As far as product refreshes get, the new Dell XPS 13 is a pretty minor ane. Simply considering the Broadwell-based XPS 13 was my favorite laptop of 2022, I just had to get in the new model and see if information technology's all the same a class-leading device.

New for late 2022/early 2022 is an upgrade to Skylake, a USB Type-C port that supports Thunderbolt 3, and the option to get the laptop in gilt. That's about it. This Skylake refresh also presented the opportunity to see how the loftier-resolution touchscreen model compares to the 1080p variant, which I had previously looked at last year.

In case you're unfamiliar with the Dell XPS thirteen series, hither's a quick rundown for you. Information technology'due south a 13.three-inch ultraportable laptop bachelor in two main variants: 1 with a 1080p non-touch display, and the other with a 3200 x 1800 touchscreen. Both use extremely sparse bezels, a signature feature of this device that allows Dell to use a larger screen in a package normally associated with 12-inch laptops.

The hardware of the XPS 13 ranges with the price, which starts at $800 for an Intel Skylake Core i3 CPU, iv GB of RAM, and a 128 GB SSD; and can go equally high as $two,500 for a Core i7, 16 GB of RAM, and a i TB PCIe SSD. All versions come with integrated HD 520 graphics, a 56 Wh bombardment, and connectivity like Thunderbolt three and Wi-Fi air conditioning.

Pre-configured models vary from region to region, merely the model I received to review costs $1,699 in the United States, which is slightly more than double the entry-level model. Information technology features a 13.iii-inch QHD+ touchscreen display, an Intel Core i7-6500U processor, 8 GB of RAM, a 256 GB PCIe solid state drive and Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. It's also gilded, rather than silverish, which is available in Australia and will hopefully come to the U.s.a. shortly equally an option.

The blueprint of the new Dell XPS xiii is essentially unchanged from the previous version. Luckily, this aspect of the laptop was one of my favorites: the sleek, minimalist aluminium used on the hat and underneath of the device looks fantastic, while the rubberized plastic surrounding the keyboard adds interest and comfort to the body. The gilt stop to this model's metallic is understated and looks quite practiced, although I still prefer the classic argent finish.

By far the most noteworthy characteristic of the XPS 13's blueprint is the ultra-thin bezel that surrounds the display. For some reason despite its awesomeness this unique attribute of the XPS hasn't been copied past other laptop manufacturers in their tardily 2022 releases. Having a thin five.2mm bezel on three sides of the display makes optimal employ of the area available to it, and in turn, allows the XPS 13 to occupy less space overall. Compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, for example, the XPS 13's footprint is around 12% smaller.

The thin bezels don't simply assist the XPS 13 become more compact than a typical 13-inch laptop: it also improves the viewing feel past giving the illusion that the screen is larger than it really is. The but trade-off is the awkward position of the congenital-in webcam which has been relegated to the lesser left corner of the display assembly.

The bear upon-enabled XPS 13 uses a traditional swivel, significant it reclines to a comfortable viewing position, just doesn't fold flat or greater than 180° like some of Lenovo'due south competing products. While there are some utilise cases where flipping the screen around into a tablet-like position is useful, I don't miss having this functionality on the XPS 13. This laptop succeeds not by introducing hybrid functionality, but past doing everything a laptop should do well.

The backlit keyboard is unchanged from the early on 2022 XPS 13 and it'southward simply as adept every bit earlier, providing a decent layout and great tactile feedback for an ultraportable. Since I reviewed the last XPS xiii, software tweaks have significantly improved the trackpad as well, making it an excellent feel alongside Windows 10.

The port selection on the new XPS xiii remains solid. The inclusion of Thunderbolt 3 and USB iii.1 gen 2 through a single Type-C port is one of the notable changes in the new model, providing up to 40 Gbps of bandwidth and giving the XPS thirteen the ability to drive 2 4K 60 Hz displays simultaneously. The versatile, reversible USB Type-C port replaces the mini-DisplayPort from the previous model, which is an overall upgrade because Thunderbolt 3 supports DisplayPort 1.2.

Other ports include a 3.5mm audio jack, an SD card slot, two standard USB three.0 ports, one on each side, and a proprietary power connector. The speakers are found further down each edge, which are acceptable for a laptop, while the power button is side by side to the keyboard in the tiptop-right corner.

The cooling solution has not changed and provides absurd and quiet functioning for the 15W Skylake CPU. The single fan intakes air from the vents along the bottom of the laptop, venting out into the hinge assembly. Only during load is the fan aural, and you can barely experience whatever airflow when using the device on your lap.

This is the first time I've used the QHD+ model of the Dell XPS 13. The 3200 ten 1800 panel is certainly impressive, delivering extremely crisp imagery (276 ppi) and fantastic viewing angles thanks to IGZO IPS engineering. The glossy finish does collect more fingerprints, merely colors seem to pop more than the 1080p panel, and the inclusion of a touchscreen is welcome.

Dell claims the XPS 13 display achieves brightness levels of 400 nits, which is slightly above the 370 nits maximum effulgence I recorded from the QHD+ model. This brightness output can be lower if the display is not showing predominantly white content, presumably to improve blackness level performance, but I didn't have any bug viewing this panel in bright atmospheric condition due to the panel's slim, gap-complimentary construction.

Color accurateness was adequate, achieving an average dE2000 of 3.81 in saturation sweeps, 4.36 in greyscale, and 4.09 in our custom accuracy test (anything below 2.0 is indistinguishable from perfect). Accurateness was by and large allow down by a default panel temperature of effectually 7,500K, which is on the cool side, as well as slightly inaccurate reds and dejection, even so this shouldn't be a large issue for nigh users. Dell claims sRGB gamut coverage, and I was able to validate that in my testing.

How does the QHD+ brandish compare to the 1080p variant? Well, the 1080p brandish isn't every bit bright (310 nits) though the matte finish makes it simply as piece of cake to view. The 1080p screen is slightly more accurate, recording boilerplate dE2000s of 3.41 and iii.37 in saturation and general accuracy tests respectively. Both models dynamically adjust their display calibration (slightly) in the firmware depending on what is being displayed, likewise.