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.
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Which 2022 laptop is right for you? It can be a tricky decision since both are sleek, powerful 13-inch ultraportables with great screens, good speakers and similar price tags.
But the similarities stop there. Now that we’ve published our Dell XPS 13 Plus review and MacBook Air M2 review, we can give you a comprehensive breakdown of how these two laptops compare in order to help you make the best choice for your needs.
Of course, a lot of it comes down to whether you prefer Windows 11 or macOS Ventura. Both are competent operating systems with their own strengths and weaknesses, and these two laptops show them off to great effect.
But if you’re open to either and want to know which of these flagship ultraportables is the best laptop for you, read on for our blow-by-blow breakdown.
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Specs
MacBook Air 13-inch (M2, 2022)
Dell XPS 13 Plus
Price
from $1,199
from $1,399
Display
13.6 inches (2560 x 1664)
13.4 inches (full HD+, full HD+ touch, 3.5K OLED or 4K LCD)
CPU
8 core M2 CPU
12th gen Intel Core i5, Core i7
GPU
8-10 core M2 GPU
Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics
RAM
8GB to 24GB
8GB to 32 GB
Storage
256GB to 2TB SSD
256GB to 2TB SSD
Ports
Two Thunderbolt / USB-4, mic
2 Thunderbolt 4 / USB-4
Size
11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches
11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches
Weight
2.7 pounds
2.73 pounds
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Design
The Dell XPS 13 Plus takes some radical departures from the design of the venerable XPS 13, which we’ve long considered one of the best 13-inch laptops you can buy.
Most notably, it ditches the function row for a row of capacitive keys that can be toggled between function keys or shortcuts, a la the controversial MacBook Pro Touch Bar. It’s a neat feature, but in our time with the XPS 13 Plus we weren’t a big fan of the change because the keys don’t provide feedback when you hit them and look a little cheaper than the rest of the laptop.
We were more excited about the new glass touchpad that blends in seamlessly with the keyboard deck, which is remarkably easy to use given that you can’t look down and see its edges.
The XPS 13 Plus is a sharp departure (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
When closed, the XPS 13 Plus is a slick ultraportable that, at 11.63 x 7.84 x 0.6 inches and 2.71 pounds — or 2.77 pounds if you splurge for the OLED model — is actually a bit lighter than the vanilla XPS 13 (based on our comparison of changes in the Dell XPS 13 Plus vs XPS 13).
That means that if you don’t get the OLED model, the XPS 13 Plus is actually slightly lighter than the MacBook Air M2, which weighs 2.7 pounds and measures 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches. However, the Air has the edge in thinness here, albeit by a matter of millimeters. It’s a real engineering marvel, as Apple has managed to make the MacBook Air M2 roughly 20% smaller than its predecessor while simultaneously enlarging the screen slightly (don’t miss our MacBook Air M2 vs MacBook Air M1 breakdown for more details on the differences).
The MacBook Air M2 is a smidge thinner than the XPS 13 Plus, and that little indentation up front makes it easier to open than Dell’s ultraportable. However, the notch up top does take a little getting used to. (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
We also like how Apple’s ultraportable has an easy-to-grab lip on the front which makes it easy to open with one hand. The XPS 13 Plus has no such feature, and during our review we missed that little lip on the front of the MacBook Air M2.
The MacBook Air M2 has an old-fashioned physical function row instead of capacitive touch keys, which can be a plus given how unsatisfying we found the XPS 13 Plus’ capacitive keys. However, you may find the notch that Apple’s added to the top of the Air M2’s display to contain its camera hardware a little less appealing — but take heart, because in our experience the notch quickly becomes easy to ignore.
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Display
The Dell XPS 13 Plus comes with a 13.4-inch WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200 resolution) display by default. It’s likely a good panel based on our testing of earlier XPS 13 displays, but we can’t say for sure how it compares to the Air M2’s display because our review unit arrived with the 3.5K OLED touchscreen upgrade.
The OLED panel on the XPS 13 Plus is a nice upgrade, if you can swing it. (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
That said, the OLED upgrade could be worth it if you can afford the roughly $300 extra it costs, because it makes everything you do on the laptop look better. OLED panels typically have brighter brights, darker darks and better contrasts than LED or LCD panels, and in our testing we found the XPS 13 Plus’ 3.5K OLED touchscreen does a great job of accurately reproducing colors.
Specifically, it displayed 118.9% of the sRGB color gamut (100% is most accurate, higher tends to mean more saturated, vivid colors) and 84.2% of the more demanding DCI-P3 color space. It also registered a Delta-E color accuracy store of 0.21 (0 is perfect).
Those numbers are a bit better than what the MacBook Air M2 was able to deliver in our tests. Even so, it’s a great display that achieved 107% of the sRGB color gamut and 75.9% of the DCI-P3 color space, with an identical Delta-E score of 0.2.
The MacBook Air M2’s screen gets brighter than the OLED panel on the XPS 13 Plus, but Dell’s laptop handles colors slightly better (and the OLED panel has nice wide viewing angles). (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
The MacBook Air M2 also gets a bit brighter than the XPS 13 Plus, achieving an average brightness of 489 nits. Dell’s ultraportable looks a bit dull by comparison, averaging 366 nits of brightness in our lab testing.
I don’t think you’ll be unhappy with either display, especially if you go for the 3.5K OLED upgrade on the XPS 13 Plus. However, in terms of sheer brightness Apple’s laptop has the edge here.
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Ports
If you care about having access to a variety of ports, the Dell XPS 13 Plus is something of a disappointment. With just a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports this laptop can’t handle much in the way of accessories, especially when one of those two ports is occupied by the charging cable. Yes, that means Dell ditched the headphone jack, something even Apple (with its penchant for axing headphone jacks in the name of thinness) didn’t dare to do to the MacBook Air M2.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Dell tries to help you out here by including a USB-C to USB-A and USB-C to 3.5mm adapters with the XPS 13 Plus, but it’s small comfort and more dongles you have to carry around and worry about losing while you’re out and about.
Apple did slightly better with the MacBook Air M2, equipping it with a similar pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports as well as a headphone jack and a MagSafe charging port.
Sure, that’s still not much in the way of a port array, but it’s far better than what you get on the XPS 13 Plus. For starters, having a separate headphone jack and charging port means you’re free to use both those Thunderbolt 4 ports for peripherals like mice, monitors, USB hubs and more. And now that Apple’s brought MagSafe charging back, you get a little more security in knowing that if someone trips over your Mac’s power cable, the odds are better that it won’t yank the laptop off the table.
There’s no competition here: If ports matter to you, Apple’s laptop is the superior choice. The downside is that both Thunderbolt 4 ports are on the left side of the Air, which gives you fewer options for routing cables.
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Performance
We put both laptops through our in-house performance testing regimen, and found that both the XPS 13 Plus with its 12th Gen Intel CPU and the MacBook Air with its M2 chip are some of the fastest laptops we’ve ever tested.
That said, as we noted in our comparison of the MacBook Air M2 vs Dell XPS 13 Plus benchmarks, Dell’s laptop beats out the Air M2 in terms of raw multicore CPU performance. As you can see from the chart of our testing results below, the XPS 13 Plus put up higher numbers in Geekbench 5.4’s multicore CPU test. This is true even when we had it in the default power state, and when we switched the XPS 13 Plus into its high-performance Ultra mode it performed even better in our tests.
Dell XPS 13 Plus
Dell XPS 13 Plus (Ultra mode)
MacBook Air M2
Geekbench Single core
1,797
1,757
1,911
Geekbench Multicore
10,621
11,217
8,965
Handbrake time
8 minutes 31 seconds
6 minutes 49 seconds
7 minutes 52 seconds
Sid Meier’s Civ 6: Gathering Storm (in frames per second)
40.3 fps @ 1470 x 956
33 fps @ 1080p
22.9 fps @ 1080p
Blackmagic Write Test
3638
4058
2800
Blackmagic Read Test
4879
4529
2210
Pugetbench Photoshop test
670
691
821
Pugetbench Premiere Pro test
279
325
452
When we ran both laptops through BlackMagic’s disk speed tests, which test how quickly an SSD can write and read data, we saw some interesting results. The MacBook Air M2’s SSD is slower than the one in Dell’s laptop, as it managed average write and read scores of 2,800 and 2,210 respectively. In the same test, Dell’s XPS 13 Plus delivered an average write score of 3638 and average read score of 4879. These numbers are an abstract way of quantifying and measuring how fast a drive can read and write data, so they should give you some indication of which laptop is quicker to store and retrieve files.
