DELL XPS 13
One of the best laptops keeps on getting better, with the 2020 edition proving hard to beat
Still the most perfect and beautiful laptop you
can buy
From $3,144 dell.com
Given it’s been topping best laptop lists for years, it’s no surprise that the 2020 version of the Dell XPS 13 is a stunning portable computer. As usual with Dell, a variety of configurations are available, so you can spec it out to suit your needs and budget. Even at the low end though, we’re talking about a laptop with premium build and a premium price
There’s no doubt about it, the Dell XPS 13 for 2020 looks great: the display bezels are thinner than ever and the whole computer weighs just 1.27 kg. Special mention to the screen, which is stunning: bright, crisp, HDR-ready and all round fantastic. You can opt to go all the way up to a 4K (3,840 x 2,400 pixel) touchscreen model or settle for a 1,920 x 1,200 pixel version, but either way we’re big fans.
The typing experience is always important and it can’t be faulted here. The keys are nice and springy without feeling loose, everything is well placed and well proportioned.
In terms of hardware, our review laptop came with an Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor, 16GB of
RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. It’s an impressive selection of specs, but you can dial them down if you need something a bit more affordable. We definitely didn’t have any problems with web browsing, office work and image editing. There are very few negatives but price is one of them. At the time of writing even the cheapest configuration is going to set you back over $3,000 direct from Dell. That’s a significant amount of money but here you’re paying for the class and the build quality, as well as that fantastic screen.
Battery life wasn’t brilliant in our testing, with five to six hours of standard use the norm. Our two-hour video streaming test knocked the level down from 100% to 68%. However, that was with the brightness on the 4K screen ramped right up – the lower-res display and a lower brightness setting should get you more time.
In terms of ports and connections you get a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card reader, and two Thunderbolt 3 ports. That’s not a huge amount of connectivity but it covers everything that you should need.
Overall though, it’s hard not to be wowed by what Dell has managed to put together here: it’s undoubtedly one of the best laptops of this size currently on the market, and if you’re prepared to pay the price for this sort of quality then it’ll last you for many years to come.