Apple MacBook Pro (2018) vs. Dell XPS 13: Face-Off!

The new MacBook Pro 2018 is here, and it brings new competition to our favorite laptop, the Dell XPS 13. Apple has refreshed its flagship laptop with improved internals, vital keyboard changes and several other minor enhancements . These two powerful machines are without a doubt excellent options, but what more offers for your money?

Here's how the new 13-inch MacBook Pro (2018) compares to both the Core i5, 1080p and Core i7, 4K versions of the Dell XPS 13.

Apple MacBook Pro (2018) vs. Dell XPS 13 9370

Creation

Dell has reduced the XPS 13 fat aging this year with the introduction of a brand new design. Smoother, thinner and sexier, the 2018 edition is one of the most beautiful laptops on the market. While these visual updates are welcome, it is the InfinityEdge display that continues to define the successful Ultrabook line. The frameless design offers a level of immersion that you do not get with the MacBook Pro. The disadvantage is that the webcam is always in a difficult place: under the display.

The practical and industrial design of the MacBook Pro is unchanged from its predecessor. There's nothing glaring with that – there's even a Touch ID fingerprint sensor on this Touch Bar model – but a lack of innovation is starting to weigh on the MacBook Pro, to both figuratively and literally. At 3 pounds and 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches, the 13-inch MacBook is heavier and larger than the XPS 13 12.7 x 12.9 x 0.59 inches and 2.65 pounds. This year, the 4K XPS 13 is not significantly heavier than its 1080p counterpart.

These aluminum laptops come in two colors. If you're feeling bold, opt for the cool colors of the XPS 13 white and rose gold, which includes a woven fiberglass wrist rest and a stain-resistant coating. There is also a traditional silver and black model with a soft-touch carbon fiber deck. The MacBook Pro is available in two finishes: Silver and Space Gray.

Winner : Dell XPS 13 Ports

These portable notebooks are predictably short on ports. Unfortunately, a standard size USB port is missing from both the XPS 13 and MacBook Pro, which means you'll need a dongle to hook up your existing peripherals. Apple is released on Thunderbolt 3, including four (two on each side) on the MacBook Pro.

The XPS 13 has two smaller Thunderbolt 3s but offers a wider variety of ports, including a USB-C 3.1, a microSD card slot and a Kensington lock slot. Both laptops have headphone jacks.

Winner : Dell XPS 13

Display

Do not expect 1080p display on the base model of the XPS 13. The panel covers an impressive 117 percent of the color gamut sRGB and reaches a maximum brightness of 372 nits.

But these results are overtaken by the Retina display on the MacBook Pro, which is both brighter and more colorful. The MacBook Pro panel covers 119% of the sRGB color gamut and reaches 439 nits of maximum brightness. It is also sharper, with a resolution of 2560 x 1600.

The display of the MacBook Pro may have the advantage over the 1080p model, but the display on the 4K XPS 13 is even more beautiful and supports the touch. The XPS 13's high-end screen has a resolution of 3840 x 2160 and covers 130% of the sRGB color gamut, making it more colorful and sharper than the MacBook Pro. However, its maximum brightness of 415 nits is a little darker than the Apple laptop.

Dell XPS 13 models have the advantage of a design without glasses, while the new MacBook Pro incorporates True Tone, which dynamically changes the white balance according to

Winner : Drawing

Keyboard and Touchpad

Although neither of the two laptops has a particularly powerful keyboard, the Dell XPS 13 has a greater travel despite its thinner chassis. The 1.2 millimeter stroke of the XPS 13 is closer to our 1.5 to 2 mm preference, and offered a decent typing experience in our tests.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief – the revised MacBook Pro's keyboard is an improvement over the previous edition. Not only are the keys quieter, but there is also a thin rubberized membrane under the hoods that prevents dust and dirt from entering. This is a step forward, but not necessarily enough to overcome the stroke of the key (0.6 mm). 19659073]
We had no problem using the touchpad on any of these laptops to perform gestures. However, at 5.3 x 3.3 inches, the MacBook Pro's touchpad is much larger than the 4.2 x 2.3-inch touchpad on the XPS 13.

