CES 2020 | Reimagined Dell XPS 13 9300 bets on Intel Ice Lake & bigger 16:10 screen
In 2019, it seemed like Dell was setting up the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 to be the new flagship of the XPS brand. It featured more efficient Ice Lake processors and a taller, bigger 13.4 inch 16:10 screen. The regular, non-convertible Dell XPS 13 7390 meanwhile only got a small update with Comet Lake processors.
But the days of the non-convertible Dell XPS 13 as the flagship are not over after all: With the new Dell XPS 13 9300, Dell revamps the normal XPS 13 with the same screen and processor as the convertible model. More than that, the smallest XPS laptop is completely redesigned, too. And Dell also returns to the old 9000 series naming, which it had surprisingly dropped last year.
New design: Dell XPS 13 9300 is a complete reimagination of the compact XPS laptop
Looking at the new Dell XPS 13 9300, it is immediately obvious that this is a new design. The whole format of the XPS laptop has changed, due to the shift to a 13.4 inch screen in the 16:10 aspect ratio. The taller screen means that the laptop is less wide. The width is reduced by 7 mm.
Visually, this is change manifests itself in an edge-to-edge keyboard (1 mm travel) with barely any bezel besides it, as well as a larger palmrest and touchpad. And even though the screen is bigger, Dell has still managed to make the screen bezels even smaller.
In terms of materials and colors, Dell stays true to the XPS design: Users have a choice between a black Carbon fiber and a white woven glas fiber palmrest. The outer shell is manufactured out of Aluminum, which has diamond-cut sidewalls.
13.4 inch 16:10 screens & Intel Ice Lake form the heart of the new Dell XPS 9300
The outer design evolution is complemented by huge changes to the specifications.
The 13.4 inch screen options are completely new, for example: Dell continues to offer a choice between a lower resolution option and a higher resolution, but the aspect ratio also changes the resolution choices: 1,920 x 1,200 (WUXGA) replaces 1,920 x 1,080 (FHD) and 3,840 x 2,400 (QWUXGA) replaces 3,840 x 2,160 (4K UHD). All screen options offer a brightness of 500 cd/m² as well as HDR and they all cover at least 100 % of the sRGB color gamut. Both resolutions can be configured with a touchscreen, but only the lower res WUXGA screen is available as a matte non-touch option.
Inside, 10 nm Ice Lake CPUs replace 14 nm Comet Lake chips. The new processors are more power-efficient and they are bundled with more powerful Iris Plus GPU options. On the flip-side, the hexa-core option of the Dell XPS 13 7390 is no longer available. Also, the RAM gets upgraded to LPDDR4X, with up to 32 GB. The preceding model was still limited to 16 GB of RAM.
Availability & pricing of the Dell XPS 13 9300
The new Dell XPS 13 9300 will be available January 7 in select markets like the USA, the UK, France and Germany. Starting in February, it will be available in more countries. Pricing starts a $999.
It will also be available as the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition, which is preloaded with Linux. This special version will be available in early February in the US, Canada and several European markets. It will cost at least $1,199.
Source(s)
Dell
