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Review: Dell’s 32-inch UltraSharp monitor has a high-contrast IPS Black screen

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Enlarge / Dell’s UltraSharp U3223QZ 4K monitor.

Scharon Harding

Specs at a glance: Dell UltraSharp U3223QZ
Panel size 31.5 inches
Resolution 3840×2160
Refresh rate 60 Hz
Panel type and backlight IPS Black, LCD
Ports 2x USB-C upstream, 1x USB-C downstream, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x DisplayPort 1.4 out, 5x USB-A downstream, 1x 3.5 mm, 1x RJ45
Size 28.06 × 9.06 × 19.6-25.48 inches with stand
(712.6 × 230 × 497.84-647.27 mm)
Weight 26.23 lbs
(11.9 kg)
Warranty  3 years
Price (MSRP) $1,029

I get it; not everyone finds monitors as exciting as I do. For most people, a little extra color or a larger range of tones don’t really differentiate one screen from another. So I don’t blame Dell for stuffing the UltraSharp U3223QZ 4K monitor with fluff like motion-activated controls, monstrous speakers, and a webcam with presence detection. But after weeks with the monitor, I found none of those extra features as exciting as the monitor’s IPS Black panel.

The U3223QZ has a lot to prove. For one, it debuted at the same MSRP as the 5K Apple Studio Display (starts at $1,600). Since then, Dell has made the price more competitive ($1,029 as of writing), but it’s still expensive for a 31.5-inch monitor. Dell’s U3223QZ is also one of the few monitors to use IPS Black technology, which is supposed to yield about twice the contrast as the typical IPS monitor. I confirmed this with a colorimeter and, more enjoyably, with my eyes.

The bonus features on the U3223QZ have their pluses. The speakers are louder than average and the webcam can automatically log you in and out. But for many people, it makes sense to save money and buy the version of this monitor without the webcam… and without a dedicated Microsoft Teams button.

Design

If you want an IPS Black panel, 31.5 inches is your largest option. All the panels are 4K, meaning the larger U3223QZ panel has a lower pixel density (139.87 pixels per inch) than its smaller sibling, the 27-inch Dell UltraSharp U2723QE (163.18 ppi). If that bothers you, we’ll remind you of Apple’s similarly priced Studio Display. It crams 5K resolution into a 27-inch (traditional) IPS panel (217.57 ppi), making the two UltraSharps’ pixel density seem paltry.

Enlarge / The deep power button and protruding 5-way joystick around back were easy to differentiate.

Scharon Harding

The U3223QZ has Apple-friendly hues and shapes, including thin bezels, a silver, trapezoid-like base, and a smooth plastic backside in gray. A variety of connectivity options help connect up to two computers simultaneously, but I preferred using USB-C with power delivery. That meant fewer cables running through the stand’s opening, which also helps with basic cable management.

Thicker lines

The U3223QZ has the thin bezels of Dell’s UltraSharp monitor lineup, but it still gives off chunky vibes. That’s because, in addition to slim bezels, the panel is framed by thicker top and bottom borders to accommodate the 1.3-inch speakers and camera (top) and the touch controls (bottom). It is the most visually striking monitor to grace my desk in a while.

Due to technical issues, I checked out two U3223QZ units. Both review units had cloth running across the speakers, and it seemed pretty tight, but that’s still a lot of fabric that could snag over a long period (the monitor has a three-year warranty). Each of my review units also had a pesky gap between the panel’s chassis and the speaker.

Enlarge / That tiny space by the speaker is a small issue but one that nags me. 

Scharon Harding

Meanwhile, the bottom-left corner of the monitor has touch controls for launching Microsoft Teams, starting or ending a call, adjusting the volume, and toggling the mic and camera on and off. The buttons only light up when a hand is nearby or when the mic’s mute or camera shutter is activated, which is a good thing because the bright lights are somewhat distracting.

The controls are not programmable, which is a shame for someone who doesn’t use Teams.

Enlarge / I would ditch the Teams button in a heartbeat.

Scharon Harding

The U3223QZ’s stand supports -5 to 21-degree tilting, swivels 30 degrees to the left or right, and allows a 5.88-inch height adjustment. Admirably, the monitor gets lower than most, with just 1.5 inches between the desk and the monitor’s chin at the lowest setting. For comparison, the Samsung S80UA 4K monitor I have sits at least 2.75 inches above the desk.

