Dell has refreshed its XPS 13 line-up with two new entries powered by Intel 12th Gen processors, Iris Xe Graphics, and up to 4K displays with DisplayHDR 400 support.
XPS 13
Available in Sky or Umber colour shades, the XPS 13 has a reduced thickness (0.55in vs 0.58in) and weight (2.59lb vs 2.64lb) compared to 2021 models, making it easier than ever to transport around. It can be powered by either an Intel Core i5-1230U (10 cores up to 4.4 GHz) or a Core i7-1250U (10 cores up to 4.7 GHz) processor, meaning 14-core configurations remain reserved for the bigger and pricier XPS 13 Plus.
Commenting on the launch, Donnie Oliphant, senior director of XPS product marketing, said: “In the spirit of pushing boundaries, or shrinking boundaries, our engineering team journeyed inwards with the same mission to get the XPS 13 as compact as possible for customers who prioritize mobility.”
The bulk of Dell’s engineering efforts take place inside, where we find a motherboard 1.8 times smaller than the one found in last year’s XPS 13. A dramatic reduction that leaves more space for bigger batteries, extra storage or simply better cooling solutions, though what impact the miniaturisation has on upgradeability and servicing remains to be seen.
Despite a compact 13.99mm x 295.4mm x 199.4mm chassis, XPS 13 can still be configured with up to 32GB of LPDDR5-5200 memory, two 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, a 4K UHD+ (3840×2400) touch screen capable of displaying 500-nit brightness, with a 1650:1 contrast ratio, 90 per cent DCI-P3 colour gamut and DisplayHDR 400 support.
Add to that a 51WHr battery, two Thunderbolt 4 (supporting DisplayPort alt mode and Power Delivery), Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 for a complete on-the-go experience. There’s also a fingerprint reader tucked inside the power button, and though the webcam in the upper bezel supports Windows Hello facial recognition, it remains stuck at a basic 720p resolution.
XPS 13 2-in-1
On the convertible front, Dell’s latest XPS 13 2-in-1 looks increasingly similar to Microsoft’s Surface Pro, offering a detachable screen which transforms your laptop into a tablet. It has a 3:2 3K (2880×1920) touch screen capable of displaying 500 nits of brightness giving it DisplayHDR 400 certification, alongside 1800:1 contrast ratio and 100 per cent sRGB colour gamut.
Internally this machine also features the same Intel CPUs and connectivity as the XPS 13, but gets up to 16GB of 4266MT/s LPDDR4x, four 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, and a 4k 11MP plus 5MP Windows Hello ready cameras. Battery capacity is also a smidge smaller at 49.5WHr.
Finally, the XPS 13 2-in-1 includes optional 5G and eSIM in addition to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 as standard.
The 2022 XPS 13 and XPS 13 Developer Edition come with Windows 11 or Ubuntu 20.04 priced at $999 and $949, respectively. UK pricing and availability is yet to be confirmed, while the XPS 13 2-in-1 is tentatively scheduled for “summer 2022.”
