[CES 2018] – Dell is coming to CES 2018 with its next-gen XPS 13 (model 9370) which is an impressive computing device packaged in a sleek body and featuring its famous InfinityEdge borderless display.
The Dell XPS 13 is one of the most famous and praised 13-inch laptop out there, for its compact size and the overall quality of its industrial design. As we were reminded during our briefing, Dell has “actually won over 300 awards for the XPS portfolio since the introduction of this product in 2015 and over a thousand excellent reviews since then” said Frank Azor, VP and GM of XPS, Alienware and Dell Gaming. The XPS 13 is often touted as delivering a 13.3 display in a body of a 12-inch laptop, thanks to its almost borderless InfinityEdge display. Sure, the notebook had one of the best designs when it launched in 2015. But today, competitive laptops such as the HP Spectre 13 and the Lenovo Yoga 920 show-off similar high-quality micro bezel displays crafted into powerful computing machines.
Last year, Dell came to Las Vegas in January with the XPS 13 2-in-1, and in September at IFA, updated its XPS 13 2017 lineuplineup with the latest 8th Generation Core processors from Intel, with no change to the design.
Let’s see what’s new for the XPS 13 in 2018, the new Dell laptop will be available on January 4 at a starting price of $999.99:
What’s new?
New Processor and improved performance in a slimmer body
According to Dell, the new tiny XPS 13 powerhouse is “smaller, thinner, and lighter” than its predecessor, and delivers much more performance, thanks to its 8th Generation Core processor from Intel and its brand new “spacecraft-grade” GORE Thermal Insulation. The XPS 13 is the first laptop built with this technology, also found in some NASA’s spacecrafts, and provides ‘thermal conductivity levels lower than air”, in a compact chassis. According to Dell’s spokesperson, the new thermal design enables better performance in a smaller body.
As usual, the XPS 13 gets the option for two of the Intel’s latest-gen Quad Core chips, namely the 3.4 GHz i5-8250u or the more powerful 4.0 GHz i7-8550U. On the GPU side, both will get Intel UHD graphics 620. On the memory options, you’ll get a choice of LPDDR3 4GB-8GB Dual Channel SDRAM at 18866Mhz or 16GB Dual Channel SDRAM at 2133Mhz. Storage options span from 128GB SATA, to 256GB, 512GB or 1TB PCle SSD.
The new XPS 13 is smaller and lighter than its predecessor: the chassis is significantly thinner at 0.33”-0.46” (7.8-11.6mm) vs. 0.33″ – 0.6″(9-15mm) for last year model.
The width and depth are a hair smaller at 11.9” (302mm) and 7.8” (199mm) vs 11.98”(304mm) and 7.88”(200mm). The weight starts at 2.67 lbs for the non-touch and at 2.68 lbs for the touch version. The older XPS 13 weighs 2.7lbs (1.2 kg) non-touch, 2.9lbs (1.29kg)* touch. The XPS 13 is touted by Dell to be the smallest 13-inch laptop on the planet at launch time.
Display
The XPS 13 comes in two display versions, one is equipped with the next-generation 13.3 inch InfinityEdge 4K UHD touch display (resolution 3840×2160) and the other will get the 13.3-inch InfinityEdge Full HD (1920×1080), with a choice of touch or non-touch. The device features a new version of Dell Cinema software, that enhances the entertainment experience. More details on Dell Cinema will be unveiled later.
New Materials and Color Versions
The XPS 13’s external cover is made of CNC machined aluminum and will come in two flavors: platinum silver for the external cover with black carbon fiber palm rest, and the rose gold version debuts an alpine white woven glass fiber palm rest, developed specifically for Dell by its manufacturing partners.
Battery
According to the manufacturer, the battery life has been improved: the device can run for over 19 hours on a single charge of its 52WHr built-in battery.
Ports
The ports have been updated a little, now you get two USB-C Thunderbolt 3 connectors, and one USB-C 3.1 port. Just like the previous model, there are one microSD card slot, one headset jack, and a noble lock slot.
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