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Review: Dell’s XPS 13 Plus pulls high performance from a frustrating design

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Enlarge / Dell’s XPS 13 Plus clamshell laptop.

Scharon Harding

Specs at a glance: Dell XPS 13 Plus (9320)
Worst Best As reviewed
Screen 13.4-inch 1920×1200 IPS non-touch screen 13.4-inch 3840×2400 IPS touchscreen or 13.4-inch 3456×2160 OLED touchscreen 13.4-inch 3456×2160 OLED touchscreen
OS Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Pro Windows 11 Home
CPU Intel Core i5-1240P Intel Core i7-1280P
RAM 8GB LPDDR5-5200 32GB LPDDR5-5200 16GB LPDDR5-5200
Storage 512GB PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD 512GB PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD
GPU Intel Iris Xe
Networking Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Ports 2x Thunderbolt 4
Size 11.63 x 7.84 x 0.6 inches
295.30 x 199.04 x 15.28 mm
Weight 2.71 pounds (1.23 kg) IPS: 2.71 pounds 1.23 kg)
OLED: 2.78 pounds (1.26 kg)		 2.78 pounds (1.26 kg)
Battery 55 Wh
Warranty 1 year
Price (MSRP)  $1,300 $2,360 $2,000
Other USB-C to 3.5 mm and USB-C to USB-A 3.0 adapters included, Ubuntu-based Developer Edition available

Dell’s XPS 13 laptop has been a staple among Windows ultralights, typically offering decent performance for the price, extreme portability, and good looks.

Apparently, that wasn’t enough for Dell, so it released the Dell XPS 13 Plus. Introduced this year (alongside a more traditional 2022 XPS 13), it’s a revamped version of the XPS 13 that puts performance over everything else.

Wild design choices allow the system to support a 28 W CPU. With the 2021 XPS 13 carrying a 15 W chip and the 2022 XPS 13 supporting up to a 12 W one, this is a notable achievement. But it’s also a case of function over form. To put it simply, using the XPS 13 Plus felt weird. From its tightly spaced keys and capacitive touch function row to its minimal port selection, questionable build quality, and extremely high temperatures, this machine can be frustrating to use for daily tasks.

As a performer, the XPS 13 Plus has its pluses. But as a go-to laptop, some design choices may push you toward other powerful thin-and-light laptops.

Touch Bar-esque function row

Enlarge / The most interesting function row in ages.

Scharon Harding

Dell hasn’t given up on soft-touch input above its laptop keyboards. You can find a similar setup on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, though every other MacBook has gone back to real keys. Dell’s take on the capacitive touch row is more limited than Apple’s Touch Bar, though.

It’s not programmable, for one. It can display Esc, media keys (including a handy mic mute button that lights up), brightness controls, the Windows Project button, and some navigational keys. Alternatively, pressing Fn makes the function row display Esc and F1–F12, and you can lock that layout in place by holding down Fn + Esc.

  • Option 1.


    Scharon Harding

  • Option 2.


    Scharon Harding

Dell didn’t introduce a Touch Bar-like top row just to be different. Because the keys use capacitive touch, they’re 1.4 mm thick instead of the 3.2 mm of vertical space that would be required with traditional buttons. This decision saves space and allowed Dell to move the hinges to wider points for improved system cooling, the company said. But when pushing the laptop to max performance for sustained periods, the function row got so warm that it was uncomfortable to touch.

The function row isn’t an area that sees frequent innovations, and I appreciate that Dell redesigned it in the name of performance rather than just as a gimmick. But as someone who prefers mechanical keyboards, it’s hard to love capacitive touch input. During my weeks with the laptop, I occasionally mispressed keys in the top row when I probably wouldn’t have if it had standard buttons. Rarely, I accidentally brushed the row lightly, registering an input or two, when I was trying to use the number row.

Since the function row has set controls, there’s no need to customize it. But it still feels like there’s room for more functions. For instance, there are no rewind or fast-forward media controls, and unlike many recent ultralights I’ve tested, there’s no button or light on the keyboard to tell you that the webcam is off. There’s also no light indicator for when the volume is muted.

