Dell XPS 13 (2020, 11th Gen) review

Our Verdict

The Dell XPS thirteen (11th Gen) makes the all-time laptop you can buy even meliorate with a fast Tiger Lake CPU and a stunning bezel-less InfinityEdge brandish.

For

Stunning design
Gorgeous, immersive display
Comfortable keyboard
Great overall operation

Against

Blurry webcam
Slim port pick
Battery life could be better

Tom's Guide Verdict

The Dell XPS 13 (11th Gen) makes the best laptop you can buy even amend with a fast Tiger Lake CPU and a stunning bezel-less InfinityEdge brandish.

Pros

+
Stunning blueprint
+
Gorgeous, immersive brandish
+
Comfortable keyboard
+
Great overall performance

Cons

-
Blurry webcam
-
Slim port selection
-
Bombardment life could be improve

Dell XPS thirteen (11th Gen) specs

Price: $979 (starting)
CPU: 11th Gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7
RAM: 8GB/16GB
Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB SSD
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus/Intel Iris Xe
Size: 11.vii x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
Weight: 2.nine pounds

At this point, it's hard to imagine the Dell XPS 13 getting much better. This near-perfect notebook has sat at the pinnacle of our best laptops rankings for years, thanks to fast functioning and a gorgeously sleek design that Dell has made thinner and more than bezel-less with every iteration.

But laptop processors are ever evolving, which is why the latest Dell XPS 13 has gotten even faster thanks to Intel'south new 11th Gen CPUs and integrated Xe graphics. Combine that with the stunning 4-sided InfinityEdge brandish introduced in this twelvemonth'southward model, a wonderfully portable pattern and a comfy keyboard and touchpad, and you accept an even improve version of the i of the best Windows laptops.

However, as you'll see in our Dell XPS 13 (11th Gen) review, there are a few quirks to be aware of earlier you purchase the latest version of Dell's flagship laptop. And thanks to new competition from the amazing MacBook Air M1 and MacBook Pro M1, the XPS 13 may not concur its spot on the top of the mountain through to 2022.

Thanks to Blackness Friday deals, yous can currently become the Dell XPS 13 for a bargain price.

Dell XPS 13 toll and availability

The new Dell XPS xiii is available at present and starts at $899 (a sale price from the "normal" $ane,059 price, as Dell always lists two prices). For that money, you become an 11th Gen Intel Core i3-1115G4 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and Intel UHD graphics.

Stepping upwards to a $989 (down from $1,159) configuration gets you a Cadre i5 processor with Intel Iris Xe graphics, while bumping upward to the $ane,259 (normally $ane,458) model we reviewed will get you a Core i7 CPU, a bigger 512GB SSD and a affect brandish. If you lot desire to get all out, there'a a $1,493 (regularly $ane,758) model that includes 16GB of RAM and a 4K screen.

The XPS thirteen comes in silver and black by default, but you tin get the stunning Arctic White variation for an extra $45 (Dell took $v off this price, but we wish it was free). Other optional upgrades include up to a 2TB SSD and a 4K Infinity Edge display.

Dell XPS 13 pattern

The Dell XPS thirteen with Tiger Lake is the fourth modern XPS I've reviewed this year, and I'g yet not tired of getting my hands on Dell's best-in-class design. This thing is as compact, lightweight and gorgeous as premium laptops go, with a slick aluminum outer shell and a gorgeous Arctic White interior that makes most competitors look dull.

Dell XPS 13 (2020, 11th Gen) review — (Image credit: Tom'southward Guide)

The Tiger Lake XPS 13 features the same updated pattern that Dell rolled out earlier this yr, which is a very practiced thing. Dell's latest InfinityEdge brandish is every bit close to bezel-less every bit the company has gotten on an XPS, and that's with a proper webcam placed upwards superlative.

The new XPS 13 feels wonderfully tiny and lightweight at 11.7 ten 8.ii 10 0.5 inches and 2.9 pounds, which is more svelte and nigh equally light as the new MacBook Air M1.

Dell XPS 13 ports

The XPS 13's slim design comes at the expense of a slim port selection, consisting of just two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a microSD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

You lot do get a USB-C to USB-A adapter out of the box for connecting older accessories, just y'all'll probable need to spring for a dongle or USB-C hub if y'all're the type to utilise lots of peripherals and monitors with your laptop.

Dell XPS xiii display

The xiii.4-inch 1920 x 1200 display on the new XPS thirteen looks as gorgeous as ever, thanks to Dell's latest InfinityEdge design that cut downward the chunky bottom bezel from the 2019 model. As a issue, the latest XPS xiii offers a truly immersive, nearly-borderless viewing feel consummate with a whopping 91.5% screen-to-torso ratio.

When watching The Witcher on Netflix, I saw rich greens, yellows and pinks outburst off the screen as Geralt chatted upwardly Stregobor the wizard in a lush outdoor oasis. I could also brand out tons of fine item, from private bits of stubble in Henry Cavill'south ridiculously chiseled face to the tiny creases on his leather armor.

Dell'southward latest laptop gets plenty bright, registering a strong 469 of effulgence on our light meter. That beats out the Asus ZenBook Flip S (375 nits), besides as Apple's latest MacBook Air (365 nits).

The new XPS 13'due south gorgeous real-world color performance was largely reflected on our tests, as it covered a strong 97.9% of the sRGB color gamut. Withal, both the ZenBook (160%) and MacBook Air (114%) did even better.

Dell XPS 13 audio

The XPS 13's speakers can become loud enough to fill a modest room, but yous'll want a defended sound device for serious music listening or binge watching. The twirly guitars, soft rollicking drums and pleading vocals of Julien Baker'due south "Faith Healer" came through decently clear at medium volume, but the song became unpleasantly buzzy one time I cranked things all the way.

