Dell – XPS 13 – 13.4” FHD+ Laptop – Intel Core Ultra 7 – Evo Edition – 16GB Memory – Intel Arc Graphics – 512GB SSD – Graphite

Although in the past I have opted for laptops with larger screens, this 13.4″ laptop has become one of my favorites because of how practical and light it is. Something that we mainly admire in a laptop is its design. This Dell XPS 13 has a very elegant, simple, minimalist design. However, it must be said that this ends up compromising other areas, something simple like opening the laptop, because the design is very thin on the edges, sometimes it is a little tricky to open the laptop. It also seems that part of the design is that it comes with only two usb-c thunderbolt ports. It goes without saying that either one of them is for charging the laptop, and considering that we currently have a variety of peripherals that we connect to our devices, it seems an area for improvement. Although you can always buy a usb hub, that does not detract from the fact that more usb ports would not be a bad idea. Another thing we are interested in when choosing a laptop is the screen. We want it to be as colorful, bright and sharp as possible. The XPS 13 with a 1920×1200 resolution, 500 nits brightness, 120 Hz refresh rate LED display excels in this respect. The image is clear and sharp, the color reproduction quite good. Watching series, movies, content on platforms and social networks, it has been a very pleasant experience. The brightness is so good that I sometimes wish I could turn it down a bit more, even though this is already at the minimum level. Regarding the keyboard and touchpad, both serve their purpose very well. I love the design of the keyboard, it covers all the top space from side to side, the keys feel very comfortable and responsive, the brightness is right and can be modified to taste. The function keys are not exactly physical keys, it’s more like a touchpad. It keeps the shortcut icons illuminated and it turns them off when you press the Fn key to light on the function key icons. I consider it a fun feature. The touchpad at first appears to span the entire bottom space from side to side just below the keyboard, but the reality is that it doesn’t, it’s just a square space in the middle part of the underside of the keyboard. This touchpad does not have a physical (mechanical) response, that is, if you press the touchpad does not sink to click rather gives you a haptic response that simulates the physical click, they call it seamless glass haptic touchpad. The webcam works ok, it is not the best on the market but with good lighting it delivers a good result. Similarly the face recognition is fine but can be improved. What responds in a better and faster way is the fingerprint reader, if configured correctly the response time to unlock the device is almost instantaneous, very good in that aspect. What surprised me for good are the speakers, and I have to say that I have tried other laptops and the sound is not the strongest point in many of them, however in this device the thing is a little different. Although they are not the most scandalous speakers the result is more than acceptable to be honest. Regarding the battery I could say that it performs on average what almost any laptop, about 5 or 7 hours maybe more maybe less, but it must be said that it depends on the use and mainly on the power settings and the brightness of the screen, so it will depend on the use that each user gives it. Last but not least, performance. But this is where the decision of choice gets a little complicated, because the fact that the laptop does not have a dedicated graphics card and instead the processor is the one that somehow carries this task, makes us wonder what tasks we are looking for in a laptop. Because if we want a laptop to do day to day tasks whether it is work, school or home office, watch movies and series from time to time, play a casual game or even coding, etc, this is a very good option without a doubt. But if your intention is to create content, edit photos and/or videos with even some visual effects, play triple A games or competitively, and more things that require extensive graphics usage, this is not the laptop for such tasks. I did some tests like cinebench where it scores well but is not at the level of desktop processors or premium laptops. I also try to edit in davinci resolve 18 but it becomes slow, although it could carry with simple editions, could not complete a more elaborate and professional looking edit. Programs like these consume more ram memory and as this memory is shared between the processor and integrated graphics, and considering that it only comes with 16GB, it makes tasks such as video editing very difficult to achieve. Something that I consider important to share is that it is advisable to download and install all windows updates and software drivers that need to be updated. The laptop comes with a Dell app, as a kind of control center, where you can customize various aspects and functions of the device. All in all, the Dell XPS 13 is a visual delight of a laptop with its sleek design. It has what it takes and a little more to perform with ease the tasks and demands of everyday life, which inevitably increasingly requires us to be connected almost anywhere we are. The sound and image are outstanding, as well as the internal power of its processor that makes this 13.4″ laptop powerful and light at the same time. So if your demands do not exceed the capabilities of this device and you prefer something compact and elegant, this is an excellent alternative.