In our video encoding test, which times how long it takes a notebook to transcode a 4K video down to 1080p using Handbrake, the MacBook Air M2 did the work quicker than the XPS 13 Plus — until we put the XPS 13 Plus into Ultra mode, at which point it once again sped past the MacBook. The Air M2 completed the task in an average of 7 minutes and 52 seconds, while the XPS 13 Plus took 6 minutes and 49 seconds in Ultra mode.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
If you care about performance in Adobe apps, though, you may want to go with the MacBook Air M2. When we ran both ultraportables through PugetBench’s Adobe Creative Cloud suite benchmark tests, using a script which automatically runs through tests for different Adobe apps, Apple’s MacBook Air M2 took an average of 4:49 to complete the Photoshop test (running Photoshop 23.3.2 via Rosetta) and earned an average score of 821, while the XPS 13 Plus performed worse (670) and took longer (6:28) to do it.
And when we ran these laptops through a similar test for Premiere Pro, the MacBook Air M2 earned an average score of 452, clearly outperforming the XPS 13 Plus with its average score of 279. If you plan to do a lot of work in Adobe’s suite of apps, the new MacBook Air has a clear advantage over the XPS 13 Plus.
The MacBook Air M2 delivers outstanding performance in Adobe apps, and has the potential to be a solid gaming machine — as long as you don’t mind working within the limits of macOS. (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Gaming
Finally, what if you want to relax and enjoy some games on your new laptop? The Dell XPS 13 Plus and MacBook Air M2 are both decent gaming machines, though neither will run the latest and greatest games the way they were meant to be played. To give you an idea of how well these machines run games we ran both through the graphical benchmark in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, an oldie but a goodie that we use in testing because it runs on a wide variety of both MacBooks and Windows PCs.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to get MacBooks to run Civ VI in a comparable resolution to most Windows laptops. The highest resolution we could get the M2 Air to run Civ VI at was 1,470 x 956, which is significantly lower than the Air’s 2,560 x 1,664 native resolution. At that resolution, the Air M2 achieved an average of 40.3 frames per second (fps) in the graphical benchmark.
That’s more frames per second than the Dell XPS 13 Plus could manage to crank out, but that’s at least partially explained by the fact that the XPS 13 Plus was also running the game at a higher resolution. At 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) resolution the XPS 13 Plus achieved an average of 22.9 fps in the Civ VI benchmark, though at its native 3.5K (3,456 x 2,160) resolution the XPS could only manage 14.6 fps.
Apple has made a show of saying macOS Ventura (and its support for Apple’s new Metal 3 graphics tech) will make Macs more capable gaming machines — but great performance in demanding 3D games like No Man’s Sky (seen here) is still hit-or-miss. (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
So is the MacBook Air M2 a better laptop for gaming than the XPS 13 Plus? It’s tricky to say. The Air can clearly handle some games quite well, but gaming on macOS is significantly different from gaming on Windows. For starters, many of the best PC games don’t run natively on macOS, and even if you get them up and running performance often lags behind comparable Windows PCs. However, the Air M2 has access to all the games on Apple’s App Store, which the XPS 13 Plus lacks. So if you’re already invested in Apple’s games ecosystem, the Air M2 will let you continue playing those games on a bigger screen.
So is the MacBook Air M2 a better laptop for gaming than the XPS 13 Plus? Well, it’s complicated. In terms of raw graphical performance, maybe — but gaming on macOS is a different beast than gaming on Windows. For starters, many of the best PC games don’t run natively on macOS, and even if you get them up and running performance often lags behind comparable Windows PCs.
However, the Air M2 has access to all the games on Apple’s App Store, which the XPS 13 Plus does not. And with MacBooks potentially about to become legit gaming laptops thanks to macOS Ventura, our own Tony Polanco finally has hope for the future of Mac gaming.
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Webcam
The Dell XPS 13 Plus still sports a 720p webcam, which is disappointing now that many people are working remotely more often and spending more of their day in video calls.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Still, in our hands-on testing we found the XPS 13 Plus’ webcam to be more than serviceable, and if you add in an inexpensive ring light you can do a lot to make yourself look presentable. We also like how the laptop’s webcam supports Dell’s Express Sign-in, which aims to let you quickly log into the laptop by standing in front of it using the facial recognition tech of Windows Hello.
It would be nice if Apple’s MacBooks offered a similar feature, given the company already has effective facial recognition log-in tech for its mobile devices in the form of FaceID. The MacBook Air M2 offers no such feature, but it does have a higher-res 1080p webcam built into the notch which delivers decent picture quality.
Apple’s MacBook Air M2 has a 1080p webcam built into the notch that does a good job of capturing detail, but the colors look a little yellow-green to us and some details could be sharper. (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
You might think that the Air’s 1080p webcam clearly beats out the lower-res 720p camera on the XPS 13 Plus, but in our testing it’s not quite that simple. We liked the XPS 13 Plus’ camera more than we expected, though sharpness was lacking. Conversely we liked the Air’s 1080p webcam a bit less than expected, appreciating the sharp details but disliking the color reproduction.
So which is better? I think I prefer the 1080p camera on the MacBook Air M2, based on the test images captured above, but you can look for yourself to see which you prefer. Certainly neither can compare to the image quality delivered by the best webcams, and Tom’s Guide Global Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer (who appears in both test shots) found both laptop cameras inferior to his Logitech C920 webcam.
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Heat
We’ve never known the Dell XPS 13 line to be lap-scorchers, but the XPS 13 Plus may change that. When we put it through our heat test, which involves tasking the laptop with playing an HD video for 15 minutes and then scanning it with a heat gun, we found Dell’s latest laptop got as hot as 102.6 degrees on the bottom.
That’s bearable, but it’s hotter than we’d like. However, the silver lining may be that even under heavy load the XPS 13 Plus’ fan cooling system doesn’t generate a lot of noise. You’ll hear it, but you shouldn’t be too put out by it.
The XPS 13 Plus can get quite warm under heavy use. (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Apple’s MacBook Air M2 is quieter by comparison, since it relies on passive cooling (that is, no fans or moving parts) and performance throttling to keep the laptop cool under pressure. In practice, it works well; in our heat test we measured a peak temp 83.5 degrees at Air M2’s hottest point, on the underside of the laptop near the hinge.
The MacBook Air M2 stays cool under pressure, even without fans. (Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
That’s quite a bit more comfortable than the XPS 13 Plus’ 100+ degree underside, which means the MacBook Air M2 should feel quite a bit more comfortable in your lap during extended work sessions.
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Battery life
Dell’s XPS laptops have had a hard time lasting much longer than 8 hours in our in-house battery test, and the XPS 13 Plus is no exception — if you splurge for the OLED display upgrade.
When we put the OLED-equipped XPS 13 Plus through our battery test, which tasks the laptop with endlessly surfing the web via Wi-Fi with its screen brightness set to 150 nits, Dell’s latest laptop lasted 7 hours and 34 minutes. That’s not even enough to get through a full day at the office without plugging in to charge, though Dell claims that the non-OLED XPS 13 Plus can last a bit longer, up to 13 hours on a single charge.
13-inch MacBook Air M2 (2022)
Dell XPS 13 Plus (2022)
Battery life (hours:minutes)
14:06
7:34
The MacBook Air M2 lasts longer than that by a solid margin, though that’s not a huge surprise; MacBooks have delivered stellar battery life ever since Apple started equipping them with its own bespoke silicon. Apple’s M1 and M2 chips are both remarkably powerful and power-efficient, which is why the MacBook Pro M2 is the longest-lasting laptop we’ve ever tested, lasting over 18 hours in our battery test.
The MacBook Air M2 can’t quite match that, but it still lasted an impressive 14 hours and 6 minutes in our testing. That’s damn near double the battery life of the XPS 13 Plus OLED, so if battery life matters to you Apple’s laptop is the clearly superior choice.
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs MacBook Air M2: Bottom line
Choosing between the Dell XPS 13 Plus vs Apple’s MacBook Air M2 is tricky because, as you can see, they’re nearly identical 13-inch ultraportables with excellent performance and similar prices. But if you know what you need your laptop for, the choice becomes a lot easier.
The Dell XPS 13 Plus OLED we tested outperformed the MacBook Air M2 in terms of pure CPU and SSD speed, plus it has a beautiful OLED screen with better color reproduction than the Air. If you want a Windows ultraportable for work. entertainment and some light gaming, the XPS 13 Plus is a great choice that looks as slick as an old-school MacBook Air, right down to the ultra-thin wedge design and bad port selection.
However, Apple appears to have learned from the design issues of MacBooks past and equipped the 2022 Air M2 with some excellent improvements, including a 1080p webcam, an ultra-thin rectangular design with rounded edges (plus a handy lip for easy opening) and MagSafe charging. Plus, it stays cool under pressure and lasts far longer on a charge, making the Air M2 2022 an excellent choice if you need a laptop to carry all day and use comfortably on your lap for hours at a time.
