Weight is the obvious distinction between the XPS 13 and 14: the smaller mannequin is available in at 2.6 kilos (barely lower than the MacBook Air), whereas the XPS 14 is noticeably heftier at 3.7 kilos. (Dell is following Apple’s product technique a bit, because the 13-inch MacBook Air weighs 2.7 kilos and the MacBook Professional 14-inch sits between 3.4 and three.6 kilos.) The XPS 13 and 14 are each straightforward to hold round all day, however the one-pound distinction might make the bigger mannequin extra annoying when you’re attempting to journey gentle.
Nonetheless, the XPS 14 justifies its further heft by cramming in additional {hardware}. It may be geared up with NVIDIA’s RTX 4050 GPU (working at 30 watts), and likewise options extra sturdy cooling, which permits it to achieve the next most thermal envelope of 47 watts. The XPS 13, alternatively, can solely hit 28 watts of sustained efficiency. Though each machines use the identical Intel Core Extremely CPUs, you may find yourself seeing much better efficiency from the XPS 14 for extended workloads like video encoding or 3D rendering. (Once more, that is very similar to the distinction between the MacBook Air and base configuration MacBook Professional.)
The XPS 14’s 14.5-inch display screen is an inch bigger than the XPS 13’s, which makes it extra comfy for multitasking with a number of apps or engaged on media timelines. Regardless of which mannequin you select, although, you may get a shiny and immersive picture, together with skinny bezels that Apple nonetheless cannot contact. Each computer systems supply quite a lot of viewing choices: the XPS 13 will be geared up with Full HD+ (1,920 by 1,200 pixels, non-touch), Quad HD+ (2,560 by 1,600) or 3K+ OLED (2,880 by 1,800), whereas its bigger sibling will get Full HD+ (non-touch) and three.2K+ OLED (3,200 by 2,000) screens..
Dolby Imaginative and prescient is commonplace throughout the board, however you may solely get one hundred pc DCI-P3 shade gamut protection with the pricier shows. You may additionally rise up to 120Hz refresh charges on the entire screens, besides for the XPS 13’s OLED, which maxes out at 60Hz. (I would suggest avoiding that choice fully and going for a excessive refresh charge LCD, which is able to in the end ship a smoother picture.)
None |
PCMark 10 |
3DMark (TimeSpy Excessive) |
Geekbench 6 |
Cinebench R23 |
Dell XPS 13 (2024, Intel Core Extremely 5 135U, Intel Graphics) |
5,772 |
1,075 |
2,276/11,490 |
1,662/10,298 |
Dell XPS 14 (Intel Core Extremely 7 165H, Intel Arc) |
6,737 |
9,107 |
2,261/11,920 |
1,572/11,295 |
Dell XPS 16 (Intel Core Extremely 7 155H, NVIDIA RTX 4070) |
7,436 |
4,087 |
2,298/13,117 |
1,676/14,755 |
Framework Laptop computer 16 (AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, Radeon RX 7700S) |
8,129 |
4,770 |
2,557/11,961 |
1,675/14,448 |
Each the XPS 13 and XPS 14 I reviewed had been geared up with Intel’s Core Extremely 7 155H CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. The XPS 14 additionally had NVIDIA’s RTX 4050 GPU, whereas the smaller laptop computer relied on Intel’s built-in Arc graphics. As I anticipated, they did not differ an excessive amount of when it got here to CPU benchmarks like Geekbench 6. However the XPS 14 was twice as quick because the XPS 13 within the Geekbench 6 Compute take a look at, which depends on the GPU for extra intensive work. That NVIDIA {hardware} additionally helped the XPS 14 be greater than thrice as quick because the 13 within the Geekbench Machine Studying GPU take a look at.
Whereas the XPS 14 is way from what I would name a gaming laptop computer, its NVIDIA GPU additionally let me play Halo Infinite in 1080p with medium graphics at 40fps. That is not precisely my excellent Halo expertise, however hey, it is playable. As compared, the XPS 13’s Intel Arc graphics barely managed to maintain 25fps. The RTX 4050 GPU is principally helpful for media creation on the XPS 14: I used to be in a position to make use of Handbrake to transcode a 4K clip into 1080p in 26 seconds, whereas that very same process took 36 seconds on the XPS 13.
