Dell now offers a 13-inch laptop with the greatest display technology available if you’ve been looking for one. We are currently writing this review on a Dell XPS 13 that has an OLED display, which was recently introduced. The Core i7-1185G7, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage are all present in the test machine we received. The OLED setup costs $300 more than an equivalent FHD touchscreen model and is exactly the same price as a non-OLED 4K model with the same specifications. Nothing else about this XPS is new; it has the same 16:10 aspect ratio, glass-fiber palm rests, thin and light design, and tiny bezels as the last two Dell XPS 13s we’ve evaluated. The decision here ultimately depends on how much of an OLED screen you need and how much you’re prepared to spend.
Dell XPS 13 OLED review: Design
For the past few years, the Dell laptop (XPS 13) has served as the industry standard for laptop design. The laptop has a sleek appearance thanks to the bezel, which also provides additional screen real estate. Comparatively speaking, laptops with a large bezel, like the MacBook Air M1, appear horribly old. The carbon fibre interior deck has a design that gives the laptop an extra dash of style. This creates a striking contrast with the silver aluminum shell, which is visible on the lid and the trim around all of the ports. The Dell XPS 13 has a more robust design thanks to the use of aluminum than the Chromebooks made of plastic or the magnesium LG Gram 16. However, the XPS 13 isn’t perfect in this sense since there is still a tiny bend in the deck when you press down on the keyboard. According to Dell, the XPS 13 OLED is a remarkably thin notebook, coming in at just 14.8mm. This results in a build that is remarkably thin and weighs just 1.27kg. Although there are lighter, less expensive laptops available, such the Acer Swift 5, they won’t feel or look as luxurious as the XPS 13. However, being so thin has a significant disadvantage since Dell was unable to include any of the common connector options on the XPS 13. There are only two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MicroSD card reader, and a headphone jack included. It’s a subpar offering, especially given that Dell was unable to include an onboard USB-A port, which is necessary for flash drives and other devices. Although Dell does at least supply a USB-C to USB-A adapter in the box, doing so is still a hassle that may be avoided by utilizing other computers.
Display
PPI is a little lower than on the 4K XPS 13 IPS setup since the native resolution is 3.5K (3456 x 2160) rather than 4K (3840 x 2400). (304 vs. 338). Because there aren’t any 4K OLED screens available in the 13.4-inch 16:10 form factor right now, we assume the resolution is lower. Nevertheless, as text on the 4K 338 PPI screen sometimes appears too small, this could sometimes work in OLED’s favor. also you will learn our article on Dell XPS 13 OLED review. Our OLED model’s three main advantages over the other XPS 13 IPS models are its quicker black-to-white response times, infinite contrast ratio, and greater DCI-P3 color coverage. When watching movies, in particular, the visual quality is fantastic with vibrant colors and nearly no ghosting. Even though the display supports HDR, the default Windows 10 settings will automatically turn off HDR when the computer is powered by a battery in order to preserve the battery. Every time the laptop is attached or disconnected from an outlet, the screen briefly flickers as it switches from HDR to non-HDR or vice versa. Thankfully, users can quickly change the default settings by typing “Windows HD Color” into the Start menu search box, confirming that “Use HDR” is turned on, and then switching the Battery options to “Optimize for image quality” rather than “Optimize for battery life”. When the screen flickers when switching between AC adapter power and battery power, the adjustments are effective.
Keyboard and touchpad
The keys on the most recent XPS 13 keyboard are somewhat more pleasant to type on than those on earlier XPS keyboards. The keys don’t feel as stiff, but they aren’t as clicky as those on competing laptops like the Spectre x360 or MacBook Air. The keys are all a suitable size despite fitting onto a tiny deck, and there is sufficient travel to keep us from bottoming out. In addition, we appreciate the two-stage illumination, which contrasts beautifully with the all-white canvas. While hastily composing a last-minute report, those with large paws may find the small spacing uncomfortable, but most people won’t have an issue. We exceeded our typical 109 words per minute average with the same error rate by typing at 117 words per minute with 95% accuracy. Our index finger felt as though it were being caressed by the finest Mulberry silk as we moved it across the 4.4 x 2.5-inch touchpad. Our erratic swipes and Windows 10 movements, such as pinch-to-zoom and three-finger swipes to switch between windows, were immediately responded to by the surface, which was soft, smooth, and incredibly sensitive.
Dell XPS 13 OLED review: Audio
The Dell XPS 13 won’t let you down when it’s time to blast some music at your work or outside on the patio. A tiny notch just below either edge of the keyboard deck reveals speakers that project sound outward to assist it fill the space even when the laptop is on a table or a user’s lap. We’re not audio snobs, but we couldn’t really notice any issues with the Dell XPS 13’s speakers while streaming songs like Pink Floyd’s Welcome to the Machine or The Police’s Spirits in the Material World. While more treble-heavy elements, such as singing and power guitar solos, come through clearly but without much kick.
