abandoned the aluminum unibody look popularized by Apple. While I personally like it, reactions from colleagues were sometimes less enthusiastic. Some felt it looked cheap. In part, I think people don't appreciate the use of multiple materials, giving it a cobbled-together appearance. With the device closed, all you see is aluminum, with a finish that easily picks up marks. Flip it open, and the insides are glass and carbon fiber. From a distance, the white carbon fiber of the device I tested can appear bland, but the experience of using that material is exceptional. The carbon fiber palm rest distributes heat differently than a metal palm rest. It's pleasantly warm when I open it up after commuting through a New York winter storm, while staying cool when the computer's internals are working hard and the fans have kicked in.

Everything about the part of the computer you spend most of your time looking at is elegant. The display and bezels appear as one seamless piece beneath the glass. The XPS 13 still has some of the slimmest bezels you can find on any laptop, a trend it helped start years ago. The relentless shrinking of bezels led to an unfortunate flaw in recent years. With no bezel left to house a webcam, Dell engineers opted to place one below the display, giving people on the other end of your Skype call an unflattering view up your nose.

A low webcam is somewhat 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 disappears when not in use. On previous versions of the XPS 13, it's just been this ugly little mole on the bottom bezel. Now, it's right back up top where it belongs. Dell accomplished this feat by using a much smaller than average webcam (it's still 1080p resolution). It works surprisingly well for being such a physically smaller camera apparatus. It's good enough for a Skype or teleconference call—though it wouldn't be my first choice for a Twitch stream.

The Dell XPS 13 wouldn't be my first choice for video game streaming either. While it's plenty fast, with the i7 I reviewed pulling off scores in line with the similarly configured MateBook 13, the Dell XPS 13 lacks the discrete graphics card option that the MateBook lineup and the faster (but similarly priced) Razer Blade Stealth offer. Instead, it has the Intel 620 integrated GPU. That means it will be fine for most work, but it will never compete, performance-wise, with the MateBook 13 or Razer Blade Stealth when it comes to games.

The Dell XPS 13 does manage some decent battery life though. The device I reviewed has a battery-draining 4K display, and it still managed 9 hours and 26 minutes in our test. The 2,160 by 1,440 MateBook 13 lasted just 8 hours and 9 minutes on a charge. The Razer Blade Stealth lasted 10 hours and 11 minutes, though, the one we tested, with the same i7 processor 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.

It's also a lot thinner than the Razer Blade Stealth.

I found myself thinking about the Stealth a lot as I reviewed the XPS 13. They're similarly configured devices that are priced about the same, and both have a nice sharp design that's refreshingly different than what Apple has been offering 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 inches at its thickest. The XPS 13 starts at 2.7 pounds while the Razer Blade Stealth starts at 2.82. With loud fans, a USB-C port, a Thunderbolt 3 port, and two USB-A 3.1 ports, the Razer Blade Stealth doesn't feel quite as versatile as the Dell XPS 13 with its three Thunderbolt 3 ports and that single MicroSD card slot.

But though they are similar, they're intended for different purposes. The Razer Blade Stealth, which comes in black or pink, is intended more for gamers, while the Dell XPS 13, which comes in Alpine White, Rose Gold, or Platinum Silver, is intended to be for anyone, and for most people it's the better, smaller, and cheaper laptop. If you're looking to buy a very good laptop and you don't need a Mac, then the new Dell XPS 13 should be one of the first devices you consider. It's taken a while, but Dell has come very close to perfecting the 13-inch laptop.

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