The Air also outperforms the XPS 13 Plus when it comes to video transcoding and Adobe apps, making it the superior choice for creatives who do that sort of work on the regular.
Dell collectively shocked everyone who follows the laptop market when it announced the XPS 13 Plus. After I published my first impressions last December, I got all kinds of DMs and emails from people asking what the heck this thing was. It’s a laptop unlike anything ever seen — and many of us have spent the past half year wondering whether that’s a good or bad thing.
The regular XPS 13 (no Plus to be found) has long been one of our top Windows laptop recommendations. It’s a standout in many ways, build quality chief among them. Dell is continuing to sell that model and has upgraded it to 12th Gen processors. The XPS 13 Plus is a separate model and, as I understand, is for folks who want to take that XPS’s performance to the next level — anyone who wants as much raw muscle as they can get in a 13-inch machine.
To that end, Dell has pulled out every shoelace to make the XPS 13 Plus as thin as it can possibly be. The touchpad is haptic and fully integrated into the palm rest. There are barely any ports. The keyboard has been flattened and the function row replaced with a row of touchable LEDs. And the Plus starts $300 more expensive than its non-Plus counterpart. These are all compromises, Dell’s case is, in order to achieve the thinnest and most powerful laptop possible.
Unfortunately, the XPS 13 Plus is not that. It is more expensive and much hotter than laptops of its same size and weight that deliver similar or better power, significantly better battery life, better webcams, and more usable port selections — and that’s without even getting into the various finicky things with the keyboard deck. I can’t be the only one getting deja vu here. This whole situation is giving 2016 vibes when Apple made all kinds of changes to the MacBook in the name of thinness that ended up… not quite panning out.
Like that 2016 MacBook, this XPS 13 Plus is a nice-looking computer with a great screen. But even among folks who really must have the Dell branding and the Windows operating system, I don’t see it as the choice.
To begin on a positive note, the XPS 13 Plus is exquisitely crafted from aluminum and glass. The lid is as sturdy as can be. Keep it closed, and you won’t see much difference between it and the old-school XPS. Durability can sometimes fall by the wayside as devices get thinner, but Dell hasn’t compromised on that here. You won’t find a sturdier laptop in the 13-inch space. It’s also quite a nice-looking machine, with the flat keyboard deck creating a seamless aesthetic that appears decidedly futuristic. My one complaint about the chassis on my graphite color review unit is that it is a fingerprint magnet. If this is an issue for you, a platinum color is also available.
Unlike the current MacBook Air, there’s a bit of a wedge.
The other highlight is the display. I tested the OLED model with 3456 x 2160 resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio. It’s a viewing delight with bright and vivid colors and very little glare. With tiny (91.9 percent screen-to-body ratio) bezels, the panel more than earns Dell’s famous “InfinityEdge” title. Note that it’s only 60Hz, which not everyone will care about but some people certainly will. (I did run into a problem on my first review unit where the screen stopped working after getting knocked off a couch onto carpet despite there being no visible external damage. Dell is sending a replacement unit, and I’ll update the article if the problem recurs on that one.)
I wiped the fingerprints off as best I could for you all.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the speaker array, which includes two upfiring tweeters beneath the keyboard and two downward-firing speakers in the base. The percussion was a bit tinny, but sound quality was otherwise great with a noticeable improvement over last year’s XPS 13 (and no distortion at max volume, which was an issue I had with the predecessor). I’d say it’s on par with the audio from the M2 MacBook Air, which is quite good for the category and far ahead of what’s typical with Windows laptops. Equalizer settings can be adjusted in the preinstalled MaxxAudio program.
Look at all the ports on this thing.
But elsewhere, the sacrifices Dell has made in the name of thinness are evident. Before I get into them, I want to put this machine’s size in context. It is 0.6 inches thick and 2.77 pounds. (The non-OLED model is 2.71.) It is quite portable, sure, but there are plenty of thinner and lighter Windows laptops in the 13-inch space, including OLED options and products that are much cheaper than this one. The M2 MacBook Air is also noticeably thinner and lighter than this configuration.
First compromise: the only ports here are two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports. There’s not even a headphone jack. One of those USB-C is required to charge the laptop. That’s a factor here because the included 60W adapter doesn’t charge the device particularly fast. Alongside light Chrome use, my unit took an hour and 14 minutes to reach 60 percent. You should factor the price of a USB dock or hub into the price of this device.
There’s totally a touchpad there, we promise.
Second: the touch bar. This isn’t actually a touch bar like Apple’s customizable (and now effectively abandoned) Touch Bar — it’s a “capacitive touch function row.” But like that touchscreen strip, it replaces the physical function row that other keyboards have. It’s a row of LEDs that include things like brightness, volume, microphone muting, escape, insert, etc. Holding down Fn on the keyboard changes the LEDs to the regular function keys.
My first issue with this, similar to many complaints about Apple’s Touch Bar, is that there’s no haptic feedback, so I’m often not entirely sure if I’ve actually pressed the key. Second, if something ever got on the row (dust, hair, whatever), I could never brush it off without pressing a bunch of buttons in the process and messing up whatever I was in the middle doing. Third, I wasn’t prepared for how disconcerting it would be for keyboard shortcuts involving things like Delete and Escape to require a mix of real keys and fake keys. Maybe this is something you get used to, but at the moment, it feels very weird.
Look at that little backspace key. Cute!
Third: the trackpad. When you open up the XPS 13 Plus, the first thing you’ll likely notice is that there doesn’t appear to be a touchpad — there’s just a seamless strip of glass below the keyboard deck. Now, there is actually a capacitive touch trackpad in the area where you’d expect it to be; it’s just not delineated in any way, and you’re relying on muscle memory to ensure you click in the right spot.
I didn’t have trouble with daily navigation here; my right hand did instinctively know where to click. Unfortunately, my left hand hasn’t developed that muscle memory and that became a problem on occasions when I needed it to sub in. This was especially cumbersome when I needed to click and drag things or highlight text, which usually requires two hands for me. I very often missed the unseeable zone with my left hand’s first shot.
Separately, the trackpad’s click feels shallow. Dell actually encouraged reviewers to have their families test the device. (They wouldn’t believe it was a solid piece of glass, we were told.) So I had my mother give it a click. “It feels weird,” she remarked. I explained that it was a haptic touchpad. “Oh, that makes sense,” she said.
I also gave the unit to my younger brother, telling him it was haptic beforehand. “Aren’t Apple’s like that?” he asked. I confirmed that they were. “The Apple one’s better,” he said as he clicked around with the XPS. Guess it depends on the family.
Last thing with the trackpad — it went haywire when my hands were even slightly wet, often thinking it was depressed when I wasn’t depressing it (which made it basically unusable). I asked Dell about this, and they said that this is a common occurrence with all capacitive trackpads (which includes most modern trackpads) and recommended that I dry my hands before using the laptop. Fair enough, but I use multiple laptop models every week and rarely, if ever, experience issues to this degree.
From the back, it looks normal.
I don’t have as much of a problem with the new “zero-lattice” keyboard, which has been completely flattened. It’s literally edge to edge now, with almost no space between the keys. If pictures make you worry that we’ve got the second coming of the butterfly keyboard on our hands, don’t worry — it’s not quite that bad. There’s only 1mm of travel, but the keys actually feel quite bouncy while staying fairly quiet. The caps are wide enough that I had no problem typing quickly and accurately, though the overall feel took some getting used to. There are a couple finicky layout things that will bother some people: the arrow keys are half-height, and the power button is squeezed in next to the backspace key.
The totally-not-butterfly keyboard.
Finally, the webcam is an improvement over last generation (which is a low bar) but still not amazing. Rather than go the Apple route and have a camera notch stick out of an otherwise tiny bezel, Dell has kept that tiny bezel but separated the infrared camera (for facial recognition) out from the regular 720p webcam. My co-workers were able to see details like strands of hair while I was on video calls, and I wasn’t dark or washed out, but the image was still fairly grainy and noisy.
There’s a teensy webcam hidden in that teensy bezel.
Underlying all of this is the biggest promise of the XPS 13 Plus: the 12th Gen Core P-Series chip. Most laptops of this size use the U-Series, which is designed for the thin and light form factor, but the Plus isn’t messing around with those. The $1,299 base model includes an i5-1240P, 8GB of RAM, 512GB of storage (an M.2 Gen 4 PCIe SSD), and a 1920 x 1200 non-touch display. The unit I was sent is significantly swankier, with a Core i7-1280P, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and the higher-resolution OLED screen. That unit with a non-OLED 1920 x 1200 screen is $1,749. The SSD is upgradeable, but everything else is soldered.