The energetic pop rock of Tigers Jaw'southward "Warn Me" fared a flake better at total volume, as the warm distorted guitars, cracking drums and intertwining song harmonies all shone. Merely again, the track sounded muddier than I'd like information technology to on full blast.

The XPS thirteen'southward MaxxAudioPro app is enabled past default, and gives a boost to the laptop'southward overall audio output while providing things similar a customizable EQ and caput-tracking for optimal positional audio. The app significantly enhances whatever you're listening to, as the laptop'southward music output sounded even softer and tinnier with it off. But you'll still want to spring for the all-time computer speakers or all-time headphones if you want to hear your favorite songs and shows at full quality.

Dell XPS thirteen performance

Armed with Intel's new 11th Gen Tiger Lake CPUs, the new XPS 13 delivers some of the all-time performance nosotros've seen from Dell'due south already blazing notebook. The latest XPS 13 chewed through my usual multitasking load without a single stutter, even every bit I bounced between more than than a dozen Chrome tabs while listening to music on Spotify and chatting on Discord and Slack for hours on end.

So just how big a bump does Tiger Lake provide? The new XPS 13 scored 5,254 on the Geekbench v general performance examination, which is a notable comeback from the 4,847 we got from our 10th Gen model and beats our 11th Gen powered Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371 (3,880). Dell's laptop doesn't quite measure upward to the five,896 we saw from Apple's new M1 fleck on the latest MacBook Air, however.

Our XPS 13'southward 512GB SSD performed solidly on our file transfer examination, copying roughly 5GB of files at a speedy 806 MB per 2d. However, our Zenbook Flip Due south' 1TB bulldoze turned in a faster 1,296 MBps.

Dell's laptop wasn't the fastest on our Handbrake video editing test, taking about eighteen minutes to convert a 4K video to 1080p. That'southward faster than the ZenBook's 22 minutes, but the MacBook Air completed the test more than twice every bit fast at seven minutes and 44 seconds.

The PugetBench Photoshop test proved to exist a similar story. The latest XPS 13 turned in a solid 588 in the photograph editing criterion, but fell backside both the 10th Gen model (656.7) and the 652 we saw from the new MacBook Air.

Dell XPS 13 graphics

The new Dell XPS 13 packs Intel's new Iris Xe integrated graphics, which showed some notable improvements from the integrated Iris Plus graphics constitute in previous-gen laptops.

The bump to Xe delivered some nice gains on the 3DMark Fire Strike test, scoring 3,598 versus the two,837 we saw on our 10th Gen XPS xiii with standard Iris Plus graphics. That'south in line with the 3,351 we got from our Tiger Lake ZenBook S, which also saw like improvements compared to tenth Gen machines.

Yet, other results were mixed. The XPS 13 ran the Civilization VI: Gathering Storm game at 15.seven frames per 2nd, which is actually lower than the 18.7 fps we got from our 10th Gen model and a fraction of the 36 fps we saw from Apple'due south new M1 MacBook Air.

Dell XPS 13 keyboard and touchpad

The latest XPS xiii keyboard is a joy to type on, with smooth, bouncy keys that immune me to work comfortably for hours at a fourth dimension. I jammed away at Dell's keyboard at a speedy 104 words per minute with near-perfect accuracy on the 10FastFingers typing test, and never felt any discomfort throughout.

The XPS xiii's iv.7 ten iii.2 touchpad was just as intuitive, allowing me to easily scroll through web pages, pinch to zoom and perform multi-finger gestures without any resistance. Dell'south latest laptop features ix% larger keycaps and a 17% larger touchpad than the previous generation, and then you're getting even more real manor for hammering out documents and emails all day long.

Dell XPS 13 webcam

The XPS 13's webcam quality is fairly standard for a laptop webcam, which is to say that its disappointingly blotchy and blurry. I'm impressed that Dell was able to cram a 720p photographic camera into the laptop'due south tiny top bezel, and it does have infrared support for instant facial logins via Windows How-do-you-do. But if you want to look clear in an age of constant video calls, you'll want to spring for ane of the all-time webcams and not rely on the XPS 13'southward built-in photographic camera.

Dell XPS 13 bombardment life

The latest Dell XPS 13 lasted for 11 hours and 7 minutes on our custom battery test, which consists of endless web surfing over Wi-Fi on the new Microsoft Edge browser.

While that will get you through a full workday and so some, it's less juice than we saw from the 10th Gen XPS 13 (12:39) using a slightly different version of our test. And it doesn't hold a candle to the incredible xiv hours and 40 minutes of endurance nosotros eked out of the new M1-powered MacBook Air.

Dell XPS 13 verdict

The Dell XPS thirteen (11th Gen) largely makes the best laptop around even ameliorate, bringing even meliorate speed and ameliorate graphics performance in almost situations. That's coupled with the many subtle improvements Dell already made to the XPS 13 this twelvemonth, including a truly bezel-less InfinityEdge brandish and an even more than comfy keyboard and touchpad.

All the same, a handful of performance quirks concur the XPS thirteen back from being truly perfect. While it's eleven-60 minutes battery will exist more than enough for well-nigh folks, the 10th Gen XPS 13 lasted even longer. And our criterion tests revealed some areas where Tiger Lake hasn't quite delivered the kinds of gains nosotros'd await from a new generation.

If you want even faster operation and batter battery life (and don't heed switching to macOS), the new MacBook Air with Apple tree'southward blazing M1 processor is well worth a await. But the latest XPS 13 still admittedly shines during everyday utilise, and remains the best Windows laptop you can buy today.

Mike Andronico is Senior Writer at CNNUnderscored and was formerly Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. When not at piece of work, yous can ordinarily grab him playing Street Fighter, devouring Twitch streams and trying to convince people that Hawkeye is the all-time Avenger.