Overall this is exactly what I was looking for, a laptop that travels with me, is lightweight, has a good size screen, responsive keyboard, and handles all my day to day work. This checks all my boxes. Let’s get into the review. Unboxing/Setup Right away out of the box I could tell this was going to be a great experience. The laptop comes in a very sturdy box and inside the laptop is wrapped in a smaller box. The anticipation was building as I unboxed each one.One I reached the actual laptop I was impressed with how slim and lightweight it was. This checked my first and biggest need, lightweight and slim. Holy cow, I could hardly wait to start using it. I travel for my work and am constantly on the go, and this is exactly what I needed.Inside you get a very slim USB C charging cable. This was a bonus, I was expecting the typical bulky charging cable and this is not bulky. This cable will pack nicely in my travels as well without taking up much room and it is lightweight also so you barely notice you have it. You also get a quick set up card with QR code that will direct you to the website to view the full manual if you need it. Now it was time to set up the device. Unfortunately this was not the experience I was used to. I opened the lid and expected the device to wake up, but it did not. Next I had to search for the power button. I checked the usual places, the side of the unit and for a dedicated key on the keyboard. It was not obvious at first, turns out it is the small unmarked key in the upper right, next to the backspace key. I probably should have read the quick start guide, but finding the power button had never been an issue for me before. I actually like this placement and unmarked design, and later I learned this is also the fingerprint button. GENIUS!!!! This is like finding an easter egg in movies,…,.. There are more to come.. I had to charge the unit before I could use it. Not a big deal but I was expecting it to have some juice right out of the box. Now that it has been charged I am ready to get started with the set up. Well…. When I pressed the power button I was directed to a bootup screen and the device spent about 20 min downloading updated BIOS software. I was a little bummed here but let it work its magic and finish all downloads before I was able to continue. Now that the downloads had finished installing the laptop rebooted and finally I was on the windows 11 start up screen. I went through all the typical setup screens and was finally ready to put this laptop through the paces. Experience Now that I am able to use the laptop the next easter egg I found was, the trackpad…. At first glance the bottom of the laptop where our hands rest and where the trackpad should be, looked like one solid piece. So where is the trackpad? Exactly where it should be. It takes a little getting used to in order to find ecstasy where you can touch and use the touchpad without going to far left or right. I find I use a bluetooth mouse most of the time but the touchpad is awesome and I live that is is embedded as part of the laptop and you do not see it separately. Next Easter egg.,…. The Function row above the number keys. WOW….. they light up and stay lit all the time when using the device. But you can CHANGE the buttons by pressing the FN key and get the second set of options like volume, and screen brightness. LOVE THIS. They are haptic and not dedicated keys like the keyboard. These are awesome…. Again less physical keys on the keyboard yet super functional. The keyboard is perfect, the keys are thin but have the right amount of resistance to let you know you have pressed them. I was waiting to see the backlit keys….. In regular light they are not lit… but once the lit is dimmed or you work in low level light situations the keys light up right away. And stay lit while in that environment. I have had other backlit keyboards that only light when you are typing and 5-10 seconds of pausing will cause them to go off. Not these.. They stay lit as long as the device is awake and in a low light situation. LOVE THIS. I primarily use this for work, so creating documents, spreadsheets, emails, and things like that. The camera works well for online meetings, and the speakers are actually quite good. Connecting a bluetooth device is super easy, I connected my bluetooth mouse and bluetooth headphones super easy. The display is fantastic. There is nearly NO BEZEL which makes the display look large!!!!! The face recognition is nice, but it takes longer that it should. I have had other laptops with this and they are nearly instant with the recognition. This laptop takes a second or two for the camera to engage and then another 1-3 seconds to recognize you, and you have to be pretty close to the device. If I am using it on my lap, I have to pick it up and bring it closer to my face for it to work. Ports So you only get 2 Thunderbolt 4 connections, one on each side. Both can be used for charging. If you want to connect USB Drives or external devices you will need a port replicator with USB C HUB. I plan to try that soon but have not had the opportunity yet. Summary For me the set up was a little longer than normal, but once I got going this is my favorite laptop ever.