1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:07,359 Most laptops that roll through here get reviewed from a pretty fresh and purely 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:10,719 objective perspective since they're not really the kind of thing that I would 3 00:00:08,639 --> 00:00:14,240 use as a daily driver anyway. And perhaps more importantly, they don't 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:20,400 have a predecessor with whom I have a very intimate relationship. My Dell XPS 5 00:00:17,279 --> 00:00:22,560 13 2015 edition video will be different. 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:27,439 Its daddy is clearly the last generation XPS 13 whose name it bears. But for me, 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:33,200 it gets to go head-to-head with its mama, the 2013 XPS12. A or grandma, I 8 00:00:31,199 --> 00:00:37,200 guess it's generation older than that. A product whose twoin-one transformation 9 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:42,560 capabilities it doesn't share, but to which it otherwise bears a more than 10 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:47,760 passing resemblance. 11 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:54,719 The MSI GT80 Titan is the world's first gaming laptop with a fully mechanical 12 00:00:52,239 --> 00:01:00,640 keyboard and features dual GTX 980M and SLI. Click now to learn more. So, let's 13 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:07,119 begin with the highlight feature, the 13. Now, this laptop is available with a 14 00:01:04,159 --> 00:01:10,799 1080p non-touch display with standard glass, but I think most people would 15 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:16,520 argue that you're not really doing your XPS 13 right unless you opt for the 16 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:20,560 premium super high pixel density 3200 17 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:22,880 by,800 IPS Gorilla Glass covered 10point 18 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:27,600 multi-touch option that Dell is calling infinity display. And as much as that's 19 00:01:25,119 --> 00:01:33,759 a silly meaningless marketing word, man, it's beautiful. And like the hyper thin 20 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:39,759 5.2 mm bezel allows the XPS 13 to actually be about an inch less in width 21 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:42,799 and height than my 12 1/2 in XPS12 while 22 00:01:39,759 --> 00:01:45,439 delivering a larger display. But of 23 00:01:42,799 --> 00:01:49,759 course, size isn't everything. So, you know what's it like once you get it in 24 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:53,840 your hand and start working on it? Actually, a little weird at first, to be 25 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:57,280 honest. I mean, I'm accustomed to the screen kind of ending at the edge of the 26 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:01,360 keyboard on most laptops, and on this one, it just kind of doesn't. It's 27 00:01:59,439 --> 00:02:05,200 surprisingly different feeling, but you do get used to it quite quickly. There 28 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:10,640 are still issues, though. Text and UI scaling still sucks in Windows 8.1 with 29 00:02:08,239 --> 00:02:15,680 some applications displaying blurry text and others UIs completely falling apart. 30 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:19,840 Something I will keep mentioning until it's addressed. But the good news is 31 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:24,560 that in browsers and most of the other things you'll normally use, man is this 32 00:02:22,239 --> 00:02:29,680 monitor gorgeous. Nearperfect viewing angles, retinaike sharpness, and it's 33 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:32,560 bright, too. Color temperature was a touch cool out of the box, but a run 34 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:37,040 with the color monkey fixed that write up and also told me that I'm sitting at 35 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:40,560 about 40% brightness, getting 120 candela per meter squared out of this 36 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:44,480 thing. So, that's about ideal for indoors. At full brightness, it's 37 00:02:42,319 --> 00:02:47,360 basically blinding inside, but great if you happen to be out in the sun. But of 38 00:02:46,239 --> 00:02:52,879 course, if you just wanted to hear about how great the screen is endlessly, then you could watch this 10-hour loop we 39 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:55,840 created of me talking about how great it is. If you're not into that sort of 40 00:02:54,480 --> 00:03:00,160 thing, well then keep watching this video because this pony has a lot more 41 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:06,879 tricks up its wherever a pony would store tricks. The guts for all XPS 13s 42 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:10,159 contain a Dell 1560 2x2 802.11 AC 43 00:03:06,879 --> 00:03:12,000 wireless card, a 52-Wh battery that Dell 44 00:03:10,159 --> 00:03:17,680 figures is good for up to 12 hours on the high-res model and 15 on the low res 45 00:03:14,319 --> 00:03:20,000 one, and built-in Intel HD5500 graphics 46 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:25,519 with depending on the trim level, some variety of U or ultra low power class 47 00:03:22,319 --> 00:03:28,560 dualcore Core i3, i5 or i7 processor, 4 48 00:03:25,519 --> 00:03:33,200 to 8 GB of RAM, and anywhere from a 128 49 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:35,680 to 512 GB M.2 SSD. Now, hold on a second 50 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:41,120 there, