Hands-on with the 2018 White Dell XPS 13

Dell showcased their new XPS 13 here at CES 2018 in Las Vegas and dubbed it as the world’s smallest 13-inch laptop. Indeed, Dell reduced the overall footprint of the unit, making it thinner (11.6mm) and lighter (2.67lbs) at the same time.

In order reduce the size further, Dell shaved off the side bezels of the display down to just 4mm on each side. This increases the screen-to-body ratio of the display to an impressive 80.7%. The placement of the camera is now in the bottom center which now supports Windows Hello IR camera.

Despite that, the size and layout of the keyboard remained the same. Aside from the white and carbon colors, a new rose gold color was also introduced. As expected, the new Dell XPS 13 looks gorgeous, especially the alpine white color.

There are 3 Type-C ports — one supports USB 3.1 while the two others are Thunderbolt 3. That’s paired with a 3.5mm audio port and a microSD card reader. The Type-C ports have DC-in support so you can charge via the standard adaptor or easily charge via a capable powerbank with USB Type-C cable.

The old battery indicator is present as well.

The keyboard layout is the same familiar one. Very easy and comfortable to type with, and so is the trackpad. The palm rests are no longer the rubber-like coating from the old model but are more polished with a glass weave design.

There are a number of configurations available for the new XPS 13, ranging from an 8th-gen Core i5 up to Core i7 with RAM of 4GB/8GB/16GB and storage of 128GB/256GB/512GB SSD.

You cna check out some of our hands-on video below:

The new Dell XPS 13 is actually out in the US market right now with a starting price of just under $1,000PHP 58,686INR 84,750EUR 952CNY 7,278.

Dell XPS 13 9370 specs:
13.3-inch IPS Display @ 4K Ultra HD
Intel Core i7-8550U 1.8GHz quad-core
Up to 4.0GHz Turbo Boost
Intel UHD Graphics 620
16GB DDR4 RAM
512GB SSD
WiFi 802.11ac
Bluetooth
2 x Thunderbolt 3 with PowerShare & DC-In & DisplayPort
1 x USB-C 3.1 with PowerShare, DC-In & DisplayPort
1 x card reader
1 x headset jack
1 x Noble lock slot
52 WHr Li-Ion battery
Windows Home Pro 64bit

Dell XPS 13 9370 specs:
13.3-inch IPS Display Full HD 1920×1080 pixels
Intel Core i5-8250U 1.6GHz quad-core
Up to 3.4GHz Turbo Boost
Intel UHD Graphics 620
4GB DDR4 RAM
128GB SSD
WiFi 802.11ac
Bluetooth
2 x Thunderbolt 3 with PowerShare & DC-In & DisplayPort
1 x USB-C 3.1 with PowerShare, DC-In & DisplayPort
1 x card reader
1 x headset jack
1 x Noble lock slot
52 WHr Li-Ion battery
Windows Home Pro 64bit
Price: $973.99PHP 57,159INR 82,545EUR 928CNY 7,089

The Rose Gold color is $50PHP 2,934INR 4,237EUR 48CNY 364 more than the carbon and white color variants. There’s also option for touch and non-touch panels. Due to the thinner profile, the battery capacity has been reduced from 60Whr to just 52Whr.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.