The Dell XPS series has a long-standing reputation for being one of the lightest and most easily portable laptops with excellent battery backup. They are perfect for office work or on the go; thus, the Dell XPS 13 (2022) had big shoes to fill when it came out in June 2022. This model underwent some changes that were well-accepted by many, but for others, these changes came as a big blow. Continue reading to get a detailed review and understand if it is worth your pennies.
Design And Build
The biggest change that came to the Dell XPS 13 (2022) is in its interior, where the carbon fiber keyboard palm rest has been replaced by an aluminum one. Some have embraced this change with open arms, where they can glide over the sleek aluminum surface easily, but some have shown rejection. The Dell XPS 13 (2022) is even thinner than its predecessor with a 0.55 in (13.99 mm) thickness and weighs only 2.59 lb (1.17 kg). In the ocean of silver and black notebooks, Dell’s refreshing color options, including Sky and Umber are a welcome change. Though the interior has changed, the chassis is still made of brushed aluminum like the model’s predecessor.
Display
The Dell XPS 13 (2022) comes with a 13.4 in FHD+ display, which provides solid picture quality. As we know, Dell’s XPS series is equipped with InfinityEdge, which focuses on narrow bezels, and that is also the case for the Dell XPS 13 (2022). With a 16:10 aspect ratio, the laptop comes with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 p. The device can get up to a brightness of 500 nits, which is bright enough to carry the laptop outside on a sunny day for work. It also has a 60 Hz refresh rate. Now, the Dell XPS 13 (2022) comes with two options: a non-touch model with Anti-Glare and a touch model with Anti-Reflect. It is obvious that the touch model costs $100 more. The unavailability of 4K UHD or OLED displays that are present in laptops like the ASUS ZenBook S 13 or the Dell XPS 13 Plus is a major downside of this model. On testing, it was found that the screen provides 72% NTSC, 100% sRGB, 77% P3, and 77% Adobe. The scores should have been close to 90 and thus this model can be categorized as average in the display department.
Software And Performance
For a processor, the Dell XPS 13 (2022) is available in two options, namely the 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1230U and the 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1250U, both of which have 10 cores and 12 threads, with the i5 being able to provide 4.40 GHz turbo and the i7 being able to provide 4.70 GHz turbo. Dell offers either Windows 11 or Windows 11 Pro with an integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics card. For LPDDR5 RAM, it has three options: 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB; and for internal storage, 512 GB and 1 TB. When the laptop was tested with the i5 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage configuration, it provided 4,324 points on the PCMark 10 test. On a single core in Geekbench 5, it scored 1,629 points, while on a multi-core it scored 6,546 points. When tested on 3DMark Time Spy, it scored 1,068 points and 5,478 points on Cinebench R23 Multi-core. Casual web browsing, office work, video streaming, or listening to music can be done comfortably in the Dell XPS 13 (2022). Gaming or opening heavy apps like Adobe Photoshop is a strict no, as they will either crash or stall for quite a while.
Battery And Connectivity
The Dell XPS 13 (2022) has an integrated 3-cell 51 mAh battery and comes with a 45 W AC adapter. The battery performance of the Dell XPS 13 (2022) is currently mixed. You will get just under 8 hours when you have optimized thermal settings, but if you boost the thermals, the time limit will fall to 4-5 hours. There is a serious lack of ports in the Dell XPS 13 (2022), with only 2 Thunderbolt 4 USB C connections. Thankfully, Dell includes a USB-C to USB-A 3.0 and a USB-C to 3.55 headset adapter in the box. Other than this, the Dell XPS 13 (2022) comes with WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
Miscellaneous
The chiclet-backlit keyboard of the Dell XPS 13 (2022) is sturdy and feels shallower. It has 1 mm of travel, is less wobbly, and feels quite comfortable while typing. The touchpad is similar to previous models in the Dell XPS series and does not include borderless haptic feedback like the XPS 13 Plus. The finger sensor is included in the power button itself, and it also has facial recognition through an IR camera for biometrics. The only drawback is that the finger sensor works after the machine boots up, as Dell still considers it to be a security threat if it allows the finger sensor to work before the bootup. The dual stereo speakers, which are capable of firing 4 W audio sound, are decent, but for listening to music or attending video calls, it is suggested to use a headphone. The webcam is the standard 720p, which works absolutely well for attending video calls, but the images taken with it are a bit on the blurry side. If you are not making YouTube videos or streaming on any platform, then you will not need to purchase a webcam. Though the absence of a privacy shutter on the webcam like many Lenovo or HP models is a downside.
Wrapping Up
The starting price for this premium laptop model is $799 for the base variant on the official Dell website. If you are a creator or someone looking for a performance-based laptop, then the Dell XPS 13 (2022) is not for you. But, if your criteria is a stylish, premium, and ultra-portable laptop that can handle daily tasks like working, browsing, streaming, or listening to music, then the Dell XPS 13 (2022) is a great choice.
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