Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 2017 Review

The ordinary XPS 13 has been our favorite client laptop for more than  years, because of its luxuriously light-weight chassis, suitable InfinityEdge show and lengthy battery existence. Now, Dell has taken all the slender carbon fiber-goodness from its flagship ultrabook and applied it to a trendy hybrid, which goes on sale Jan. 5 on Dell.Com and at high-quality buy on line.

Available this week for a starting price of $999, the XPS thirteen 2-in-1 is not only a refresh of its clamshell brother; it is a gadget with a distinct layout and capabilities that make it a ordinarily pleasant convertible. The chassis is thinner than the one at the XPS 13 clamshell, which makes it simpler to apply as a pill. And that is a very fanless affair, so that you can curl up with an episode of Black reflect and not ought to worry approximately getting distracted via noise.

Plus, for the primary time, Dell is introducing its new Dynamic energy Mode technology on a laptop, which scales up the clock velocity when you want more performance. And that is essential, given that this system makes use of an Intel Y collection Kaby Lake processor (previously referred to as middle M), in place of the commonly greater sturdy U series. You do get fewer ports than on the regular XPS 13, and the battery lifestyles might be longer, but overall, the XPS thirteen 2-in-1 is a excellent hybrid.

Design: Luxuriously svelte

From throughout the room, you can be forgiven for mistaking the XPS 13 2-in-1 for the regular version. And that is a terrific thing. You continue to get a sturdy machined-aluminum cover and bottom with a gentle, carbon-fiber deck on the internal, which no longer only remains cool to the touch but makes typing comfy. However Dell delivered two metallic hinges wrapped in aluminum even as slimming down the design. I do want the lid have been less complicated to open, even though; there's no lip on the the front.

This 2-in-1 measures just 0.32 to 0.54 inches thick, compared to 0.33 to 0.6 inches for the more traditional XPS thirteen. I preferred the distinction on a tabletop, and even extra when I held both systems.

The XPS thirteen 2-in-1 is pretty mild, weighing 2.7 kilos. That is much less than the contact version of the ordinary XPS thirteen (2.Nine kilos) and lighter than the HP Spectre x360 (2.Eight kilos) and the Lenovo Yoga 910 (3.04 kilos). The biggest difference between this convertible XPS thirteen and the HP and Lenovo fashions is how an awful lot smaller its footprint is from front to back. Those extra couple of inches made a massive difference throughout my bus shuttle home, as I failed to should worry approximately the individual sitting in the front of me reclining too a ways.

To get this 2-in-1 so skinny and mild, Dell had to make some trade-offs. You may not discover a enormous USB port or an SD card slot, however you will find a Thunderbolt 3 port, a USB type-C port and a microSD card slot. Thankfully, Dell is also consisting of a USB-C to USB-A adapter, a good way to make it less complicated to attach phones and other gadgets; Apple doesn't try this with its MacBook or MacBook seasoned.

For now, the XPS 13 2-in-1 is to be had in silver, however i'm hoping for a rose-gold choice and different colours soon.

More: How Dell Made the XPS 13 2-in-1 - backstage

specifications

CPU 1.2-GHz core i5-7Y54

operating gadget windows 10

RAM       8GB

RAM Upgradable to    16GB

difficult force size 256GB SSD

the usual 1920 x 1080 touch screen changed into plenty sharp and colorful for my flavor. A quad-HD (3200 x 1800) display screen is likewise available.

Whilst watching the trailer for Logan on this 2-in-1, I could see every scar on Wolverine's struggle-worn lower back, and a toppled, rusted water tower resting on sand turned into a somber mix of orange, crimson and brown.

In our lab checks, the XPS thirteen 2-in-1's panel reproduced an impressive 107.2 percent of the sRGB shade gamut. The Acer Spin 7 and the HP Spectre x360 scored a chunk lower, at 102 percent and one hundred and one.7 percent, respectively, even as the Lenovo Yoga 910's display mustered ninety eight percentage. I do wish the colors were greater correct, but; the XPS thirteen 2-in-1's panel notched a Delta-E score of 6.08, which is a good deal higher than the appropriate rating of zero.

The display on Dell's convertible is quite brilliant: It registered 314 nits, which is in among the Lenovo and the HP.

Thanks to its hinged design, the XPS thirteen 2-in-1 helps more than one modes, inclusive of laptop, tablet, tent and stand. I absolutely appreciated being able to binge watch Netflix with the InfinityEdge display in stand mode while I did stuff across the residence.

Keyboard and Touchpad: cozy and responsive

in this hybrid, Dell maintained the 1.Three millimeters of key travel from the normal XPS 13. The end result is a comfortable typing experience, particularly in comparison to the feel of my MacBook's flat format. I typed quick and appropriately as I wrote this overview, and i effortlessly reached seventy one phrases in step with minute on the 10fastfingers.Com typing take a look at, which is slightly above my 65- to 70-wpm

The XPS thirteen 2-in-1 additionally incorporates some format modifications primarily based on user remarks. The house and quit keys now have devoted keys in the top-proper corner, and there also are dedicated PgUp and PgDown keys. All four of these keys were formerly integrated into the arrow buttons as characteristic keys.

Dell's Precision Touchpad in most cases lived as much as its name in my testing. I finished gestures effectively, consisting of sliding three arms up to show open apps, and pinching to zoom (even though the threshold browser turned into a great deal smoother than Chrome). I had no problems navigating the computer and deciding on text. But every so often, on the primary unit we tested, the cursor wouldn't flow right away. A 2d unit did not exhibit this problem.

