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Dell unveils a new XPS 13, and it’s now way more powerful

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The best 13-inch laptop just got more powerful. Dell announced an update to the XPS 13 (9310), bringing 11th-generation Intel processors into the fold for the first time.

The 11th-gen Tiger Lake processors should provide a significant boost in performance. We’ve tested an early pre-production model from Intel, and Tiger Lake is a seriously impressive boost in performance. Despite being limited to just four cores and eight threads, these new Tiger Lake-powered laptops should be far better at tasks such as photo and video editing. We’ve tested the performance in an early pre-production unit, and the results were impressive.

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Thanks to higher clock speeds and A.I.-based processing within applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, you’ll be able to do handle content creation workflows much better on the new XPS 13.

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These 11th-gen Tiger Lake processors are the first to feature Intel’s new Xe integrated graphics. Known as “Iris Xe,” these integrated graphics. As long as you stick with the top-end Core i7, you’ll be able to play games at decent frame rates at low or medium settings. That’s not something you could have ever done on previous versions of the XPS 13.

Beyond performance, the XPS 13 maintains the thin-bezel design introduced at the beginning of 2020. It features an edge-to-edge keyboard, 13.4-inch 16:10 screen, diamond-cut aluminum side-walls, and a larger touchpad than previous models. With the new model, the laptop’s two USB-C ports are now updated to the Thunderbolt 4 standard. There’s also a third USB-C 3.1 port, a headphone jack, and a microSD card slot.

There are options for a 1900 x 1200 screen in the base configurations, and a higher-resolution 3840 x 2400 model as well. The system can be maxed out with up to 32GB of memory and a terabyte of solid-state storage.

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Finally, Dell has updated the memory in the XPS 13 up to the faster 4,267MHz LPPDR4x, up from the 3,733MHz speed of the previous model.

The XPS 13 9310 will be available in North American starting on September 30 starting at $999. These base configuration comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

Dell is also announcing an updated version of the XPS 13 2-in-1 and a new XPS 13 Developer Edition. These versions feature the same upgrades as the standard XPS 13, including 11th-gen Tiger Lake, Intel Xe graphics, faster memory, and Thunderbolt 4.

Pricing for the XPS 13 Developer Edition is still to be determined and will also begin shipping on September 30.

Luke Larsen
Luke Larsen
Former Senior Editor, Computing
Luke Larsen is the Senior Editor of Computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
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