Thinking about buying a new laptop for university? If you're wondering what life might be like with the XPS 13 as your constant portable companion, this article is all you need.
What follows is a day-by-day breakdown of life on (and sometimes off) campus with the XPS 13, showing you how this notebook can make a difference not just to your studies and coursework, but everything else—from video chats with friends to creative duties such as light photo editing.
Tom’s Guide recently called it “The best Windows laptop for students”. But if you still need convincing, read on…
TL;DR
- The XPS 13 is quick to boot up and impressively performant with apps thanks to the fast SSD and Intel processor, respectively. It's easily capable of driving all your multitasking needs as a student on a daily basis
- The Dell XPS 13 is compact and highly portable, yet also durable enough to cope with student life and being taken around everywhere with you. The screen is sharp and color-accurate, great for everything from watching movies to video calls
- Battery life is another strong point at up to 17 hours of Netflix streaming, so you'll never worry about whether you're near a power socket.
- The XPS 13 also offers some thoughtful design touches you won't find in similarly priced rival laptops, such as a touchscreen and backlit keyboard
Monday
You're awake early and start the day by grabbing the XPS 13 to check your emails. The laptop boots up swiftly thanks to the fast SSD—and you’re logged in, with just a glance, thanks to the Windows Hello facial recognition tech supported by the 1080p 2MP IR camera. Time to reply and confirm you're going on that chess club trip next month, among other things.
When it's time to head to lectures, the XPS 13 slots easily in your backpack. The laptop is highly compact: 12.7mm thin with a footprint of 297 x 201mm, and at 2.2lbs (1kg), it doesn't weigh you down while wearing a backpack.
The chiclet keyboard provides a great typing experience for lecture notes or emails alike, and the XPS 13 touchscreen is really tidy when you need to quickly scroll through a long document or web page.
Wednesday
In the morning, you head off-campus and into town to get some work done on an essay that's due at the end of the week, while fuelling up with a coffee. In the café, the compact dimensions of the XPS 13 again come into play again, fitting easily on the small corner table you’re squeezed into.
Deep into your writing and research, and you invariably end up with a whole bunch of documents and web browser tabs open. However, even when you fire up a quick session of Balatro for a bit of light relief on top of those tasks, the XPS 13 handles it all with no slowdown. The Intel Core Series 3 processor can easily cope with everyday multi-tasking needs, and that's just the chip in the entry-level XPS 13. The Intel Core Ultra Series 3 mobile CPUs on upper-tier models are even faster, boasting eye-opening performance levels for mobile silicon.
The Intel Core Series 3 processor can easily cope with everyday multitasking needs
Later that evening, the benefits of the XPS 13's excellent display become clear. It boasts a 2.5K resolution with DisplayHDR 400 and Dolby Vision support, and the picture is excellent when you're streaming Project Hail Mary for the 10th time—deep space has never looked more beautiful. The 120Hz refresh rate also means that dramatic fast-motion scenes are smoothly rendered, and the InfinityEdge screen—with minimal bezels to distract you—makes the movie-watching experience infinitely more immersive and enjoyable. On the audio front, the laptop's quad speakers prove a worthy accompaniment to this visual experience.
Thursday
Today turns out to be a long day of lectures, an intense study session, and research in the library—flat-out work, in other words, with only a short break for lunch. What doesn't end up flat-out, thankfully, is the XPS 13 battery.
The XPS 13 remains performant and responsive throughout the busy day, and even when you get back to your dorm, there's enough battery life left to stream a couple of episodes of The Office. In fact, Dell's internal testing shows the battery of the XPS 13 can offer up to 17 hours of Netflix streaming, which is quite some going.
How is this level of battery life possible in such a compact laptop?
There are a few key factors at play when it comes to the XPS 13's battery staying power:
- The frugal power usage of the Intel processors, which aren't just speedy, but also highly efficient
- Dell has designed a smart dual fan system that also helps to keep the CPU cool and efficient
- The screen has Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) tech that drops down to as low as 30Hz to save power when static content is displayed (as this doesn't benefit from a higher refresh rate)
The end result is a whole lot of battery longevity, and it's surprising how much power the display's clever VRR feature can save.
Friday
In the morning, having spent all day indoors yesterday, you work on finishing your essay outside in the park as it's a lovely day. Another strength of the XPS 13 screen is that it's impressively bright at 500 nits, and that means even outdoors in direct sunlight, the content on display is easily readable, with no straining your eyes to make out details.
You also don't have to worry about taking the XPS 13 everywhere—from campus, to town, or the park—as even if it does get the odd knock or bump when being carried in your bag, its machined aluminum construction makes it very durable. The fact its sleek lines look good doesn't hurt when using this laptop out and about, too.
In the evening, with the essay complete and handed in, you relax by catching up with friends online. It's great to use WhatsApp on the XPS 13's large screen (as opposed to your phone's small display) and type replies quickly with a full keyboard. Windows 11's Phone Link app also means you can reply to texts from friends on the laptop, take calls, deal with phone notifications, and more besides—there's all manner of cross-device synergy here.
Saturday
After your morning run, it's time to catch up with your best friend from home via video call. The XPS 13's 120Hz screen provides an excellent image quality for the call, and the laptop's fast Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 support helps deliver a silky-smooth level of playback. The same is true of streaming video, of course, when in the afternoon you find time to relax and catch up on your latest show.
Later on, it's time to sort through some photos from last week’s house party, with some heavy editing to get rid of closed-eyes and random strangers lurking in the background. This is easy work for the AI-powered generative erase capability in the Windows Photos app, which benefits from the NPU in the XPS 13's Intel processor that accelerates on-device AI tasks like this. Know the XPS 13 can easily cope with light creative duties without breaking a sweat.
Not forgetting the small—but vital—details
What also stands out in a typical week of use on campus is the attention to detail that Dell has given the XPS 13. There are seemingly small elements of design present here that make a surprisingly big difference to the experience of using this laptop on a daily basis.
The XPS 13 features two USB-C ports for your connectivity needs. Then there's the excellent precision touchpad—or the fact the keyboard is backlit, so if you're working late into the evening, you can still see every key easily. The screen is color-accurate (with 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut), so your photos look like they do in real life.
The XPS 13 has lots of thoughtful touches like this, which you don't often get with rival big-name laptops. It's unusual to get such a minimalist, sleek and premium design at this price level.
If you think a Dell XPS 13 is right for you, find out more on the Dell website: US readers click here, AU readers here, CA readers here and UK readers here.
FAQs
How long does the Dell XPS 13's battery last?
Up to 17 hours of Netflix streaming on a single charge, according to Dell's own testing, more than enough to get through a full day of lectures without that anxiety-inducing hunt for a power outlet.
Is the Dell XPS 13 easy to carry around campus?
Yes. At just 12.7mm thick and 2.2lbs (1kg), with a 297 x 201mm footprint, it slides easily into most backpacks and fits comfortably on small café tables or tray tables.
Which processor does the Dell XPS 13 use?
It packs an Intel Core Series 3 processor as standard, with a Series 3 Intel Core Ultra option available for that extra dose of performance.