When I opened the box of the XPS 13 that Dell sent along for review, I was immediately taken aback. It’s a thin, light, dare I say Macbook Neo-style laptop that is so nice to use, I don’t want to give it back.

The price is right in line for students and other folks looking at premium budget gear, like the Macbook Neo, as it starts at $699. It’s got a 13.4-inch 2.5K touchscreen with a variable refresh rate of 120Hz. It charges fast and stays powered up for a long day’s work of web surfing, email, Slack use, watching videos, and playing some light games.

As a Mac user, I kept forgetting that I was using a Windows machine, until something pulled me out of my reverie, like having to hit Control instead of Command, or bing able to use the screen with my fingers.

8.5/10

Operating System

Windows 11 Home

CPU

Intel Core 5 320

GPU

Integrated Intel Graphics

RAM

8GB LPDDR5

The Dell XPS 13 (2026) is a portable 13.4-inch laptop featuring a 2560×1600 IPS touchscreen display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate. It’s powered by an Intel Core 5 320 processor, includes 8 GB RAM, and comes with two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, one on each side, alongside Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0. The Storm-colored aluminum chassis feels remarkably rigid for something just 12.7mm thin, and the 120Hz refresh is a detail so unassuming it took several days of scrolling before I even clocked it wasn’t a standard 60Hz panel. This worthy competitor to the MacBook Neo kept me using it all day and into the evenings as well, since it’s so small and light with a long-lasting battery.

Pros & Cons

• Bright, sharp display with touchscreen abilities
• Comfy backlit keyboard
• Long lasting, fast charging battery
• Super light and portable
• Feels like a premium laptop

• Base model CPU isn’t the best on the marked
• Only two USB-C ports, one for charging
• Limited AI capabilities
• Can’t run demanding games
• Runs Windows only

Dell loaned us the Dell XPS 13 (2026) for this review, but the company had no input in this article and did not see it before publishing.

Dell New XPS 13 pricing and availability

The model I tested comes with an Intel Core 5 320 at 1.50 GHz, running alongside 8 GB of RAM and a 128 MB Intel Xe4 graphics card. It’s also sporting a 512 GB SSD, and runs Windows 11 Home. It’s currently listed at $699.99 on both Dell and Best Buy, though there are higher-priced configurations available if you want more RAM or storage space.

This base chip means that the NPU tops out around 16 TOPS, which is well under MIcrosoft’s 40-TOPS Copilot+ threshold, which means this laptop is not Copilot+ certified. You won’t be doing any Recal, Windows Studio Effects via NPU, and no Cocreator. As those aren’t generally thigns I rely on, it didn’t bother me, but you may want to check on any Copilot+ stuff you want to run before you choose your tier.

8.5/10

Operating System

Windows 11 Home

CPU

Intel Core 5 320

GPU

Integrated Intel Graphics

RAM

8GB LPDDR5

Design, ports, and battery life

A solid aluminum chassis that feels more premium than it ought to

Dell claims that its CNC aluminum chassis is the thinnest and lightest XPS yet, and I can confirm that it definitely feels thin and light. More so than my MacBook Air 15, for sure, and — while I haven’t used a MacBook Neo myself — gives Apple’s student laptop a run for its design money. The backlit keyboard makes it super simple to use at night or in a darkened room, and I had no trouble typing on it, whether on a desk, coffee-table, or (where it belongs) in my lap. I learned my lesson in my previous touchscreen laptop review and tested this one right away: the screen is responsive and easy to use with touch.

Dell claims the XPS 13 uses 50% recycled aluminum in the lid and palm rest, along with another 50% recycled cobalt in the battery, which make my eco-conscious heart happy.

I like using the touchpad, though I always need to change the direction of scrolling and turn off the tap to click, as it tends to go off more often than I want it to. It’s a mechanical touchpad, too, so while it doesn’t have the fancy haptic glass of something like my MacBook, it is responsive and useful in a way many other Windows laptops have not been in my experience.

The fit and finish of this thing feels like a premium laptop, comparing favorably with Dell’s XPS 14, which our reviewer found to have the best build quality of any Windows laptop he had personally tested. Honestly, I have to agree: the New XPS 13 is the best built Windows laptop that I’ve used yet.

