Dell XPS 13 Plus

[skaertus]

I am not sure how many of you already saw this. Dell announced, a few days ago, at CES 2022, the XPS 13 Plus.

XPS 13 Reinvents Itself, Embracing Simplicity as the New Premium | Dell

Introducing XPS 13 Plus and a new UltraSharp monitor that takes collaboration and visual experiences up a notch .

www.delltechnologies.com

The media coverage is here:

Dell XPS 13 Plus adds a buzzy (and controversial) new touch bar: We tried it at CES 2022

Dell's flagship laptop also gets an edge-to-edge keyboard for 2022.

www.cnet.com

Dell XPS 13 Plus hands-on: is that... a touch bar?

It’s a new era of XPS.

www.theverge.com

Dell's XPS 13 Plus is a beautiful ultraportable, but it has no headphone jack

The XPS 13 Plus is Dell's most polished ultraportable yet.

www.engadget.com

Dell’s XPS 13 Plus brings a MacBook Touch Bar-like experience

And a likely larger price tag.

arstechnica.com

Dell's 14-core XPS 13 Plus is unlike any XPS you've ever seen

Beautiful, thin, and powerful, the redesigned XPS 13 Plus looks to set a new benchmark for premium laptops, once again.

www.pcworld.com

Dell XPS 13 Plus Touch Bar equals zero

Dell's "new capacitive touch experience" on the XPS 13 Plus ignores everything that was wrong with Apple’s Touch Bar in the first place.

www.macworld.com

It comes with a 28-watt 12th gen Intel processor, up to 32 GB LPDDR5 RAM, up to 4 TB PCIe gen 4 SSD, up to a 4K 3840x2160 500-nit or 3456x2160 OLED screen, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a 55 Wh battery. It comes with a "zero-lattice" keyboard, a "capacitive touch function row", a "seamless glass touchpad", a "UltraSharp Webcam", and no headphone jack. It weighs 1.24 kg and will sell for $1199 and up.

The way I see it, Dell is desperately trying to copy Apple so it can upsell its products to the customers. And I think it is a very bad move for Dell.

• "Capacitive touch function row": This is another name for a TouchBar rip-off. Just when Apple is moving away from it, Dell is embracing it. A very bad design choice. Users are required to move their eyes away from the screen so they can use the touch function/bar.
• "Zero-lattice keyboard": I am not sure this will work. Having some space between the keys helps the user finds the key.
• No headphone jack: This is completely inexplicable. Removing the headphone jack from a smartphone is something I can understand, even though I would prefer to have it. But why remove it from the laptop? Does it take so much space that a laptop cannot accommodate a headphone jack? Not even Apple dared to do it with its MacBook Air.
• Ports: It comes with only two Thunderbolt 4 ports. One of them seems to be used for the power supply, which gives us only one available for anything else. Really inconvenient. I am not sure about other places, but the only devices compatible with Thunderbolt here in Brazil are dongles that allow us to use far more useful USB-C and HDMI ports, among others. Just when Apple decided to expand the ports in its MacBook Pro line, Dell launches a laptop with just two.
• Weight and battery: The current Dell XPS 13 has a 52 Whr battery and weighs 2.64 lbs (1.2kg). The Dell XPS 13 Plus has a 55 Whr battery and 2.7 lbs (1.24kg). There seems to have been close to zero improvements in this department, even though it may make a real difference for those wanting a thin and light laptop. My Dell XPS 17 has an 80 Whr battery and weighs 2.98 lbs (1.35kg), despite having a larger chassis that accommodates a 17-inch screen.

Very bad decisions, in my view. Dell just does not seem to think for itself and is blatantly copying Apple even in its worst decisions. Even in the naming scheme: Dell is creating new terms such as "capacitive touch function row" to market its products.

Now, look at the press release on Dell's website. "Redesigned from the ground up", "we've stripped away the unnecessary", "with best-in-class edge-to-edge displays that bring your visions to life". It is as if Apple were saying it. And it is "available in timeless colors" -- is Dell trying to sell a watch or jewelry?

Pathetic.

The XPS line has been a media darling for some time. I personally got an XPS 15 once, and it provided me a very bad experience: faulty keyboard, swollen battery, failing SSD, reflective screen, bad webcam at the bottom of the screen, bumpy trackpad, and a chassis that simply broke out of nothing. It looked very good at the store, but the build quality was subpar and it did not feel half as premium as it could. Other Windows laptops, including Dell's own Latitude line, proved to be far better choices.

Now, let us see how this XPS 13 Plus behaves. I have not seen it yet, and it may surprise me in the end. But I feel there are too many trade-offs.

