Dell launched the 2015 version of their XPS 13 at CES in January, and it made a big impression because of something that was very small. The first thing you see when you look at the XPS 13 is how small the bezels are around the display. At 5.2 mm, they are easily the thinnest display bezels on any laptop made today. Dell claims the XPS 13 is a 13 inch display in the chassis of an 11 inch notebook, and while they have made that claim before, for 2015, it would be hard to argue with them. But the XPS 13 is more than just a display, and Dell has outfitted it with some very modern hardware to give us our first look at an Ultrabook based on the just launched Intel 5th Generation processors, Broadwell-U.

At CES, Dell also told me that the new XPS 13 would have great battery life, with the company claiming that it would get up to fifteen hours. That claim seems hard to believe, with our battery life test topped at just a hair under ten hours by the current leader, the MacBook Air 13. However, this will be our first look at a laptop running on the new 14 nm  process from Intel, so we can get a chance to see just how power efficient the new processors are.

Dell is offering quite an arrangement of options as well, allowing the new XPS 13 to fit into a lot more budgets than some of the other premium notebooks around. The base model comes with the Intel Core i3-5010U processor, but if you need more speed you can upgrade to the i5-5200U or i7-5500U. All of the storage options are solid state drives, which is great to see. The base is 128GB, and optional upgrades are to 256GB or 512GB. Memory choices are dual-channel 4GB DDR3L-RS-1600, or a dual-channel 8GB option.

We received two models for testing, with the first being a Core i5-5200U with the 1920x1080 non-touch display, 4GB of memory, and a 128GB SSD, which lists for $900. The second model is the Core i5-5200U, with 2x4GB of memory, a 256GB SSD, and the 3200x1800 touch display. This model lists at $1400.

Update: Originally I had listed the 4 GB model as single channel, but it is actually 2 x 2 GB for dual channel. Sorry for the mistake.

Dell XPS 13 9343 Specifications
Processor Intel Core i3-5010U
(Dual-core + HT 2.1GHz 3MB L3 14nm 15W TDP)
Intel Core i5-5200U - model tested
(Dual-core + HT 2.2-2.7GHz 3MB L3 14nm 15W TDP)
Intel Core i7-5500U
(Dual-core + HT 2.4-3.0GHz, 4MB L3, 14nm, 15W TDP)
Chipset Broadwell-ULT
Memory 2 x 2GB or 2 x 4GB DDR3L-RS-1600
(Dual Channel 8GB Max)
Graphics Intel HD 5500
(23 EUs at 300-900MHz on Core i3)
(24 EUs at 300-900MHz on Core i5)
(24 EUs at 300-950MHz on Core i7)
Display 13.3" Anti-Glare IPS 16:9 FHD (1920x1080)
(Sharp 1420 Panel)
13.3" Glossy IPS 16:9 QHD+ (3200x1800) IGZO2
(Sharp 1421 Panel with Corning Gorilla Glass NBT and Touchscreen)
Storage 128GB/256GB/512GB SSD (Samsung PM851 M.2 2280)
Optical Drive N/A
Networking Dell Wireless 1560 plus Bluetooth 4.0 - model tested
(2x2:2 802.11ac 867Mbps capable Broadcom)

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 plus Bluetooth 4.0
(2x2:2 802.11ac 867Mbps capable)

Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7265 plus Bluetooth 4.0
(2x2:2 802.11n 300Mbps capable)
Audio Realtek HD
Stereo Speakers professionally tuned with Waves MaxxAudio Pro 1w x 2
Headset jack
Battery/Power 52Wh non-removable
45W Max AC Adapter
Front Side Charge Light
Left Side Headset Jack
Battery Meter
1 x USB 3.0 with PowerShare
1 x mini DisplayPort
Speaker
AC Power Connection
Right Side Noble Lock Slot
1 x USB 3.0 with PowerShare
SD Card Slot
Speaker
Back Side N/A
Operating System Windows 8.1 64-bit
Dimensions 11.98" x 7.88" x 0.33-0.6" (WxDxH)
(304mm x 200mm x 9-15mm)
Weight 2.6 lbs (1.18kg) Non-Touch
2.8 lbs (1.27kg) Touch
Extras 720p HD Webcam
Backlit Keyboard
Colors Silver
Pricing $800 (i3, 4GB, 128GB, FHD)
$900 (i5, 4GB, 128GB, FHD) - model tested
$1000 (i5, 8GB, 128GB, FHD)
$1300 (i5, 8GB 128GB, QHD+)
$1400 (i5, 8GB, 256GB, QHD+) - model tested
$1600 (i7, 8GB, 256GB, QHD+)
$1900 (i7, 8GB, 512GB, QHD+)

