Dell XPS 13 (2018)
The archetypal Windows ultrabook gets its first major refinement in 4 years — but it’s not without cost.
Since it was introduced around 4 years ago, Dell’s XPS 13 has had many competitors try to topple it, but despite its ageing design, it has managed to remain the slim-and-light Windows laptop to beat. With this latest 2018 refresh (also known as the XPS 13 9370), Dell wisely isn’t messin’ with what ain’t broken — it’s tweaked that design slightly to make it slightly sleeker and lighter.
The biggest physical change is that the body width has been reduced by about 20% — when closed, it’s shrunk from 15mm at its widest point to 11.6mm. That’s resulted in a bunch of other changes which are a bit of a mixed bag. One of the more controversial aspects is that it’s ditched both its predecessor’s full-sized (aka ‘Type-A’) USB ports — you only get three Type-Cs this time around, two of which are Thunderbolt 3 compatible. To its credit, Dell has thoughtfully included a C-to-A adapter cable in the box. That slimmer body has also meant a full-sized SD card reader won’t fit anymore — it’s been replaced by a microSD slot. You do still get a 3.5mm headset socket.
As we mentioned above, the overall weight has been reduced, dropping from 1.29kg to 1.21kg — not a huge amount, but something that’s nevertheless welcome in a laptop that’s focused on maximum portability.
Otherwise, the exterior of the XPS 13 is very similar — the machined-aluminium lid and base makes it tough and fairly resistant to bumps and scrapes, and the carbon fibre palm rest is likewise very tough and wears well. The backlit chiclet keyboard and medium-sized trackpad remain basically unchanged — we actually prefer the XPS 13’s keys to the shorterthrow models in the latest MacBook Pros (something you can’t often say in Dell vs Apple contests).
The display is A-grade as before, with just 5mm bezels on the top and sides — we tested the 4K touchscreen model, but there’s also a matte-finish 1080p version, which’ll save you a few bucks and should help extend battery life a tad.
Upgraded 8th-gen Core i internals have given this new unit a performance boost of 15–30% across the board compared to its late 2016 edition, although there is one area that’s suffered slightly: battery life. The latter’s always been on of the XPS 13’s most impressive features, and while this 2018 model manages to remain broadly competitive — ranging from 4 to 7 hours, depending on the task — when it comes to moderate everyday workloads, it’s dropped from around 6.5 to 5.5 hours compared to its predecessor. Some of that comes from its slightly smaller battery — part of the price you pay for that slimmer chassis.
Whether this new design’s trade-offs are worth it will depend on what your specific needs are. Thankfully, Dell is still selling the previous ‘9360’ model (which was updated with 8th-gen Core i parts), so you’ve got a choice between old and new.
Whichever model you choose, the XPS 13 remains one of the most compelling Windows ultrabooks available — and it’s still our first choice.