Updated | Official XPS 13 9300 specifications are at odds with Dell's claim of it being thinner and lighter than its predecessor
Update
Dell has clarified privately that, as of the XPS 13 9300, it has changed how it measures the thickness of its laptops. The company now measures thickness at a single point rather than using the front and rear of a device as a range. Specifically, it now measures thickness from just inside the back foot of a device.
Correspondingly, the XPS 13 7390 is actually 15.8 mm thick when measured in this way. By contrast, the XPS 13 9300 is 1 mm thinner at 14.8 mm. The latter looks thinner in the flesh too, photos of which we have included below.
Dell also stated that it plans to revert all old XPS products to its new measurement guideline to avoid any further confusion.
The new XPS 13, called the XPS 13 9300, is just a few weeks away from shipping, having been unveiled at CES 2020 earlier this month. Dell has introduced a host of innovations for this year's model, not least of which a larger display, keyboard and trackpad. Not that the XPS 13 7390 was stingy in those areas, though.
Dell has repeatedly claimed that the XPS 13 9300 is thinner and lighter than its predecessor too, which is not entirely correct. Certainly, the XPS 13 9300 is narrower than the XPS 13 7390, albeit only by about 6 mm. However, Dell lists the XPS 13 9300 as being 14.88 mm thick, which is 3.22 mm thicker than its predecessor at its thickest point. The XPS 13 7390 narrows to 7.8 mm at its thinnest point, too.
The XPS 13 9300 looks like it has a thinner keyboard deck than the XPS 13 7390, so it may look thinner when open. This would not qualify the new XPS 13 as being "thinner...than before" in our opinion, anyway.
On the contrary, the XPS 13 9300 is lighter than its predecessor, but only if you buy the non-touch model. The new XPS 13 weighs 1.2 kg for the entry-level model and 1.27 kg for touchscreen SKUs. By contrast, the XPS 13 7390 weighs 1.23 kg regardless of which version you buy, as we covered in our review of the touchscreen model last year. Oddly, Dell states that the XPS 13 7390 starts at 1.23 kg, implying that the touchscreen model is heavier than the non-touch model, but does not list its maximum weight.
We would not rule out this being a mix up for the time being, as we are yet to get our hands on an XPS 13 9300. We included an overview below of the footprints for both devices, for reference.
Thanks to Mike for the tip!
| XPS 13 7390 | XPS 13 9300 | |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 302 mm | 296 mm |
| Length | 199 mm | 199 mm |
| Thickness - old measuring guideline | 7.8 - 11.66 mm | N/A |
| Thickness - new measuring guideline | 15.88 mm | 14.88 mm |
| Weight | 1.23 kg | 1.2 kg non-touch1.27 kg with touchscreen display |