Optionally available lively Pen: Works well, but no holster

if you want to take full gain of the inking features in windows 10 and the capability to comic strip and draw, you could purchase Dell's $49 lively Pen PN556W and use it with the XPS 13 2-in-1.

It provides 2,048 degrees of sensitivity, and there's built-in palm rejection so your hand won't make any accidental marks in your digital canvas. The stylus, which has been on the market for a year and works with other laptops, additionally has a rear button that could release the home windows start menu, windows Ink or every other apps you choose with a unmarried or double click on.

More: The exceptional Pen to your pill

Drawing with the PN556W felt extremely herbal, with feedback that become much like pressing a ballpoint pen onto paper. As I sketched inside the Bamboo Paper app, lines appeared thicker the harder I pushed the top of the pen towards the display.

Lamentably, there's no place to put this pen while it is not in use, so you'll need to deliver it one by one. It might were nice to connect it magnetically to the aspect of the screen.

Audio: solid

The XPS 13 2-in-1 packs a sonic punch for any such compact machine. After I performed George Michael's "Freedom! 'ninety" thru the 2 1-watt audio system (underneath the keyboard), his defiant vocals sounded clear even at max extent, and each excessive-hat hit became crisp. I liked that I ought to tweak the bass, element and width via the Waves MaxxAudio seasoned app.

Fingerprint Reader and Webcam: Facial recognition later

i'm not a fan of getting into passwords to log in to my gadget, so i am satisfied that Dell added a fingerprint reader to the XPS 13 2-in-1. After the initial setup, which took only a little over a minute, I may want to log in thru home windows hey simply with the aid of setting my finger on the sensor -- no swiping required.

It took a bit longer to log in from a cold boot than i might like (some seconds), but logging in when resuming from sleep turned into almost on the spot. I also ought to use the fingerprint reader to purchase and download objects in the home windows keep.

Eventually, you may be able to simply stare at this convertible to log in, because there may be an infrared camera next to the normal webcam. However, Dell says this feature won't be enabled until a destiny replace of windows 10. So it is vestigial for now

subsequently, you'll be able to just stare at this convertible to log in, due to the fact there's an infrared camera next to the ordinary webcam. But, Dell says this selection might not be enabled till a destiny update of home windows 10. So it's vestigial for now

We tested a configuration with a 1.2-GHz core i5-7Y54 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB PCIe stable-nation force. Throughout my trying out, I used the XPS thirteen 2-in-1 as my everyday machine for more than per week, and it ably handled my usual workload, which incorporates bouncing between Chrome with greater than a dozen tabs open, managing a couple of conversations in HipChat and streaming tunes on Spotify.

On Geekbench 4, which measures overall performance, the Dell scored 6,498. It really is higher than the Acer Spin 7's mark of 5,777 (1.3-GHz Intel core i7-7Y75 mobile CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD) and the today's 12-inch MacBook's 5,258 (1.2-GHz center m5, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD). However,  2-in-1s with a better-power middle i7 U collection chip -- the HP Spectre x360 and the Lenovo Yoga 910 -- surpassed 8,000.

It took the Dell 4 minutes and 14 seconds to healthy 20,000 names and addresses in OpenOffice, that is faster than the Acer's four:36 however nowhere near as brief because the MacBook's 3:eleven, the HP's 3:34 or the Lenovo's 3:33.

The Dell's PCIe SSD averaged a transfer price of 187 MBps, which beats the ultraportable category common (176.Nine MBps) and the Acer Spin 7 (124.1 MBps). But again, the Yoga 910 and the Spectre x360 grew to become in quicker rankings of 195.7 MBps and 318.1 MBps, respectively.

Do not assume to play some thing aside from informal video games on this system. The XPS thirteen 2-in-1 couldn't muster playable frame prices on the dust 3 recreation, averaging 21.2 frames in step with second. The Acer Spin 7 mustered 32 fps, at the same time as the Spectre x360 (40 fps) and the Yoga 910 (50 fps) scored extensively better.

Battery life: Above average

Dell packed a 46-watt-hour battery inside the XPS 13 2-in-1, that is appreciably smaller than the 60-watt-hour battery inside the ordinary (and thicker) XPS thirteen. At the laptop mag Battery test, which entails continuous web surfing over wi-fi, this convertible lasted a stable but no longer amazing eight hours and 27 mins. That smokes the Acer Spin 7's mark of 6:fifty three and beats the ultraportable average of 8:04, but it's about an hour in the back of the 12-inch MacBook's nine:38.

Greater: Laptops with the Longest Battery life

if you're inclined to hold around a bigger chassis and also you need longer battery existence, you might want to consider the HP Spectre x360 (10:06) and the Yoga 910 (10:36), each of which provide greater staying power.

Warmness: Going fanless

no matter no longer having a fan, the XPS 13 2-in-1 felt fairly cool in our trying out, at the least on top. After the 2-in-1 streamed video on Hulu for 15 minutes, the touchpad registered 84 tiers, and the place between the G and H keys hit 88 stages. The lowest of the device rose to a extremely toasty ninety nine ranges. We don't forget something above ninety five levels to be uncomfortable, however the system did not feel too warm on my lap.

Configuration options: do not accept the beginning option

The Dell XPS thirteen 2-in-1 starts offevolved at $999 for a complete-HD touch screen, middle i5-7Y54 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD.