Review Dell XPS 13 Plus hands-on review: A bold departure

[admin]

The Dell XPS 13 Plus sports a modern redesign and 28W Intel Alder Lake power, but it takes some risks.

Dell XPS 13 Plus hands-on review: A bold departure : Read more

 

[alex_kpi]

Unfortunately, I have to ask for a refund.
There were too many problems with this model. I do not think my specific device is different, as Dell's support team confirms issues. Here are some of them:

• I chose the simple IPS screen. It was worse than on my 5 years old HP Spectre. It is "yellowish", and it's not possible to fix it with graphic profiles.
• It's hot. All the time. Not comfortable to hold it on your lap.
• It's quite heavy, for a device this size.
• And the main: BATTERY IS VERY BAD. With normal use: web-surfing, up to 10 tabs open, screen brightness 30%, battery mode "balanced" (default). And the total battery life of 2 hours! It's definitely not enough. I've tried different battery-saving mode options, and my record is 3.5 hours. Very bad.

 

[alex_kpi]

In addition to the previous comment: Dell also confirmed the lack of components. The USB-C -> audio 3.5 mm adapter was missing in the box. After 1.5 weeks of investigation, here is their answer: "

Remito este email para informarle que he intentado enviarle el cargador faltante pero me confirman desde el stock que no esta disponible, por eso, le vamos a gestionar el reembolso del importe del cargador.

Overall, the experience was negative.

 

[cromagnet]

I have the 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1280P, 1.80 GHz with 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and UHD 4K touch screen. This is my 3rd or 4th Dell ultralight XPS laptop.

I have resorted to using this laptop as a workstation with an external 5K monitor (using a CalDigit TBT4 Hub) and it performs quite well in this way.

----THE BAD---- I would say the biggest issues (battery duration and heat) come from the new intel chipset when used as a laptop. The battery life is very poor, averaging only a couple of hours with lite YouTube videos (not in 4k ironically). When plugged in as a workstation I use the Dell performance software in Ultra Performance mode without any problems (running two open browsers with multiple tabs each, MS OneNote, Email, Zoom, iTunes, R Studio and running Bluetooth powered speakers and Logitech MS Keys Bluetooth keyboard and Logitech Bluetooth mouse regularly). When used as a laptop I find that Dell's Cool performance mode gets me the best results, and even then I have found it to overheat and basically shut down the CPU when simply web browsing and watching some videos with multiple tabs open and maybe some other minor process running. The heat coming off the unit is uncomfortable such that it heats up the room itself to a noticeably uncomfortable level at times. I have even tried adding heat shields to an aftermarket portable laptop platform to try to shield my legs. The fingerprint reader misses more than it hits for me. The touch bar is not great but it's tolerable, though it doesn't always work correctly after moving from workstation/external monitor to laptop mode.

----THE GOOD---- The UHD 4k screen is flawless and far superior to any OLED out there, and it is the main reason I chose this laptop (I literally bought the first ever 4K screen on an ultralight: another Dell XPS). I really like the fit and finish, the aesthetic look overall, especially the keyboard and trackpad, and this was also a large purchasing decision. I would like to have dedicated page buttons though. The trackpad can be a bit finnicky at times but it's mostly tolerable and even quite responsive at times. I'm not sure I could get used to the keyboard and trackpad while coding, so I'm really glad it has the ability to use at least one 5K external monitor and external keyboard and mouse.

I would give it 4.5 STARS if it could double the battery life with my configuration, while lowering the radiant heat level; however, for those reasons, I cannot give it higher that 3 STARS at the very most.