We all have a product that we enjoy because of the conversations we have had with someone and it becomes that story we will never forget. I got to use this laptop for over a year and I got to do this Dell XPS 13 Plus Long Term Review. But not just for the reasons you think, because this happens to be the special XPS that I fell in love with and a laptop I won’t forget because of this amazing person, the late Christopher Choong from Dell Malaysia.
Dell XPS 13 Plus Long-Term Review
Before we dive into the review…
I must talk about the person who never failed to share his experiences, and stories about the products they made at Dell – and that’s Christopher Choong. The person we go to, when we want to know more about a product, what was the idea and more specifically, he can answer why it even exists.
Back in 2023, we had a conversation about the new business laptops taking a lot of design cues from the XPS 13 Plus but missing out on some of the features. He shares how the XPS brings “futuristic” and “experimental” features and it’s the series Dell chooses to do with. This is where XPS shines and something I agree with.
True enough we have seen in the past with so many of the XPS laptops which defied the formula of what a laptop should be. He added that “Whatever feature makes it onto the XPS and if it does well, then it gets carried forward to other laptops.” – which we noticed with the Latitude 9450. He went on sharing about these XPS and in the past, we have had some good conversations about the XPS and Latitude lineup.
Fast forward to this day, whatever you see with the Dell XPS 13 Plus is now on the new normal XPS Laptop – which is great. What was once experimental is now the new norm for their laptops – which paves the way to be different in the laptop space. Now, we shall dive into the things I loved about this laptop and what got improved with the new ones.
Things I loved
That Dell Finish is Timeless and Catches a lot of Attention
Dell has this ability to make laptops that look timeless, yet still catch quite a bit of attention. Throughout the year of using this laptop as my go-to laptop, the moment I lift the lid and when they see the inside of the laptop, everyone quite literally go, “Wow, that’s a beautiful laptop.” And this is with a rather bespoke outside. We had this grey-ish finish on the outside with the Dell logo on the lid and the bottom case is where the XPS logo is situated.
It’s a nice looking laptop and it feels great too. The solid metal finish feels like it’s been CNC-ed out of one metal block to give a better structural rigidity and the whole laptop is just well put together. You can lift the lid with one finger, no issue and it has a nice and satisfying closing mechanism that I appreciate a lot.
That revamped Keyboard and Invisible Trackpad
One of the game-changing features of the Dell XPS 13 Plus was the new revamped Keyboard and the glass-covered invisible trackpad. Let’s talk about the keyboard first. The moment you look at it, this has got to be the most unconventional and unique keyboard layout ever, with every key separated barely a millimetre away from the other, it’s a lot more square and rectangular in shape and you might wonder if you get any good typing experience.
Surprisingly, you actually do. Dell did something more to the keyboard, that is introducing an inward curve on the keys, so when you type and when the key actuates, it feels like you are typing on a natural keyboard. The Curve adds the right distance for you to hit the right key as you type. In fact, this entire review and most of the articles we have written on our site from Events were from this laptop. What I am not a fan of are the arrow keys, more specifically the up and down which is in a tight spot.
Moving on to the trackpad, you would wonder, where is the trackpad because it’s just one huge slab of glass. But the trackpad is exactly in the middle and the sides are your normal palm rest. Dell has ditched the traditional trackpad for a haptic-based trackpad, similar to what Apple has done with their laptops. This is probably the only Windows laptop currently in the market to feature such a trackpad.
This is a well-executed trackpad too. Dell is using their drivers to make this trackpad work well with Windows. For the most part, performing Windows gestures is easy and convenient, thanks to the smooth glass top. When you start applying pressure to click, it feels different but surprisingly, gives this click sound, therefore feeling like some normal trackpad. The software does a fantastic job of differentiating left and right.
Though it’s not all perfect at times we have noticed and experienced phantom clicks, especially when you click long enough and it finds it hard to release the click even after lifting your finger. This can be fixed with software but I reckon there might be some hardware limitations with the maximum pressure it can detect. The best is to keep the trackpad clean all the time. Give it a nice rub and use it again, as it somewhat “resets” the trackpad from greasy and sweaty hands.
The 13” Form Factor is an underestimated Form
I honestly will admit that 13” laptops are an underestimated segment of laptops. In the sea of laptops where people go for much bigger displays on their laptops, which is great too, sadly lacks the convenience of carrying it anywhere and everywhere you want. This is where the XPS 13 Plus steps in and saves the day as the 13.4” display with InfinityEdge is big enough to do all your work and even multitask. Close the laptop, you can pretty much chuck the laptop anywhere and bring it everywhere.
One would not know that you do have a fully functional laptop in a tote bag – that’s how discrete, versatile and easy to bring this laptop around. The included 60W USB-C charger is so small that you can chuck it in your tote bag wherever you go. In my case, my laptop and charger were all in the same laptop Pouch – which made life a lot easier.
