All > Dell XPS 15
Dell XPS 15
Retail Price
$1449
Lowest Price
$1399.00
Release Date
March 2022
Overall, the Dell XPS 15 is a high-end laptop. It elevated the almost perfect XPS 15 (2020) to the next level, giving the ultimate pairing of performance and features with enough power to tackle most tasks in the side of 3D design and features like keyboard, trackpad, display, and speakers which are the best in their class. It is close to perfection for a premium 15-inch desktop replacement and has earned Editors’ Choice. It has the sleek style and design, power, performance and robust feature set that makes it an absolute choice among premium Windows options at its size and has been considered as a top-notch choice for professionals, creative, and otherwise.
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Overview
- Drawbacks
- Overall Performance
- Build
- Specs
Drawbacks - XPS 15 has various flaws in many areas that most of the reviewers missed. Dell prioritized its form over its functionality. It is not the reference, benchmark, or a model that manufacturers should be inspired with. It could have been slightly lighter and its reliance to USB-C ports may challenge some, though adapters are included. Dell did not focus more on details unlike HP and a high-end HP Spectre can give better experience than XPS 15. However, 4000€ is not a justifiable price tag with XPS 15’s configuration.
sachouba
09/12/2021
Overall Performance - Overall, XPS 15 is a high-end laptop. It elevated the almost perfect XPS 15 (2020) to the next level, giving the ultimate pairing of performance and features with enough power to tackle most tasks in the side of 3D design and features like keyboard, trackpad, display, and speakers which are the best in their class. It is close to perfection for a premium 15-inch desktop replacement and has earned Editors’ Choice. It has the sleek style and design, power, performance and robust feature set that makes it an absolute choice among premium Windows options at its size and has been considered as a top-notch choice for professionals, creative, and otherwise.
Build - XPS 15 is the world’s smallest and thinnest 15.6-inch convertible so it is portable enough to be carried around. It has a fresh new design with a trimmer chassis and a little more screen-pixel real estate and the latest parts from Intel and Nvidia. It is a 4K touch-screen version, has a high quality build with a wide combination of parts and features.
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
Specs - It is one of the first laptops that features an Intel CPU paired with AMD Radeon Vega M GL GPU that gives decent graphics for a superslim 2-in-1 PC. Price starts at $1,299.99; $2,299.99 as tested.
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Sources
Tags
- Drawbacks
- Overall Performance
- Build
- Specs
Sources
- techradar
- PCMag
- CNET
See All Sources
Design/Build
- Build
- Materials
- Design
- Improvements
- Hinge
- Trackpad
- Ports
- Webcam
Build - The current 9500 model is smaller than the last one, measuring 0.71 by 13.6 by 9.1 inches (HWD) (0.66 by 14.1 by 9.3 inches). The same things are still there: The keyboard deck is made of soft-touch carbon fiber, and the lid and chassis are made of aluminum. It's also a two-in-one, you can use it as both a laptop and a tablet. Even though it weighs 4.5 pounds, these give the XPS 15 a high-quality feel. It does feel heavy, so it would have been nice if some of the weight could have been taken off. For example, the 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro is just a little bit lighter (4.3 pounds), but it has a bigger screen. The 15-inch Microsoft Surface Book 3, which is more complicated, weighs 4.2 pounds.
Build - Thin bezels around the display is awesome. Palm rest feel plasticity and doesn’t give the premium vibe, The sharp edge of the chassis below the trackpad feels sharp and the plastic deteriorates easily and doesn’t feel smooth and users can dent the unit with their fingernails. Keys are unchanged and is comfortable to type on with moderate travel and white back lighting. Additionally, a fingerprint reader was built into the power button.
sachouba
09/12/2021
Materials - Materials are the same, lid and chassis are made of aluminum, keyboard deck is a soft-touch carbon fiber which gives the unit a quality feel. It is entirely of CNC aluminum with clean edges and the typical Dell logo outside. Keyboard deck is carbon fiber which is just as comfortable even it may get a little grungy over time. It is like a two-piece carbon-fiber skin applied to plastic palm rest and had plastic bezels on FHD screen.
Design - The design of XPS 15 looks good and is going to be the gold standard for prosumer laptops in the future. It is a smart refinement of an already well-regarded laptop and improved for a facelift and updated features and components. The design is sleeker and the base part is faster. It is improved rather than redesigned. Overall, it is classy, looks quite simple from the outside, solid, and begins to look dated with its updates in its shape, size, and features.
Improvements - The base part is faster than before and it gives better configuration option for budget and power requirements. It's thinner, lighter, has smaller bezels and brings the speakers to the top of the device.
