Dell XPS 13 Notebook Series review: Dell's golden ultraportable hasn't lost its luster

When Dell updated the XPS 13 in 2015, it stood out for its barely there screen bezel -- the frame around the display. Its 13-inch screen nearly filled the entire laptop lid, giving you more room to work, but in a smaller body just about the size of an 11.6-inch model.

8.3

Dell XPS 13 Notebook Series

The Good

The Dell XPS 13 keeps everything that was great about the previous model -- including its near edge-to-edge-display and fantastic keyboard -- and adds the latest Intel Kaby Lake processors and Thunderbolt 3.

The Bad

The design means the webcam is awkwardly placed at the bottom of the display. Though the QHD-resolution touchscreen is beautiful, it adds a lot to the price and hurts battery life. Gold version will cost you $50 more.

The Bottom Line

Whether you scale back for better battery life or load it up for the best performance possible, the Dell XPS 13 remains one excellent ultraportable laptop.

And although other laptop makers like Lenovo have since adopted this near edge-to-edge screen design, the XPS 13 remains a favorite for the rest of the package. The current version includes the latest Intel seventh-generation processors (Kaby Lake) and a Thunderbolt 3 port. With the help of a dock or adapter, you can run a single cable from the XPS 13 to handle power, Ethernet, audio and video.

Available in silver or, for an additional $5o, gold, the XPS 13's pricing starts at $800 in the US, AU$1,900 in Australia and £1,000 in the UK. At those prices you get a nice 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution display with a matte finish (if you hate glare, this one's for you). The downsides are that it's not a touchscreen and you can't max out the laptop on memory or storage.

If you're looking for the full premium portable experience, you'll want to pay extra for the gorgeous quad HD 3,200x1,800-pixel-resolution touchscreen. Though there are people who don't see the value of a touchscreen on a laptop, I'm not one of them, especially on a system this small. The laptop is perfect for working in tight spaces, but too often I've found myself on a bus, train or plane unable to comfortably use a touchpad. With a touchscreen that's no problem since I can quickly scroll, tap and swipe my way around.

As for the higher resolution, it's not a necessity, but Dell doesn't offer a full HD touchscreen for this model. It is a nice, bright display that makes everything you do look sharper with better detail. The biggest downside here, outside of the increased price and reflections, is that this display really hurts battery life. With the touchscreen, the XPS 13 was able to last for just about 8 hours in our tests. Get the full HD display instead, though, and you're able to get more than 10.5 hours of run time.

If you were hoping for big performance gains by waiting for Intel's seventh-generation Core i-series processors, well, you're going to be disappointed. The overall performance differences between the last XPS 13 we reviewed running sixth-gen processors (Skylake) and these new Kaby Lake versions are minimal.

There wasn't a huge processing performance difference between the two Kaby Lake configurations I tested, either, for that matter. The Core i7 with twice the memory did remain responsive under heavy load, but if your main goal is to get simple work tasks done while streaming some music in the background, you'll be fine with the Core i5 and 8GB of memory assuming you take a pass on the touchscreen. Also, while neither of these are great for gaming, the integrated graphics can hit playable frame rates on modern games at reduced resolutions and graphics settings.

The XPS 13 can be used for work and play, of course, but it's definitely more for the former than the latter. Between the screen and the excellent backlit keyboard and its port assortment, this is a fine small office/home office laptop as well as a good choice for students who aren't on a small budget. The keyboard really is a pleasure to type on and even the touchpad is good, although you should probably turn off some of its multitouch gestures like pinch-to-zoom to save your sanity.

The addition of Thunderbolt 3 lets you quickly turn this little laptop into a full workstation capable of driving multiple monitors, Ethernet, external storage, speakers and power with a single cable connection. You also get a USB 3.0 port, an SD card slot and a mic/headphone jack.

There is a built-in webcam, too, but due to the screen's lid-spanning design, it's stuck down in the lower left corner below the screen. The result is awkward up-the-nose video chats. Though, if you're typing, your left hand appears so large that those on the other end of the conversation probably won't notice the extreme angle.

In the end, whether you scale back for better battery life or load it up for the best performance possible, the Dell XPS 13 remains a fantastic ultraportable laptop.