I found the function row’s bright illumination distracting at times, but it’s impossible to turn it off. An ambient sensor near the webcam automatically adjusts the row’s brightness based on the lighting in the room.

That said, there are far worse things than a ho-hum function row, especially if the rest of the keyboard is fantastic. Unfortunately, it isn’t.

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Dell’s XPS 13 Plus is the first laptop certified for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

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Ten years after launching a pioneering combination of Linux preinstalled on a commercial laptop with Project Sputnik, Dell and Canonical announced that the XPS 13 Plus is the first OEM PC certified for Ubuntu 22.04 Long-Term Support (LTS). That makes this a straightforward route to having a PC that just works without worrying about whether or not each component is ready to work with Linux.

Linux-equipped Developer Edition models of the laptop were already available, with prices starting at $1,289.00, but currently ship with the older 20.04 LTS software. Long-term support releases deliver what it says on the tin, with the end of standard support for this version scheduled in 2027 and the end of life in 2032. Certified devices are lab tested to check the compatibility of each component, which means your device gets the specific drivers installed that will make all of its features work properly.

Image: Dell

That obviously goes for the machines sold as Developer Editions with Linux out of the box but also applies if you’re installing a new OS on a machine that originally shipped with Windows 11. Marketing exec Barton George was one of the people at Dell behind Project Sputnik. In a 2019 interview with Forbes, he explained that the Developer Edition branding is intentional, applied to keep people from accidentally buying a Linux laptop to save a few bucks and getting an unexpected experience. These days Dell ships Ubuntu on many other machines — and other flavors of the XPS line, including its redesigned XPS 13 standard bearer — so it feels unlikely that the certified list will stay this short forever.

The Ubuntu 22.04 LTS package was officially released on April 21st and has a long list of upgrades that you can read through here, including better power management, new touchpad gestures, and improved support for Bluetooth audio devices.

According to Dell, if you’d like to have your XPS 13 Plus and its “capacitive touch function row” set up with a hardware-optimized version of 22.04, there are a few ways for that to happen. One is to order a new XPS 13 Plus laptop and wait for it to ship, starting in August. Otherwise, if you’re in a hurry (and back everything up anyway), you can perform a fresh install, and you’ll be good to go. The last option is to wait until August 4th when Ubuntu 22.04.1 is released, as it will flick on the upgrade path for all LTS users so you can do as little work as possible.

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Dell’s new XPS 13 adds Alder Lake CPUs, but this is more than just a spec bump

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Today Dell is launching the 2022 revision of its XPS 13 to include Intel’s latest 12th-gen Alder Lake CPUs that add more cores and a hybrid architecture, while saying the new version is its thinnest and lightest 13-inch XPS ever. The new laptop is 13.9mm thick (0.55-inches) and weighs as little as 2.59 lbs, compared to its predecessor’s 14.80 mm (0.58-inches) and 2.64 lb starting weight for a non-touchscreen model. The new XPS 13 is available starting today in the US and Canada, starting at $999 with Windows 11 or $949 for an Ubuntu 20.04-equipped Developer Edition.

The flagship XPS 13 has gone from previewing the future of laptops when Dell introduced the InfinityEdge design with thin bezels in 2015, to kind of stale a few years later, and now, good enough to earn our review calling the last iteration “everything a Windows laptop should be” on its way to placements in multiple “Best PC laptops” lists.

To avoid accusations the line is becoming stale again, Dell is splitting wilder options out with the XPS 13 Plus that kicked off the year featuring a touch bar, flush keyboard, and slightly more powerful P-Series CPU options, as well as a new 2022 XPS 13 2-in-1 announced today that replaces the old thin and foldable design with a tablet + folio keyboard case.

image: Dell

On the outside, the new 9315 model has a similar look to the 11th-gen CPU-powered 9310 that debuted in 2020 before adding an OLED display option last year, but the differences should show up as soon as you open it.

