Dell Xps 13 Fhd Vs Uhd

Is the Dell XPS thirteen OLED upgrade actually worth it?

Woman using a Dell XPS 13. She's sitting in front of a window, and looks pretty happy with the laptop.

(Image credit: Dell)

The Dell XPS 13 has been one of our favorite laptops for years. In fact, I can't recall a year where it hasn't consistently ranked among the best laptops you can purchase. However, not every XPS 13 is created equal.

It'south a laptop that tin can range from a pretty mid-range machine at its starting point to one of the most luxurious laptops money can buy if yous shell out for the top-end model. Traditionally I've always tried to convince folks that spending extra cash for a 4K display on a 13-inch laptop isn't worth it. With a pocket-sized brandish like this, 1080p is more than than abrupt enough.

Only afterward spending near two months with the OLED version of the XPS 13 – packed with the Intel Core i7-1185G7 and 16GB of RAM of course – I'g not so sure that information technology's overkill anymore.

Dell XPS 13, along with a sweater, jeans and some cute shoes on a white background. — (Image credit: Dell)

Living the life

While I might be the hardware geek that loves to push the most powerful figurer hardware to its limits here at TechRadar, when information technology comes to laptops, super portable Ultrabooks are my go-to choice. I dear having a laptop that I can deport effectually with me in my bag without weighing me downward - especially as I offset commuting into the office once more.

Before this, my daily laptop was a 2018 13-inch MacBook Pro, and it still will be one time I send this XPS xiii back to Dell – as much as I don't actually want to practise that. That laptop has an amazingly bright 500-nit display with a 2K resolution of ii,560 10 1,600. Plus, it hits 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which means that the laptop was perfect for everything from editing photos in Photoshop to binging TV shows when I couldn't sleep.

And for those things, this XPS 13 knocks the MacBook Pro out of the park. The laptop is equipped with an 11th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM, which is already far faster than the 8th-gen Core i5 and 8GB of RAM in my MacBook Pro. Loading up Photoshop and and so actually making edits is manner less of a pain than information technology is on the MacBook, and I no longer get held up waiting for the reckoner to grab up.

This has fabricated it extremely like shooting fish in a barrel to switch to the XPS 13 as an everyday work device. No matter what I need to do for work, this XPS thirteen is an excellent companion. And, thanks to the high resolution, it's piece of cake to fit a lot more on the screen at once than I could on a lower-resolution panel – and everything remains legible.

When Dell sent over this XPS xiii, I was told to also use it to watch some Netflix or something - and and then I did. I watched a couple episodes of Queens Gambit and holy shit. This trivial laptop fabricated the show wait better than it looks on my TCL six-serial Television out in my living room - and it'due south not even a full 4K.

So for the side by side month, I became obsessed, watching everything from Sailor Moon to Lord of the Rings on this laptop, and fifty-fifty though I'm going to have to send this laptop back presently, I'yard very tempted to just buy one with this display. I'thou going to start traveling soon, and having a laptop display that looks this expert could exist a godsend when I just want to relax in a hotel room or an airdrome and but rampage my favorite shows.

I was a little worried about battery life when I started using it. Non merely is information technology an OLED panel, just it's also a loftier resolution and it'due south very vivid. Withal, while I didn't do any benchmarks on information technology or annihilation – I wanted to just live with the laptop like a normal person for once – I never had to worry about the Dell XPS 13 not lasting through the entire workday.

I mean, most of my day-to-twenty-four hours workload is lying on my couch while writing, editing, and moving things around on calendars and spreadsheets, so I'k not exactly pushing this laptop to its limits. But I'm still surprised that even with this luxurious screen, just how long information technology tin can last betwixt

Man using Dell XPS 13 with a book open next to him, and an acoustic guitar behind him. — (Image credit: Dell)

Is the OLED upgrade actually worth ownership?

Before you have whatever discounts into consideration, to become the configuration of the XPS thirteen I was sent, y'all're looking at $2,019 in the U.s.a.. That'south an expensive laptop, and only by lowering the display from the 3.5K OLED Touch model down to a normal 1200p non-touch brandish, that price goes down to $1,619. That's a massive $400 divergence for a prettier screen.

Now, at the fourth dimension of writing, the XPS 13 is on sale, which brings the FHD version down to $one,399 and the OLED version to $one,599 (opens in new tab). That'south a much more reasonable price, merely that'south still a $200 bump for the OLED display, which begs the question: is it actually worth it?

And just like whatsoever calculating question, it depends. You're definitely not losing out on much when it comes to the laptop's utility. The laptop is going to be just as fast, just equally lightweight and just every bit fashionable with or without the high-cease screen option.

And I've used several Dell XPS 13 laptops with the 1200p screen selection, and information technology's still a gorgeous screen. Unless yous're editing high-resolution video or photograph content y'all're non going to need a near 4K display. And, even if yous are, you're probably better served by the XPS fifteen and its H-serial CPU and dedicated graphics.

The XPS 13 OLED isn't about what'southward needed. The XPS 13 OLED is a luxury product in every way. Having such a nice screen just to relish some downtime while you're out and about is definitely worth the extra greenbacks if you can afford information technology. It'due south become 1 of my favorite ways to stream TV shows, peculiarly animated content, where the OLED brandish really makes colors pop.

The Dell XPS 13 was already one of the all-time laptops for someone looking for a sparse and low-cal laptop that can do everything. The OLED upgrade just enhances everything that this laptop excels at even further. You exercise not need it, but if y'all just want a cute screen considering information technology'southward overnice to have – it's definitely worth the extra expense. Just try to get it while information technology's on auction.

Bill Thomas (Twitter) is TechRadar's computing editor. They are fat, queer and extremely online. Computers are the devil, but they only happen to be a satanist. If yous need to know anything about computing components, PC gaming or the best laptop on the market, don't be agape to drop them a line on Twitter or through e-mail.