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Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

jeffgeerling.com

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Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#91

Post by tamatsyk »

reacharavindh wrote: post #9

I have a Dell XPS 13 as my personal machine. It runs Linux. Everything works. But, I still find myself using my MacBook Pro (provided by work) for almost everything even at home. Two things that keep me in the Mac land. 1. Retina Display and the 16:10 aspect ratio. 2. Smooth, and usable touchpad. XPS13's display is too rectangle and I'm not watching movies in it. It feels too cramped for looking at code. GNOME out of…

> I dont have the patience or the know-how to tune the touchpad to be decent in Linux. I thought it would be an issue too, however Gnome and latest ubuntu fixed issues with trackpad and screen resolution

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#92

Post by CoolGuySteve »

tamatsyk wrote: post #55

Good summary, I share most of the points provided in the post. Also, I think a few more things worth to mention. Pros: - XPS has a decent hardware (I got 16GB, i8Gen, 500GB SSD and forgot about having a few docker containers running on the background which was an issue with my MacBook Pro 15 (8GB, 2.5Gh) - It is really 1k$ cheaper than the same config MacBook model. Apple's Retina and Touchbar are really cool, howeve…

I need RAM, battery life, and a matte display above everything else, so it really bothers me that Dell refuses to sell a 16GB XPS13 with the 1080p display.

So much so, that I think I'm going to go with Asus for my next ultrabook.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#93

Post by ender341341 »

bogomipz wrote: post #64
tamatsyk wrote: post #55

Good summary, I share most of the points provided in the post. Also, I think a few more things worth to mention. Pros: - XPS has a decent hardware (I got 16GB, i8Gen, 500GB SSD and forgot about having a few docker containers running on the background which was an issue with my MacBook Pro 15 (8GB, 2.5Gh) - It is really 1k$ cheaper than the same config MacBook model. Apple's Retina and Touchbar are really cool, howeve…

>"WiFi is super shitty in XPS series. If you have not had any issues yet - than you have not bought one yet. It is better to replace with 30$ adapter to not have issues with differently configured routers;" This is really surprising. Can you say what specific replacement worked for you on that laptop?

Back when I was running linux on a laptop I found intel adapters to have really awesome driver support and didn't have any issues.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#94

Post by eropple »

gxs wrote: post #76
tamatsyk wrote: post #55

Good summary, I share most of the points provided in the post. Also, I think a few more things worth to mention. Pros: - XPS has a decent hardware (I got 16GB, i8Gen, 500GB SSD and forgot about having a few docker containers running on the background which was an issue with my MacBook Pro 15 (8GB, 2.5Gh) - It is really 1k$ cheaper than the same config MacBook model. Apple's Retina and Touchbar are really cool, howeve…

The trackpad is what kills me. On the Mac, the non-mechanical touchpad is so efficient, at least as a pointing device can be. It's spacious, I don't get erroneous output, and most importantly, you get a uniform click no matter where on the trackpad your finger is. In the hinged trackpads, it's a pain to click at the top - often you have to slide your finger down. This is less of an issue if you're more of a keyboard…

Can't speak to the XPS 13, but on the HP Spectre x360 13", I can click, without undue pressure, anywhere except when my finger is literally touching the top edge of the trackpad. I have the same experience on my 2014 Retina MBP, too. I feel like you might be overstating the benefits (which exist, but IMO are not that big) of the non-mechanical touchpad just a little.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#95

Post by fuzzy2 »

I have a Precision 5520 (basically an XPS 15) at work. At home, I have a Retina MacBook Pro Late 2013. I still prefer the MacBook, even though it’s a lot less powerful.

First off, the killer with anything Dell: The firmware is just incredibly terrible. Sometimes it takes 30 seconds for the initial Dell logo to show. Others have similar issues, too, but no firmware setting seems to help. The Latitude I had before also took its sweet time during startup.

The MacBook has a keyboard that is actually usable. The Precision does not. They keys just don’t feel right and make weird noises. The MacBook touchpad is better, too. The Precision touchpad tends to make the cursor jump while clicking.

And last but not least: Windows. Microsoft is trying very hard, but it’s not there yet. Especially mixed DPI support is still terrible, even in Windows itself.

However, if given a choice, I’ll take the 4K screen again any time. Once you go “Retina”, you don’t go back.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#96

Post by bhasi »

As another user below commented, this is the old generation of XPS 13, which I also have. I believe the new version has a more conventional placement of camera.

I run Ubuntu exclusively on my XPS 13 and have taped shut the camera. The battery life, display, touchpad, and overall feel of the laptop are all very satisfactory and up to my standards. I couldn't be happier with it.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#97

Post by modzu »

dshep wrote: post #10

As far as non-apple laptops go, XPS13 seems a solid choice but I think this Huawei would be my first choice now (look at that screen!) https://consumer.huawei.com/us/tablets/matebook-x-pro/

the photo of the lady on the laptop screen on the other end of the webcam is a lie. webcams dont work that low. you see a hand and up someones nose. these cams tick a marketing box and thats it.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#98

Post by 7ewis »

Also a lifelong Mac user, was given an XPS 13 when I started at my company a few years ago. My thoughts were exactly the same as Jeff's.

I thought it would be a good device, it looks good, has a nice form factor, screen etc. but just doesn't work as well as macOS and a MacBook.

I soon after changed to a MacBook and now have the touchbar Mac, which I love!

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#99

Post by solarkraft »

mmanulis wrote: post #75
reacharavindh wrote: post #9

I have a Dell XPS 13 as my personal machine. It runs Linux. Everything works. But, I still find myself using my MacBook Pro (provided by work) for almost everything even at home. Two things that keep me in the Mac land. 1. Retina Display and the 16:10 aspect ratio. 2. Smooth, and usable touchpad. XPS13's display is too rectangle and I'm not watching movies in it. It feels too cramped for looking at code. GNOME out of…

For touchpad, replace Synaptics with libinput and it just works (tm), including palm rejection.

Gestures are still hard. Scrolling is becoming fine (mostly with recent apps based on GTK3/Qt5), but other gestures are still barely recognized even with hacks, at least for me on Elementary. I think it will still improve over time, but about as slowly as it has in the past.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#100

Post by eropple »

dshep wrote: post #10

As far as non-apple laptops go, XPS13 seems a solid choice but I think this Huawei would be my first choice now (look at that screen!) https://consumer.huawei.com/us/tablets/matebook-x-pro/

I tried one before buying my Spectre and it was pretty nice (keyboard a little squishy), but the real problem is that they're backordered out pretty close to a month at minimum. If you can deal with that, it might be worth a look.
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