 

[MBAir2010]

saw the headline without reading the info and will respond,
These XPSs are incredible and innovated!
i know we will hear "they copied  aside with the sidebar",
but the hidden trackpad and just the sleekness in beautiful!
i think Dell had that feature in older models tho.
and a 12 core i9 should be a quick laptop.
I'm sure other PC manufacturers will make an incredible link of notebooks this year.

personally I don't think i will ever see the model in person
due to every comp store being a best buys today and that store is way out of my way.
Dell does make some great computers,
and their customer service is bad, and any post on their website seems dangerous.

 

[PKdeGallo]

I have an XPS 13 from 2015 and it rules IMO. Not the laptop I use nowadays (got the new MBP now) but it's a sick little Windows machine. Not really feeling this newer XPS here but the ones from last year seemed alright. Pretty funny how in The Verge video about the new XPS, Dell called out the lady reporting on it for calling it a touchbar, even though that's what this is pretty much.

 

[mi7chy]

Apple copied 2014 Thinkpad touch bar. For a lot of consumers that don't use the function keys it's probably acceptable. Lack of physical function keys is primarily an issue for people that actually rely on them like, for example, developers. More importantly, I want to know how mobile Alder Lake performs.

 

[LeeW]

The way I see it, Dell is desperately trying to copy Apple so it can upsell its products to the customers.

I don't see that personally. Dell tends to make its own decisions when they feel it's right to do so. The keyboard is not copying Apple, neither is the removal of the headphone jack and the other changes are not a direct copy of Apple either.

As mentioned above there was a touch bar implementation before Apple 'came up with the idea'.

This is another name for a TouchBar rip-off. Just when Apple is moving away from it, Dell is embracing it.

This is an interesting 'feature'. It is not really a rip-off of the touch bar, just a different implementation of touch with less capability. Whilst I don't really see it being that beneficial it's not a bad implementation, better than Apple in my view.

Not really a fan of the keyboard, I do prefer some space between keys but that is a personal choice I guess.

 

[skaertus]

Apple copied 2014 Thinkpad touch bar. For a lot of consumers that don't use the function keys it's probably acceptable. Lack of physical function keys is primarily an issue for people that actually rely on them like, for example, developers. More importantly, I want to know how mobile Alder Lake performs.

I don't see that personally. Dell tends to make its own decisions when they feel it's right to do so. The keyboard is not copying Apple, neither is the removal of the headphone jack and the other changes are not a direct copy of Apple either.

As mentioned above there was a touch bar implementation before Apple 'came up with the idea'.



This is an interesting 'feature'. It is not really a rip-off of the touch bar, just a different implementation of touch with less capability. Whilst I don't really see it being that beneficial it's not a bad implementation, better than Apple in my view.

Not really a fan of the keyboard, I do prefer some space between keys but that is a personal choice I guess.

Yes, Apple seems to have copied the ThinkPad "touch bar". However, all further implementations of this feature were because Apple decided to do it, and not a direct copy of the ill-fated ThinkPad version. In short, Dell's version is a copy of Apple's version which may have been a copy of Lenovo's version.

I do have a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar and I cannot see it as a good thing. If the keys are fixed, I can find them with my fingers. If the "touch bar" keeps changing, I have to deviate my eyes from the screen to find them. I do not think there will ever be a good implementation of this feature. It is just a gimmick, a show-off. It is ergonomically bad.

 

[mi7chy]

If you need physical function keys then this product isn't for you. Unlike Apple, PC market will have gazillion other options to choose from.

 

[Abazigal]

I do have a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar and I cannot see it as a good thing. If the keys are fixed, I can find them with my fingers. If the "touch bar" keeps changing, I have to deviate my eyes from the screen to find them. I do not think there will ever be a good implementation of this feature. It is just a gimmick, a show-off. It is ergonomically bad.

I feel like the touchbar may have had excellent synergy with the shortcuts app. Press a button to launch your favourite playlist, or enter focus mode, or maybe even FaceTime someone?

 

[LeeW]

In short, Dell's version is a copy of Apple's version which may have been a copy of Lenovo's version.

If anything I would say that Dell's version is a more modern copy of Lenovo if we are going down the pointless route of who copied who.

I guess the question is really why would Dell copy something from Apple long after they failed so miserably at it? They haven't, Apple tried to make their implementation so much more than just some function/media keys which is all Dell and at the time Lenovo provided.

What Dell has done makes complete sense when looking at the overall design, it all works from that point of view and makes sense only when looked at in design isolation.

