Reviews of the Dell XPS 13 Plus

 

The future-looking laptop from Dell is primarily pleasing to the sight.

The XPS 13 is one of our top-rated laptops year after year, but Dell didn't want to rest on its laurels, so it conducted an innovative overhaul of its flagship ultraportable. The XPS 13 Plus, the project's finished product (starting at $1,299; $1,949 as tested), looks the part. Its edge-to-edge flush keyboard, LED function row, and smooth touchpad immediately gives off a modern vibe. Simply said, the gadget is a gorgeous eye delight.

The majority of these components function, but the XPS 13 Plus isn't really an upgrade on all counts due to a rather touchy touchpad and the loss of the headphone port. Given the distinctive super-slim design and competitive performance of the Core i7 CPU and so-called "3.5K" OLED display in our model, the price of the base model is still fair. The conventional XPS 13 (and a few rival models) continue to hold the top ranks and will be offered separately, but this attempt at innovation is both fascinating and only moderately successful.

The Idea: Introducing the Future XPS

We at PCMag have examined several variations of the conventional XPS 13 over the years, so we are well familiar with its appearance. The highlights, if you're less familiar with it than we are, are a borderless display, a carbon fiber keyboard deck, and a sleek design with a metal lid. Together, they provide a quality, very portable feeling. It is, in essence, the closest that Windows computers can come to the Apple MacBook Air.

That makes rethinking the same basic design intriguing, and it is instantly apparent how the XPS 13 Plus differs from the XPS 13 in general. The Plus tries to seem like a laptop that has been beamed in from the future, as I noted in my initial hands-on with it back in January. The flush keyboard without a lattice between the keys, the entirely flat wrist rest strip, and the LED function row are all components that deviate from our conventional assumptions about laptop design.

I should highlight that the design is stunning, especially the first time you see it, before going into the specifics and how these changes work. The XPS 13 Plus nevertheless manages to capture the eye despite the fact that none of those improvements fundamentally alter the usage or function of these components; they largely merely modify the look. Although it also comes in a much deeper graphite hue, our item is platinum in color.

Even with the variations, the distinctive slender build is still there. The XPS 13 Plus weighs 2.77 pounds and has dimensions of 0.6 by 11.63 by 7.84 inches (HWD). (The non-OLED variant weighs 2.71 pounds, which is a few ounces lighter.) This and the current OLED XPS 13 (9310), which measures 0.58 by 11.6 by 7.8 inches and weighs 2.8 pounds, are quite similar. This system remains sleek small ultraportable since the design improvements did not significantly impact the footprint or weight.

Creating a Keyboard Deck over Ground -: An Invisible Touchpad and More

The touchpad, which is built in a single piece of glass that spans the whole wrist rest, is the feature that stands out the most. There is no actual delineation of the active area, which is likely to cause conflict (though it does look and feel cool to use). The sides of the touchpad are indicated by a paper insert when you initially open the package, but after you take it out, you're on your own.

In general, I didn't think this was a problem. In general, the touchpad limits are just beneath the spacebar, which is where my hand typically rests and where I anticipate the touchpad to be. My hand occasionally moves or begins too far beyond the lines, although this is unusual. The absence of a boundary probably affects right-clicking the most, since I occasionally pressed too far to the right (off the pad) when attempting to locate the appropriate corner subconsciously.

The touchpad's response was typically acceptable, although pressing and clicking proved to be more difficult than identifying my location. I have accidentally held down a button on occasion when I didn't plan to, such as when I clicked to drag on the desktop. The exact reverse took place as well.

It mostly worked, however, if a touchpad can't equal the 100% hit rate of a conventional one, it will be obvious. There is a thin enough line between pushing and dragging when you merely wanted to pan. Overall, the functionality of this feature isn't much better than the standard XPS 13 even if it looks great and generally works well.

The keyboard and function row comes next. The completely flushed keys and LED row in front of it contribute to the futuristic appearance of this laptop, making it seem like a prop machine from a science fiction series. The bigger key caps and additional typing space provided by having that row on the keyboard are a benefit. After a little getting accustomed to it, I found the extra space to be beneficial. The placement is a little different from typical laptops because there isn't a lattice between the keys.

I can see the typing sensation dividing people more than anything else. For me, it's curiously gratifying. I say "oddly" because the feedback, which veers between a click and a gentle squeeze, might not be to everyone's taste. I liked it overall, however, some users could find the felt and rather shallow travel to be too mushy and it isn't a substitute for mechanical key switches.

