Dell XPS 13 [ 2020 model] review & specs

The Dell XPS 13 (2020) is a powerhouse due to Dell’s bold decision making and unceasing commitment to innovation. This year, Dell takes its innovation to the next level by removing the last bezel on the company’s Infinity Edge display. It means the laptop is virtually borderless, & is the first of its kind. 

Small tweaks in the Dell XPS 13 (2020) make big impressions

But that’s not all. For $1,749 (around Rs.2,33,000) , you get a laptop that’s got a larger display with a bigger, more comfortable keyboard and touchpad, all in a chassis that’s somehow smaller than its predecessor’s. Cosmetic changes aside, the XPS 13 is plenty powerful, with a 10th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, and boasts over 12 hours of battery life.  That’s why the Dell XPS 13 is one of the best laptops available.

Design of Dell XPS 13 (2020)

From its exterior to its interior, the XPS 13 is a showstopper. The lid’s Frost White, anodized aluminum finish is cool to the touch and looks stylish going in and out my bag. The glossy Dell logo looks like a stylish broach, adding just the right amount of sparkle. I’m a fan of the twin-coil hinge that makes opening the laptop with one hand as simple as turning the page of a book.

Once the laptop is open, you’ll find more of that winter white theme. Made from Dell’s patented glass-fiber weave, the stain-proof Arctic White deck is beautiful. Running my fingers across the textured surface is like ASMR, but for your hands. The keyboard is pushed toward the top of the deck, leaving just enough space for a glass touchpad.

Security of Dell XPS 13

The XPS 13 has an embedded fingerprint reader in the power button for easy login using Windows Hello. It’s a nice, easy way to add an extra layer of security.

Ports available in Dell XPS 13 (2020)

The XPS 13 is short on ports. The svelte stunner has a Thunderbolt 3 port on the right with a headset jack. On the left, you’ll find another Thunderbolt 3 port and a microSD slot. That’s it, so if you’re planning on using a mouse or external hard drive, you’re going to need to invest in a USB Type-C hub.

Display: Dell XPS 13 (2020)

When you first look at the XPS 13, it’s what you don’t see that you’ll notice before anything else. This marks the first time Dell has ditched all the bezels, including the bottom chin. But Dell didn’t just ditch the thick bottom bezel, it managed to shrink the other three bezels even further, with the side bezels measuring 0.15 and 0.2 inches, respectively, and the bottom bezel slimming down to only 0.18 inches. 

However, Dell’s CinemaColor utility adds a pop of color by adjusting saturation , contrast and white balance via a number of presets (Movie, Evening, Sports and Animation). And if that’s not enough, the laptop also has Dolby Vision to enhance the HDR.

The XPS 13 made up for the slight color deficiency with an average brightness of 417 nits. The notebook easily outshone the 357-nit average and the competition. The MacBook Pro was a close second with 408 nits with the Spectre x360 (369 nits), the Surface Laptop 3 (348 nits) and the Prestige 14 (269 nits) right behind. 

Audio in Dell XPS 13

This is a great case of big things and small packages. Despite having bottom-mounted speakers, the XPS 13 delivered loud, relatively clean audio. Megan Thee Stallion’s braggadocious flow on “Savage” easily filled my smallish living and dining rooms. The Waves MaxxAudio Pro software helped provide that pop of bass most laptops this size usually lack.

It’s not going to replace a good pair of headphones or external speakers, but the XPS 13 is fine for watching movies or an impromptu dance party. 

Dell XPS keyboard and touchpad

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The XPS 13’s edge-to-edge keyboard is sporting larger keycaps — 9% larger to be exact. Despite the bigger size, the keys are still well-spaced and none of them were downsized to make room. I also like the backlighting that is bright enough for me to make out every key character in a darkened room. 

At 4.4 x 2.6 inches, the touchpad is 17% larger than previous iterations, giving an extra room to navigate web pages. Performing windows 10 gestures such as pinch-zoom and three-finger swipe were seamless in execution. The bottom corners of the touchpad delivered firm, clicky feedback. 

Performance of Dell XPS 13

For such a lightweight laptop, the Dell XPS 13 hits like a heavyweight. Packing an Intel Core i7-1065G7 (Ice Lake) processor with 16GB of RAM, the laptop can allow you to watch Netflix while running 25 other open tabs in Google Chrome — all without a stutter. 

Dell XPS 13 (2020) battery life

Whether you’re on the road or working from home, the XPS 13 can put in a full work day and then some. The laptop lasted a whopping 12 hours and 39 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. The XPS 13 easily outclassed the 8:47 premium laptop average, as well as the Prestige 14 (9:49), the Surface Laptop 3 (9:17) and the MacBook Pro (8:41). But the Spectre x360 was the last laptop running, with a time of 13:20.

Dell XPS 13 heat

Even though the XPS 13 looks hot, it stays cool. The temperature of the laptop in key areas after running a full-screen video for 15 minutes, the touchpad, center and bottom measured 79, 86 and 91 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.

Dell XPS 13 webcam

Dell still has one of the smallest integrated webcams in the industry. The 0.1-inch, 720p webcam does a great job capturing color.

Tiny but mighty Dell XPS 13 [2020] : Features

• Guaranteed power
• Dell Power Manager with adaptive performance
• Work or play all day
• Faster memory, more storage
• Killer™ Wireless
• Advanced thermal redesign

Dell XPS 13 2020 Eco-wise

• Saving our seas: Recognized as a CES^® 2018 Best of Innovation Awards Honoree, our black packaging trays are a step beyond recycled. 25% percent of the material consists of ocean plastics collected from coastal areas, while the remaining 75% is made up of other recycled plastics.
• Energy efficient
• Safer materials
• Recycle friendly

Overall Review

It’s Smaller, sleeker and sporting the tiniest bezels on all sides, the new Dell XPS 13 shows that Dell still knows how to push the envelope without going too far. It’s an exercise in patient restraint, improving the notebook in a bunch of small ways that add up to a big leap for the system. 

A laptop that’s got virtually no bezels, a powerful 10th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, a speedy SSD, a lovely display, over 12 hours of battery life, a comfy keyboard and surprisingly good audio, all in an elegant chassis that’s 2% smaller than its predecessor.

However, if you’re looking for something with longer battery life, you’ll want to consider the HP Spectre x360 13-inch. Need more power? The MSI Prestige 14 might be more your speed. But if you’re looking for the total package, the Dell XPS 13 is the laptop for you.

SOURCE: https://www.laptopmag.com/

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Availability of Dell XPS 13 2020 in Nepal

The XPS 13 9300 (2020) is already available in international (from January 7th, 2020 to be precise).

The base model of the Dell XPS 13 has a Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor with 8GB of RAM, a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, an Intel UHD Graphics GPU and a 1920 x 1200 non-touch display & another model which features a 1.5-GHz Intel Core i5-1065G7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD, an Intel Iris Plus GPU and a 1920 x 1200 touch display.

The starting price is set at $999 MSRP ( Rs. NPR 1,15,000) for the Core i5-1005G1 config with 4 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, which is about on par with the current XPS 13 7390 lineup.

Still, we would definitely advise getting a computer with at least 8 GB of RAM in this day and age, 4 GB is not even enough for basic use.

The laptop can also be configured with a 1TB SSD, 2TB SSD and a 3840 x 2400 touch display. A tricked-out XPS 13 costs $2,309 (around Rs.3,00,000) and gets you the Core i7 processor, 2TB SSD, Windows 10 Pro and a super- high-resolution display. The laptop would also come in the Frost color scheme instead of the usual silver-and-black motif.

Source: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/pdp/spd/xps-13-9300-laptop