Dell XPS 13 Plus | Best hands-on Review

The Dell XPS 13 Plus has a more streamlined look and more power, but it comes with certain compromises

The Dell XPS 13 Plus is both a technological leap forward and a daring attempt at minimalist design. I mean, the touchpad is hidden beneath the keyboard. It’s only a matter of trusting that it’s there.

In phrases of performance, the XPS thirteen Plus is a beast, as it is designed to healthy a twelfth gen Intel Core 28W processor, up from 15W at the preceding XPS thirteen. Plus, the XPS thirteen Plus has large lovers for extra airflow, making it a more potent competitor to the MacBook Air M1 and MacBook Pro 14-inch.

The XPS 13 Plus has a 4-sided InfinityEdge display, which gives it a practically borderless appearance. However, in order to cram such a powerful CPU into its slim 2.7-pound design, Dell had to make certain compromises. Based on our initial impressions, our Dell XPS 13 hands-on review will show you all the benefits and cons thus far.

Dell XPS 13 Plus: Design 

The Dell XPS 13 Plus appears sleek and futuristic, but there are some aspects of the design that are divisive. On the bright side, the XPS 13’s CNC machined aluminum and glass body is rather appealing, and it weighs only 2.7 pounds with a slim 11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6-inch footprint.

You can choose between two finishes, which are similar to the two flavors of the Star Wars force. There are two versions: light (Platinum) and dark (Graphite), both have a clean tone-on-tone design to reduce distractions.

The touchpad, on the other hand, is so flawless that you can’t tell where it begins and stops. It’s built into the palm rest and responds to touch with haptic feedback. During our limited hands-on experience, this setup worked well, but it may take some getting used to.

For most people, the biggest change will be the new capacitive touch function row, which allows you to switch between function and media keys.

Given that Apple removed the Touch Bar from its MacBook Pro, it’s surprising to see another laptop manufacturer embrace a similar feature. The good news is that the keys’ positions don’t alter depending on what you’re doing; they’re always the same.

Dell XPS 13 Plus: Touchscreen and keyboard

The Dell XPS 13 Plus should appeal to touch typists. It has a zero-lattice keyboard with larger keycaps, and Dell claims that the layout is supported by a deeper dish (0.3mm).

I didn’t notice the lack of space between the keys during my hands-on time, and typing was generally comfortable with plenty of travel. I wish the down and up arrows were larger, but the overall typing experience on the XPS 13 Plus is good.

Before making a decision, I’d like to spend more time with the touchpad because it feels different. As previously said, the touchpad is built into the palm rest, so there are no visible lines, and the pad delivers haptic feedback via Piezo technology (tiny operated motors).

Although the clicks were not as gratifying as those on a MacBook Pro trackpad, I had no problems scrolling or clicking.

Dell XPS 13 Plus: Performance

The 12th generation Intel Core processor with 28W of power is the main reason to choose the Dell XPS 13 Plus over the normal XPS 13.

This is an increase from the previous Dell XPS 13’s 15W. As a result, you should expect improved performance, particularly during heavy workloads.

It felt quite speedy while launching programs and switching between numerous apps during my brief hands-on time with the XPS 13 Plus, but it’s hard to evaluate how fast it is at this moment.

We’re excited to run our full suite of benchmarks on this laptop to see how it compares to comparable Windows machines, particularly the MacBook Pro 14-inch.

The XPS thirteen Plus comes with 4 processor options, beginning with a twelfth technology Core i5-1240P. (four. four GHz).

A twelfth technology Core i7-1260P (as much as four.7 GHz) and a Core i7-1270P also are available (as much as four. eight GHz). One of the best Core i7-1280P boosts the number of cores to fourteen and the cache to 24MB.

The base version comes with 8GB of memory, however, you could improve it to 16GB or 32GB. A 256GB PCIe SSD, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB are some of the garage options. Intel Iris X portraits are widespread on all XPS 13 Plus versions.

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Dell XPS 13 Plus: Display

The Dell XPS 13 Plus retains its 4-sided InfinityEdge 13.4-inch display, but Dell claims that the number of layers has been lowered to improve clarity and save weight.

The Dell XPS Premium’s OLED display was bright and colorful in person, but there are a variety of possibilities. It starts with an FHD+ (1920 x 1200) panel with 500 nits of brightness, and it also comes in a touch screen variant.

You may upgrade to the 3.5K OLED touch display for greater colors, perfect blacks, and broader viewing angles, albeit the brightness is only 400 nits. The 4K LCD touch display option increases the resolution and brightness to 500 nits.

Ports

The XPS 13 Plus has a simple appearance throughout, including the connectors. Only two Thunderbolt 4 ports (USB Type-C) are available, each of which supports DisplayPort and power delivery. 

The XPS 13 Plus lacks a headphone jack and a microSD card slot, unlike the normal XPS 13. That’s a pity.

Dell XPS 13 Plus: Battery life

The 55WHr battery in the Dell XPS 13 Plus is larger than the 52WHr battery in the original Dell XPS 13. The Plus, on the other hand, has a more powerful CPU, so its larger battery won’t always mean longer battery life.

We’re excited to put the XPS 13 Plus through our online surfing battery test to see how it compares to the competition.

Dell promises that the XPS 13 Plus will reach 80 percent battery life in under an hour thanks to Express Charge 2.0 technology. We’ll also be putting that to the test.

Dell XPS 13 Plus: Future

The Dell XPS 13 Plus looks and feels like a Windows-based MacBook Pro. While the standard XPS 13 provides sufficient speed and battery life, some customers simply require more power. Dell also undercuts the MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1 by $100, with a starting price of $1,199.

Dell’s ability to cram a 28W 12th gen Intel Core CPU into such a small package is astounding. The InfinityEdge display is still one of our favorites. There are no bulky bezels or notch on this watch.

The capacitive touch function row, on the other hand, does not excite us at first glance. Although it saves space, the implementation does not feel as high-end as the rest of the design.

Because the XPS 13 Plus lacks a headphone jack and a microSD card slot, you’ll have to be content with fewer ports. We’ll have to spend more time with this laptop to discover if it’s a winner, but it’s evident that Dell made some trade-offs to deliver greater muscle in a streamlined chassis.