Dell Features in the Laptop are pretty Impressive
It’s not a Dell laptop if it doesn’t have Dell features. Once you launch My Dell app, you get access to a bunch of features that work harmoniously with the hardware that they have put together in this laptop. One of my favourites happens to be the Presence Detection as you can set it in such a way that, when you walk away, the laptop locks itself and even detects the presence of a person, wakes up and logs you in with Windows Hello seamlessly. When you look away from the laptop, it dims down and saves energy – absolutely genius.
Under Cinema, you get to control the speaker and sound setup. Since Dell partnered up with MaxxAudio, you can enable head-tracking spatial audio – which uses the webcam and IR to track. So, don’t freak out when you start watching Netflix and wonder why your webcam is on – I kinda did.
Power lets you tweak the charging mode, and gives you all the info you need about your battery, from thermal, Peak Shift, Stats and so much more. My Dell is not a bloatware in any way and it works very well with the laptop. Keeps every update in check, making sure that you are ahead of the curve with security and safety.
Stunning Speakers
It’s safe to say that the Dell XPS 13 Plus has the best speaker I have ever used in my life. It’s loud, sounds great and you don’t even need a portable speaker to find out what are they talking about in a show or movie. It blows my mind away with music too. For a 13” laptop, this has the finest-sounding speakers I have ever heard, which happens to be a signature feature for Dell with every laptop.
Things that Improved with 2024 XPS
Intel Ultra Powered and even Snapdragon Options make this a better laptop
The Dell XPS 13 Plus we were using, runs on the Intel Core i7-1260P Evo Edition with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. For the most part, it’s alright. Although, once you have tried the new Intel Ultra processors, the 12th Generation P Series processors do not stand a chance as they are well optimized, and give you better performance and amazing battery life than this processor. When I do try to perform moderate to borderline heavy multitasking, the 1260P does struggle as it doesn’t have enough firepower.
But if you do get the new XPS with the Ultra 5 or the 7, you cannot go wrong with them. Not to forget, this time around, we even have a Snapdragon X Elite-powered XPS laptop with the same dimensions. While it is a new and uncharted territory for the ARM-based processor, it’s safe to say that it’s a decent laptop worth considering too. We have reviewed other Ultra processor laptops and were blown away. As for the Snapdragon Processor, we are in the midst of reviewing one – so stay tuned for that.
Almost everything from the Plus is now on the Mainstream XPS
In case you didn’t know, the Dell XPS Plus was released as an additional laptop in the XPS lineup – and it was the experimental laptop. But this year, all the features of the XPS Plus have been brought over to the mainstream XPS. So, to put it simply the Dell XPS 2024 you purchase is essentially the Plus.
So, the glass touchpad with haptic feedback, Touch function Row and the revamped keyboard which now has a Co-Pilot key (which the previous Plus didn’t have) are all here. Both the fingerprint sensor and Windows IR cameras are still available on these new laptops for that tight security.
Some Models now have OLED Options
One of the things about the Dell XPS 13 Plus is that it runs on an IPS display with matte coating on top, which is a nice display but with OLED technology playing a huge role in improved battery life and such – I wished this had OLED. But with the new generation XPS, you do have the option to opt in for an OLED display although all of them are touch-enabled which is a bit unnecessary for a laptop that doesn’t bend flat.
But hey, good to have options. If you don’t plan to go for the OLED, then you can go for the same non-touch IPS display as this laptop.
What’s still missing
The Headphone Jack, which sucks
What frustrated me was the lack of a headphone jack on the Dell XPS lineup. In the case of the Dell XPS 13 Plus, it has two USB-C ports which is great until you occupy one with the charger and the other with external storage or something of sorts. Then you are out of options. This is where you need to get an external dongle to use with this laptop. It’s pretty much living the “Apple” life but slightly worse as most Apple laptops do come with a headphone jack and a dedicated charging port too.
Conclusion
Dell laptops in Malaysia can be expensive, and you can pretty much pick up a better laptop for a slightly lower price tag. But the Dell XPS 13 Plus is one laptop I thoroughly enjoyed throughout the entire year for its portable 13” form factor, durable build, and experience that separates this laptop from the mainstream options and overall, a well-put-together laptop. But what makes this laptop special to me is the conversation I had with the late Christopher Choong about XPS – which makes this product, one of the few special ones I hold close to my heart as a memory of a great person.
At the time of writing, the new Dell XPS 13 with Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, 1TB SSD with 16GB RAM and 13.4” FHD Display cost about RM 6,698.99 on their official site. You are picking up a solid laptop but perhaps wait for Dell to throw in a bit of a discount to get this laptop. But if you want a laptop that rivals the likes of Apple in its build and runs Windows instead, this XPS 13 might be your best bet. Get the Ultra-powered XPS over the 12th or 13th Gen Intel – even if the older gens are available and heavily discounted.
This review is dedicated to the late Christopher Choong, who was a part of Dell Malaysia where we had an amazing conversation about the XPS and Business laptops during the Penang event. A few days later, on May 14, 2023, he passed away. An amazing person, he is sorely missed.
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