Winner : Dell XPS 13

] Performance

The MacBook Pro we tested was configured with an 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, while the XPS 13th 1080p was equipped with midrange components, including a Intel Core i5-8250U processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The Intel Core i7-8550U processor of 4K XPS 13, 16GB of RAM and 1TB PCle SSD compare more favorably to the specifications of the MacBook Pro.

As expected, the MacBook Pro surpassed the Core i5 XPS 13 in most tests, and was closely associated with the XPS 13 i7. After launching the Apple Software Update for to overcome limitation problems, the MacBook Pro scored 17,572 on the Geekbench 4 test, which measures overall performance. The Core i5 XPS 13 got 13,254 points, and the Core i7 XPS 13 also fell short of the MacBook Pro, scoring 14,180 points.

The MacBook Pro has completed its Microsoft Excel test, which matches 50,000 names with their corresponding addresses, in 1 minute and 16 seconds. The Core i5 XPS 13 lanced by one second, ending the test in 1:15. The Core i7 XPS 13 was the fastest, at 1:08

The MacBook Pro SSD is the fastest we've ever tested. It recorded a blazing speed of 2,682 megabytes per second during the Blackmagic disk speed test. The same test is not available for Windows, but the Core i7 XPS 13 has reached a much lower score of 1 208 MBps on the benchmark CrystalDiskMark

PLUS: Which portable processor is right for you? [19659073] It took 14 minutes and 47 seconds for the MacBook Pro 2018 to complete the demanding HandBrake video editing test, which involves transcoding a 4K clip into 1080p. This is much faster than i5 XPS 13 (18:17) and i7 (16:00) configurations.

The XPS 13 is better for the game than the MacBook Pro. Iris Plus Graphics 655 from the MacBook has run Dirt 3 at a playable-but modest 46.9 frames per second on average settings, while the Intel UHD 620 GPU in the Core i5 XPS 13 has played the same game at a respectable 56.7 fps. The Core i7 XPS 13 with the same graphics card returned a smooth 66.9 fps.

Winner : Apple MacBook Pro

Battery Life

The XPS 13 with the lower resolution 1080p display just would not give up in our battery test, which implies continuous web browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits brightness. The XPS 13 lasted 12 hours and 37 minutes. After the update, the MacBook Pro's battery lasted 8 hours and 23 minutes – a good result, even a little disappointing.

PLUS: Laptops with Longer Autonomy

With a 4K screen, the XPS 13 touchscreen should power more pixels than its 1080p counterpart. The result is a huge success for the battery life. He equaled the MacBook Pro in our battery life test, only lasts 8 hours and 23 minutes.

Winner : Dell XPS 13

Value

The XPS 13 with a non-touch 1080p screen starts at $ 999 for an Intel Core i5 processor, a 256 GB SSD and 4 GB of RAM. The unit we reviewed is equipped with our recommended minimum of 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for $ 1,199.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar configured with an Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD $ 1,799. It's a resounding 600 more than an XPS 13 with similar specifications.

The trimmed versions of these two high-end notebooks cost $ 2,499. However, when you compare the specifications, the Dell XPS 13 offers more. The XPS 13 comes with a 4K touch screen and a 1TB SSD. For the same amount of money, the MacBook has a 2560 x 1600 display and a 512 GB SSD.

Winner : Dell XPS 13

General Winner: XPS 13

In most categories, the MacBook Pro is somewhere in the middle of the 1080p and 4K XPS 13 models. It has a better display than the 1080p XPS 13, but it's not as sharp or as colorful as the 4K version of the Dell laptop. And while the battery life of the MacBook is about the same as that of the 4K XPS 13, it is nowhere near the impressive 12 hours and over of the 1080p model.

In the end, the Apple MacBook Pro is defeated by its less comfortable keyboard and lower graphics performance. For these reasons, the Dell XPS 13 remains the best overall laptop for money.

Credit: Laptop Mag