Dell has finally released its Apple MacBook Neo competitor, the XPS 13, but pricing outside of the US is far from attractive, making it a wash for those wanting an affordable Windows laptop. At £899 / €1,149, the XPS 13 is significantly more expensive than Apple’s budget-friendly machine.
The Dell XPS 13 was presented as a low-cost laptop powered by Windows, and a strong alternative to Apple’s MacBook Neo. Indeed, Dell was keen for us to compare the two devices side by side when we saw the new machine at Computex. While this holds true when it comes to US soil, where the XPS is sold for $699 (or $599 for students), in the UK and Europe, the situation is quite different.
In the UK, Dell’s XPS 13 price starts at £899 – including 20% VAT, or £699 for students, going up to £1,049 if you want 16GB of RAM. In Europe, specifically France, the XPS 13 starts at €1,149, or €799 for students, and goes up to €1,299 for the 16GB version.
To put this in perspective, at current exchange rates, the XPS 13 is about £274 more expensive in the UK than in the US for non-students. The US price of $699 works out at around £521 at the current exchange rate – add VAT and you’re looking at £625. The XPS 13 would be competitive at this price, but at £899 it’s 43.84% more expensive.
For comparison, Apple offers its MacBook Neo at £599 and €699, albeit with a smaller 256GB SSD, with Amazon pricing currently sitting at £549. This means that the cheapest XPS 13 option is £300 and €450 more expensive than the cheapest MacBook Neo model. For a laptop that was supposed to compete with the Neo, the situation looks absurd.
Assuming you can grab the XPS 13 for a reasonable price at some point, you will be greeted with a 6-core (2P+4E) Intel Core 5 320 CPU, 8GB or 16GB of 7,467MT/s LPDDR5X memory, and 512GB of SSD storage. On top of its sharp 13.4in (2560×1440) 120Hz touch screen, you also get a nice CNC aluminium chassis and a reasonably sized 52Whr battery.
To put it simply, the Dell XPS 13 looks like a quality machine that’s keenly priced in the US. If not for its unappealing UK and European prices, it would look like an easy recommendation for anyone wanting a light, budget-friendly laptop.
