Dell XPS 13 13.4" XPS9350-7715BLK-PUS Black 2024

A breathtakingly well-built ultraportable with a killer 120Hz screen. Just don't even think about gaming on it.

We were genuinely surprised by how snappy this thing feels in everyday use. The Core Ultra 7 256V and 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM chew through browser tabs, Office apps, and light photo editing without a sweat. The integrated Arc Graphics are a step up from old Intel Iris Xe, but let's be real, our gaming score of 11.3 out of 100 tells the real story. This is not a gaming machine. The 512GB SSD is fast and sits in the 94th percentile for storage, which is plenty for most, but power users will fill it up fast. The 120Hz screen makes scrolling buttery smooth, and at 500 nits, it's bright enough to fight off coffee shop glare.

The elephant in the room is the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max. That machine will obliterate this XPS 13 in raw performance and battery life, but it's also heavier and runs macOS. If you're deep in the Apple ecosystem, just go there. On the Windows side, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is a far better pick if you want any gaming capability at all, though it's chunkier. The MSI Prestige is a direct competitor in the thin-and-light space, but the XPS 13's screen and touchpad give it a clear edge in daily use.

Pricing is all over the place, with a spread from $1189 to $1400 across vendors. At the low end, you're getting a best-in-class ultrabook experience that feels worth every penny. At $1400, you're creeping into MacBook Pro territory, and that's a tougher sell. If you can snag it closer to $1200, it's a solid deal for a premium Windows machine. Just don't pay a premium for the AI branding, the real value is in the screen and build.

The Dell XPS 13 is back doing what it does best: being a ridiculously premium ultraportable that makes you feel a little fancy every time you open it. This 2024 model leans hard into the AI PC hype with Intel's new Core Ultra 7 Series 2 chip, but the real story is the stunning 120Hz display, that seamless glass touchpad, and a build quality that still embarrasses most of the competition. It's a productivity and entertainment dream, as long as you don't plan on gaming. Seriously, don't.

If you're looking for any kind of gaming performance, this isn't it. Go get an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 instead. Also, if you need rock-solid reliability for mission-critical work, our data shows this model's reliability is in the bottom third, so a ThinkPad or MacBook might let you sleep better at night.

The Dell XPS 13 is a stunning ultraportable for anyone who values design, display quality, and a premium typing experience above raw power. It's a near-perfect student or productivity laptop that will turn heads at the library. Just know its limits: this is not a creator workstation, and it's absolutely not a gaming laptop. If you can live with those boundaries, it's one of the best Windows ultrabooks you can buy right now.