Dell's new XPS 13 is a MacBook Neo rival that costs $599 and retains premium features

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

Dell's caller XPS 13 costs $599 for students and $699 for everyone else.
It's an unfastened situation to the MacBook Neo with a bigger display, lighter body, and amended I/O.
It features Intel's caller "Wildcat Lake" Series 3 CPU, designed for fund PCs.

When Dell's COO Jeff Clarke announced the caller XPS 13 up of Computex 2026, helium made nary effort to debar its inevitable examination to the MacBook Neo. Oh no, helium addressed it consecutive on. "We didn't alteration a azygous diagnostic erstwhile the Neo was launched. We stayed existent to the XPS' individuality ... And I deliberation we've achieved it with the $599 terms point."

Also: MacBook Neo vs. Surface: Why spiraling RAM prices are bruising Microsoft's PC concern but not Apple's

It's a bold assertion -- refreshingly truthful -- and the archetypal clip a PC shaper has truthful openly positioned a flagship merchandise successful absorption to Apple's wildly palmy fund laptop that's disrupted the PC market. The XPS 13 volition outgo $599 for students and $699 for the wide market, a precise assertive terms constituent for its diagnostic set, particularly with the iconic XPS name.

As the outgo of representation soars (and consumer laptops with it), the Dell 2026 XPS 13 comes astatine conscionable the close time, taking purpose astatine students, young professionals, and budget-conscious consumers looking for a precocious show laptop with premium features.

Lighter hardware, lighter price

Intel's caller "Wildcat Lake" Core Series 3 chips, announced earlier this year, commercialized successful earthy powerfulness for a overmuch much affordable package. They usage the aforesaid 18A process arsenic Intel's "Panther Lake" Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs, with akin artillery longevity.

This includes the Intel Core 5 (6-core) oregon Intel Core 7 (8-core) chip, with an integrated Intel GPU with 2xe cores oregon 4xe cores respectively, connection little horsepower but inactive execute up to 17 hours of artillery life, according to Dell.

However, Clarke made it wide the caller XPS is nary "budget" PC. "We're not successful a contention to the bottom," helium said. "We're not trying to beryllium the cheapest option."

Yes, $599 for a caller XPS is beauteous dang cheap. But that's for the lowest-end configuration. The Wildcat Lake chip, combined with the low-end RAM and retention options are the superior drivers of the competitory price.

Also: Dell XPS 14 (2026) review: A Windows laptop I wouldn't caput returning to from Mac

You person the enactment of 8GB, 16GB oregon 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and 256GB up to 1TB of storage. The remainder of the instrumentality inactive looks beauteous premium, particularly the show -- a 2.5K LCD interaction show with a 120Hz adaptable refresh rate, 500 nits of brightness, and enactment for 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut.

Where it beats the Neo

The XPS 13 is lighter than the Neo astatine 2.2 pounds (compared to 2.7) and has a somewhat larger show astatine 13.4 inches (compared to 13). The InfinityEdge interaction show allows for much flexibility to pinch and zoom, portion there's nary touchscreen connected immoderate Macs (yet).

Oh, and it has backlit keys -- thing the Neo does not. Just enactment that these aren't the zero lattice keys you'll find connected the 13's much premium siblings, they're the achromatic "chiclet" keys that look a batch like, well, a MacBook. The effect is simply a much generic-looking laptop (that's not a atrocious thing) lone differentiated by the "XPS" logo brandished connected the clamshell.

But it besides beats the Neo erstwhile it comes to I/O. It has 2 USB-C 3.2 ports (one connected either side) with enactment for powerfulness transportation and DisplayPort 2.1. The Neo is stuck with a USB-C larboard with up to 10Gb/s information transfer, with the different USB 2 larboard capping retired astatine 480Mb/s. The XPS besides supports much storage, up to 1TB -- treble that of the higher-tier Neo.

Also: We compared the MacBook Neo to its closest Windows and Chromebook rivals: by the specs

All of these options coalesce into a instrumentality that sure, you tin people for $599 connected the low-end: 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and Intel's Core 5 Series 3 CPU. But dissimilar the Neo, determination are a batch much options to tally with. Bumping up to 32GB of RAM and the 1TB SSD, for example, volition rise the terms good supra $699, and astatine that point, I'd conscionable see the XPS 14.

It should beryllium noted that the XPS 13 volition inactive travel successful much higher-end configurations with the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, but these models won't beryllium disposable until aboriginal -- apt successful the fall. Pricing for further configurations person not yet been announced, but the XPS 13 volition go disposable starting successful summertime 2026.

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