There was a time laptop OEMs the world over seemed to be quite fearful of Apple, and tried not to upset that company by competing with Apple’s laptops, the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro.

No longer.

At their HP Discover Europe event in Barcelona, Spain, last December, HP threw down the gauntlet by previewing the HP EliteBook Folio 1020, which is designed to compete with the Apple MacBook Air.

Now, Dell has stepped up to the plate.

At the Consumer Electronics Association’s flagship event, CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2015 this past January, Dell picked up said gauntlet, and proceeded to smack Apple unceremoniously, yet definitively, across their corporate face repeatedly with their new Dell XPS 13.

Folks, welcome to the future of Windows PCs.

At that time, I publicly expressed a desire to test, and review this device.

Well, my desire has been granted, as I am a recipient of a max’d out XPS 13 featuring the latest iteration of the Intel Core i5 CPU.

The Dell XPS 13 is both a stunner, and a flag-bearer.

I have had the XPS 13 for a couple of weeks now, and I must tell you, Dell has seriously upped their game!

Dell is onto something good here.

The Dell XPS
Thanks to the investment, innovations, and advancements in central processing unit chip technologies being made by Intel, laptop computers have progressive gotten smaller and lighter, at the same time, performance is vastly improved or doubling every CPU rev, battery runtime is sweet, storage is hellishly improved, and screens are much better.

This XPS 13 comes with a quad-HD screen, ample RAM, a solid-state drive, and internal battery life listed at being up to 15 hours.

Unboxing
Fantastic job by Dell here.

The XPS 13 came in a package designed for the business professional on the go.

It came in a box that seemed quite hefty for the purported size of the XPS 13, which I hadn’t seen in real life at that time.

However, the big box was required for the package that came within it:

•  
  • The Dell XPS 13,
  • The Dell Executive Backpack,
  • A laptop sleeve,
  • A multi-port adapter,
  • An external battery
  • A Microsoft Office 2013 Product key box
  • Multiple power adaptors
  • A welcome letter

The OOBE
I’ll let you peruse the OOBE slideshow below.

 

 

 

The Specs
The XPS 13 I have for review has the following specs:

• Intel Core i5, latest (5 ^th) generation part,
• Quad-HD+ (QHD) 3200x1800 touchscreen
• Intel HD 5500 graphics
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB SSD.
• Bluetooth
• A/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
• Intel Ultrabook® format device

First bootup
I turned on the device after charging it for 4 hours. (I always charge new devices to 100% prior to first use. You should too.)

Bootup was normal.

I created my account, made me an administrator on the device, then deleted the default account.

I then proceeded to delete all Dell installed apps except Microsoft Office.

Initial Review
This is a serious device.

Though only 4mm wider than a MacBook Air, XPS 13 packs a 13” monitor due to its impossibly slim – and almost visually nonexistent – 5mm wide bezel. Measurement taken at the top and sides.

The touchscreen, dubbed an ‘infinity display’ – think “infinity pool”, and you’d get the idea – is made an edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass display delivering 5.7 million pixels which is bonded to the aluminum case.

Looks: This device is a stunner. For an angular device, it has none of the baggage that angularity brings. it is quite sleek, light, and, being machined of aluminum, sturdy enough to hold as a folio by itself, a thing I seem to be doing right now in order to speed my way through airports on day trips.

Display: The touchscreen QHD+ display on the XPS 13 is just beautiful. It is very responsive, and just exudes a feeling of competence. Apart from being visually stunning, the presented colors are vibrant. I enjoyed watching Snowpiercer, The Starvin’ Games, and the Nollywood movie Eran-Oku on it during a recent trip.

Power: It is powerful, sporting the latest Intel Core i5 CPU running along at 2.2 GHz. I played with the latest build of Windows 10 Technical Preview running in a Hyper-V VM on it without lags, hiccups, or whatnots.

Aesthetics: The full size keyboard is backlit, a requirement for me. The hand rest is sturdy – made of carbon fibre, I’m told. The entire packaging is solid, and feels bespoke, not like a frankendevice.

Battery Life: Without the benefit of a timer, I can declare without equivocation that this device had the longest battery life I have ever enjoyed on a laptop. Bar none!

I used the XPS 13 as my primary device on a short trip to Deepest Darkest just after I got it. The internal battery lasted as long as I needed it, through watching movies, playing around in a Windows 10 beta VM, working, and sleeping.

I didn’t even have a reason to use the battery pack in either direction.

Behold, another MacBook Killer!
In my preview of the HP EliteBook Folio 1020, I declared that I would like to test that device against a MacBook Air.

I want to do the same with the Dell XPS 13 as well.

Why?

Simple: these devices have raised the bar not just the difference between other laptops, they have, I believe, surpassed any Apple MacBook Air device out there.

This, is a MacBook Air 13 Terminator.

However, I want to dispense with anecdotal remarks, and give it a mano e mano test against that Apple device.

My dilemma is now which MacBook to buy to test against: the MacBook Air 13 for this XPS 13 or the MacBook Air 11 for the HP EliteBook 1020.

What is quite clear here is that Dell is starting to do good things again.

If the Dell XPS 13 is any indication, then the comeback of the company is rolling along smoothly.

I applaud it.

In about a month or so, I will be publishing a review of my extended time with the XPS 13.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Wifey has chimed in: I could buy a MacBook Air 11 for my review, wrapping it up within the 14-day return period, and then purchase a MacBook Air 13 for a test against this XPS 13. Returning it within 14 days as well. That’s why she’s the brains of this operation!

Disclosure: This Dell XPS 13 has been provided to me gratis by Dell for my review and to keep if I want to.

I had been thinking of giving away the device at the end of my review, but now, I’m not so sure. If anyone can come up with a reason why I should give it away, I may yet do so in a giveaway at the end of the review.

The backstory on the Dell XPS product line is here, while the Dell XPS 13 Product page is here.

John Obeto is CEO of Blackfriars Capital
© 2002 – 2015, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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