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
Hinge - Hinge is better than HP, quite sturdy and easy to open. Hinge design is not good as it breaks eventually because of the screw holes that are bonded to the flexible carbon hand rest.
r/Dell
09/12/2021
Trackpad - Track pad click feels wobbly and surface feels quite good. It is now gigantic so it is much easier to pan and scroll.
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
Ports - There is a lack of legacy ports in XPS 15 and it only has 2 thunderbolt 4 ports, with two on the left flank and one more on the right, where the two on the left include Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort support, while the right-side port offers just DisplayPort support. There is also a 2 type-c port one full-size secure digital slot and a 3.5 millimeters headphone or microphone combo jack, a microsd card slot and only works on one side of the laptop. Dell display sometimes do not recognize some plugs. Dell includes both USB-C-to-USB-A and USB-C-to-HDMI adapters in the box.
Webcam - The webcam of XPS 15 can be located below the screen because of the super thin bezels around the sides and top of the display which puts an awkward position for video calls and for using the IR camera to sign into the PC with facial recognition.
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Sources
Tags
- Build
- Materials
- Design
- Improvements
- Hinge
- Trackpad
- Ports
- Webcam
Sources
- PCMag
- CNET
- techradar
- YouTube
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
sachouba
09/12/2021
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
s20_p
09/12/2021
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
r/Dell
09/12/2021
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
r/Dell
09/12/2021
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
See All Sources
Display
- 4k Display
- Aspect Ratio
- Backlight Bleed
- Convertible
- Display
- Viewing Angle
4k Display - The display is beautiful and the 400-nit brightness helps with reflections, It has very good color performance. It has a utility to set the screen to different profiles and can calibrate to improve color accuracy. Somehow, it requires the users to step up to Intel Core i7-8705G process. However, it will also drain the battery faster than the full HD.
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Aspect Ratio - The slimming down was made while enlarging the screen that takes uo more of the laptop’s overall size. The super-thin bezels add up to a 92% screen-to-body ratio and the display has 16:10 aspect ratio with more vertical pixels. The increased percentage ratio looks more modern and aesthetically pleasing.
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
Backlight Bleed - There is a backlight bleed and the contrast is far from perfect.
sachouba
09/12/2021
Convertible - XPS 15 2-in-1 is a big step forward for the 15.6-inch convertible category. Convertibles are often clunky and cumbersome but this model isn’t and it doesn’t compromise performance and features.
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Display - There are 3 15.6 inch display options to choose from: 1920x1200, 3456x2160 and 3840x2400 pixels. It features dolby vision support and eye safe technology while the full hd plus and 4k plus panels are specs for 500 nits brightness and a 1600 by 1 contrast ratio. The panel boasts 100 000 by 1 contrast ratio and can be paired with intel uhd or intel ir graphics. The display can be the best display with great color reproduction for some but the XPS display is just mediocre. It has 3,840 x 2,400 display that hits 100% of the Adobe RGB color gamut and 500 nits of brightness. Screen is sharp and vibrant, rated for HDR 400, covers 94% of DCI-P3. Alternative is a full HD (1,920-by-1,200-pixel) non-touch screen. Display bezels are small and adds more beauty to the laptop. Display is perfect for creative professional that needs bright and color accurate for work.
Viewing Angle - This is the only issue for display because they have poor performance and the difference in brightness is visible and disturbing when displaying bright content, making corners and sides of the display look darker.
sachouba
09/12/2021
Sources
Tags
- 4k Display
- Aspect Ratio
- Backlight Bleed
- Convertible
- Display
- Viewing Angle
Sources
- CNET
- PCMag
- YouTube
- techradar
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
sachouba
09/12/2021
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
sachouba
09/12/2021
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
sachouba
09/12/2021
See All Sources
Camera/Speaker
- Microphone
- Speakers
- Webcam
Microphone - Microphones work well and sound quality is good
sachouba
09/12/2021
Speakers - There are two upward-facing speaker grilles next to the keyboard on the either side. The 2020 model is good enough to listen to over an extended period of time. It sounds excellent, carries farther without having to increase the volume, much better than HP.
Webcam - The webcam of XPS 15 is quite simple in meetings, exposure is all over the place, as well as the noise.
sachouba
09/12/2021
See All Sources
Processor/Battery/Heat Management
- Battery
- Configuration
- Cooling System
- Graphics
- CPU-crunching Cinebench Test
- Limitations
- Heat
- Processor
- Memory
- Storage
- Dell Command
Battery - Users can opt for either 56 or 86 watt hour battery at the time of purchase. Battery life is at 6 hours and 46 minutes during video streaming test due to 4k display. Dell rated XPS 15 a full-HD configuration at nearly 16hrs of runtime. It charges pretty fast and the Power manager app lets the user prioritize performance and cooling. 4k display drains batteries faster than the lower-resolution ones. 12 hours of runtime is good. It is not the longest lasting option but it is comfortable enough in the usable range. The device lasted 9 hours and 44 minutes of battery life in the PC Mark 10 battery life test and 6 hours and 16 minutes in movie playback.
