Dell XPS 13 (2015) review

A revolution in laptop design

Reviews
By Kevin Lee, Juan Martinez
published
Dell XPS 13 review
Editor's Choice

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The new XPS 13 enters a competitive marketplace. Its stunning Infinity display and lightweight design easily puts it in a pole position for the best Ultrabook category. However, its cramped ergonomics and shorter battery life won't be to the liking of everyone.

We liked

The XPS's edge-to-edge display differentiates it from all other Ultrabooks. It's hard to imagine a small form-factor laptop delivering captivating visuals, but that's exactly what the XPS 13 does. By trimming the border surrounding the laptop's display, Dell was able to maximize screen real-estate and produce a compact Ultrabook.

Even if you choose to go with the full HD version, rather than the quad HD+ touchscreen upgrade, the edge-to-edge panel will impress you.

Fortunately, Dell's XPS 13 upgrades include under-the-hood improvements as well as cosmetic ones. This laptop outperforms most Ultrabooks in almost all benchmarking tests. Although it's a bit more graphically challenged, you'll still see better frame refresh rates on this machine than most other notebooks available today.

We disliked

Almost all of the XPS 13's flaws are superficial. The keyboard is a bit smaller than I prefer. The battery life is shorter than other competing Ultrabooks, and I expected more from going to a more efficient Skylake chipset. And while you won't love the speakers, but they won't terribly detract from your listening experience.

Overall, nothing wrong with the XPS 13 is a real deal breaker, and there are many more things to love about this compact Ultrabook.

Verdict

The Dell XPS 13 is a brilliantly-designed laptop that outperforms its competition under the hood. The Infinity Display should soon cause a ripple effect in laptop design and, on a personal level, dramatically improves your experience with the device.

Fortunately for us, the XPS 13 isn't all beauty and no brains. This laptop features the horsepower to make work and play enjoyable, and it has just enough battery life to never leave you in a lurch.

Regardless of whether you choose to upgrade to the touchscreen, quad HD+ version or stand pat with the full HD model, the Dell XPS 13 will be a joy to use for years to come.

Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee was a former computing reporter at TechRadar. Kevin is now the SEO Updates Editor at IGN based in New York. He handles all of the best of tech buying guides while also dipping his hand in the entertainment and games evergreen content. Kevin has over eight years of experience in the tech and games publications with previous bylines at Polygon, PC World, and more. Outside of work, Kevin is major movie buff of cult and bad films. He also regularly plays flight & space sim and racing games. IRL he's a fan of archery, axe throwing, and board games.