Today, Dell launched the 2022 revised version of XPS 13, including Intel's latest 12th generation alder Lake CPU, adding more cores and hybrid architectures. The new version is the thinnest and lightest 13 inch XPS in its history. The new notebook is 13.9 mm (0.55 inch) thick and weighs as low as 2.59 pounds, while its predecessor's non touch screen model is 14.80 mm (0.58 inch) thick and starts at 2.64 pounds.
The new XPS 13 is available in the United States and Canada today, equipped with windows 11 starts at $999, and the Developer Edition with Ubuntu 20.04 is $949.
Flagship product XPS 13 has been released since 2015 Dell when it launched the infinityedge design with a thin border, it foreshadowed the future of notebook computers. After a few years, it became a little old. Subsequently, Dell broke down more options under the XPS brand, including XPS 13 plus, which kicked off with the touch bar, embedded keyboard and more powerful P-Series CPU options, and today announced the new 2022 XPS 13 two in one product, which replaced the old foldable design with a tablet computer and a foldable keyboard cover.
In terms of appearance, the new 9315 model is similar to the 9310 model driven by the 11th generation CPU, which debuted in 2020. The OLED display option is added on the basis of last year. The new fuselage has removed redundant design and reduced finishes and materials. The "well-designed high-quality" CNC processed aluminum is now the main player inside and outside, and has maintained the solid fuselage design and keyboard touch panel praised in 2020.
The more obvious change is that internally, it solves some of our weaknesses in the 9310, such as poor webcam quality, lack of bass speakers, and a keyboard that may heat up under load. The internal layout has been redesigned, including Dell's smallest motherboard ever, which is 1.8 times smaller than the previous model, providing space for larger speakers and other technologies. The specification table mentions that these spaces are used for larger batteries, but it is strange that the battery capacity of the new model is 51 watt hours, while the 9310 is 52 watt hours. The fan setting has also changed from the previous dual fan to one. Of course, this may be the performance brought about by the new alder Lake CPU. As we explained earlier, this generation of Intel chips can reduce power consumption and save energy by adopting efficiency cores similar to many arm based CPUs, so that the processor cores can be divided into performance or power efficiency.
At the press conference, Dell listed two 10 core CPU options of Intel i5-1230u or i7-1250u, equipped with iris Xe graphics card, 8GB, 16GB or 32GB memory, and 256gb, 512gb or 1TB SSD. According to Dell, the most power-saving i5 model can play Netflix continuously for up to 12 hours, the higher performance i7 is 11 hours, and the top model equipped with i7 chip, 16GB memory, 1TB solid state disk and 4K display can last for 6 hours.
As far as the display is concerned, there is no new version equipped with OLED. At present, 4K uhd+ (3840x2400) touch display or fhd+ (1920 x 1200) hard or non touch configuration is available. This year's update also includes support for WiFi 6e, while the built-in 5g is reserved for the upcoming two in one model. The aluminum in the frame is low-carbon to reduce its carbon footprint, and this year's model adopts the new packaging of "100% recyclable or renewable materials".
The webcam has also been updated to separate infrared and RGB sensors, which the company says will make you look better in low light. This model also adds Dell's expresssign in technology, which uses a proximity sensor combined with a webcam with windows Hello facial recognition to detect when you appear in front of your laptop and automatically log in, and lock it when you walk away or dim the screen when you look at other things to save battery power.