This model costs $1,949 — which, needless to say, makes this an expensive computer. An M2 MacBook Air (again, thinner and lighter, with more ports, a better webcam, a physical function row, and a more usable trackpad) with comparable specs could be as much as $350 cheaper than the model I have — the model we reviewed with a 10-core CPU is $250 cheaper. (Both are cheaper than XPS Plus’s non-OLED non-touch model). A Core-i7, U-series XPS 13 (which only comes with a 1920 x 1200 display) would be $600 cheaper.
When it comes to performance, this device is certainly an improvement over the 11th Gen XPS 13, and it’s certainly more powerful than any 12th Gen U-Series machine you can buy. I didn’t experience any performance issues in most of my office work, and photo editing was fine. Premiere Pro was not at all fun — multiple versions of the program took forever to open and were slow to run, freezing every so often — but that’s not uncommon in this segment of the market.
In benchmark testing, the 13 Plus is beating Apple’s M2 MacBook Air in multicore benchmark tests. However, it is not approaching the M2 in the single-core or graphic use cases we ran. The other distinct advantage the XPS 13 Plus has over the Air is its fan, which will theoretically help it better sustain long-term loads. But the XPS 13 Plus’ fan was really struggling here, because, boy oh boy, did this thing get hot.
After a few hours of regular use (which, in my case, is a dozen or so Chrome tabs with Slack running over top), this laptop was boiling. I was getting uncomfortable keeping my hands on the palm rests and typing on the keyboard. Putting it on my lap was off the table.
I usually work in Quiet mode, but I tried all the various fan profiles and nothing made a great deal of difference. In Optimized, the chassis was a bit cooler but still toasty. The Cool mode certainly made the fans annoyingly loud but didn’t really make the chassis comfortably cold. I used Ultra Performance during benchmark testing (which made the fans loud loud, like Intel MacBook Pro levels of loud), and the CPU was still frequently hitting (and sometimes hanging out around) 100 degrees Celsius. Despite its impressive power, this device still seems to make the most sense for short-term activities if you don’t want to fry your chassis and CPU — and decreasing scores in back-to-back Cinebench runs back me up on that.
Dell XPS 13 Plus benchmarks
Benchmark
Score
Benchmark
Score
Geekbench 5.3 CPU Single
1665
Geekbench 5.3 CPU Multi
10708
Geekbench 5.3 Open CL / Compute
20483
Cinebench R23 Single
1404
Cinebench R23 Multi
8817
Cinebench R23 Multi 30 min loop
8509
PugetBench for Premiere Pro
393
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1920 x 1200, highest)
19fps
4K Export (Adobe Premiere Pro 15)
6:54
And then there’s the battery life. I was only averaging five hours and two minutes of continuous use with the screen around 200 nits. The high-resolution screen is no doubt a factor here, as we often see disappointing longevity from OLED XPS models (although OLED technology should, theoretically, be helping with battery life). Still, I always review the configuration I have, and this one did not last long enough to justify a $2,000 price point.
This exacerbates the connectivity problem, because this thing is going to need to spend a lot of time plugged in — so you’re really kissing 50 percent of your port selection goodbye. I know I sound like a broken record here, but I just want to emphasize — the MacBook Air lasts me over twice as long.
The XPS 13 Plus is impressive in its willingness to challenge the status quo. You don’t often see a laptop that’s trying to do what very few products have achieved. I respect Dell’s goal of putting a P-series processor in such a thin and beautiful chassis.
But all the innovation in the world hasn’t changed what this laptop fundamentally is. It’s an OLED XPS. And I’m ultimately telling the same story here that I’ve been telling about OLED XPS models for years on end. It’s beautiful, it’s powerful, but it’s too hot, and the high-resolution screen is murdering the battery life.
I still use a 2019 MacBook Pro for work, and I’m surprised how similar using the XPS 13 Plus feels to that experience. Like that MacBook, the Plus is thin and light — but it’s also always hot, starved for ports, and doesn’t have a practical battery lifespan. Apple made those unpopular changes in the name of thinness, and it’s perhaps telling that it’s decided to reverse many of them in the past few years. Dell’s changes have been less extreme in some areas (the keyboard) and more extreme in others (the ports), but I worry that the overall narrative is trending in the same direction.
I haven’t reviewed the regular XPS 13 yet, but my sense is that Dell intends for that to remain most people’s option, and for the Plus to be the “power user” laptop. But with its limited connectivity and questionable capacity to hold its own under “power user” loads, I’d hesitate to recommend this model to that group. I suspect that folks who need the full power of a Core i7-1280P may want something with USB-A, at the very least.
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.
One of Xbox’s best games, Dying Light 2: Stay Human, is just $35!
Still on the lookout for some solid Xbox games during Prime Day? Look no further. Dying Light 2: Stay Human is a cool $35, but it’s about to go back up as Prime Day ends in a few hours.
If you enjoy some parkour action while fighting off hordes of zombies, then this is a good pickup. The game was praised by critics at launch, and it looks phenomenal on Xbox Series X. It’s also not a part of Game Pass, so this is the cheapest way to get in and play if you’re an Xbox gamer.
If you’re down for more Xbox games while they’re cheap, check out our list of the best discounted Xbox Prime Day deals that you can’t play on Game Pass.
(Image credit: Sony)
Snag Sony’s excellent WH-1000xm4 headphones for $228, their lowest price yet!
Sony’s WH-1000xm4 headphones are among the best noise-canceling sets you can get, and they’re cheaper than ever for Prime Day. The WH-1000xm4 headphones are currently just $228 at Amazon, which is $120 cheaper than their usual price.
These headphones come with the best noise canceling in the game, up to 30 hours of battery life, and a touch sensor to control pause, play, skip, volume, and voice assistant functions. They’ll even automatically lower volume when you start talking, pause playback automatically when they’re removed, and can get 5 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge.
You can’t do much better than these headphones for the price, and they’ll be shooting back up to $348 in just a few hours as Prime Day comes to a close.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
Save $626 on the XPS 13 (9310) with 3.5K OLED display with Dell’s Black Friday in July sale!
The XPS is seriously one of the best laptops you can get, and it’s one of our perennial favorites. It’s a thin laptop with a solid build, and it’s pretty flawless in all the ways that matter. With Dell’s Black Friday in July sale, it’s even easier to pull the trigger because it’s discounted to $1,294. That’s $626 off its usual $1,920 price.
This particular configuration has a 16:10 OLED display, and 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU, 512GB of SSD storage, and 8GB of RAM. You get Thunderbolt 4 ports, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD card reader. If you want to check out more of our thoughts about this great PC, check out our Dell XPS 13 (9310) review!
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Save big on Microsoft’s premium Surface Pro X
Microsoft’s Surface Pro X is one of our favorite tablets. Powered by an Arm processor, you’ll get long battery life in a lightweight form factor, and now you can save up to $300 on one of the higher-end configurations this year.
But wait, there’s more!
If you choose a refurbished model, you’ll be able to save up to 50% off the cost of Microsoft’s premium tablet-laptop hybrid!
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Save on Microsoft 365 plans and get a free Amazon gift card with this hack!
Extend your Office online access by topping off your Microsoft 365 subscription this Prime Day. Our clever hack will get you Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family plans at a nice discount. The best part? You also get a free Amazon gift card in the process.
(Image credit: Amazon)
A smart lock is one of the best smart home gadgets you can buy
Looking to upgrade your home with some smart tech? Try a smart lock! It’s one of our favorite purchases from past Prime Day sales. August’s smart lock will work with your existing deadbolt, making upgrades super easy, and this year, the August smart lock is on sale for just $149.
If you need more smart home upgrade ideas, be sure to check out our picks for the best smart home tech for this year’s Prime Day. We cover everything from smart locks to video doorbells and more on our list of the 16 smart home upgrades that are on discount for Prime Day.
(Image credit: ASUS)
Upgrading to a 12th Gen Intel Ander Lake processor? Get this affordable Asus motherboard for just $144
Looking to upgrade to Intel’s latest 12th Gen processor? You’ll want to check out this Asus Prime B660M motherboard, which is discounted to $144 for Prime Day. The Prime B660M is among the top budget motherboards out there.
And if you need a new CPU, check out some of the latest deals on Intel’s 12th Gen processor.
(Image credit: Ring)
Don’t work harder. Make your home work smarter with smart home gadgets
Prime Day is prime time to upgrade your home to a smart home. We rounded up 16 incredible Prime Day deals from video doorbells to smart locks and robovacs to keep you keep better control over your home. Find smart light bulbs, garage controllers, a home security system, and more in our list of the 16 best smart home Prime Day deals.
(Image credit: Corsair)
Want to upgrade or build your own gaming rig? Don’t make the same mistake we did.
In case you didn’t already know, Prime Day delivers some amazing discounts on PC cases, components, accessories, and peripherals. This means you’ll definitely want to snag some components to build or upgrade your PC sooner, rather than later, to ensure that you’ll get some sizable savings.