Configuration - The updates naturally extend to the internal components and includes a 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10875H processor, 16 GB of memory, a 512GB solid-state drive, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU, and the 4K touch display. Users can configure any combination of components within the laptop’s wheelhouse.
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
Cooling System - This cooling system includes two large liquid-crystal polymer fans and three composite heat pipes and synthetic graphite heat spreaders and Gore thermal insulation to help protect the user’s lap from heat.
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Graphics - Dell offers up nviti jeffersar TX3050 or RTX 3050t as options base configurations come with a 256 gigs pcie 3.0 SSD but 512 gigs one terabyte two terabytes and four terabytes pcie 4.0 SSD options for users that acquires more graphics muscle for workloads.
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
CPU-crunching Cinebench Test - This test stresses the CPU rather than the GPU to render a complex image and gives a result that indicates the PC’s suitability for processor-intensive workloads.
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
Limitations - There is no OLED screen option, different capacities of battery are tied to the GPU option: A 56WHr battery comes with the iGPU, and discrete GPU configs get the 86WHr option, Core i9 processors are available but not at the time of the review.
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
Heat - Heat dissipation is terrible as it was designed for lower TDP chips from years before. Users have to manually manage the fans using the 4 presets in Dell Command Power Manager. Bottom gets warm if pushing the system.
Processor - The processor falls into the consumer market, not so powerful for professionals but powerful for those who does stuff for a hobby or doesn’t want to get slowed down by random computing task. It doesn’t stumble with demanding tasks and can handle everyday office tasks well. A configuration this good can fight against the current 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar with an Intel Core i&-7820HQ head-on but with a pen-enabled 4K-resolution display. Xps 15 is available with either core i5 12500h core i7 12700h or core i9 12900 hk processor that flagship 12900 hk delivers 14 cores 20 threads and a maximum turbo frequency of 5 gigahertz.
Memory - Processors are all paired with dual channel DTR5 4800 memory with 16-64 GN capacity and can be configured with a bare bone system with just one stick of ddr5 4800.
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
Storage - XPS 15 can be equipped up to 8 terabytes of storage.
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
Dell Command - An UX Dell Command updated a Realtek driver that disabled their jack port. After upgrading driver software, the jack port stopped working after a restart. Users disliked their "Maxx" audio program, which improves headphones and microphones. This software is incompatible with headphones and microphones, therefore I must open it every time. It prevents Windows from immediately identifying my laptop's microphone (or lack thereof). This is worrisome for Zoom users.
sachouba
09/12/2021
Sources
Tags
- Battery
- Configuration
- Cooling System
- Graphics
- CPU-crunching Cinebench Test
- Limitations
- Heat
- Processor
- Memory
- Storage
- Dell Command
Sources
- YouTube
- CNET
- PCMag
- techradar
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
[deleted]
09/12/2021
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
Critical Tech
03/26/2022
sachouba
09/12/2021
See All Sources
Performance/Other features
- Keys
- Keyboard
- Performance
- Gaming Performance
- Issues
- Benchmark
- Programs
- Security Features
- Configuration
- Gaming
- Standby Section
Keys - The keys have a satisfying clickiness, nearly flush with the body, and a bit shallow.
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Keyboard - The keyboard is fine but not as good as other laptops. There is a constant heat under the keyboard that makes it quite uncomfortable to type on for a long time. This keyboard uses Darfon’s Maglev design with butterfly mechanism and a magnet to pop the keys back up instead of rubber domes which allowed Dell to make a thinner keyboard that lasts longer.
sachouba
09/12/2021
Performance - XPS 15 gives a workstation-level performance that will not weigh the user down. GPU is stronger and would likely come with added bulk. It is equipped with Core i7-8705G and Vega M GL combo which gives excellent performance in benchmarks and general use. There is no major downsides and the system performs well for its price considering its feature set. The unit is fast but it is far from providing all of the power. The temperature throttles and there is an almost constant fan noise which is not overly annoying. Palm rests get lukewarm which is quite unpleasant and the keyboard gets uncomfortably hot which means that the thermal design of the unit is poorly designed.
Gaming Performance - Can handle graphics for demanding games and can be set to high and still play smoothly.
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Issues - There are random buzzes and a lot of bugs that no amount of drivers can eradicate. S3 sleep is also not available. The keyboard deck and the bottom case don’t line up properly and the factory windows install is a bloated slow mess and refuses to playback any videos. The hardware is nice but is riddled with many issues. Trackpad is wobbly or loose, there is a crackling sound in speakers when playing audio at high/max sound levels, hinge is not tight, dead pixels or lines go down the screen, fans are spinning quick and the coin whine when PC is under load. Battery is getting drained within just a few hours with standby mode. There is no standby mode. The fans will keep on spinning and the laptop and CPU will remain working if the power button or sleep option is clicked.
