Dell XPS 13 (2018)
THE ARCHETYPAL WINDOWS ULTRABOOK GETS ITS FIRST MAJOR REFINEMENT IN 4 YEARS — BUT IT’S NOT WITHOUT COST.
WINDOWS ULTRABOOKS DON’T come much finer than Dell’s XPS 13. Since it was introduced around four years ago, it’s had many competitors try to topple it, but despite its ageing design it’s 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 the XPS 13 slightly sleeker and shaved 80g off the weight, but unless you’re an owner of the older model, those differences will be fairly hard to notice.
The biggest change, physically, is that the body width has been reduced by a little over 20%. When closed, it’s shrunk from 15mm at its widest point to 11.6mm, resulting in a bunch of other changes which are, frankly, a bit of a mixed bag. One of the more controversial changes is that it’s ditched its predecessor’s two full-sized (aka ‘Type-A’) USB ports — you only get three Type-Cs this time out, two of which are Thunderbolt 3 compatible. To its credit, Dell has thoughtfully included a C-to-A adapter cable in the box, so you’re not completely stuck in the lurch if you do need the older socket — and we’re guessing for most people, it’s still at least an occasional requirement. The slimmer body has also meant a full-sized SD Card reader won’t fit any more either — it’s now been replaced by a microSD slot. Thankfully, 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 — that is to say, both are excellent and we actually prefer the XPS 13’s keys to the shorter-throw 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 will save you a few bucks and should help extend battery life a touch.
Upgraded 8th-gen Core i-series internals have given this new unit a performance boost of up 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, compared to its predecessor its dropped from around 6.5 hours to 5.5 hours. Some of that undoubtedly comes from its slightly smaller 52Wh battery — compared to the older 60Wh one — which is part of the price you pay for that slimmer chassis.
In sum, then, this new design does entail making some trade-offs, and whether they’re worth it will depend on what your specific needs are. Thankfully, Dell still seems to be selling the previous ‘9360’ model (which was updated with 8th-gen Core i-series parts), so you’ve got a choice between old and new. Irrespective of which model you choose, the XPS 13 remains one of the most compelling Windows ultrabooks available — and it’s still our first choice.