The only downside of a laptop at this size is the lack of ports. There are two USB Thunderbolt ports here, and Dell has graciously split them into one per side. That helps if you need to charge on either one, but the design choice means that you’ll typically only have one open if you’re charging the laptop while you work. You can, of course, use a USB-C adapter, but that really ruins the portable vibe, even while it’s likely necessary if you want to connect this cute little machine to a larger monitor at any point.

Display and Sound

Bright, sharp screen; basic speakers

Dell claims roughly 500 nits of brightness for this laptop, and without measuring tools, I found the display to be bright and sharp. Even without Windows’ default screen enlargement software, I was able to read and play games on the screen without any problem. The variable refresh rate of up to 120 Hz keeps animations clean and useful, and the anti-glare finish helps make the XPS 13 usable outdoors in various amounts of sunlight.

As for sound, there’s not a lot tiny speakers like this can do, but I still came away impressed. The bass is actually noticeable, which is great when you’re playing games without a headset or cranking tunes while you work. The clarity of the mids and highs were also fairly stellar, so if you frequently use your laptop speakers, you won’t be super disappointed.

Performance, gaming, and limited AI features

Solid returns overall

This laptop’s SSD hits its peak burst speed of about 6,520 MB/s reading and 5,615 MB/s writing when the system pushes it hard with multiple simultaneous requests, roughly the kind of load you’d see copying a huge folder of files at once. That’s a fast, modern Gen 4 drive.

Under a single, steady read/write (like copying one big file), speeds settle to a still-solid 2,712 MB/s read and 2,901 MB/s write.

The numbers that actually matter for everyday feel are the small, random 4K results, since that’s what happens when Windows boots, apps launch, or a game loads scattered files. Under moderate multitasking, it manages 474 MB/s read and 300 MB/s write. Under a single request at a time, which is closer to how a lot of real usage actually happens, it drops to about 59 MB/s read and 114 MB/s write.

In other words, this drive is fast at big, bulk transfers, and still snappy for every day small-file work.

I ran Geekbench 7 for the processor, ending up with 1,168 on the single-core test and 3,175 on the multicore test, landing the device in the modest range for the current-generation entry-level Core 5 320. That means this is a great laptop for light to moderate everyday use, not heavy multitasking or demanding workloads. Perfect for the target audience, though.

The XPS 13’s integrated Intel Xe3 graphics scored 11,348 in Geekbench 7’s OpenCL test. That result places it firmly in entry-level integrated-graphics territory: fine for everyday tasks and light gaming, but not built for demanding real-time rendering.

I unsuccessfully launched Rust three times only to have it crash, while a less demanding game like Moonlighter played well and launched quickly. It also got very hot when attempting to get Rust going, which makes sense for the kind of load that game asks for.

Battery life is stellar — I rarely had to plug it in when testing, and it charges quickly with the included USB-C style wall plug.

Dell XPS 13 benchmarks

We used Geekbench 7 and CrystalDiskMark 9 running in Window’s Balanced power mode, plugged in.

Should you buy the Dell XPS 13 (2026)?

You should buy the Dell XPS 13 if:

• You want a super-thin, light laptop that will go with you everywhere.
• You mostly do basic computing: writing, browsing, video calls, light multitasking.
• You want a sharp, high-refresh 2.5K touchscreen at a solid price.

You should NOT buy the Dell XPS 13 if:

• You want to play more demanding games.
• You need Copilot+ AI features.
• You need a fingerprint reader.

At $699, or $599 for students, this new XPS 13 from Dell offers up a strikingly gorgeous display and a stylish chassis that undercuts most of the competition on weight alone. The tradeoffs include modest Geekbench scores and a low-end integrated graphic chip, but for students and basic users of every stripe, this slim little laptop will likely become a favorite tool. I kept reaching for it all the time over heavier, more capable laptops in my home, and really would love to make it my main Windows PC for home and travel.

8.5/10

Operating System

Windows 11 Home

CPU

Intel Core 5 320

GPU

Integrated Intel Graphics

RAM

8GB LPDDR5

This Dell XPS 13 has quickly become my favorite PC to use at home and while on the go. It’s small, light, thin, and capable enough for everyday tasks like writing, editing, light gaming, and video calls. The base model has a 512 GB SSD, 8 GB of RAM, and a variable refresh rate of up to 120 Hz at 500 nits of brightness, perfect for indoor and outdoor use. The battery lasts for a long time and charges quickly, while the keyboard and trackpad are pretty great for this price point.