Dell made a bold claim when they introduced a new line of XPS 13 laptops at CES 2015:
“This is a design they’ll be proud to show off and own.”
– Sam Burd, Vice President of Dell Personal Computing Group
Mr. Burd’s statement caught my attention. As a Dell PC user myself who’s used their products for many years, I’ve never once considered their designs worthy of “showing off.” In fact, the design is the only criticism I’ve ever had of their computers.
Then I saw the XPS 13 Touch and completely changed my mind.
Here’s Why the Dell XPS 13 Touch Should Be Your Next Laptop
Design
Let’s face it: Most laptops look the same. Unless you splurge on a dedicated portable gaming rig or something made by Apple, it’s very hard to tell one laptop apart from the next. But the XPS 13 Touch changes that.
This isn’t just the world’s smallest 13-inch laptop, it’s also the best-looking one. Its exterior chassis is composed entirely of CNC-machined aluminum while the inside features an impressive carbon fiber composite palm rest with soft touch paint. Dell also managed to somehow fit the machine’s entire footprint into the smallest frame possible (less than 12 inches) and you’ll indeed want to show it off like Mr. Burd says.
Display
Part of the reason the XPS 13 Touch is able to achieve such a small footprint is because of its magnificent display. With an impressive 3200×1800 UltraSharp QHD+ resolution, there are over 4.4 times as many pixels in the XPS 13 Touch as the Apple MacBook Air 13.
The display is also constructed of edge-to-edge Corning Gorilla Glass NBT and is the most durable touchscreen available today. And at 400-nit, you’ll be able to watch video with the brightest brights and darkest darks possible.
Hardware
Calling the XPS 13 Touch powerful would be an understatement. This laptop comes loaded with enough hardware to let you do whatever you want – and that includes playing video games (albeit with low settings) thanks to the built-in Intel HD Graphics 5500 video card.
Powered by a 5th Generation Intel Core i5 2.7GHZ processor, the XPS 13 Touch also features 8GB of RAM combined with a 128GB SSD. And despite its massive display and backlit keyboard, Dell claims the 52WHr 4-cell battery will provide you with 15 hours of battery life.
The Cloud
If productivity is what you’re after, Dropbox comes pre-installed on the XPS 13 Touch. This enables you to create your own personal cloud to connect data across all your devices and provides an intuitive interface to access all this content.
If you’re familiar with PocketCloud, saving and sharing digital assets like presentations, documents, photos, and videos is just as simple with Dropbox in control. Dell also throws in 20GB of storage space for free.
Price
The best part about the XPS 13 Touch is its price tag. At $1,299.99 it is comparable with the low-end variant of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display – and rightly so. Both machines have similar specs but what sets Dell apart is that its low-end variant starts at $799.99 — $500 cheaper than Apple.
It also has a better display…that’s a touchscreen.
Obviously, the cheapest version of the XPS 13 takes away some features like the touchscreen display and cuts the memory in half, but it still keeps the same design which makes it stand out in the first place.
Dell XPS 13 Touch Specs
- Processor: 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-5200U Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.70 GHz)
- Operating System: Windows 8.1 (64Bit)
- Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3L-RS 1600Mhz (On Board)
- Hard Drive: 128GB Solid State Drive
- Video Card: Intel (R) HD Graphics 5500
- Display: 13.3-inch UltraSharp QHD+ (3200 x 1800) infinity touch display
- Wireless: 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0, Dual Band 2.4&5 GHz, 2×2
- Battery: 52 WHr, 4-Cell Battery (integrated)
The Bottom Line
There’s a reason why the Dell XPS 13 Series was a CES 2015 Innovation Awards Honoree: It’s the best computer Dell has ever made. This laptop singlehandedly raises the bar for how small and powerful you can make a portable computer and sets a precedent for the competition to follow.
Anyone looking for a high-end laptop with impressive specs, an immersive display, and beautiful design should consider the Dell XPS 13 line of products.
Especially if you want something you can show off.
What do you think about the Dell XPS 13 Touch? Let us know in the comments below!
