Archive · 8 Oct 2026
Dell XPS 13 Review: A Strong Midrange MacBook Neo Rival
Dell’s new XPS 13 is a small, lightweight laptop that starts at Rs 80,000.
It has a bright touchscreen that refreshes quickly, and its battery lasted through a 10-hour workday in the review.
The laptop also has a comfortable keyboard and can unlock by recognizing your face.
But the least expensive version has only 8GB of memory, which the reviewer found was not enough for lots of browser tabs and other tasks.
That sometimes made apps freeze or scrolling slow down.
Dell offers a version with 16GB of memory, which the reviewer recommends.
The XPS 13 has more starting storage than the MacBook Neo, but fewer kinds of ports than some users may want.
Overall, the reviewer considers it a strong choice if buyers avoid the 8GB version.
The 2026 Dell XPS 13 starts at Rs 80,000 and is positioned as a competitor to Apple’s MacBook Neo.
It has a 13.4-inch 1440p touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate, an aluminium chassis, and facial recognition.
The tested base model’s 8GB of RAM caused memory pressure, occasional scrolling delays, and app freezes.
The reviewer recommends the 16GB RAM configuration; the laptop offers 512GB of base storage and up to 16GB of RAM.
The XPS 13 lasted about 10 hours in the reviewer’s office-use test, but lacks USB-A, HDMI, and a headphone jack.
- Who
- Dell, with the XPS 13 reviewed in comparison with Apple’s MacBook Neo.
- What
- A review of the 2026 Dell XPS 13, its performance, features, and value.
- When
- The model is identified as the 2026 XPS 13; the reviewer tested it for more than two weeks.
- Where
- Not specified.
- Why
- Dell is positioning the laptop as an affordable competitor to the MacBook Neo.
XPS 13 advantages
XPS 13 limitations
Memory and everyday performance
XPS 13 advantages
The Intel Core 5 320 handled browser use and lighter photo editing well when the reviewer kept workloads within the available memory.
XPS 13 limitations
The tested 8GB configuration ran short on memory with Windows background tasks and multiple browser tabs, sometimes causing delays and app freezes; the reviewer recommends 16GB.
Features compared with MacBook Neo
XPS 13 advantages
The XPS 13 has a 120Hz touchscreen, facial recognition, 512GB of base storage, and memory configurations up to 16GB; the reviewer preferred it for their media work.
XPS 13 limitations
The review says the XPS 13 lacks the Neo’s base-model fingerprint scanner and notes that its trackpad does not register clicks across its entire surface.
Portability and connections
XPS 13 advantages
The XPS 13 is described as lighter and more compact than the MacBook Neo, with a battery that lasted about 10 hours in the reviewer’s workday test.
XPS 13 limitations
It has only two USB-C ports and omits USB-A, HDMI, a headphone jack, and a microSD slot.
- Starting price
- Rs 80,000
- Processor
- Intel Core 5 320
- Display
- 13.4-inch, 1440p IPS touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate
- Base memory
- 8GB RAM
- Memory options
- Configurations are available with up to 16GB RAM
- Base storage
- 512GB
- Battery test
- About 10 hours of office-style use in the reviewer’s test
- Ports
- Two USB-C ports; no USB-A, HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, or microSD slot