Apple put back physical function keys as they realised a high enough proportion of their users, developers, used and needed them.

If you use function keys often enough then you will want proper keys, not touch. I suspect the Dell XPS range is a go-to for developers also so it would raise the same issue.

 

[maflynn]

Apple put back physical function keys as they realised a high enough proportion of their users, developers, used and needed them.

I don't think so, Apple after 5 years of promoting the touchbar suddenly realized that there are customers that wanted physical keys? In all honesty, I think it was due to Jony Ive's departure. If you look at at the design language when he was running the show, thinness and lack of ports/wires was a major component. Two years later, Apple unveils a thicker PC with ports, and physical keys.

If you use function keys often enough then you will want proper keys, not touch

Its funny how when the TouchBar showed up and throughout most of its life, apple fans bent over backwards justifying the touchbar and how ancient, obsolete function keys were no longer needed. It seems many of those same people heralded the return of the physical keys. I could only laugh at seeing the 180 degree turn around.

I liked the idea of it when it was unveiled but as time went on, I was mostly in the camp that I need physical keys.

As for Dell introducing a "touch bar" and lack of ports, its really baffles me, Apple was slammed in the industry because of that, they made using a laptop a lot harder because of only using a couple of USB-C ports and the proprietary and not very useful touchbar. Yet here we have Dell trying it out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[jdb8167]

Another huge miss on the laptop are the cursor keys. No inverted T here. Instead they have two half-height up and down arrow keys sandwiched between full size left and right arrow keys. So along with the missing Esc key, I would hate using this for software development.

 

[jdb8167]

Its funny how when the TouchBar showed up and throughout most of its life, apple fans bent over backwards justifying the touchbar and how ancient, obsolete function keys were no longer needed. It seems many of those same people heralded the return of the physical keys. I could only laugh at seeing the 180 degree turn around.

You have to admit that there were a pretty large number of dedicated Mac users who almost immediately hated the Touch Bar. When I finally got to use one on my 2018 13” MBP I found that it was neither horrible nor particularly necessary. I thought that I would like it but it just wasn’t that compelling. So I would personally be one of those that turned around nearly 180°.

 

[maflynn]

You have to admit that there were a pretty large number of dedicated Mac users who almost immediately hated the Touch Bar.

No question but there were a loud and vocal group of apple fans that defended the touchbar to the virtual death. They now are over joyed at the re-appearance of physical keys

I found that it was neither horrible nor particularly necessary.

Back in 2016, I checked out the MBP at an apple store and it looked cool, no question, but as I started trying to put the laptop through its paces (as best as I could in the apple store) I realized that for my needs having function keys is a necessity. Plus the lack of actual drivers for the TB in windows only inhibited me further, but that's a story for another thread.

 

[skaertus]

If you need physical function keys then this product isn't for you. Unlike Apple, PC market will have gazillion other options to choose from.

I do not need the function keys, except for adjusting sound and brightness, and other stuff. And, even for that, the physical keys are better.

I feel like the touchbar may have had excellent synergy with the shortcuts app. Press a button to launch your favourite playlist, or enter focus mode, or maybe even FaceTime someone?

On paper, the touchbar looks fine. But it is a bad design overall. Just like a touch screen.

I mean, a laptop works because our eyes are focused on the screen (set vertically) and our hands are on the keyboard/trackpad (set horizontally).

A touchscreen requires us to take our hands away from the keyboard/trackpad and put them on the screen, which is the #1 reason I never really used this feature. A touchbar requires us to take our eyes away from the screen to look a the keyboard, which is also annoying.

This is, of course, my point of view. But the touchbar never really worked out. Microsoft has worked on a concept for many years and scrapped it (https://www.microsoft.com/applied-sciences/projects/adaptive-hardware). Lenovo put it into a ThinkPad but ultimately discarded it. Apple introduced it in the MacBook Pro in 2016 but replaced it again with a normal function row. Other manufacturers, such as Asus, have introduced some sort of a second screen to the laptop keyboards as well.

I am not impressed by any of these designs. I tried Apple's approach in my MacBook Pro and I found I did not use it at all. Experiences may vary, but the fact that Apple removed in the new version of MacBook Pro speaks for itself: most users are not happy with the feature.

If anything I would say that Dell's version is a more modern copy of Lenovo if we are going down the pointless route of who copied who.

I guess the question is really why would Dell copy something from Apple long after they failed so miserably at it? They haven't, Apple tried to make their implementation so much more than just some function/media keys which is all Dell and at the time Lenovo provided.

What Dell has done makes complete sense when looking at the overall design, it all works from that point of view and makes sense only when looked at in design isolation.

