Dell XPS 13 9370 review

A strange thing happened at a recent meeting. I sat down, took out the new Dell XPS 13, and sat back as everyone else did the same. They, too, had the XPS 13. Only one person sat behind an aging MacBook Pro 15, the Apple logo glowing like a lone streetlight on an abandoned road.

Dell has earned its popularity. The XPS 13 has remained our favorite Windows laptop since it was released in 2015. Only recently has its design started to feel its age — and so Dell responded with an update in early 2018.

The 2018 XPS 13 which, for now, is being sold alongside the old model, starts at $1,000 for a Core i5-8250U processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid state drive (SSD). We tested both the $1,200 model (with Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 1080p display, on sale for $1,100) and the $2,100 model (with Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and 4K display, on sale for $1,840). Are these still the best of its breed?

A SIGNIFICANT, YET SUBTLE, REDESIGN

Our review unit, with its white interior and rose gold exterior, stands out from its predecessors. While Dell has toyed with different exterior colors on past models, including gold and rose gold, the interior always had a black carbon-fiber look. The white option is a more casual choice, though we wish it could be paired with more than just a rose gold exterior.

It’s sleek, sturdy, and still on the small side for a 13-inch laptop, all of which make it look modern — if not new.

Going rose gold and white will set you back an extra $50, not only because it’s the new hotness, but also because isn’t easy to make. Dell says the white model was designed with great care for how it’ll wear over time, and you can feel it.

The material used is stiffer than the black version, and its woven texture is not just seen but felt. While we personally prefer the black XPS 13, the white version still looks and feels premium.

Yet, it’s not quite perfect. We felt more chassis flex than in the older model, though we admittedly went looking, and doubt most owners will find reason to complain. It’s a nitpick, but it stands out on a premium laptop. Alternatives like the MacBook Pro 13 and Surface Book 2 13-inch feel like chiseled stone — though, admittedly, they’re also both larger and heavier.

Connectivity has drastically changed. While the old model still offered USB-A alongside ThunderBolt 3, the new model goes all-in on two ThunderBolt 3 ports and one USB-C 3.1 port. While only one of these ports is labeled for charging, we found all three juiced up the laptop. The USB-C port can also handle DisplayPort. The options are wrapped up with a card reader and a headphone jack.

Wireless connections of course include 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Wi-Fi adapter is a Killer Networks model with built-in load balancing, which Dell says can help smooth out performance when watching Netflix and other streaming video services. We didn’t notice much difference, but we did appreciate the bundled Killer software. It doesn’t look like much, but it does allow per-app networking management, and includes a graph of nearby Wi-Fi network strength.

We’re sure that some will despise Dell’s ditching of older ports, but it was among the last in its class to support them. Like it or not, USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 are the future. Dell is not cruel, however, and includes a USB-C to USB-A adapter in the box.

The keyboard remains great. In fact, if anything, it improved slightly.

Otherwise, the new XPS 13’s updates are hard to notice. Its maximum thickness is down substantially, from 0.6 inches to 0.46 inches, and weight has dropped a few hundredths of a pound — but we doubt you’d have any idea if no one told you. Size aside, the shape of the laptop hasn’t changed, and that downplays the updates. It’s still a wedge, it still looks rather wide, and it still has large rubber feet on the underside to prevent slippage.

On balance, this is a conservative update. That’s fine with us. Our main complaint with the outgoing XPS 13 was its girth, which felt chunky next to competitors like the HP Spectre x360 and Huawei Matebook X Pro. That’s not a problem for the new model. It’s sleek, sturdy, and still on the small side for a 13-inch laptop, all of which make it look modern — if not new.

THE KEYBOARD IS GREAT, AND A TOUCHSCREEN REMAINS AN OPTION

Keyboard quality has long been among the XPS 13’s greatest strengths. The redesign left us worried, as such designs do, that Dell might mess with the formula. They haven’t. The keyboard remains great. In fact, if anything, it improved slightly. Key travel seems identical between the two, but the new model has a firmer, more tactile bottoming action. Finicky typists should be warned the layout is still on the small side, with some tiny keys — like Backspace. Still, it’s excellent for a laptop this small, rivaling the Surface Book 2 and far exceeding alternatives with very shallow keyboards like the MacBook Pro 13 and the original Asus Zenbook 3.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

A backlit keyboard is standard, but only offers two levels of brightness adjustment. We also found that, at least on the white model, lighting quality wasn’t great. Keys were lit unevenly across the keyboard, and the light was dim around the edge of each keycap.

We’re happier with the touchpad. The XPS 13’s small size means the touch surface is a bit constrained even relative to other 13-inch devices like the Samsung Notebook 9 Pen, but the XPS 13 makes up for that with a smooth, responsive feel and full Windows Precision Touchpad support. Windows 10 now has many useful gestures and, once you know them, they’re a breeze to flip through.