We made the mistake of not timing our build properly in the past, meaning that we weren’t able to take advantage of any discounts on what our rig needed. To save you from the same mistake we made, we’ve compiled some of the best deals on processors, cases, cooling, memory, RAM, and more for your next PC build. Shop smart. Shop early.
(Image credit: Amazon)
In the market for a new Kindle? Don’t buy one until you read our review.
Kindles are on big discount for Prime Day, and with so many models to choose from, each with its own unique set of benefits, you’ll definitely want to do a little research before you spend your cash. Fortunately, we’ve tried them all so you wouldn’t have to. If you’re new to digital book readers and the Kindle, be sure to read our review before you shop for one on Prime Day.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Need more storage? Check out these fast SSDs on discount for Prime Day!
Whether you need faster storage or more space to store your digital files, these Prime Day deals for solid-state drives tick just the right boxes. Whether you’re running on an older PC or gaming on a top-of-the-line modern rig, we’ve found some of the best deals on different SSD formats to suit your needs. Prices start at just under $100.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Just a little more than 11 hours of Prime Day sales to go!
Have you gotten your Prime Day orders in? Amazon’s countdown clock shows that there are just over 11 hours left on the clock to snag your favorite items. But don’t wait for the timer to run out, as deals can quickly sell out. Shop early.
And if you need a new laptop, visit our Prime Day hub for savings on laptops and notebooks.
(Image credit: G.SKILL)
Got a need for speed? Speed up your PC with these DDR5 RAM deals
Whether you’re on a laptop or a desktop, adding more memory can help speed up your system. If you have a rig that’s capable of accepting the latest DDR5 standard, these deals can help save you money on your upgrade as you add or swap out your existing RAM sticks. Laptop DDR5 memory starts at $138, while desktop RAM starts at $180.
(Image credit: Acer)
Acer’s Nitro 50 desktop is perfect for students with $150 discount
Acer’s Nitro 50 comes with a discrete Nvidia GTX 1650 GPU and a solid Intel 11th Gen Core i5 processor. Suitable for light gaming, content creation, video editing, and working with photos, this desktop is versatile enough for a variety of academic pursuits. And it’s priced at just $679 for Prime Day!
(Image credit: Acer)
Pick up a new PC for back-to-school and save during Prime Day!
If you’re in need of new tech for the upcoming school year, doing your PC shopping early will save you some money. We’re seeing some terrific discounts on desktops and laptops that are budget-friendly and powerful enough. Be sure to check out our buying guide for Prime Day deals on back-to-school laptops and desktops and shop early!
You don’t need a number pad to enjoy the best PC games, so why take up that extra space on your desk with keys you don’t need? The Logitech G915 TKL wireless gaming keyboard features a compact design and is one of the best gaming keyboards around. It has utility keys that allow you to control various aspects of your gaming experience, including an RGB brightness adjuster, media keys, and a button that can swap your wireless connection type. On Amazon Prime Day, you can save over $90 on the Logitech G915 TKL.
(Image credit: Future)
Elgato Stream Deck | $150 $100
If you enjoy streaming gameplay, the Elgato Stream Deck is one of the best accessories to pick up. It features 15 customizable LCD keys that can be used to perform a practically limitless combination of actions and shortcuts. During Amazon Prime Day, you can pick up the Elgato Stream Deck for just under $100, which is $50 off its normal price.
Note that the model that’s on sale is the original Elgato Stream Deck that launched in 2015, not the newer Elgato Stream Deck MK.2. The overall functionality of the devices is the same, but the newer version supports interchangeable faceplates, a USB-C port, and a detachable stand. If those features aren’t important to you, then the original Elgato Stream Deck is right for you, especially at its discounted price.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Echo Dot (4th Gen) | $50 $20 at Amazon
Alexa-enabled devices are great tools for directing smart lights, music, and more. They’re also handy for anyone with an Xbox since they can be used to control the console. Echo devices can play and pause media, increase or decrease the volume on your TV, and even turn an Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, or Xbox One on or off with a voice command. Right now, Amazon has a sale on the Echo Dot 4th Gen that slashes the price by more than 50%.
(Image credit: Future)
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold | £1,669 £900 at Lenovo
Lenovo was the first company to ship a foldable Windows PC. The ThinkPad X1 Fold features a 13.3-inch OLED touch display that can fold in half, somewhat like the Galaxy Fold 3. Unlike today’s popular folding phones, the ThinkPad X1 Fold is a full PC running either Windows 11 or Windows 10. It even comes with a mini keyboard that can lay across one half of the device’s display, making the entire setup function like a traditional laptop. Normally, it costs £1,669, but right now, Lenovo has it discounted down to £900.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Xbox Series X (Refurbished) | £450 £384 at Microsoft
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X is a powerful device designed to deliver the best performance for console games. It can power the best Xbox games at 4K and often reach frame rates of up to 120 FPS. Unfortunately, that kind of power comes at a cost. The Xbox Series X retails at £450 in the UK, but you can get a refurbished one for £383 today. It’s not exactly a Prime Day deal, but it’s a good deal on Prime Day.
(Image credit: ASUS)
ASUS E410 laptop | $250 $100 at Best Buy
You’re not going to be playing high-end video games or doing 4K video editing on this laptop, but if you need something absolutely basic for browsing the web, processing word documents, or doing online shopping, you could do far worse than this impressively-priced 14-inch notebook from ASUS.
As part of this week’s Prime Day shenanigans, the cheap and cheerful E410 comes down to just $100 at Best Buy, making it one of the most affordable big-brand laptops on the entire market right now. It’s as basic as they come, with a very entry-level Intel processor, a sub-HD 768p screen, alongside 4GB of RAM and just 64GB of storage.
This laptop is for those who need something absolutely bare-bones for doing the absolute basics. And for that, this is a pretty great deal.
(Image credit: Future)
Razer Blade 15| $2,099 $1,899 at Amazon
I’ve been using Razer Blade laptops for years, and noticed that one of the company’s flagship RTX 30xx series models is enjoying a decent $100 off the typical asking price for Amazon Prime Day.
This Razer Blade 15 model sports an Intel 11th gen octacore i7 CPU, alongside an RTX 3070, a 1080p 144Hz display, 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD (both of which can be upgraded). The Razer Blade laptops pack an impressive amount of power into a chassis that defy typical gaming laptop designs — sleek, stylish, and subtle, integrating Thunderbolt-3 and RGB lighting for some added flair. This is one laptop that will last you a seriously long time, and one I cannot recommend enough. Quite easily among the best gaming laptops out there.
(Image credit: Future)
Intel Core i5-12600KF | $312 $218 at Amazon
The Intel Core i9-12900K may be the big daddy of Intel’s Alder Lake processors, but it’s the Core i5 range that tick all the right boxes for performance, efficiency, and value. The Intel Core i5-12600K is one of our favorite CPUs of this 12th Gen family and the Core i5-1200KF is just as good, aside from not having an integrated GPU.
It’s on sale right now for Amazon Prime Day, allowing you to save upwards of $100 on a 10-core processor. This thing is ideal for gaming, even up to 4K with the best graphics card you can afford. And because you’ll need a GPU to use with the Core i5-12600KF, be sure to check out our best GPU Prime Day deals (opens in new tab) for some helpful pointers on where to look.
(Image credit: Future)
Galaxy Tab A8 | $229 $159 at Amazon
As a fan of Xbox Cloud Gaming, I find the small screens on a typical smartphone to be prohibitive in lots of games on Xbox Game Pass, owing to the fact they’re designed for larger displays like TVs. Unreadable text, tiny UI elements, and in-game details are hidden behind a tiny screen can make some games barely playable. As noted earlier below, I prefer larger screens for cloud gaming, but what if you want something more laptop-sized?
If you want something larger than the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite I posted earlier, the Galaxy Tab A8 is a 2019 edition tablet, that clocks in at 10.4 inches. It’s not the most powerful tablet in the world, but it’s more than adequate for running lighter games, ebook readers like Kindle, streaming apps like Netflix, or indeed, Xbox Cloud Gaming, with its 1200p resolution screen. It also beats the Tab A7 and Tab A on battery life, with a beefy 7040 mAh that should compliment cloud gaming quite nicely.
Down to $159, this tablet easily becomes one of the best tablets for Xbox Cloud Gaming while we wait (possibly in vain) for Microsoft to make its very own Xbox handheld.
(Image credit: Future)
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite | $160 $115
Xbox cloud gaming is great, but games designed for TV screens are a bit of a slog on a small device like your typical smartphone. While some games work well, others have user interfaces designed for larger displays, making them hard to understand or read on smaller screens. As such, I typically opt for larger screens to get my Xbox cloud gaming on, and the Galaxy Tab A7 from Samsung is a great option for it.
