Dell Says Its New $699 Laptop Has Features 'You Won't Find on a MacBook Neo'

Dell this week introduced a new version of the XPS 13, a laptop that it said is "contending with the Mac Book Neo on price, and exceeding it on features." In the U.S., the XPS 13 starts at $699 for the general public and at $599 for eligible students, which is $100 more than the Mac Book Neo on both fronts. However, Dell said the XPS 13 offers the following six features "you won't find on a Mac Book Neo." A touch screen. A backlit keyboard. A faster second USB-C port (10 GB/s vs. 480 MB/s) Wi-Fi 7 (vs. Wi-Fi 6E) Windows Hello to unlock laptop via facial recognition (MacBook Neo does offer Touch ID at the same $699 price point) Four speakers (vs. two) "Apple's MacBook Neo is a capable machine, and its arrival confirms that there's real appetite for premium quality at accessible prices," said Dell. "Where Dell differs is what we think premium means at this price point and what we were willing to build to deliver it." While not mentioned in Dell's list above, the XPS 13's display offers up to a 120Hz refresh rate and 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, whereas the MacBook Neo has a 60Hz refresh rate and sRGB coverage only. And with a 13-inch display and a resolution of 2,560×1,600 pixels, the XPS 13 offers Retina-like quality. Like the MacBook Neo, the XPS 13 base model is equipped with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage inside a thin aluminum enclosure. The base model is powered by Intel's new Core Series 3 processor, with higher-priced configurations offering Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 processors, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage. Apple silicon offers industry-leading performance per watt, allowing for the MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip to have a fanless design. In the XPS 13, there are two fans. Dell said the XPS 13 is the thinnest and lightest XPS laptop it has ever made. It measures 12.7mm thin, matching the MacBook Neo, but its advertised weight of 2.2 pounds comes in half a pound below the MacBook Neo. The XPS 13 base model with a