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Dell's 2015 XPS 13 - A Real MBA Challenger
- Thread starter rittchard
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Probably true, but I think I might have jumped to conclusions here - today, it's fairly quiet. On the charger, the fan speeds up on falsh-heavy websites (which my former MBA also did), other than that it's quiet. On battery, it's completely silent. Windows was probably indexing yesterday after I'd installed all the updates.
If only it didn't have that darn white dot on the display :-/
Found myself in the Microsoft store again today. Came damn close to telling the clerk to throw one in the bag. They only had the higher end model though. Think I want the 1080p. No use for touch and battery is paramount.
Apple really needs to announce the new Mac book my credit card is itchy.
Apple really needs to announce the new Mac book my credit card is itchy.
Here's hoping this one's not affected. It's not the kind of thing that should need multiple BIOS tweaks *after* the computer is released.And maybe the new Dell will be...a new Dell. Choice and competition are good.
I returned mine because of the white blotch / mura. Waiting for it to become available again so I can order another one. I only had it over the weekend, but it was one of the best darn notebook computers I've ever used. Great trackpad, awesome screen, very quiet (once Windows is done installing updates and indexing), extremely small footprint and excellent build quality.
Sent mine back
Just sent mine back, the trackpad on it was awful, or more it was awful on anything that was not Windows based, the behaviour of gestures changes from app to app to the point where two finger scrolling would not even work in Sublime Text 3. It was unresponsive on chrome when loading pages and then would be jittery, Firefox showed the same symptoms and even decided to switch to zooming constantly on two finger scroll gestures that made it unusable. For a web developer who performs cross browser testing it was a no brainer sending it back. Its a shame really because everything else about it was quite wonderful.
Just sent mine back, the trackpad on it was awful, or more it was awful on anything that was not Windows based, the behaviour of gestures changes from app to app to the point where two finger scrolling would not even work in Sublime Text 3. It was unresponsive on chrome when loading pages and then would be jittery, Firefox showed the same symptoms and even decided to switch to zooming constantly on two finger scroll gestures that made it unusable. For a web developer who performs cross browser testing it was a no brainer sending it back. Its a shame really because everything else about it was quite wonderful.
I love Macs but just got the base model for my wife who is a PC user, needs a laptop, and for whom the learning curve on a Mac would be too steep. I wouldn't get it for myself but I think it is brilliant for her.
er you cannot be serious? What will she be doing on it?
There are good arguments for non Apple laptops but for most users I would have thought learning curve is not one of them - unless shes a Windows developer or admin.
My opinion probably won't count for much since I have been a Windows user for as long as I have been using computers, but I received the touchscreen version of this laptop last week and I am loving it! I've always sort of envied the sleekness, portability, and craftsmanship of the MBA and have been waiting for years for a Windows counterpart. The Dell XPS 13 is the Windows MBA equivalent I've been looking for, and with some extra perks too like the gorgeous borderless display which allows it to have a considerably smaller footprint that other 13" notebooks. The trackpad is nothing to write home about and I can see how it might seem "bad" to a mac user, but I find it to be acceptable. It's a shame that going with the QHD+ display means sacrificing battery life, but I'm plugged in 95% of the time anyway, and I find that I can get 8 - 9 hours of use, which isn't bad.
Bottomline: This notebook is like a super high-def touchscreen MBA built to run Windows.
Bottomline: This notebook is like a super high-def touchscreen MBA built to run Windows.
So auto brightness might be responsible for the wildly differing claims of battery life? I've seen some as low as 7 hours.
Well, it does look amazing, and it definitely is a direct competitor to any Mac laptop.
Sadly, I fall on what many people said already: trackpad, bugless environment, all those little things are pretty polished when using Apple products, and that never happens on Windows; you can always find a flaw here and there.
So, it might be the best Windows laptop for a while, but overall I don't think it can surpass the Mac.
Sadly, I fall on what many people said already: trackpad, bugless environment, all those little things are pretty polished when using Apple products, and that never happens on Windows; you can always find a flaw here and there.
So, it might be the best Windows laptop for a while, but overall I don't think it can surpass the Mac.
I think it's just a matter of different usage. When I'm running on battery, I use my laptop as conservatively as possible; in battery saver mode, brightness set as low as I can tolerate, etc. I've managed to get a little over 9 hours with that kind of usage, but I can easily see that dropping to 7 with heavier use. That's true of any device.
Well, the trackpad is just fine, it's the 3rd party app that suck. Works awesome on IE but sucks on Chrome - just like any other trackpad. Don't know why Google can't finally make this work.
I have a feeling the top lid and palmrest of that ultrabook, which are supposedly made of carbon fiber, will flex like heck, just like on the VAIO P 11/13. I've yet to see an ultrabook as sturdy as Air (admittedly asus UX32 comes close), so my interest in them usually ends shortly after touching them.
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Actually, it's pretty darn solid. I probably does yield a bit more flex than the totally aluminum MBA, but it feels nice and that doesn't mean that it's not sturdy.
Another issue for people who want to edit photos on the laptop: currently, you can't turn off the dynamic screen brightness adjustment, which makes accurately editing photos essentially impossible. Dell will presumably fix that, although they apparently haven't yet.
Actually, I have a Lenovo machine that is considered an ultrabook that is actually a very nice machine (had to have it for some work-related apps). The machine shipped with a core i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, nVidia GT745m w/ 2GB dedicated RAM, and touchscreen. It's only slightly larger than my rMBP, and weighs almost the same. Also, there's no such thing as a "perfect" computer or OS...
Apple must be revealing the 12" retina Air on Monday, as Dell and HP already have an ultrabook out
Apple must be revealing the 12" retina Air on Monday, as Dell and HP already have an ultrabook out
Apple made phones with bigger screens YEARS after every other company was doing it.
In general they are not extremely concerned with what the competition is doing.
yes, this I know, they do it on their time and on their design (i just don't like waiting)
Damn just bought one 13" this week - I must be the only one who wishes there are no updates then - although I guess I could still return it but will be a hassle
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You are in the return window. Think of it as a hedge. I actually bought an 11" MBA yesterday exactly for that reason - as a hedge. I paid $775 for an unused open box 256/8. If nothing happens, I'll probably keep it. If there's a refresh, I'll look at how significant it is and how much it'll cost.
Just a few more days to find out... or not. There may not be an announcement on Monday.
Very nice price. Good reasoning. Plus, if the rumors are true and the new MBA is a 12" with no ports, then that 11" will probably be in greater demand.