While this tablet isn’t particularly fast or powerful, it is USB-C and can run the Xbox Game Pass app flawlessly, which is essentially what you want for cloud streaming games. It’s also a decent option for ebooks and streaming video at 8.7 inches, making it a “mini” tablet, but still bigger than most smartphones. Just don’t expect to be doing anything particularly strenuous on this lower-end device.
For Amazon Prime Day, it sheds almost a third of its typical price from $159 down to just $115.
(Image credit: Source: Windows Central)
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal Gaming Headset | $499 $394 at Amazon
The B&O BeoPlay Portal is the world’s most expensive Xbox headset, typically costing as much as an Xbox Series X itself. For Amazon Prime Day, it’s down from $500 to $400, netting you a pretty tidy saving on what is ultimately the most premium Xbox headset on the market. What makes it so expensive? Technologies like ANC active noise canceling eliminate sound from the outside, sitting alongside aptX sound codecs and Bluetooth 5.1 for superior mobile and laptop connectivity.
It also sports premium materials, incredible lightweight at 256 grams, and direct-to-Xbox wirelessness for seamless indoor and outdoor use. The B&O BeoPlay Portal is without a doubt one of the most expensive Xbox accessories on the market, if not the most expensive Xbox accessory, but it’s designed specifically to sit inside that premium lifestyle headphone category, as opposed to you typical gaming headset.
(Image credit: LG Electronics)
Save $703 on the BEST TV for your Xbox Series X, the LG OLED C1
The LG OLED C1 is probably the best TV you could pick up for your Xbox Series X. For Amazon Prime Day, the beautiful LG OLED C1 is nearly 50% off for the 48-inch model, bringing it down to just under $800. That’s the perfect size for a game room, and you seriously won’t find a better set for the price.
What makes the LG OLED C1 great is its OLED screen, which can show pure blacks and incredibly vivid colors. Its HDR and Dolby Vision capabilities are fantastic, and it can pull of 120Hz with variable refresh rate. Those are all things you’ll want in a TV for your Xbox Series X, Series S, and even PS5.
For more solid Xbox deals, check out our best Prime Day Xbox Series X and Series S deals.
(Image credit: Dell)
Dell Inspiron 15 3000 | $600 $392 at Dell
School is about to start back up, which means you may be thinking of snagging an affordable laptop for school for you or your student. Dell is making it easy by slashing over $200 off the price of the already affordable Inspiron 15 3000!
This laptop comes with an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, 256GB or M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD storage, and 8GB of DDR4-2666MHz RAM. The display comes in at 15.6 inches and has an FHD resolution with an anti-glare finish. It’s not the most powerful laptop out there, but it has plenty of horsepower to charge through web browsing and school work. And you’ll be hard pressed to do better for $392!
(Image credit: Razer)
Razer Kaira X Xbox headset | $60 $40 at Amazon
Prime Day is a great time to pick up a new gaming headset, and the Razer Kaira X for Xbox is the perfect fit if you’re down for a budget option. This headset comes with the same sort of styling as Razer’s other options, but it’s 33% off right now, coming to just $40. It’s wired, so you don’t have to worry about batteries, and the drivers will make sure you hear any enemy sneaking up behind you.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
Xbox Series S is down to $289.99 during Prime Day!
There’s no specific “Prime Day” deal on the Xbox Series S, but you can still pick up an Xbox Series S at a discount at Amazon right now for $290. That’s a bit off the top of its usual $300 price tag. If you’ve been planning to get in on the latest generation of consoles, this is a solid drop for as early in the lifecycle. Check out our roundup of the best Xbox Series X and Series S Prime Day deals for more gaming goodness.
(Image credit: Razer)
Get a Razer Viper Ultimate gaming mouse for almost half price on Prime Day
The Razer Viper Ultimate isn’t just one of Razer’s best gaming accessories, it’s one of the best gaming mice available. While it’s been around for a few years, the Viper Ultimate is no slouch. It has a max DPI of 20,000, features Razer’s HyperSpeed wireless technology, and weighs just 74 grams. Right now, you can get it for $80, which is almost half of its normal retail price of $150.
(Image credit: Future)
Listen up: Surface Earbuds are half price for Prime Day
Microsoft’s Surface Earbuds feature round touch — ahem — surfaces for controlling audio and calls. They come in a convenient carrying case that delivers an extra eight hours of battery life. They even integrate with Microsoft Office. So what’s the drawback? Normally their price. But that’s not the case today, as the Surface Earbuds are $99 for Amazon Prime Day. That’s $100 off the normal retail price and enough of a discount to make the Surface Earbuds a better bargain than some of the best earbuds.
(Image credit: Future)
Synology Prime Day deals slash up to $100 off the best NAS servers
NAS servers allow you to create a private media center, personal cloud, or storage system for surveillance. One of the main drawbacks of NAS servers is that they can be pricey. Amazon Prime Day and Synology are here to help with that problem. Right now, you can save up to $100 on some of the best NAS servers for home. The Synology DiskStatin DS220j (the two-bay model) is $30 off, bringing its price to $190. On the higher end of things, the Synology 4 bay NAS DiskStation DS920+ is down to $450 from its normal price of $550.
(Image credit: CyberPowerPC)
Save up to 27% on pre-built PCs from CyberPowerPC
Jumping into PC gaming can be overwhelming, especially for those that have never built a system before. While Prime Day is a great day to pick up parts, it’s also the perfect time to purchase a pre-built PC. CyberPowerPC has discounts of up to 27% on a range of gaming rigs, including the budget-friendly GamerXtreme i3-12100F RX 6500XT (what a name) and the powerful GamerXtreme i9-12900KF RTX 3070.
(Image credit: Future)
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 8 gets a nearly 30% discount on Prime Day
Microsoft’s Surface Pro helped to popularize the hybrid tablet-laptop form factor with its iconic kickstand design, and now the eighth generation tablet is getting a big discount. If you’re in the market for a new Surface Pro, you can find the Surface Pro 8 at a $412 discount on Amazon Prime, bringing the price down to just $1,187 for an Intel Core i7 configuration with a 256GB SSD.
If you do get the Surface Pro 8, remember to add a keyboard cover as well.
(Image credit: Dell)
Save nearly $600 on Dell’s popular XPS 13 laptop!
Dell’s XPS 13 is one of the most popular Windows laptops on the market today with its stylish design, powerful performance, and thin-and-light form factor. Though the steep discount on the XPS 13 isn’t on Amazon, you’ll find this laptop deal on Dell’s website, which takes the price of the notebook down to just $1,028.
At this price, you’re getting an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 13.3-inch UHD 4K touchscreen display.
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
Scored a new PC or Xbox for Prime Day? Add Sea of Thieves game.
If you scored a new PC or Xbox for Prime Day, you can also find some hefty discounts on games. One title, Sea of Thieves, is now 50% off for Amazon’s sale-a-thon for $20. The title works on both PC and Xbox. Sea of Thieves is a massive multiplayer pirate adventure game.
(Image credit: TP-Link)
Kiss goodbye to Wi-Fi connectivity problems with $80 off of TP-Link Deco X55 mesh network
If you’re experiencing drops in Wi-Fi coverage at home, a mesh network could be the ticket to solving your wireless woes. TP-Link has an awesome deal for its Deco X55 mesh network. Priced at $200 for Prime Day, you’ll enjoy a hefty $80 discount on this three-pack mesh router.
(Image credit: Logitech)
Shift into higher gear with a 37% discount on Logitech’s racing wheel
Racers, start your engines! If you’re a fan of racing games, you can save 37% off of Logitech’s G920 racing wheel. Normally priced at $299, you’ll be able to enjoy a $110 discount, which takes the price down to just $189. The racing wheel, along with the pedals, is made to work with Xbox and PCs, so you can switch between desktop, laptop, and console.
(Image credit: Cale Hunt | Windows Central)
BenQ’s UWQHD gaming monitor | $500($630)
If you have your eyes on an ultra-wide monitor for your next screen, you may want to check out BenQ’s UWQHD Mobiuz display, which is now on sale for $500, or a $130 discount from the $630 list price.
The monitor is well equipped for gaming with AMD FreeSync support, 144Hz refresh rate, and VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification that allows it to reach 400 nits of brightness.
(Image credit: Future)
Xbox Series S | $250 (was $300)
Through Woot’s special Prime Day promo, you can now Microsoft’s Xbox Series S console for just $250. This means you’ll save $50 off of the gaming console’s list price of $50. With the money saved, be sure to check out some other deals in this hub to spruce up your gaming experience, like the Razer Turret for Xbox, Seagate’s Xbox Storage Expansion, or a new game like Far Cry 6! All these items are on sale with steep discounts for Prime Day, so act fast!
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
Far Cry 6 | 78% off!
The latest title in Ubisoft’s Far Cry series is enjoying a massive discount for Amazon Prime Day. Far Cry 6 now costs just $12.99 for Xbox One.