Benchmark - The laptop is clearly built for running gaming benchmarks. CPU performance is extremely strong, and beats Gigabyte Aorus 17G. Tests such as the GeekBench 5 multi-core, PCMark 10 and 8, CineBench, custom Adobe Photoshop image editing benchmark tests were utilized to test XPS 15 and it performed well to every executed test.
Programs - The rest of the apps are optional, like Dell Cinema Color, which balances your display's color profile. The XPS 15's display is flawless, thus modifying its color balance will probably not necessary.
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
Security Features - XPS 15 uses Windows Hello which allows the users to log in with either the user’s face or fingerprint. Microsoft’s facial log in isn’t great with glasses or make up making the fingerprint scanner more reliable.
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
Configuration - XPS 15 and its new-gen processor can hold up well. Test results from PCMark 10 shows that it can power through everyday tasks. Though not classified as a specialist media editing machine, media tests show that it is capable for photo and video editing and as close as the user can get for a general-use laptop.
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
Gaming - Its thin and light chassis design shows that it really isn’t meant to be a gaming laptop or extend itself with extended gaming session where heat could cause performance issues. XPS 15 is capable of 1080p with medium settings.
Standby Section - It is actually called as S0 or Low Power Idle which is a change done by Microsoft.
r/Dell
09/12/2021
Sources
Tags
- Keys
- Keyboard
- Performance
- Gaming Performance
- Issues
- Benchmark
- Programs
- Security Features
- Configuration
- Gaming
- Standby Section
Sources
- CNET
- techradar
- PCMag
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
sachouba
09/12/2021
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
sachouba
09/12/2021
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
sachouba
09/12/2021
[deleted]
09/12/2021
bukhum4u
02/22/2022
Boorkus
02/22/2022
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
PCMag - Matthew Buzzi
07/19/2020
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
techradar - Jackie Thomas
01/10/2022
r/Dell
09/12/2021
See All Sources
Comparison
- MacBook vs XPS 15
- Apple vs Dell
MacBook vs XPS 15 - The selling points of MacBook is its quality, speed and gaming performance. XPS 15’s quality varies, they also throttle quite heavily when unplugged.
rk1213
03/29/2022
Apple vs Dell - Dell has known QC issues including the build quality, pre redesign and amidst complains of coil whine, fingerprint scanner issues, wobbling on a desk, wifi card problems. The only upside for Dell is its design. Apple is just as fast, no thermal throttling, heating issues, fan noise, and has better battery life. It also has better display, speakers, trackpad, 120hz refresh rate, a much better 1080p webcam, and a 14-day no questions return period.
PalmTree888
03/29/2022
See All Sources
Pricing/Availability
- Global Price
- XPS 15 2-in-1
- Value
Global Price - Prices starts with $2,299 (about £1,830, AU$3,350). XPS 15 kitted out with i9-10885H, GTX 1650 Ti, 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD for $2,749 (about £2,200, AU$4,010). Even without discounts, it is still more affordable with 16-inch MacBook Pro. It costs $1,299 (about £1,030, AU$1,890) for its 256GB SSD, 8GB of RAM and a 10th-generation Intel Core i5 Comet Lake CPU configuration. In UK, it starts at £1,599, where the core difference is a doubling of SSD space up to 512GB. In Australia, the XPS 15 starts at AU$3,698, getting you a Core i7-10750H, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti discrete GPU which is missing from the entry-level models in both the US and UK
XPS 15 2-in-1 - XPS 15 2-in-1 starts at $1,300 with a full HD display and drops the processor down to an Intel Core i5-8305G, excluding the 4GB Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics and includes 8 GB of memory and an 128GB NVMe PCIe SSD.
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Value - The price can be justified with its reliability and build quality. It works well together, performs well, handles everything well, which are a good deal for the money. XPS 15 can be considered if 2-in-1 design is not needed.
Sources
Tags
- Global Price
- XPS 15 2-in-1
- Value
Sources
- techradar
- CNET
See All Sources
Miscellaneous
- Pen
- Issues
Pen - Dell offers their new $99 Premium Active Pen that has 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt functionality. It is good with relatively little lag but the tilt support depends on the application support.
CNET - Joshua Goldman
05/18/2018
Issues - There are QA issues with XPS 15. Clicks doesn’t register, light on the capslock is malfunctioning, Windows 11’s Bluetooth implementation performs poorly, there is a noticeable audio lag and the only solution is to use wired. Chrome seems to hang after the laptop wakes up from sleep.
FastGooner77
02/22/2022
See All Sources
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