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According to the latest update, dell’s XPS 13 is a compelling budget laptop, even if it falls just slightly behind the MacBook Neo.
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The report highlights that i never thought I’d ever see a budget-friendly MacBook… and yet here we are! One of the best things about it is that it doesn’t feel cheap. That’s hard to do at $699.99. When the MacBook Neo emerged from the waters like Excalibur, I was taken aback.
The report highlights that does it succeed? Mostly. The XPS 13 gets a lot of stuff right. In fact, I really think it lifts the bar for Windows budget laptops going forward. But the MacBook Neo’s still got the edge. And now we’ve got a fresh competitor that’s chasing after the same star: the Dell XPS 13.
Industry observers note that it also weighs less than the Neo at 2.2 pounds (the Neo is about 2.7 pounds). I would’ve never known the XPS 13 is a budget laptop from feel alone—the aluminum chassis is sturdy and there’s zero flex in the lid.
The report highlights that that’s a style a lot of people prefer. I liked the mirror-like letters that made up Dell’s XPS logo in the center of the lid. They were so reflective I couldn’t get a clear shot of them with my iPhone because they blend into the light silver colorway. It’s elegant looking, like Celine Dion in a Dior gown or something. As for the design, it’s very clean and minimalistic like the MacBook Neo’s.
As part of the ongoing story, as far as durability and aesthetics go, I’d say the XPS 13 and Neo are pretty even steven here.
In a fresh development, just a traditional QWERTY. But the keys are evenly spaced, so I didn’t have much trouble adjusting to it. In Monkeytype, I averaged about 106 words-per-minute. That’s close to where I typically land on my regular keyboard. The keyboard isn’t anything fancy.
Industry observers note that i have a strange habit of keeping all my lights off in the summer (it’s just too damn hot!), so I like being able to look down and see the keys (even when I’m being a weirdo and sitting in near-darkness). But what I really like is the white backlight, which is something the Neo actually lacks.
As part of the ongoing story, it didn’t blow my mind or anything, but I also couldn’t find many (if any) faults with it. It also followed my movements just fine. I never noticed it dragging behind. The glass precision touchpad is nice, too.
As part of the ongoing story, you just don’t see many color-rich displays at this price point, so this is the where the XPS 13 largely succeeds.
Industry observers note that scenes from the 1981 film Excalibur were a real treat to watch–Helen Mirren’s purple veil looked especially vibrant. The bezels are also thinner than the Neo’s, so there’s more screen. The 13.4-inch touch-enabled 2560×1600 display is pretty colorful, even though it’s not an OLED panel.
As part of the ongoing story, when firing up a random music video on YouTube, I found myself quickly scrambling for the volume button on the keyboard. The sound was a lot punchier than I expected. The volume slider wasn’t anywhere near its maximum, either! That’s pretty good for a laptop this size. The Neo delivers an equally good audio experience. The speakers were a nice surprise once I got over the initial jump scare.
The report highlights that it’s such a small thing, I know, but it goes a long way if you’re the kind of person that really values your privacy (like me). The 1080p webcam is fine for your average Zoom call, but I wish there was a physical privacy shutter.
In a fresh development, i don’t like awkwardly winding cables behind desks and I’m sure you don’t either. (My colleague Michael Crider has strong feelings on this topic, and I couldn’t agree more). I guess the real trade-off here is there’s no USB-A and HDMI. You’ll have to bring a dongle with this one. I was very happy to find that Dell supports USB-C charging on both sides (thank goodness).
According to the latest update, one day, while downloading UL Procyon and a Steam system update simultaneously, I had no trouble chatting with my husband on Discord and scrolling through my friend’s story on Instagram. To me, the XPS 13 felt consistently responsive.
In a fresh development, a 6,491 score in UL Procyon’s Office Productivity test shows it can handle productivity workloads, while a Cinebench 2026 multi-core score of 1,407 points confirms the XPS’s got some CPU power for some multitasking. It’s not a tech industry laptop or a content creation machine, but it can handle the daily stuff. The benchmark results reinforce those impressions.
In a fresh development, (PCMark 10 measures how well a laptop handles daily workloads, by the way!). Now let’s compare the XPS 13’s PCMark 10 score to other Intel chips.
The report highlights that with a score of 6,103, it pulls ahead of the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (5,763)–that’s not too surprising given the Slim 3’s older Raptor Lake chip. But it falls behind the Acer Aspire 14 AI (6,680), which has an Intel Lunar Lake chip. That’s not a massive gap in performance, though (a chasm it is not). I doubt you’d actually notice much difference between the two in real-global stage use. The Dell XPS 13 sits squarely in the middle.
As part of the ongoing story, since they’re running different operating systems, we had to turn to Geekbench 6 (a cross-ecosystem benchmark) to evaluate performance. Here’s what we discovered:. Now you’re probably wondering how the XPS 13 and MacBook Neo compare performance-wise.
According to the latest update, the XPS 13, on the other hand, managed 2,434 (single-core) and 7,060 (multi-core). The Neo is clearly faster in both tests. It’s not exactly close, either. Basically, this means the Neo is better at handling the day-to-day stuff as well as more intensive workloads. The Neo scored 3,574 in single-core performance and 8,996 in multi-core.
In a fresh development, it’s not a demanding AAA title, but I “played” it on Low graphics. And by “play” I mean I largely tooled around in the tutorial area ringing cow bells. Out of curiosity, I tried playing Big Walk, a fresh system update from the folks that made Untitled Goose Platform release.
According to the latest update, the XPS 13 is not a tech industry machine nor was it intended to be. I don’t expect much in that arena and I don’t think you should, either. It’s just nice to know it’s possible to boot up a lightweight system update when the mood calls for it. Let me be abundantly clear here.
Industry observers note that especially the first two runs. The whole battery life thing had me scratching my head a bit.
As part of the ongoing story, i calibrated the display to 200 nits before testing and reran the benchmark just to be sure. Honestly? I expected better endurance. Across two separate runs of UL Procyon’s office productivity battery benchmark, the XPS consistently lasted just six hours and 10 minutes.
The report highlights that but this time I turned off Wi-Fi mode and enabled Airplane Mode as a way to shut down any background processes. During this run, the laptop reached nine hours and six minutes. That’s a more promising result, but that’s with the Wi-Fi switched off and I doubt many people would use it like that. I guess it just goes to show you how much background processes can impact endurance. Since I’m not one to give up, I ran the test again.
According to the latest update, my colleague Roman Loyola over at Macworld squeezed a little over 13 hours out of the Neo. That’s a much better result. But it’s worth noting that Macworld typically drops the brightness down to 150 nits during their battery benchmark. PCWorld drops it down to 200. That’s not a massive difference, but brightness does have some impact on battery life. Usually there’s more to the story than just that, though. And this is another area where the Neo’s got the XPS 13 beat.
According to the latest update, the Dell XPS 13 is a good budget laptop, but the crown remains (for now) affixed to the MacBook Neo’s head.
In a fresh development, you’re getting a lightweight laptop with a gorgeous display and a comfortable keyboard–that’s an incredible deal for just $699.99, especially if you’re not totally sold on switching to macOS. The XPS 13 still makes a compelling case and it’s important to not lose sight of that.
The report highlights that it’s got a longer runtime and better productivity performance. But if I were to pick between the two, I’d lean towards the MacBook Neo.
As part of the ongoing story, she's been covering consumer tech since 2016, and her work has appeared on USA Today, Reviewed, Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her spare time, she enjoys playing video platform releases, reading science fiction, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound. Ashley Biancuzzo manages all laptop and Chromebook coverage for PCWorld.