Far Cry 6 is a guerilla shooter that tasks players to overthrow a corrupt government on a fictional tropical island. Fight through jungles and across mountains in a variety of vehicles with makeshift weapons, and liberate the people of Yara.
(Image credit: Sony)
Save up to 35% on some of Sony’s best noise-canceling headphones!
Keep the noise out while you work, study, or game with Sony’s wireless headphones and earbuds. The highly coveted Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones come with some of the best active noise-canceling (ANC) technology to help silence the world around you to keep you focused on the task that matters. These headphones are now 35% off for Prime Day, taking them down to just $228 from a retail price of $348!
And if you need something smaller and more portable, Sony’s WF-1000XM4 offer impressive noise cancelation in earbud packaging. Now at $198, these compact AirPods Pro rivals are now 30% off the regular $279 price tag for Prime Day.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Dell 240Hz monitor | $200 (was $320)
Got a need for speed? Dell’s S2522HG is at a historically low price this Amazon Prime Day. This monitor has a zippy 240Hz refresh rate, making it a great companion for anyone playing fast-paced, action-packed games. At $200, you’re getting a 24-inch IPS panel with a 1080p resolution, 1ms response time, and an integrated USB hub. Perfect for college students on a budget, gamers, or anyone who needs a new monitor.
(Image credit: Corsair)
Build your own PC for $1100 with Prime Day savings!
Looking to build your own gaming PC or upgrade an existing one? Amazon Prime Day is a terrific time to save on PC components. If you’re starting from scratch, we’ll help you navigate Prime Day to find deals that will allow you to build a powerful gaming PC that costs a little more than $1,000.
For that price, your new battle station will come with a 12th Gen Intel processor and powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics wrapped in an attractive case.
Once you’ve selected your components on discount, be sure to check out our guide on how to actually build your PC.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Razer Seiren X | $55 (was $99)
Look, you don’t need us to tell you that Razer makes some of the best PC gaming accessories around. That even includes its more budget-friendly ones, like the Razer Seiren X, which is down to $55 for Prime Day. That’s its cheapest price ever, and $10 lower than the last low it hit. If you’re in the market for a nice, budget-friendly PC mic, then this is the one to grab.
(Image credit: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster)
Logitech G915 LIGHTSPEED keyboard | 50% off!
The Logitech G915 Lightspeed is still one of our favorite gaming keyboards, and it’s definitely worth checking out at over $100 off its usual price tag. This keyboard features a super low-profile design with mechanical keys, macro buttons, and the option to switch between Logitech’s own Lightspeed tech or Bluetooth on the fly. Most importantly, it’s a dream to type on with its clicky, low action feel. It’s right up there with some of the best gaming keyboards around.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro | $35 off
Razer’s DeathAdder V2 Pro is a highly reviewed gaming mouse that builds on a long legacy of mice from Razer. It earned a 4.5 out of 5 in our DeathAdder V2 Pro review a couple of years back, and it still stands up well against the best gaming mice. On Amazon Prime Day, you can save $35 on the DeathAdder V2 Pro gaming mouse, dropping it down to just a penny under $55. The gaming mouse offers up to 70 hours of battery life and has low latency, thanks to its HyperSpeed technology.
(Image credit: Future)
Original Microsoft Surface Duo | Down to $400
Microsoft’s Surface Duo is a unique little device that features a pair of displays. With those dual screens, you can run two apps side-by-side or span apps across the entire device. The original Duo is getting a bit long in the tooth at this point, but it’s a great option as a secondary device or for those that want to try out its form factor. Today, Amazon has a Prime Day deal on Surface Duo that discounts the device to just $400. That’s just under $60 off its retail price these days.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
Surface Laptop Studio | up to $700 off
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio is its most powerful Surface PC to date. For Prime Day, you can get a model with 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and an Intel Core i7 processor for $700 off, which brings its price down to $2,123. In addition to its powerful specs, the Surface Laptop Studio stands out as a unique convertible PC. Its display can pop into different postures, allowing you to use the device at a variety of angles. There are also discounts on versions with lower specs, but stock can vary.
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)
Surface Laptop 4 | 25% off
While Microsoft’s Surface family of devices is best known for flipping and folding, some people want a traditional laptop. In comes the Surface Laptop 4, which sits near the top of the best Windows laptops. It has a 13.5-inch PixelSense display, an Alcantara keyboard deck, and a clamshell design that many people prefer. Right now, you can snag a Surface Laptop 4 for as low as $899 through Amazon. The most affordable model features an AMD Ryzen 4000 series chip, 256GB of storage, and 16GB of RAM.
(Image credit: Future)
Discounted graphics cards on Prime Day from AMD or NVIDIA
GPU prices have ballooned during the global chip shortage, so you’re not going to save a ton on the best graphics cards on Prime Day. That being said, you’re able to pick some up for around MSRP, which would have been unheard of a few months ago. We rounded up the best NVIDIA RTX 30 series and AMD Radeon 6000 series deals and will update it throughout Prime Day.
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
Halo Infinite | $34.99 (was $59.99)
The latest entry of the Halo franchise may not be infinitely discounted, but you can save 42% on the title during Prime Day. A digital code for the Standard Edition of Halo Infinite is down to $35 (normally $59.99). As the latest entry to the Halo saga, Halo Infinite features tight gunplay, new weapons, and a grappling hook mechanic. The semi-open world of the game also provides new avenues for exploration.
(Image credit: Razer)
Razer Kraken Kitty | $124.20 (was $150)
Razer makes some of the best gaming headsets, and some of those devices even let you look like an adorable kitty cat. The Razer Kraken Kitty V2 features two built-in cat ears on a pink frame. Don’t let the adorable headset fool you, it isn’t just for looks. The Razer Kraken V2 has 7.1 surround sound and an in-line digital audio controller. On Amazon Prime Day, you can pick up the kitty version fo $124.20, which is $25 off its normal price. Earlier during the event, the headset was discounted by $50, so if you’re interested, it’s best to act quickly.
(Image credit: Future)
ASUS PC parts | up to $100 off
Amazon Prime Day is an excellent time to purchase parts for building your own PC or upgrading your system. There are sales on power supplies, Wi-Fi cards, and more throughout the event. ASUS has discounts of up to 20% off on various parts at the moment, offering savings of up to $100.
(Image credit: Future)
Surface Pro 8|£850 off (UK)
The Surface Pro 8 is Microsoft’s flagship 2-in-1. It features a 13-inch PixelSense display and runs on an 11th Gen Intel Core paired with Intel Iris Xe graphics. The Surface Pro was the device that kicked off the convertible PC trend over ten years ago, and Microsoft has had a decade to refine the design, which shows. In our Surface Pro 8 review, our executive editor called the device “basically perfect.” Right now, you can save up £350 on the Surface Pro 8 during Prime Day. There are discounts on all models, but the bigger bargains are on the models with 128GB or 256GB of storage.
(Image credit: Future)
Razer Turret | $169 (was $250)
Gaming with a mouse and keyboard on Xbox consoles hasn’t always been easy. That changed with the Razer Turret and other Xbox Series X and S keyboards rolled out. The Razer Turret features a retractable magnetic mouse mat and an ergonomic wrist rest to make it comfortable for use on a lap. It even has a dedicated Xbox key to summon the Xbox dashboard. On Prime Day, you can pick up the Razer Turret for 40% off, which brings it down to $150. If you’re looking to play some Xbox mouse and keyboard games, this deal is worth checking out.
(Image credit: Matt Brown | Future)
Xbox X|S storage expansion card | £164.99 (was £254.99)
The Xbox Seagate Storage Expansion Card is the most seamless way to get more storage for the best Xbox games. The card supports the same SSD speeds and technology featured inside the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, so you won’t see any dropoff in performance from titles storage on the external drive. Right now, you can get the Seagate Expansion Card for the Xbox Series X or S for £164.99, which is down from the normally high cost of £254.99. Our Seagate Xbox Storage Expansion Card review provides more insight that should help you decide if the SSD is right for you.
(Image credit: Future)
Save up to 60% on Razer PCs, headphones, and peripherals at Amazon
Gaming peripherals maker Razer has discounted dozens of its best-rated products this Prime Day, with up to 60% off popular laptops, headphones, and PC gaming accessories. Deals include popular picks like the slimline Razer Book 13, best-selling keyboards like the BlackWidow and Huntsman series, and the Basilisk mouse family. We’ve rounded up some of the best Razer gaming deals this Prime Day, rounding up an extensive list of price cuts on Razer products this week.