Apple put back physical function keys as they realised a high enough proportion of their users, developers, used and needed them.

If you use function keys often enough then you will want proper keys, not touch. I suspect the Dell XPS range is a go-to for developers also so it would raise the same issue.

This Dell XPS 13 Plus was in development long before Apple decided to abandon the TouchBar.

As I said, I have not yet seen the XPS 13 Plus. But I am not impressed by it so far. It looks beautiful, that is for sure. However, it looks like it comes with gimmicks that add very little to productivity and convenience.

 

[TechRunner]

Having recently bought a 15" XPS 9510, I read about this new laptop with interest. I actually like the "hidden" trackpad, and the no-lattice keyboard doesn't bother me. But I do prefer physical function keys, having experimented with the Touch Bar on someone else's MBP. Dell's implementation does fit the aesthetic of the laptop, IMO, but I feel like it's a solution looking for a problem, especially in the context of Apple's failed experiment with it.

 

[Madhatter32]

If you need physical function keys then this product isn't for you. Unlike Apple, PC market will have gazillion other options to choose from.

This is the critical point for Apple management. If you do not like the XPS Plus there are many very good -- if not better -- alternatives for a Windows laptop. If, however, you did not like the touchbar, there was no where else you could go if you wanted a MacOS laptop. Unless and until Apple decides to run a lot more laptop SKUs/models, it should strive to maintain a conservative design ethos or risk alienating a portion of its user base. I am glad that Apple management now appears to understand this point after a couple of significant recent design failures.

 

[skaertus]

Having recently bought a 15" XPS 9510, I read about this new laptop with interest. I actually like the "hidden" trackpad, and the no-lattice keyboard doesn't bother me. But I do prefer physical function keys, having experimented with the Touch Bar on someone else's MBP. Dell's implementation does fit the aesthetic of the laptop, IMO, but I feel like it's a solution looking for a problem, especially in the context of Apple's failed experiment with it.

I like the idea of the hidden trackpad, as long as it does not register any false taps. And I do prefer the physical function keys.

Now, I do not see a reason for removing the headphone jack, and for this laptop to have so few ports.

This is the critical point for Apple management. If you do not like the XPS Plus there are many very good -- if not better -- alternatives for a Windows laptop. If, however, you did not like the touchbar, there was no where else you could go if you wanted a MacOS laptop. Unless and until Apple decides to run a lot more laptop SKUs/models, it should strive to maintain a conservative design ethos or risk alienating a portion of its user base. I am glad that Apple management now appears to understand this point after a couple of significant recent design failures.

Including the TouchBar in all Macs was basically a requirement for its successful implementation. As the TouchBar was only present in some MacBook Pro models, software developers had little incentive to actually use them. They became little more than a nice curiosity. If all Macs had it, then perhaps most apps would support this feature, and it would have a chance at being successful.

As I understand from this bar in the Dell XPS 13 Plus, it will not change according to each app (which would be terrible, as software developers would not add this feature just to please the few XPS 13 Plus owners).

 

[maflynn]

I feel like the touchbar may have had excellent synergy with the shortcuts app. Press a button to launch your favourite playlist, or enter focus mode, or maybe even FaceTime someone?

Anything that required to you take your eyes off the screen and onto the keyboard will have less synergy then other alternatives imo, and that was one of the cruxes to my arguments against the TB.

People would say that you can have the function keys on the TB, yes, but as I type and work, I'd rather just hit the key and keep moving, instead of stopping, looking, and then pressing the correct location for the specific F-key I needed. I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, but its clear by the lack of embrace by third party developers, its a solution that was in search of a problem.

This goes for the Dell and its implementation as well as the Mac, its not an anti-apple thing, its just idea that I don't think either Apple and now Dell fully fleshed out given how people actually use their computers.

 

[JahBoolean]

That is one sexy laptop and will certainly mate well with the thin and light seeking part of our windows inclined friends.

 

[skaertus]

That is one sexy laptop and will certainly mate well with the thin and light seeking part of our windows inclined friends.

I am part of this group and I am not impressed at all by the XPS 13 Plus. It lacks ports and a headphone jack. It is even a tad heavier than the previous model while keeping the same battery size, and these are perhaps the most important stuff when we talk about a thin and light laptop. The new touch bar, the invisible trackpad, and the new keyboard, all add very little or nothing to the functionality or convenience of the laptop.

 

[Bandaman]

A laptop without a headphone jack is the stupidest thing ever. Many of the decisions of this laptop make no sense. The DELL XPS is usually a pretty good laptop line. I don't know who was smoking what with this.