Dell’s XPS 13 line of laptops are thin, light, and even more compact than you’d expect thanks to slim bezels that allow Dell to cram a 13.3 inch screen into a laptop the size of a typical 11 or 12 incher.
Now the Dell is launching its most powerful models yet: the new Dell XPS 13 models are powered by 7th-gen Intel Core “Intel Kaby Lake” processors and feature a higher capacity batteries.
One thing that hasn’t changed? The starting price: the new Dell XPS 13 laptops will be available starting October 4th for $799 and up.
The 2016 Dell XPS 13 weighs about 2.7 pounds and measures about 0.6 inches thick at the thickest point. The laptop has a carbon fiber and aluminum body and Corning Gorilla Glass covering the screen.
As usual, Dell will offer models with a choice of a 1920 x 1080 pixel display or higher-priced versions with 3200 x 1800 pixel touchscreen displays.
The entry-level $799 version has a Core i3 Kaby Lake processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a full HD display. But higher-priced models will be available with up to a Core i7 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of solid state storage.
The new laptops also feature 60 Whr batteries, which Dell says should offer up to 22 hours of run time for XPS 13 models with a full HD display or up to 13 hours on the QHD+ models… although I’d take those claims with a grain of salt.
Wireless has also received an update, thanks to a new Intel 1535 802.11ac WiFi card. And the new models also have Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Dell is also introducing new Rose Gold editions for the first time, including models with 1080p or QHD+ displays. Both will feature 8GB of RAM and 256GB of solid state storage.
And the company will also make a Developer Edition available with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS for folks that would rather buy a Linux laptop than one that comes with Windows 10. The starting price for Developer Edition models is $949.
Sadly one thing that doesn’t seem to have changed is the awkward webcam placement. Sure, there’s not really room for a webcam above the screen when the bezels are this thin, but putting it blow the screen means that the person you’re chatting with over Skype will have a lovely view of your hands if you decide to type while you talk.
via Windows Experience Blog and Dell
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4 Comments on "Dell XPS 13 notebook gets a Kaby Lake update, keeps $799 starting price"
*breathes a sigh of relief* So apart from the CPU/GPU improvements and a teeeny bit of extra battery capacity it’s the same as my skylake model 🙂
I’m hoping Apple get behind Thunderbolt 3 to open up some more interesting products, I was already going to pick up dell’s TB15 and maybe a razer core down the line to chain off the TB15 but competition would be nice.
Every time I see “Kaby Lake” my brain translates it into, “Baby Kakes”. LOL
Nice to see the XPS get the update. If I had to go back to a Windows notebook, it would be this Dell.
I see “baby kale”, so you’re not alone!
Why do 13 inch laptops cost twice as much as 15 inch laptops? For $700 I can buy a MacBook Air instead.