We're closing in on the end of the 'back to school' sales now, and the best laptop deal of the entire season, in my opinion, is still the official Dell Store's promotion on the latest Dell XPS 13.
For those who don't know, students can currently get this premium laptop for $599, instead of the usual $699. This laptop was already a good bargain at full price, but students and teachers are getting something special here, given how expensive laptops are these days.
The latest XPS 13 follows the theme of previous models: a premium, lightweight 13-inch form factor, plus a great display that's perfect for both study and casual use. Internally, the entry-level configuration also carries an Intel Core 5 chipset and 512GB of storage, meaning it's relatively powerful for its size, too.
One caveat with this particular listing, however, is that it only comes with 8GB of RAM. Upgrading to 16GB carries a whopping $200 surcharge, so this latest XPS 13 definitely isn't immune to the industry-wide issue with RAM prices currently. With 8GB, this machine is more suited to basic tasks like web-browsing, studying, and streaming videos, rather than heavier tasks like music and video production, or gaming.
Students and teachers get $100 off the XPS 13
The premium college laptop segment feels like a two-horse race between the new Dell XPS 13 and the Apple MacBook Neo right now. Both are lightweight machines with stylish designs and enough power for everyday tasks.
If you're interested in directly comparing these models, I'd recommend checking out our sister site Windows Central's on-person hands-on from earlier this year. Of the two, they preferred the XPS 13's build quality, display, and form factor, but they might have a slight bias, being a Windows-only site.
We still rate the Neo as a great choice if you prefer MacOS. Otherwise, the case for the XPS 13 is strong - not only do you get a nicer display, but you also get two Thunderbolt 4 ports as opposed to two USB-C.
