The Dell XPS 13 is the first real competitor to the MacBook Neo

Dell has brought the XPS 13 back as a sharply built, thin-and-light Windows laptop intended to challenge Apple’s MacBook Neo. After retiring the XPS line and relaunching larger XPS 14 and 16 models earlier in the year, Dell redesigned the 13-inch model to be much more affordable while keeping a premium feel. The review finds the laptop exceptionally thin and light — about 2.2 pounds (1 kg) and roughly 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) thick — with a finish and fit that rival Apple’s offerings.

The XPS 13’s display, input devices and speakers are particular strengths. The screen is bright, colorful, has much thinner bezels than the Neo, and supports 120Hz refresh and touch plus an anti-glare finish. The keyboard offers tactile chiclet-style keys, the mechanical trackpad is responsive though physically small and doesn’t click in every corner, and the speakers deliver a surprisingly full sound for the chassis. The webcam also impressed in tests, producing good color and handling low- and backlight conditions well.

Under the hood Dell shipped review units with a six-core Intel Core 5 320 “Wildcat Lake” CPU and a 512GB SSD; the main difference between the two tested units is RAM. One configuration had 8GB of RAM and the other 16GB. The reviewer said the 8GB machine felt competent in many tasks, a notable point for a 2026 Windows laptop, but recommended the 16GB version for longer-term usability. The review also flags the absence of a headphone jack and generally poor port selection as downsides, and notes the laptop can run warm on a user’s lap.

Pricing has been somewhat unsettled: the reviewer notes $799.99 and $999.99 as the reviewed 512GB prices for the 8GB and 16GB models respectively, and that when the units first arrived an 8GB/512GB model had briefly been listed at $699.99. In early September Dell introduced a $699.99 base model with 256GB of storage and raised the price of the 512GB configurations by $100 each. Overall, the XPS 13 is presented as a finely made ultraportable that offers strong core hardware for its price, with the 16GB configuration recommended for buyers planning to keep the machine for more than a few years.