Dell says it “removed superfluous steps, reduced finishes and materials” on the new laptop that pulls back on contrasting interior to highlight the “curated and premium” CNC machined aluminum that’s now the star of the show both inside and out. It’s a look that’s familiar, but quite clean in either the sky (grey) or umber (brown) tinted aluminum finish, and hopefully, it maintains the sturdy design plus solid keyboard and trackpad we lauded in 2020. Other touches like the fingerprint sensor / power button and Thunderbolt 4 ports on either side remain unchanged, but there’s no headphone jack on the laptop this year.

More notable changes are inside, and address some of the weaknesses we called out on the 9310, with a bad webcam, speakers that lacked bass, and a keyboard that could get hot to the touch under load. The internal layout has been redesigned to include Dell’s smallest motherboard ever, which measures 1.8x smaller than the previous model, making room for larger speakers and other tech. The spec sheet mentions using that space for a larger battery, however, it lists the new model’s unit at 51 watt-hours, compared to the 9310’s 52. It also has a single fan design now instead of dual.

We’ll need to review the new model to see what its new chipset and design make of those changes, which could be an area for the new Alder Lake CPUs inside to shine. As we’ve explained before, this generation of Intel chips is better positioned to do battle with the competition from AMD, Apple, and everyone else by adopting a setup similar to many ARM-based CPUs, with more cores that are split up between ones built for performance or power efficiency.

At launch, Dell is listing two 10-core CPU choices of either Intel’s i5-1230U or i7-1250U with Iris Xe graphics, RAM choices of 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB, and SSDs in 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB sizes. According to Dell, the most power-efficient i5 model could stream Netflix continuously for up to 12 hours, or 11 hours on the most efficient i7 setup, and up to 6 hours on a model equipped with the i7 chip, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and 4K display.

Dell XPS 13 9315 in Umber
image: Dell

As far as displays, there’s no new OLED-equipped version available now, with choices including a 4K UHD+ (3840×2400) touch display, or FHD+ (1920 x 1200) in either touch or non-touch configurations. This year it includes support for WiFi 6E, however built-in 5G is reserved for the upcoming 2-in-1 version. The aluminum in the frame is low-carbon to reduce its carbon footprint, while this year’s model ships in new packaging made of “100 percent recycled or renewable content.”

The webcam is updated too, separating the infrared and RGB sensors in ways the company says will make you look better in low light, and while Dell finally put the camera in the right spot a few years ago, it’s still limited to 720p. Whether or not that’s true, this model is also adding Dell’s ExpressSign-In tech that uses a proximity sensor in combination with the Windows Hello facial recognition-capable webcam to detect when you’re in front of the laptop and automatically log you in, as well as lock it when you walk away or dim the screen to save battery life while you’re looking at something else.

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Dell’s new-look XPS 13 Plus is now available, starting at $1,299

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Dell announced that the bold XPS 13 Plus it debuted back at CES 2022 is now available for purchase. It starts at $1,299, and while Dell didn’t detail the exact specifications for this configuration, it’ll likely get the lowest specs listed in a spec sheet shared by the company. Those include a 13.4-inch 1920 x 1200 16:10 aspect ratio display with 500 nits of peak brightness, Intel’s 12th Gen Core i5-1240P processor (28W, 12-core, 4.4GHz boost clock), 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM clocked at 5,200MHz, and a 256GB SSD.

Each model includes a 60W USB-C AC adapter and features two Thunderbolt 4 ports (but no headphone jack), a Windows Hello 720p webcam, as well as a fingerprint reader embedded in the power button.

As we noted back at CES, this new version of the XPS 13 has a more futuristic-looking design than Dell’s standard model. The most notable differences include the Plus’ Touch Bar-like row of backlit function keys, as well as the keyboard, which sits flush with the chassis. Finally, there’s the new trackpad that’s invisible to the eye but takes up a similar (if not slightly larger) amount of real estate within the middle of the glass-covered wrist rest. And instead of physically clicking in, the trackpad hardware emulates the click with haptic feedback, like Apple’s recent laptops.

It certainly looks nice, but we’ll have to see in the full review whether the new keyboard and trackpad are actually enjoyable to use.
Dell

While Dell didn’t share pricing information for other configurations, you’ll be able to upgrade the XPS 13 Plus at the time of purchase with a 1080p touchscreen (it’s non-touch by default) or a 4K touchscreen. The highest-end display option is a 3.5K (3456 x 2160) Gorilla Glass 7-covered OLED touchscreen with 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut coverage.

