Dell’s XPS 13 Plus is Now Available, Uses Haptic Touchpad and Capacitive Function Buttons

Dell ’s new variation to its popular XPS laptop computer kinfolk , the XPS 13 Plus , has arrived . announce at CESin January , the XPS 13 Plus partake in DNA with the standard model but was built from the ground up with a more streamlined chassis feature a tactual touchpad , a capacitive function run-in , and an boundary - to - sharpness keyboard .

It ’s a dare entry , one critic may regard as an oversimplification that trades forcible input for capacitive ones . Others may view the XPS 13 Plus as a logical progression for the ultra - thin category that modernizes bequest feature . We ’ll determine where the XPS 13 Plus falls presently , as the laptop computer is hitting stores today at a starting price of $ 1,299 for the Windows 11 variant or $ 1,249 for the Developer Edition pass Ubuntu 20.04 .

For those who missed the original declaration , the XPS 13 Plus is a 13.4 - inch laptop computer with an extremely portable CNC Al chassis measuring 11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches and count 2.7 pounds .

Photo: Dell

exchange the standard touchpad is what Dell calls a “ tactual ForcePad , ” a touch - sensitive surface similar to what you ’d find on a MacBook . or else of in reality uncheerful , the touchpad use haptic feedback to mimic that clicky sensation . The keyboard was also reworked so that its flat key sweep from one boundary to the other .

Perhaps more jarring is the words of soupcon - capacitive function buttons , which are small-scale LED - clear up keys that you tap to adapt things like brightness , loudness level , and mic on / off . Dell lay claim this will make it easier to swap between function and medium key — we just desire it does n’t suffer the same portion as Apple ’s Touch Bar .

Other changes to the physique admit a quadrangle - verbaliser setup with twins behind the keyboard fire upward and another pair down below . The buff were also enlarge to allow for 28W12th Gen Intel P - series processors , intermediate chips between the high - power H - series chips and low - power U - serial publication unity used in previous XPS models .

Photo: Dell

Photo: Dell

The XPS 13 Plus comes with four CPU options , ranging from a 12 - essence Intel Core i5 - 1240P central processing unit ( 4.7 gigacycle ) to a 14 - marrow Core i7 - 1280P ( 4.8 gigacycle ) processor . The buffalo chip can be paired with up to 32Gb of DDR5 RAM and up to a 2 TB PCIe SSD . graphic are limited to Iris Xe and connectivity is the latest and large : Wi - Fi 6eand Bluetooth 5.2 .

Dell does n’t unremarkably skimp on the quality of its XPS displays , so I have high expected value for the 13.4 - inch , 1920 x 1200 - pixel ( 16:10 ) lead panel , which is said to attain 500 nits and hit 100 % sRGB coverage . Those willing to swap battery life-time for paradigm timber can prefer for a 4 super C , DisplayHDR 400 instrument panel , or an OLED touch screen .

Speaking of battery biography , that piece remains a mystery . We know the XPS 13 Plus has a build up - in 55Whr barrage and can send to 80 % in less than an hour , but no runtime estimates were provided . We ’ll fill in all the blanks and give you our own impressions of the XPS 13 Plus in the coming weeks .

Photo: Dell