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Evaluation: Dell’s XPS 13 Plus pulls excessive efficiency from a irritating design

Evaluation: Dell’s XPS 13 Plus pulls excessive efficiency from a irritating design
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Dell XPS 13 Plus open, front-facing
Enlarge / Dell’s XPS 13 Plus clamshell laptop computer.

Scharon Harding

Specs at a look: Dell XPS 13 Plus (9320)
Worst Finest As reviewed
Display 13.4-inch 1920×1200 IPS non-touch display 13.4-inch 3840×2400 IPS touchscreen or 13.4-inch 3456×2160 OLED touchscreen 13.4-inch 3456×2160 OLED touchscreen
OS Home windows 11 Residence Home windows 11 Professional Home windows 11 Residence
CPU Intel Core i5-1240P Intel Core i7-1280P
RAM 8GB LPDDR5-5200 32GB LPDDR5-5200 16GB LPDDR5-5200
Storage 512GB PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD 512GB PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD
GPU Intel Iris Xe
Networking Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Ports 2x Thunderbolt 4
Dimension 11.63 x 7.84 x 0.6 inches
295.30 x 199.04 x 15.28 mm
Weight 2.71 kilos (1.23 kg) IPS: 2.71 kilos 1.23 kg)
OLED: 2.78 kilos (1.26 kg)
2.78 kilos (1.26 kg)
Battery 55 Wh
Guarantee 1 yr
Worth (MSRP)  $1,300 $2,360 $2,000
Different USB-C to three.5 mm and USB-C to USB-A 3.0 adapters included, Ubuntu-based Developer Version accessible

Dell’s XPS 13 laptop computer has been a staple amongst Home windows ultralights, usually providing first rate efficiency for the value, excessive portability, and attractiveness.

Apparently, that wasn’t sufficient for Dell, so it launched the Dell XPS 13 Plus. Launched this yr (alongside a extra conventional 2022 XPS 13), it is a revamped model of the XPS 13 that places efficiency over every little thing else.

Wild design selections enable the system to help a 28 W CPU. With the 2021 XPS 13 carrying a 15 W chip and the 2022 XPS 13 supporting as much as a 12 W one, it is a notable achievement. However it’s additionally a case of perform over type. To place it merely, utilizing the XPS 13 Plus felt bizarre. From its tightly spaced keys and capacitive contact perform row to its minimal port choice, questionable construct high quality, and very excessive temperatures, this machine may be irritating to make use of for each day duties.

As a performer, the XPS 13 Plus has its pluses. However as a go-to laptop computer, some design selections could push you towards different highly effective thin-and-light laptops.

Contact Bar-esque perform row

The most interesting function row in ages.
Enlarge / Probably the most fascinating perform row in ages.

Scharon Harding

Dell hasn’t given up on soft-touch enter above its laptop computer keyboards. You’ll find an identical setup on the 13-inch MacBook Professional, although each different MacBook has gone again to actual keys. Dell’s tackle the capacitive contact row is extra restricted than Apple’s Contact Bar, although.

It isn’t programmable, for one. It may possibly show Esc, media keys (together with a helpful mic mute button that lights up), brightness controls, the Home windows Challenge button, and a few navigational keys. Alternatively, urgent Fn makes the perform row show Esc and F1–F12, and you’ll lock that structure in place by holding down Fn + Esc.

Dell did not introduce a Contact Bar-like prime row simply to be totally different. As a result of the keys use capacitive contact, they’re 1.4 mm thick as an alternative of the three.2 mm of vertical area that may be required with conventional buttons. This choice saves area and allowed Dell to maneuver the hinges to wider factors for improved system cooling, the corporate stated. However when pushing the laptop computer to max efficiency for sustained intervals, the perform row obtained so heat that it was uncomfortable to the touch.

The perform row is not an space that sees frequent improvements, and I admire that Dell redesigned it within the title of efficiency somewhat than simply as a gimmick. However as somebody who prefers mechanical keyboards, it is arduous to like capacitive contact enter. Throughout my weeks with the laptop computer, I sometimes mispressed keys within the prime row after I most likely would not have if it had normal buttons. Hardly ever, I by accident brushed the row evenly, registering an enter or two, after I was attempting to make use of the quantity row.

Because the perform row has set controls, there is not any have to customise it. However it nonetheless looks like there’s room for extra capabilities. As an illustration, there aren’t any rewind or fast-forward media controls, and in contrast to many current ultralights I’ve examined, there is not any button or mild on the keyboard to let you know that the webcam is off. There’s additionally no mild indicator for when the amount is muted.

I discovered the perform row’s vivid illumination distracting at instances, however it’s not possible to show it off. An ambient sensor close to the webcam robotically adjusts the row’s brightness based mostly on the lighting within the room.

That stated, there are far worse issues than a ho-hum perform row, particularly if the remainder of the keyboard is unbelievable. Sadly, it is not.

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