Neat look, yes, but practical? I wasn’t sure. When I first saw the XPS 13 Plus back at CES, I was unconvinced about the typing and touchpad experience. The brightness of these keys, meanwhile, is managed by the ambient light sensor on the lid by the webcam. Removing the physical function row allowed Dell to use this extra space here to widen out the hinges, which the company says allows for better cooling. The touch buttons have an engineering purpose, too. The touch buttons certainly have a futuristic look – and are a big part of what makes the device so unique. Many of us have had poor experiences with these types of buttons in the past on tech products, but I tried to keep an open mind as I used the laptop as my daily driver. It also means extra large keycaps extend wide.Īnd finally, one of the most striking and controversial choices, the function row of keys has been replaced by capacitive touch buttons. The “edge to edge” design means as few lines and partitions as possible. The whole thing uses a single panel of Gorilla Glass 3 and feels extraordinary under your hands. The edges seamlessly blend into the palm rests, making for an incredibly minimalist vibe. The touchpad now uses a haptic engine, which allowed Dell to make it invisible. I’ll touch more on how they perform later, but the look alone is certainly striking. The keyboard and touchpad have also undergone the most radical redesign. Chalk it up to the simplification of all the visual elements, but the XPS 13 Plus very much feels like a compact little machine. It’s a similar case for weight, where the 2.71-pound Dell XPS 13 Plus is slightly heavier than other XPS models.Īnd yet, the XPS 13 Plus certainly feels portable in the hand. The M2 MacBook Air, of course, is quite a bit thinner at just 0.44 inches. The device is 0.6 inches thick, which makes it slightly thicker than both the new XPS 13 at 0.55 inches (yet to launch) and last year’s XPS 13 at 0.58 inches. Outside the Dell logo on the back, though, there’s very little that resembles previous XPS laptops – at least not from the outside. There are two color options available this time: the darker “Granite” color and the lighter Platinum option, both of which have a unique tint.

Gone is the carbon-fiber weave palm rests that became synonymous with the XPS brand, trading it in for a sleeker and more conventional aluminum surface throughout. That’s been true of the XPS line for years now, but you can see why Dell gave this design a new name. With one look, you can tell someone had a vision over at Dell for the XPS 13 Plus.

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