It feels crazy that the Dell XPS 13 Plus was released only two years ago, because things have moved really fast since then. That design has taken over the XPS family.
This one is special though, because it has Intel’s new Core Ultra Series 2 processors, codenamed Lunar Lake. Intel hasn’t been shy about how this line of chips was built in response to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite, promising to bust the myth that Arm has to be more efficient than x86. And it seems to have delivered.
Delivered in the same chassis we’ve been using since that original XPS 13 Plus, the Dell XPS 13 (2024) with Lunar Lake has some of the best battery life I’ve seen in a laptop; more importantly, with some of the fewest compromises. On top of that, it’s some of the most powerful integrated graphics I’ve seen in an ultrabook.
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Dell XPS 13 (2024, Intel Lunar Lake)
Dell XPS 13 (2024, Intel Lunar Lake)
9.5/ 10
Pros
- Unprecedented battery life
- Integrated graphics power makes it a MacBook killer
- Dell XPS design is still the best
Cons
- Tiny webcam sensor
- Multithreaded performance isn’t on par with competition
- No headphone jack
Dell XPS 13 (2024, Lunar Lake) availability
Right now, it seems like Intel is only selling the Core Ultra 7 256V and 258V, which means that the SKUs of the XPS 13 available now are pretty limited. On Dell.com, you can pick one up with a Core Ultra 7 256V (16GB RAM), a 512GB SSD, and an FHD+ display .
More configurations are coming, and while Dell wasn’t able to provide a timetable, I’ve been hearing around November for more Intel SKUs to hit the market. The XPS 13 will eventually start at a Core Ultra 5 (16GB RAM) and top out at a Core Ultra 9 (32GB RAM).
With Lunar Lake, RAM is on the chip now, meaning it won’t be upgradeable, and it’s tied to the CPU selection that you mean. SSD sizes start at 512GB, going all the way up to 4TB.
Dell actually sent me two models. One of them has a Core Ultra 7 258V with the FHD+ screen, while the other has a Core Ultra 7 256V and the 2.8K Tandem OLED display. As you’d expect, the FHD+ is to show how good the battery life is, while the OLED is to show off that sweet, sweet display.
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Design and keyboard
Nothing has changed, and that’s great
The Dell XPS 13 is still the laptop of the future, and I love it. Made of all aluminum, it weighs 2.6 pounds, which is less than a MacBook Air (2.7 pounds). In fact, there’s a direct comparison to be drawn to the MacBook Air now, and the XPS 13 is probably the most qualified Windows PC to do it. The tandem OLED display is the best in its class, and we’ll talk more about how Lunar Lake is ready to take on Apple Silicon.
But I digress. It comes in Platinum and Graphite colorways, and they’re both beautiful. I always say that a flagship laptop shouldn’t even be offered in gray or silver. If you want basic but high-end, go look at a Dell Inspiron, an HP Envy, or a Lenovo 7 series. Personally, Graphite has won me over after generations of XPS reviews, although I think Platinum was the fan-favorite in the beginning. It doesn’t matter. They’re both stunners.
Once again, there are only two ports, both of which are Thunderbolt 4. Dell gets bonus points for including one non each side, because the ability to charge from either side does matter. But while I don’t care about USB Type-A anymore (seriously, we’ve been moving to USB Type-C for over a decade now), the lack of a headphone jack does matter.
(image source: Dell)
If you’re going to use this machine for any serious audio work, you’re going to need wired headphones. Of course, you can use an adapter, but I still think a proper headphone jack matters on a PC.
Dell is still using its edge-to-edge keyboard with square keys, and it’s a keyboard that I’ve quite fallen in love with over the past year. Because yes, I have reviewed many, many XPS systems in 2024.
I still think it takes a little getting used to, since it’s an unconventional design, but it’s all very futuristic. You have a borderless haptic touchpad underneath, which yes, should have some kind of border. And you also get the capacitive function keys at the top, which I love.
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Performance and battery life
Intel delivered on its big promises
And now, it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. Intel promised to bust the myth that Arm has to be more efficient than x86, and it promised that Lunar Lake would beat Snapdragon X Elite in both performance and efficiency. So, did it live up to those promises?
You bet it did…mostly.
The short answer is that the Dell XPS 13 with Core Ultra Series 2 crushes on battery life and graphics power. Unfortunately, the Core Ultra 7 250V series falls short of Snapdragon X Elite and AMD Ryzen AI 300 in CPU power. However, Core Ultra 9 288V isn’t shipping yet, so I can’t say for certain if Lunar Lake will beat those products.
Should you buy the Dell XPS 13 (2024, Lunar Lake)?
You should buy the Dell XPS 13 (2024, Lunar Lake) if:
- You’re creative tasks like photo and video editing, but want something compact
- You’re on-the-go a lot, and you travel light
- You want to look cool
You should NOT buy the Dell XPS 13 (2024, Lunar Lake) if:
- You want a big screen
- You don’t want a product that stands out from the crowd
- You spend a lot of time on meetings
Obviously, the XPS 13 has the smallest screen of the XPS lineup, but it was also the only one that was refreshed. I have to assume that the XPS 14 and XPS 16 are going to be refreshed with Arrow Lake processors when the time comes for that, if the XPS 14 gets refreshed at all.
Assuming you’re good with the screen size, the Dell XPS 13 is great for pretty much everyone. It hits those key experiences like keyboard and battery life, and it has a unique design. It’s such an easy product to recommend.