In terms of processing power, Dell can go up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1280P with 14 cores, as well as up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM and up to 2TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage. Oh, and last thing: there will be a Developer Edition of the XPS 13 Plus that will ship with Ubuntu 20.04, and it will cost $1,249.99.

We look forward to testing out the XPS 13 Plus soon. As my colleague Monica Chin wrote in her hands-on back in January, we’re cautiously optimistic that all of these aesthetic changes won’t get in the way of it being a good machine. But stay tuned for the full review to find out.

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Microsoft Pluton doesn’t ‘align’ with Dell’s hardware security strategy

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Dell, one of the top three PC makers, will not be using Microsoft’s Pluton chip in “most” commercial PCs, The Register reported on Wednesday. A Dell representative told the publication that the security processor “does not align with Dell’s approach to hardware security and our most secure commercial PC requirements.”

Microsoft first announced the Pluton security processor in 2020. At that point, the chip had already been used in microcontrollers in the Xbox One and Azure Sphere to prevent hardware hacks.

In PCs, Pluton is meant to prevent hacks that could result from an attacker having physical access to the PC. Such physical hacks could result in malware installation or stolen data. By living on the main CPU’s die, Pluton can store protected data in an area that is isolated from the PC’s other components. According to Microsoft, that data can’t be removed no matter what.

Pluton can also serve as a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which Microsoft requires in order for a system to run Windows 11.

The primary reason Dell won’t be using Pluton yet is that Intel’s 12th-generation Core processors, including the mobile SKUs geared for Dell’s business laptops, don’t use it. Instead, as reported by The Register last week, Intel is relying on its Platform Trust Technology, which has been employed by Intel chipsets for years and uses a TPM 2.0.

Additionally, Dell’s 12th-gen-based laptops will use modules that meet the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s FIPS 140-2 standard for cryptographic modules. The computers will also be Trusted Computing Group-certified, The Register noted.

Dell is open to using Pluton someday, however. The company told The Register that it will “continue to evaluate Pluton to see how it compares against existing TPM implementations in the future.” Similarly, Intel ThinkPads running Intel 12th-gen CPUs will not use Microsoft’s security chip “at launch,” according to a Lenovo rep who spoke with The Register.

The absence of Pluton in ThinkPads, a staple laptop among businesses, would be a big hit, but Pluton will get its opportunity in the new ThinkPad Z-series and some ThinkPad T-series laptops that will begin releasing in May. The laptops use AMD Ryzen 6000 mobile CPUs, which integrate Pluton. The ThinkPad X13s, which uses a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 and arrives in June, will also use Pluton.

However, Pluton features, such as storing Windows Hello credentials, will be off by default in ThinkPads, Lenovo told The Register in January.

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Dell’s new UltraSharp 4K monitor has a monstrous 4K webcam built in

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  • The Dell U3223QZ 32-inch USB-C 4K monitor.


    Scharon Harding

  • Here’s that bulky, high-quality camera.


    Scharon Harding

  • Here’s the side view.


    Scharon Harding

Dell’s UltraSharp monitors have a long-standing reputation for being strong picks for office professionals and creatives, and the USB-C variants have proven to be some of the most popular Mac monitors. Dell’s latest 32-inch UltraSharp was announced during the Consumer Electronics Show this week, and it doubles down on that legacy.

The monitor hits the standard bullet points: it has a USB-C port and a 3840 x 2160 screen resolution. It can act as a USB hub with its five 10Gbps USB-A ports. But what really sets the monitor apart is its 4K webcam.

As noted, these monitors are made to appeal to professionals like designers, marketing folks, and so on, so a color-accurate 4K screen is important. But these days, those workers will be spending a fair amount of time on video calls, so it seems Dell is trying to make the product a more comprehensive package for remote-working pros.

The IPS monitor offers a 2,000:1 typical contrast ratio and supports the VESA DisplayHDR 400 standard with a maximum brightness of 400 nits. That unfortunately excludes the monitor from really serious video work, but the display should be good enough for most people doing most kinds of work.