Utilizing the LED row is also enjoyable. These backlight symbols appear as screen and media control keys by default, including brightness, mic control, and volume. The keys are fully flat and flush with the keyboard deck; there are no physical buttons or markings to be found here. But every time I push them, they still react to my finger taps. You don't need to worry if you have any reservations since, unlike the touchpad, they always function as intended.

However, you'll note that there is no designated function ("F") keys in the arrangement. You may touch the F-keys as necessary if you hold down the actual "Fn" key in the bottom left corner of the keyboard, which causes the LEDs above to change to the conventional numbered function row. You may hit the persistent "Escape" LED button while holding Fn to lock the LED row to that view if you'd want it to be the default behavior for the LED row rather than the media keys, and vice versa. (A lock symbol is displayed next to the "Esc" icon in the LED row while you are holding down the Fn key to denote this capability.)

The lights in this row remain perpetually on, which is a minor drawback. These LEDs remain lighted even when the device is powered by a battery and even when the keyboard backlighting is turned off, which can be bothersome at night.

Making ensuring that old UI components still function is the key issue when making significant modifications to them, and the XPS 13 Plus mostly succeeds in this regard. Even if it doesn't have the finest laptop keyboard we've ever used, it still offers a comfortable typing experience on a little laptop, and ideally, future updates will make it even better.

The no-boundaries touchpad is what prevents the input device redesign from being a complete success despite the LED row's sleek appearance and flawless performance. I don't want to overdo it, but pushing and panning function the great majority of the time. Any essential laptop component behaving even somewhat unreliable is a drawback.

Limited Connectivity Despite a Magnificent OLED Display

The XPS 13's virtually edge-to-edge display, known as InfinityEdge in Dell lingo, is a part of its premium design. That's preserved on the XPS 13 Plus as well, and if it hadn't been, the device's sleek appearance would have suffered tremendously. Because of the small bezels, its 13.4-inch display seems as big as it can on the small form factor. Because of the aspect ratio, the resolutions are different from what you're used to; for instance, the equivalents for full HD and 4K are 1,920 by 1,200 pixels and 3,840 by 2,400 pixels, respectively.

There are a few panel choices, and we were sent the most spectacular one: an OLED touch display with a "3.5K" (3,456 by 2,160 pixel) resolution. The screen is vivid, clear, and somewhat bright. Although it is rated at 500 nits, our testing revealed that it really measured 354 nits at its brightest (formatted results are in the testing section below). After using an OLED display, you'll probably be reluctant to switch back to a non-OLED screen because OLED makes colors pop to an extraordinary degree.

The other panel choices include the 4K touch display as well as the FHD equivalent in touch and non-touch versions. All of the panels have Dolby Vision and Eyesafe technology, and the 4K panel complies with DisplayHDR 400 while the 3.5K screen complies with DisplayHDR 500.

What's left is one of the redesign's most contentious features. The laptop only has two physical ports, one on each side, both of which are Thunderbolt 4 compatible USB-C connectors. There is a tiny, lose-able USB-C to A converter included in the package.

The only two ports of any type are these two, I really do mean that: There is no headphone jack, and the laptop charges through USB-C. That brave decision is the result of the very small design. Dell acknowledges this and adds a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone adaptor to the package.

Dell knows that the sort of customer the XPS 13 Plus is aiming at is the same customer already immersed in a world of wireless earbuds and jack-less iPhones, thus the decision to sacrifice the headphone jack for the smaller form was made consciously. This may be the case for some, but you'd really like to at least have the option of using a headphone jack.

There is no substitute for a wired alternative if your earphones break or you have to charge them rather than use them when you get back on the road. Although I do have wireless earbuds in my possession (primarily for travel and commuting), I much prefer wired earphones when I'm working at a computer because I know I'll be sitting there for a long time, depleting the batteries. I'd rather preserve my battery life for the road.

 

This might not be a deal breaker for some folks (as many people do with their phones these days), but it might be for others. Although I can understand the reasoning for adopting this contemporary style, I don't believe the sacrifice is worth the extra cost it contributes to the construction. Even ultra-thin computers like the Apple MacBook Air and the basic Dell XPS 13 are able to have a headset connection. The adapter will work, but it's more cumbersome to carry about and uses one of the two ports.

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, a fingerprint reader built into the power button, and a 720p camera round out the connectivity options outside of the ports. Windows Hello is enabled on the fingerprint scanner and camera for quick sign-in.

To emphasize the premium, futuristic idea, I can't help but believe that the camera ought to be 1080p at this pricing, whether used in conjunction with the better panel SKUs or by default. The video quality is above average, but not all 720p cameras are made equal. Although it falls considerably short of a 1080p camera's resolution, the image is crisper than most others. However, it struggles to handle particularly bright or low illumination.