ET BureauIt’s the Holy Grail of laptops: to have something that performs like a gaming laptop, is light enough to hold with two fingers, small enough to fit into a ladies purse and yet has a screen that is large enough for any computing needs.
And it is rare to put this out at the beginning of a review but Dell has done it! At this time, no other laptop manufacturer has anything like this. The latest XPS 13 proposition is about as solid as they get.
The XPS (or Xtreme Performance System) from Dell has always stood a few notches above the other lines (Inspiron for consumer, Vostro for business). It’s a sub-brand that’s been around since 1993 and today, the XPS is as much a device for consumer use as it is for business (at the premium end of offerings).
This latest XPS is so different from every other laptop you see and this is mostly to do with the screen (more on that later — we could write a full review on the screen itself). Every millimetre of this device screams quality and workmanship.
If you think that’s an exaggeration, consider this: the anodized aluminium surfaces have smartphone-quality bevels (everything holds up to inspection from 4 inches away). Panel gaps are nonexistent.
Even all the regulatory information and Dell’s service tag is hidden under a magnetically held, aluminium flap under the device – so as to not mar the overall aesthetics.
Looking around the device, you can appreciate the finer details, such as the lightly textured palmrest (real carbon fiber), the tapered design and ultra-responsive trackpad (glass, with integrated buttons). This is the first multi-touch trackpad we’ve seen that works so intuitively, right out of the box.
On the left side, you’ll see a five-level LED battery level indicator (the battery is built in, non removable), a 3.5mm audio out, USB 3.0 port, mini DisplayPort and an input for the power adapter.
On the right is an SDXC slot, another USB 3.0 port (with Powershare — to charge devices with laptop off) and a Kensington lock slot. Look closely and you’ll also see two slits (one each side) for the stereo speakers. There are no other ports on the back.
As for vents, the bulk of them are hidden behind the hinge and there’s one on the underside. The screen opens to about 140 degrees - a fold flat design would have been nice, especially since this is a touchscreen.
Now we come to the screen, which is what sets this laptop apart from everything else. The XPS has what the company calls an ‘Infinity’ display. Essentially, the bezel around three sides of the screen is just 5mm (compared to 15 or 20mm in a typical laptop).
With the screen on, the effect is nothing short of striking. This allows for a 13.3-inch screen in the same footprint as an 11 inch laptop. In any case, we feel that a 13.3-inch screen is a happy compromise between screen size and portability — the XPS just takes things to a whole new level.
The slight oddity here is that the slim bezel leaves no room for the webcam on top, so it has been positioned under the screen and to the left (right above the Esc key). Our unit had a gorgeous QHD+ resolution (3200 x 1800 pixels) touschscreen with superb brightness and contrast.
It’s one of the best screens we’ve seen on a laptop — evenly lit, high contrast and no ghosting/lag. Dell offers some cheaper variants of the XPS with a 1080p non-touch screen too.
You’ll never be wanting for performance with this machine. The combination of latest gen i7, 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM and 256GB flash-based storage means this one is good enough for all sorts of power users. Battery life is very good, considering the specs — ranging between 10 to 11 hours. We believe that the non-touch 1080p version stretches that even further, going up to 15 hours.
All of these awesome features combine to make a truly excellent machine. Take a look at any recent list of ‘top/best laptops in the world’ and the Dell XPS 13 (2015 edition) will be on it. It is beautiful, efficient, elegant and completely desirable.
Sure to elicit gadget lust, this machine is our pick for the best Ultrabook ever. You should know that the very same machine (but with Core i5 instead of i7) is priced at US$1,499 in the US — roughly Rs 30,000 cheaper. An obvious competitor is the MacBook Air 13, but it doesn’t have the same élan and attention-grabbing screen as the XPS.
And it is rare to put this out at the beginning of a review but Dell has done it! At this time, no other laptop manufacturer has anything like this. The latest XPS 13 proposition is about as solid as they get.
The XPS (or Xtreme Performance System) from Dell has always stood a few notches above the other lines (Inspiron for consumer, Vostro for business). It’s a sub-brand that’s been around since 1993 and today, the XPS is as much a device for consumer use as it is for business (at the premium end of offerings).
This latest XPS is so different from every other laptop you see and this is mostly to do with the screen (more on that later — we could write a full review on the screen itself). Every millimetre of this device screams quality and workmanship.
If you think that’s an exaggeration, consider this: the anodized aluminium surfaces have smartphone-quality bevels (everything holds up to inspection from 4 inches away). Panel gaps are nonexistent.
Even all the regulatory information and Dell’s service tag is hidden under a magnetically held, aluminium flap under the device – so as to not mar the overall aesthetics.
Looking around the device, you can appreciate the finer details, such as the lightly textured palmrest (real carbon fiber), the tapered design and ultra-responsive trackpad (glass, with integrated buttons). This is the first multi-touch trackpad we’ve seen that works so intuitively, right out of the box.
On the left side, you’ll see a five-level LED battery level indicator (the battery is built in, non removable), a 3.5mm audio out, USB 3.0 port, mini DisplayPort and an input for the power adapter.
On the right is an SDXC slot, another USB 3.0 port (with Powershare — to charge devices with laptop off) and a Kensington lock slot. Look closely and you’ll also see two slits (one each side) for the stereo speakers. There are no other ports on the back.
As for vents, the bulk of them are hidden behind the hinge and there’s one on the underside. The screen opens to about 140 degrees - a fold flat design would have been nice, especially since this is a touchscreen.
Now we come to the screen, which is what sets this laptop apart from everything else. The XPS has what the company calls an ‘Infinity’ display. Essentially, the bezel around three sides of the screen is just 5mm (compared to 15 or 20mm in a typical laptop).
With the screen on, the effect is nothing short of striking. This allows for a 13.3-inch screen in the same footprint as an 11 inch laptop. In any case, we feel that a 13.3-inch screen is a happy compromise between screen size and portability — the XPS just takes things to a whole new level.
The slight oddity here is that the slim bezel leaves no room for the webcam on top, so it has been positioned under the screen and to the left (right above the Esc key). Our unit had a gorgeous QHD+ resolution (3200 x 1800 pixels) touschscreen with superb brightness and contrast.
It’s one of the best screens we’ve seen on a laptop — evenly lit, high contrast and no ghosting/lag. Dell offers some cheaper variants of the XPS with a 1080p non-touch screen too.
You’ll never be wanting for performance with this machine. The combination of latest gen i7, 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM and 256GB flash-based storage means this one is good enough for all sorts of power users. Battery life is very good, considering the specs — ranging between 10 to 11 hours. We believe that the non-touch 1080p version stretches that even further, going up to 15 hours.
All of these awesome features combine to make a truly excellent machine. Take a look at any recent list of ‘top/best laptops in the world’ and the Dell XPS 13 (2015 edition) will be on it. It is beautiful, efficient, elegant and completely desirable.
Sure to elicit gadget lust, this machine is our pick for the best Ultrabook ever. You should know that the very same machine (but with Core i5 instead of i7) is priced at US$1,499 in the US — roughly Rs 30,000 cheaper. An obvious competitor is the MacBook Air 13, but it doesn’t have the same élan and attention-grabbing screen as the XPS.
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