As far as color support goes, we’re looking at 100% of sRGB and 98% of DCI-P3. Response time in the fastest setting is 5ms, which would make this a decent 4K SDR gaming monitor, but unfortunately, it tops out at 60 Hz and does not support variable refresh rates.

Its design is a bit odd; it has a thick bezel along the top—but just the top—and a sizable camera bump at the top. The camera is huge by most monitors’ standards, and it really stands out. But given that the camera is this monitor’s defining feature (there are a lot of 4K USB-C monitors out there at this point), that makes sense.

Fortunately, it has the key features needed to entice its target audience of mostly Mac-using professionals: USB-C and support for chaining displays through one connection. In some ways, it’s pretty specialized to certain kinds of workers, but it’s worth looking at because it likely has one of the best built-in webcams of any monitor on the market, and its design is somewhat unusual to accommodate that.

Dell says the monitor, which is regrettably named “U3223QZ,” will be available starting March 29. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet.

Listing image by Scharon Harding

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Dell’s magnetic wireless webcam concept may help you forget about that infamous nose cam

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Enlarge / The prototype can stick onto a screen so you can place it at eye level, or wherever else you’d want.

Scharon Harding

If you asked me to guess a company revamping webcam positioning, I wouldn’t name Dell. That’s because I still remember the Dell XPS’s infamous up-the-nose webcam, an unfortunately placed shooter that provided an in-nostril view of countless XPS users for years. But Dell wants there to be a different, more positive reason you associate it with funky webcams, and, ironically, the company is all about getting webcams in the most ideal spot possible.

Dell demoed Concept Pari to the press last week (at the same event where it showed off its Concept Luna repairable PC). It’s a 1080p webcam prototype that can depart its holster with a simple pluck, to be placed anywhere magnets work. The idea is that the camera will continue to send video to a connected PC through Wi-Fi, even from a couple of feet away. The most obvious use case for Concept Pari is sticking it in directly on your computer’s display rather than on its bezel. This makes for a more personal-feeling conversation with your long-distance interlocutors by bringing their view of you to eye level. 

Enlarge / The webcam is placed closer to eye level to make the call feel more like real life.

Scharon Harding

“It can be placed directly—anywhere—on compatible displays, in a charging dock, on a stand, or even held in the hand,” Dell Technologies’ CTO of the Client Solutions Group, Glen Robson, explained in a blog post today.

Dell has come a long way since 2015, when, as recalled by NotebookCheck, it brought the XPS 13 webcam to an unfortunate position: the lower left corner of the laptop’s bottom bezel. I still have a laptop with a nose cam, and, let me tell you, the up-nose shot is very hard to avoid unless you raise the machine very high. The shot isn’t only unattractive but makes serious, professional calls nearly impossible. Yet the camera stayed there until 2019, when Dell finally removed the nose cam from the XPS 13, as well as the XPS 15.

Enlarge / My 2016-era XPS 13 is still kicking, but the webcam kicks up bad memories.

Scharon Harding

The webcam isn’t just about making your face look good. Theoretically, it could also help you appear more professional. Dell presented the camera as a conceivable tool for presentations, allowing workers to more easily show off things like sketches and prototypes.

Enlarge / The webcam is magnetically attached to a metal stand in order to give a top-down view of the paper beneath.

Scharon Harding

The whole thing weighs about an ounce. It also has a microphone and an indicator light to help you straighten out the view. When not in use, Concept Pari sits in its holster, which can live atop a monitor, and charge.

Enlarge / The base on top of the monitor charges the wireless webcam.

Dell

You could even place it backward to ensure no one sees you. Battery life for the current prototype is “close” to an hour, a Dell spokesperson said at its press event. That’s not horrible for personal calls, but my business calls frequently go for longer. After it’s dead though, Dell’s concept is that the camera would still be usable from its charging base.

The prototype is 1080p, and that’s plenty of pixels for most occasions. But some brands, including Dell, offer 4K webcams. Resolution is one of the things Dell would have to balance if Concept Pari became a real product, alongside price and battery life—specs 4K would also affect. 

Enlarge / Higher resolution would hurt the camera’s battery life.