The display has some choices as well. The base model comes with a 13.3 inch 1920x1080 IPS display, with a matte finish, and no touch capabilities. This is still a respectable 165 pixels per inch, and is a good option to keep the costs down. The upgraded display is quite the upgrade. Dell has worked with Sharp to outfit the XPS 13 with an optional 3200x1800 resolution IGZO panel, which features Corning Gorilla Glass NBT over the top, along with ten-point multitouch. This works out to 272 pixels per inch, and the IGZO panel is a full RGB stripe.

There are a couple of other options as well, such as a range of wireless adapters, with the Dell 1560 outfitted on the review laptops that we received. This is a Broadcom wireless adapter, with 802.11ac support. Some of the options, like the 512GB drive, are only available with the top CPU and upgraded display. Dell does offer some degree of flexibility when ordering, but not all options are available for all devices.

Dell has crafted a fine looking laptop, with some new parts from Intel and Sharp paving the way. On paper this is a great start, so let's get into the finer details.

Design and Chassis
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  • Fedef - Friday, February 20, 2015 - link

    I mean, the different brightness level at witch you test the contrast can't be the cause of a contrast dropping from 1500 to 700, it is almost impossible.
    And even if that were the case you should take that as a reference because none uses their display at max bright unless outdoor in a sunny day.
  • Brett Howse - Friday, February 20, 2015 - link

    The meter we test the grayscale and color accuracy is not accurate at detecting blacks, so the contrast ratio will go down because of the noise in the sensor thinking that there is more light than there actually is, which is why we use a different meter to test contrast. So yes, just ignore that reading since it is incorrect.
  • Fedef - Friday, February 20, 2015 - link

    Thanks for clarifing that.
    Maybe you should just hide those result to avoid confusion.
  • srdm - Wednesday, April 22, 2015 - link

    This is probably a silly question, but I have been wondering if the very good black levels could to some part be due to the adaptive brightness "feature". Is it right that if you measure the black level on a black screen, then the adaptive brightness would lower the brightness and therefore you would see a better black level? Could that have been the case in your measurements?
  • althaz - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    This is a pretty awesome Ultrabook. I prefer the form factor of my Surface Pro, but if I were to begin typing on the go a lot more, this would be right at the top of my list I think. Looks even better than the MBA I offloaded!
  • MadMan007 - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    Looking at the model lineup...damn, they missed some pretty compelling options. Gimping the FHD screen in memory and SSD (and to a lesser extent CPU) is a damned shame. So what if the price would overlap with the bottom end of the QHD+ models, the battery life of the FHD screen model is insane; I would bet that one with an i5, 256GB or 512GB SSD, and 8GB of RAM would be extremely popular.
  • Nicky Drake - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    There is one: I have a Core i5 model with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Availability of models varies a great deal between regions though. I'm in New Zealand. I'm loving the matte screen.
  • tipoo - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    So what's the secret to the HD Graphics 5500 doing better than the 5000? It's 24EUs @ 300 - 950 (Boost) MHz, vs 40EUs @ 200 - 1100 (Boost) MHz. These things stay at the boost clock while gaming most of the time, so the base freq difference isn't a huge factor. Near half the EUs, lower max clock, and better performance?
  • tipoo - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    I know of all the internal improvements to the Broadwell GPUs, but I thought we were expecting like 20% more squeezed out there, not being able to match a higher clocked 40EU part with a lower clocked 24EU part...

    I wonder what the 48 EU part with eDRAM will perform like then...
  • peterfares - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    Hurrah for RGB and not PenTile garbage!

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