Dell XPS 13 returns to compete with the MacBook Neo – for $100 more
The new XPS 13 is super thin, lasts for up to 17 hours, and starts at $599 for students
💻 Dell has finally announced a new version of the XPS 13
⚙️ The new version is powered by Intel Wildcat Lake chips, with options to configure up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage
💰 It’s positioned as an entry-level laptop that’ll compete directly with the MacBook Neo, but for $100 more than what Apple’s charging
🧑🎓 Dell is offering a $100 discount for students that brings the XPS 13 down to $599 for a limited time
Dell is finally bringing back one of its most beloved products. The company’s XPS 13 laptop has made its return, this time as an entry-level model in Dell’s lineup to compete with other sub-$700 laptops, including the Apple MacBook Neo. It’s thinner and lighter than ever, it maintains super-thin bezels around the screen, and it’s powered by Intel’s Wildcat Lake Series 3 chips.
The design and specs are quite the combination for a laptop under $700. While yes, it likely won’t be as powerful as what you’ll find in the MacBook Neo, a laptop that’s just 12.7mm thick with some of Intel’s most interesting entry-level chips yet seems quite compelling. Unfortunately, the biggest downside to the specs is the RAM; the base configuration only gets you 8GB, whereas you’ll need to pay more for 16 or 32GB when Dell releases those specs.
Around the laptop, you’ll find a couple of USB-C ports… and that’s it. There’s no headphone jack on the XPS 13, which has been the case since the previous model. The MacBook Neo does come with a headphone jack, for the record, and much more fun colors than the silver and dark gray finishes Dell is offering.
The screen sounds like it’ll be nice to look at. The XPS 13 gets you a 13.4-inch LCD touchscreen with a 120Hz variable refresh rate, up to 500 nits of brightness, and support for HDR content. The backlit keyboard spans from edge-to-edge, and there seems to be a pretty sizable trackpad as well. You also get three storage tiers: 256GB on the base model, 512GB, or 1TB (the 256GB model will launch later).
Dell says the new XPS 13 will last up to 17 hours when streaming video, and students should be able to get through a full day of classes. That sounds like it’ll roughly translate to all-day battery life for most people, but we’ll need to test those claims when we get the laptop in to review.
In addition, there’s a 2MP 1080p webcam at the top of the display, support for Wi-Fi 7, 65W charging, and a quad-speaker setup for jamming out to your favorite music.
Dell is charging $699 for the base XPS 13, $100 more than what the MacBook Neo costs. For a limited time, Dell says it’ll offer a $100 discount for students to get the price lower, but Apple already offers the same discount to lower the Neo’s price to $499. It’ll be interesting to see how the new XPS stacks up in real-world testing, especially for the higher price. Dell says the XPS 13 will be launching “soon,” with more premium configurations available later this summer.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.