Graphics
For playing older games or some newer ones at lower graphics settings, we find the XPS 13’s Intel Iris Xe graphics to be acceptable. The ability to run intensive simulations or play current games at high graphics settings won’t be possible, but you may edit images or videos and stream 4K content without experiencing any lag. The XPS 13 managed 15 frames per second on the Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm benchmark (Medium, 1080p), falling short of the 20 frames per second premium laptop average, which was achieved by the Spectre x360 14 (20 frames per second, Iris Xe), the MacBook Pro (29 frames per second, M1), and the Surface Laptop 4. (30 fps, Iris Xe). The XPS 13 scored 3,756 on the 3DMark Fire Strike test, falling behind the Surface Laptop 4 (5,089, 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD) and the Spectre x360 14. (4,229, 512GB NVMe PCIe SSD). 4,488 is the category average.
Performance
Intel Core i5-1135G7 or Intel Core i7-1185G7 are the two processor options available for the Dell XPS 13 OLED. Dell forwarded it to me. Expect little performance increase as these are the exact same CPUs present in the XPS 13’s predecessor. However, since Ultrabook use Intel’s most recent mobile CPUs, there isn’t much room for improvements unless Dell switches to AMD. With some of the greatest benchmark scores for a 13-inch laptop we’ve seen this year, the performance is competitive with all Windows Ultrabook’s. This indicates that the Dell XPS 13 OLED effortlessly completes productivity chores and even dabbles in more demanding creative applications like Photoshop and Premiere Pro. However, the XPS 13 OLED cannot compete with the MacBook Air M1’s higher benchmark scores, which continue to place it as the quickest ultrabook. It would be unjust to criticise Dell for this, but if high-speed performance is important to you, you should be aware of this. The XPS 13 OLED is limited to the built-in Xe graphics but offers three RAM options: 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB. This means that while Fortnite and other entry-level games can be played on it with low graphical settings, you’ll need a more powerful laptop with a dedicated GPU to play AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077. Additionally, Dell provides a variety of SSD configurations, ranging from 256GB to 2TB. The base-level choice is one we advise against because you’ll probably rapidly run out of storage space. Additionally, the increase to 512GB only costs an additional £50 at the moment, so it is very worthwhile.
Battery life
Unfortunately, the addition of a 3.5K OLED screen reduces battery life. The Dell XPS 13 with OLED completed our battery test, in which the laptop is required to continuously browse the internet via Wi-Fi with the screen set to 150 nits of brightness, in 7:59. That is much less battery life than either the 15-inch Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 or the 13-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (10:46). (13:33). you can read our article on Dell XPS 13 OLED review. If you’re willing to use a Mac, the MacBook Air with M1 or the MacBook Pro with M1 will provide you with substantially longer battery life (16:32). For the purpose of comparison, the Dell XPS 13 with a 4K non-OLED screen lasted even shorter on a full charge in our tests (7:32), but the Dell XPS 13 with a 2K screen lasted hours longer (11:07) in the same test. The XPS 13 charges fairly rapidly, though; we plugged it in at 5%, and an hour later it was at 51%, which is adequate for another two or three hours of use.
Dell XPS 13 OLED review: Heat
To test the XPS 13’s cooling, we played a 15-minute, 1080p video and took measurements in specific places on the laptop. It performed admirably. Both the touchpad and the Centre of the keyboard registered temperatures of 79 and 88 degrees, respectively, which are significantly lower than our comfort criterion of 95 degrees. But the temperature of the metal undercarriage rose to 102 degrees.
Configuration options
On Dell’s website, you can buy an XPS 13 with a 4K OLED display right now, and you might also be able to find it at some shops. The lowest-spec Dell XPS 13 costs $979, however that model has an Intel Core i3 processor and a 2K non-touch screen, so the OLED display is actually a $400 increase. At least $1,649 will get you a 4K OLED display, an Intel Core i7 processor with integrated graphics from Iris Xe, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD, though you can spend more than $2,099 if you choose a model with the maximum 2 TB of storage.
Conclusion
Ultraportable laptops are a “embarrassment of riches,” not just because they are more expensive than their larger counterparts but also because there are so many superb options available. New models are consistently beating out older ones for our Editors’ Choice awards in the category. The newest XPS 13 is the only one that offers an ultra-colorful, ultra-high-contrast OLED screen, so Dell believes it has a tiebreaker. Although the panel reduces battery life slightly, it improves the aesthetics of an ultraportable that was already magnificent. For those who place the highest value on a colorful display, it receives high honors.