Scharon Harding

But Concept Pari is just a prototype. There’s no saying how long a real-life wireless, magnetic webcam from Dell would last or if the company will ever even release one. Dell announced the project today with Concept Stanza, an 11-inch screen that can be used for collaboration, note taking and screen mirroring, and Concept Flow, a workspace with wireless charging and Wi-Fi 6E docking. These are all just meant to be demonstrations of features and/or products Dell could potentially introduce one day.

That said, it’s nice to see Dell moving as far away from nose-cam territory as possible—even if it’s just through a prototype.

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Dell’s wireless webcam prototype uses magnets to stick to a screen

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Ahead of CES 2022, Dell is previewing a set of concept products like it usually does around this time every year. Previously, the company teased us with a Switch-like PC gaming console and a pair of dual-screen and foldable computers. This time around, Dell is showing off a few prototypes around “seamless work experiences” called Concept Flow, Concept Stanza and Concept Pari. I checked them out at a recent demo in New York (while abiding by COVID-19 protocols), and was surprised by how refined they are.

Of the three, Pari is my favorite. It’s a wireless camera prototype that can magnetically attach to a compatible screen so you can place it at eye level while Zooming your colleagues. Not only does this help keep a more natural gaze as you’re talking, but it also allows you to keep your notes or script up behind the camera in a sort of teleprompter setup. The magnets won’t work with just any standard monitor, though; you’ll need to use one with magnets built in too.

I appreciate the elegance of Dell’s approach. The webcam sits in a cradle perched atop the monitor, and you remove it when you want a different angle. When it’s docked, the webcam wirelessly charges (and a light is supposed to glow to indicate it’s juicing up, though this wasn’t happening during our demo). You can also flip the camera around to face the back of the dock when you want some privacy, so if anyone is spying on you, they’ll only see the black cover. 

Gallery: Dell Concept Pari first look | 4 Photos


Gallery: Dell Concept Pari first look | 4 Photos

During my brief time with the prototype, I was able to easily pick up the webcam and attach it to the monitor. The magnets were strong enough to keep the camera in place and prevent it from sliding, yet not so strong that I had to struggle to take it off. I especially liked the stand that Dell made for Pari, which turns it into an overhead camera for top-down shots. It was convenient to pluck the camera off the screen and stick it to the magnetic disc on the stand, which looked like a thin, modern light. The version that I checked out at our demo felt slightly flimsy and I wish the disc swiveled on a hinge to offer more flexibility in angles, but given this is just a concept, I will withhold my complaints for now. 

Though Pari is a prototype at the moment, Dell has some specs to share. The device weighs about an ounce (30 grams) and this iteration has an onboard microphone. It streams 1080p video over WiFi and has a light above the lens up front to indicate when the camera is level, so you can more easily ensure your scene is straight. The cradle uses USB-C for charging, too. Since this isn’t currently something the company is ready to sell, it doesn’t have details on battery life, much less a possible price. 

Dell

Dell’s two other concepts were more about multi-device environments. Flow, for example, uses a dock to link all the devices at your home office, like a monitor, keyboard, mouse and charger. Then, it lets your laptop wirelessly connect to them while also charging it. If you bring the laptop out of Bluetooth range, the external monitor locks and reconnects when you return with your computer. According to Dell, Flow is the result of bringing together “devices, industry standard wireless charging technology, intelligent software applications and Wi-Fi 6E docking technology to create a singular, seamless experience.”

Finally, Stanza centers around an 11-inch “companion device” that’s basically a thin and light tablet without ports. Dell said it “deliberately chose not to include cameras or speakers, for a distraction-free experience.” You can write on it with a stylus and double tap to have your scribbles converted to digital text. As with many other note-taking apps, you can also draw a line through words to delete them. If you’re drawing a Venn diagram, Dell’s system can also convert your imperfect circles with squiggly lines into flawless spheres. The tablet can also serve as an additional screen onto which you can extend or mirror whatever’s on your laptop screen. 

Dell

Again, since these are all just concepts, Dell doesn’t have pricing or availability info to share, but it’s possible we’ll see aspects of these designs show up in the future products. Additionally, the company showed off another Concept yesterday called Luna, and it’s a way to make PCs more sustainable by making their parts easier to replace. Dell is clearly exploring how to make products that align with industry trends (like hybrid workforce, sustainability), and we’ll hopefully see some of the benefits of these in its actual products soon.