(Image credit: Future)
Save up to 20% on ASUS PC parts and components at Amazon
ASUS is best known for its PC hardware, making components like motherboards, graphics, and power supplies, all crucial to build a PC. Prime Day has introduced sizeable savings on various ASUS components, with up to 20% off key parts of what could be your dream PC. The coming two days could be an ideal opportunity to invest in your next PC build, dropping parts from reputable brands to some of their lowest-ever prices.
Dell has announced the all-new XPS 13 (9315) and XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315) premium laptop and folio PC.
The new XPS 13 has a motherboard that is 1.8x smaller than last year’s model, making it the most compact XPS 13 yet.
Both laptops feature Intel 12th Gen U-series processors, and the 2-in-1 offers optional 5G connectivity.
The new XPS 13 is available and starts at $999, while the XPS 13 2-in-1 is coming later this summer, with a price yet to be determined.
While all the attention has fallen on the radical XPS 13 Plus (along with its high price tag), Dell had a few more laptops up its sleeve for those who wanted a more conservative yet modern design while also being more affordable.
The new XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1, both 9315 model numbers, complete that lineup offering something for everyone who wants a clean, minimalist laptop.
XPS 13 (9315)
The all-new XPS 13 (9315) in Umber colorway for 2022. (Image credit: Dell)
First up is the new XPS 13 (9315). At first glance, it’d be easy to dismiss it as just another refresh with its famed CNC machined aluminum and glass chassis but with a newer processor slapped in and some new colors; however, that is severely underestimating the internal work Dell has done.
For one, this is the lightest, thinnest XPS 13 with the smallest footprint. Sure, we’re talking millimeters, but it’s even noticeable in photo comparisons. We have a complete spec comparison between the new XPS 13 (9315) and last year’s XPS 13 (9310) for those who want a deeper dive.
Dell packed in Intel’s 12th Gen U-series processors (Core i5-1230U or i7-1250U), which have a base power of just 9 watts (versus 15 in last year’s model) and a max turbo power of 29 watts. While the XPS 13 (9315) is more powerful (and more efficient) than 2021’s XPS 13 (9310), it won’t be as powerful as the more-expensive XPS 13 Plus, which runs 28-watt P-series chips, which is part of the price difference.
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Dell XPS 13 (2022) motherboard next to a quarter. (Image credit: Dell)
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Dell XPS 13 (2022) in Sky colorway. (Image credit: Dell)
Dell XPS 13 (2022) in Sky colorway. (Image credit: Dell)
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Additionally, Dell has added human presence detection (ExpressSign-In), Wi-Fi 6E, new colors (Sky, Umber), Bluetooth 5.2, faster LPDDR5-5200 RAM, and faster storage (PCIe 4.0) while coming in just a hair lighter and smaller than last year’s model.
The display is still the same excellent 16:10 13.4-inch with Dolby Vision in either a 1920×1200 (FHD+) in touch or non-touch/anti-glare or UHD+ (3840×2400) with touch and anti-reflective.
To accomplish all that while also improving thermals (there is just one fan now, instead of two), Dell is leveraging cell phone PCB (Printed Circuit Board) technology when designing the motherboard. That effort resulted in the board being a massive 1.8x smaller than the previous generation. With that extra space, Dell kept the battery nearly the same size (51WHr vs. 52) and put in larger speaker boxes for “deeper bass, louder sound, and better overall audio” with 4 watts of output.
While RAM has been previously soldered to the motherboard to save space, Dell is also now using an industry-first NVMe BGA SSD, which is just 13% the size of a traditional M.2 2280 SSD (it’s also now built into the board). That LPDDR5 x64 RAM is now also Package on a Package (PoP), a fancy term for stacking components — again, this is something never done in laptops as most use JEDEC memory standards.
720p, IR, ambient light sensor, human presence detection
Keyboard
1mm travel, backlight
Security
Fingerprint reader, IR camera, HPD
Battery
51Wh
Dimensions
11.63 x 7.85 x 0.55 inches
295.4mm x 199.4mm x 13.99mm
Weight
From 2.59 pounds (1.17kg)
Color
Sky, Umber
Ports, however, are also cut down as there are just now two Type-C Thunderbolt 4 with no Type-A (a dongle is included in the box, however). Dell also eliminated the microSD slot and, more controversially, the 3.5 audio jack (there is an optional dongle for the headphone jack).
Pricing for the new XPS 13 starts at $999 (versus $1,249 for the XPS 13 Plus) and is now available for ordering. Besides Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro options, users can also configure the XPS 13 with Ubuntu 20.04.
XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315)
(Image credit: Dell)
Besides the redesigned XPS 13, Dell brings back its 2-in-1 13-inch laptop. However, it is nearly unrecognizable from the previous model. Before, the XPS 13 2-in-1 (7390) was a more traditional laptop with a 360-degree hinge, which we praised highly. The new model is more like a Surface Pro — a tablet with a detachable keyboard, aka “folio” design. It leans much more heavily towards a tablet than a traditional laptop.
The new XPS XPS features a 13-inch 3K display with HDR400, and the new 9 watt 12th Gen Core i5-1230U or i7-1250U processor (the same as the XPS 13). The XPS 13 2-in-1 looks to be nearly all-display with Dell’s super thin screen borders. With Gorilla Glass 7 and active pen support, the folio design certainly opens the door for more usage cases like notetaking and drawing compared to the old model.
The XPS 13 2-in-1 is Dell’s first consumer PC with optional global 5G (and eSIM). For those who don’t need mobile data, the device falls back to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
And because it’s now a tablet, the XPS 13 2-in-1 has two cameras. The front one is 5MP full HD (which is better than the XPS 13’s 720P) with IR for Windows Hello (a fingerprint reader is also built into the power button as another option). On the rear, the world-facing camera is a more powerful 11MP and can record up to 4K.
Ports are similar to the XPS 13 and XPS 13 Plus with just two Type-C Thunderbolt 4 with no 3.5mm headphone jack.
Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E 1675 (AX211), Bluetooth 5.2, 5G
Camera
Front: 1080p, RGB + IR, ambient light sensor
Rear: 11MP 4K
Keyboard
Attachable Folio (sold separately), 1mm travel
Security
Fingerprint reader, IR camera
Battery
49.5Wh
Dimensions
11.5 x 7.9 x 0.29 inches
292.5mm x 201.2mm x 7.4mm)
Weight
From 1.6 pounds (736g)
Folio: 1.23 pounds (560g)
Color
Sky, Slate
Turning to some more controversial decisions besides no headphone jack is that the XPS Folio (the name for the zero-lattice keyboard with 1.0mm key travel and Precision touchpad) and XPS Stylus are sold separately.
Moreover, that keyboard is not so much like Microsoft’s but rather the old-school style where it magnetically sticks to the rear of the device, forming a tent-like structure. This is due to no built-in kickstand with this PC. While this design works well on a desk, it’s not nearly as comfortable as the Surface Pro’s angled design and built-in kickstand.
Overall, the new XPS 13 2-in-1 at least stands out from every other non-enterprise convertible PC, which works in Dell’s favor. However, it remains to be seen if this radical new folio design will be a hit with consumers and will be amongst Dell’s best laptops.
Availability for the new XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315) is due later this summer, although pricing has yet to be determined.
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Dell XPS 13 (9315)
The XPS 13 (9315) gets new performance hardware, human presence detection, and new color options, making it the best pick if you don’t need the XPS 13 Plus (9320).
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 Umberimage: 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.
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.
For Cyber Monday, Dell is offering this Dell XPS gaming PC, equipped with an RTX 3060 video card, for a really low price of $999.99. This is one of the very few (if only) RTX 3060 PCs you’ll find for $1K or less. This deal is supposed to expire end of day on Cyber Monday (it may or may not return on Cyber Monday). The RTX 3060 is another card that’s nigh impossible to find at retail price without a LOT of elbow grease; you can buy it off eBay and you’ll have to fork $700 or more. In this case, you’re getting a complete system along with the RTX 3060 Ti, as well as a 1 year in-home warranty, for just $300 more.
Dell Cyber Monday Deal: Dell XPS RTX 3060 Gaming PC for Only $999
The Dell XPS gaming PC is equipped with an 11th gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive storage, and the RTX 3060 Ti video card. For faster performance, we’d definitely recommend adding in an SSD as your boot drive. The low price tag might imply that the RTX 3060 is not up to snuff, but nothing could be further from the truth. The RTX 3060 is about 20% faster than the RTX 2060 SUPER and is on par with the RTX 2070. That means it crushes games at 1080p and can handle 1440p and VR gaming as well. That’s pretty impressive for a $999 PC no matter how you look at it. It’s also future proofed with DLSS 2.0, which as the potential to significantly improve games as long as it is supported.
More Dell Cyber Monday Deals
For more gaming deals from Dell and Alienware, check out our main Best Cyber Monday Dell Deals article with all current and upcoming deals on Dell and Alienware gaming PCs, laptops, and monitors. We will keep that page updated through Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
