A Good Laptop, Faces Fifty-fifty Better Contest

As a standalone product, the Dell XPS xiii ii-in-1 is a decent attempt at turning Dell's nearly popular ultraportable into a convertible laptop. Only when placed in a competitive market, in that location is trivial reason to purchase this device over the splendid HP Spectre x360.

One simple but strange design pick makes a big deviation: the XPS 13 2-in-1 uses a Kaby Lake Y-series processor, compared to the U-series used in the standard XPS 13, and the convertible Spectre x360. As Y-series parts have a reduced 4.5W TDP, compared to 15W, they're slower and less capable. Before Kaby Lake, these Y-series processors used the "Core grand" designation.

The Cadre i7-7Y75 used in my review unit was 22% slower in CPU workloads, and 33% slower in graphics workloads, relative to the Core i7-7500U. For those wanting to edit videos or perform other loftier-performance tasks, this performance difference is significant and tin can be the deviation between a respectable and poor experience.

With the Spectre x360 I tin can quite comfortably edit 1080p videos, but on the Dell XPS thirteen 2-in-1 it but lacks the power necessary to deliver fast real-time effects rendering.

At that place are some benefits to the Y-series processor. The XPS 13 2-in-one is fanless, and while the chassis does get very hot during intensive workloads, it's silent. It also consumes less power, so while the XPS 13 two-in-1 has a smaller battery than most other ultraportables, it delivers like battery life.

Unfortunately for Dell, the Spectre x360 lasts longer beyond the lath from a larger battery in a like trunk.

I fantastic aspect to the XPS 13 2-in-1 is the pattern. Borrowing many elements from the XPS 13, this convertible variant has a smaller footprint than the Spectre x360 thanks to attractive, slim bezels. The combination of aluminum and soft-bear upon carbon fiber looks and feels acme-form. I also appreciate inclusions such as a fingerprint sensor with Windows How-do-you-do support.

On the flip side, like many convertibles, the tablet way isn't great. The gap around the edges makes the tablet awkward to hold, and in a stunning omission, in that location'due south no accelerometer for automatic screen rotation. Or at least in my review unit, it didn't work at all.

When using the XPS 13 2-in-1 in laptop style, the keyboard and trackpad are both great, and carry over much the same experience from the XPS 13. The I/O is a bit limited with no USB-A port simply you may find that ok.

You'll detect that I've been comparison the Dell XPS 13 ii-in-1 to the HP Spectre x360 a lot. And this is the real kicker that makes the XPS xiii 2-in-ane difficult to recommend: the Spectre x360 is more affordable and comes with better hardware.

The Dell XPS 13 two-in-1 (left) next to the HP Spectre x360 (right)

Ignoring the rubbish sub-$one thousand XPS thirteen 2-in-1 with simply 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD leaves you with $1,200 and $one,300 options. Both come with 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSDs and offer Cadre i5 or Core i7 Y-series CPUs, respectively.

For $1,159, HP offers a more powerful Core i7 U-series CPU plus 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. And at possibly the all-time value offering, HP will bump you up to a 512 GB SSD and 16 GB of RAM at $ane,300. The aforementioned configuration of an XPS 13 2-in-1 would cost $ane,549, and y'all yet get a slower processor.

Shopping shortcuts:

  • Dell XPS 13 ii-in-1 on Amazon
  • Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 on Dell.com

So the choice is simple really. The Dell XPS thirteen 2-in-1 is slower, features less battery life, has a worse drove of I/O, and its best area – its design – isn't that much better than the Spectre. And this is all in a bundle that's more expensive. Pitiful Dell, but in such a competitive market, that'due south merely non going to cut it.

Pros: Attractive, very portable, well-built chassis. High-quality, slim-bezel display. Bully keyboard and trackpad.

Cons: Direct competitor HP Spectre x360 beats it in operation, battery life, connectivity and cost in essentially the same class factor.