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Dell’s Concept Luna PC disassembles easily so Dell can reuse its parts

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Enlarge / Dell’s Concept Luna laptop.

What do you do when your laptop screen breaks or the keyboard gives out? After some troubleshooting, you probably toss out the machine and upgrade. But what if some of your laptop’s components could be harvested and put in another computer, like some Frankenstein creation? That’s what Dell has in mind with its Concept Luna laptop project.

Concept Luna

According to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020, only 17.4 percent of the 53.6 million metric tons of electronic waste created in 2019 was recycled. One of the sustainability goals Dell wants to achieve by 2030 is to reuse or recycle an equivalent product for every product a customer buys, with over 50 percent of product content being composed of recycled or renewable materials. And how will it get all those recyclable materials? Partially from Dell customers.

Last week, I was able to check out Concept Luna. Announced today, it’s a laptop aimed at helping Dell achieve its environmental goals by offering parts that are easier to repair, reuse, and recycle. The machine is built to open up easily, so you can harvest its motherboard or other parts to use in future systems. Through this process, Dell hopes that a motherboard will be able to be used in up to three machines.

Enlarge / Concept Luna’s many parts.

Dell

One of the big twists here is that Concept Luna’s motherboard is behind its display. This is common in detachable laptops, but not in clamshells like Concept Luna. The location of the motherboard means the machine can’t be actively cooled, so Dell had to improve the system’s thermals.

Enlarge / Behind the Concept Luna PC’s display.

“Relocating that smaller motherboard to the top cover puts it closer to a larger surface area exposed to the cooler air outside,” Glen Robson, CTO of the Client Solutions Group at Dell, explained in a blog post today. “This, combined with separating it from the battery charging unit in the base, leads to better passive heat distribution and could totally eliminate the need for the fan.”

A Dell spokesperson opened a Concept Luna laptop in front of me, and the process looked simple enough. By removing four screws, the Dell rep was able to take out two keystones before disassembling the PC and disconnecting a single cable to remove the motherboard.

Enlarge / Opening up the Concept Luna. You can see two keystones on the right.

Scharon Harding

The Dell spokesperson said that the motherboard would move to a lesser model. For example, a salvageable XPS motherboard could find a home in something like a Dell Latitude.

That part about disconnecting via a single cable is also important. The process for taking Concept Luna apart has to be easy enough that general users won’t be too intimidated to take advantage.

Enlarge / A single cable connects the board to the battery.

To that end, the laptop has 10 times fewer screws than 2019’s Dell Latitude 7300 Anniversary Edition laptop, which was marketed as Dell’s “most sustainable Latitude ever,” TechRepublic reported at the time.

Robson said it should all take about 1.5 hours less time to take apart, fix, and reuse its key parts.

Enlarge / Dell is using Concept Luna to explore ways to make PCs more sustainable. It may never become a real product.

Dell

Beyond the motherboard, Dell designed the laptop’s palm rest with repairs and reuse in mind. The keyboard comes out simply, but a Dell spokesperson noted that keyboards would likely see fewer life cycles because of how much they’re put through.

On the outside, the laptop uses an aluminum chassis made in a hydro-powered facility. The stamped aluminum “requires less energy and produces minimal scrap,” Robson noted.

Green goals

Dell built Concept Luna to be repairable with recyclable parts, but its original construction was made with sustainability in mind, too.

Enlarge / Inside Concept Luna’s deck.

Scharon Harding

During the event, Dell pointed to its 7300 Anniversary Latitude as an example. The motherboard represents 75 percent of the eco-waste made to create that product. For the sustainable PC, Dell reduced the size of the motherboard by 75 percent compared to the Latitude 7300 Anniversary Edition, making it “smaller” than 5,580 square-millimeters, according to Robson, and also cut the component count by around 20 percent. Dell said that overall, this halves the carbon footprint of the motherboard.

Additionally, Dell used flax fiber for the base of the PCB instead of plastic laminates; it’s all held together with a water-soluble polymer.

Dell also claims that Concept Luna could lead to less power-hungry devices, allowing for smaller batteries with “advanced deep-cycle cell… still powerful enough for daily use,” Robson said.

Not all parts will be able to find a second life, however.

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