Dell XPS 13 9305 in review: Worthwhile entry into the XPS universe

Plenty of XPS for less money? We were eager to see how the latest 9305 with its 16:9 display would perform in the test. For this, we acquired the entry-level model for 999 Euros (~$1,212). At the moment, the price is 1,079 Euros (~$1,309), probably due to an increased demand.

And there's a good reason for that, because what comes across as a "low-cost XPS" is barely inferior to the "large" XPS 13 9310. The bright, vivid display shows colors excellently out of the box, but unfortunately, brightness is somewhat throttled on battery power. On the other hand, the case quality is identical to the 9310.

The performance of the Tiger Lake Core i5 is optimally utilized, something that can't be achieved by every test device with this SoC. The XPS 13 never really gets loud, not even in Dell's performance mode.

The M.2 SSD is upgradeable, but the RAM is not. This should be taken into account when buying the device, because the 8 GB of the review sample might become scarce in the foreseeable future. Especially when you go beyond office applications and web browsing. Unfortunately, a poor 720p webcam continues to be used.

All in all, the XPS 13 9305 is a well-rounded subnotebook that is only inferior to the 9310 in terms of its display size, which is ultimately a matter of taste.