I had no bother with my each day workflow on both machine, however I loved carrying the XPS 13 round city excess of the XPS 14 just because it is lighter and simpler to maneuver. I might slip it right into a tote bag with no second thought, carry it to Starbucks and rise up and working simply. Due to its further bulk and weight, II generally had bother stuffing the XPS 14 into the identical bag amid the accoutrements of parenthood. This may not be a lot of an issue when you’re utilizing a backpack (and never attempting to slot in youngsters’ toys and snacks), however it was a reminder of how helpful a sub-three pound pocket book will be.
Very similar to the XPS 16, I loved typing on Dell’s lusciously broad keyboards. The big key caps are straightforward to hit and so they have a satisfying quantity of key journey. The keyboard is extra visually spectacular on the XPS 13, because it stretches fully edge-to-edge, whereas it is flanked by audio system on the XPS 14. The capacitive perform keys are effective more often than not, however they nonetheless disappear in direct daylight and different shiny lighting.
After which there’s the trackpad. By now, I am used to Dell’s invisible design, and I additionally appreciated the elevated dimension of the XPS 14’s trackpad. Nevertheless it nonetheless takes some adjustment, particularly for newcomers. I’ve additionally seen that it is generally robust to seek out the road that separates left and proper clicks, which led to a couple pissed off makes an attempt to repeat and paste hyperlinks from Chrome.
Now that I’ve skilled Dell’s invisible trackpad and capacitive perform row throughout 4 machines, I am much more satisfied they are a mistake. Positive, they give the impression of being cool and assist Dell stand out within the uninteresting world of Home windows laptops, however that does not justify the usability points. On the XPS 13 and 14, I additionally noticed fraction-of-a-second delays whereas swiping round Home windows. The issue went away once I pressured each machines to run at 120Hz, however that additionally makes use of extra battery life than working at 60Hz. It nearly looks like I am attempting to swipe via a further layer of glass. I seen the identical concern on a number of XPS 13 and 14 items, however Dell tells me it hasn’t been in a position to replicate any slowdown in its labs. The corporate will likely be doing an additional investigation into our overview items, and I am going to report again afterward what it finds.
As for the remainder of their {hardware}, each the XPS 13 and XPS 14 function stable 1080p webcams with Home windows Whats up assist for facial authentication. You may as well use Home windows Studio Results throughout video chats to blur backgrounds and modify your gaze, because of the NPUs in Intel’s new Core Extremely chips. Their 8-watt speaker setups sound effective for watching YouTube movies or enjoying a little bit of background music, however they’re not practically as spectacular as Apple’s notebooks. There was additionally a shocking battery life hole between each machines: The XPS 13 lasted 13 hours and quarter-hour in PCMark 10’s Fashionable Workplace benchmark, whereas the XPS 14 ran for simply 4 and a half hours. You may chalk that as much as its beefier GPU, in addition to its bigger display screen.
One other draw back to the XPS 13 and 14’s spiffy look? Larger costs. The XPS 13 now begins at $1,399 with the configuration we examined, whereas the XPS 16 begins at $1,699. (Our overview unit would value $2,399, because of its NVIDIA GPU and OLED display screen.) I am going to give Dell credit score for making 16GB of RAM commonplace, as a substitute of 8GB like earlier fashions, however for essentially the most half you are paying out the nostril to have a prettier trackpad. Is that basically value it? Dell’s pricing is especially wild when you think about you may nab an M3 MacBook Air for $1,099 and a 14-inch MacBook Professional for $1,599. Positive, you may additionally want so as to add $200 to get 16GB of RAM, however even the bottom configurations are quicker than Dell’s laptops.
Whereas there’s loads to love concerning the new XPS 13 and XPS 14, we are able to’t suggest them as simply as Dell’s earlier XPS generations. They give the impression of being enticing and carry out nicely, however that comes at a price for usability, battery life and, nicely, precise value. Merely put, you’re paying extra for fairly machines.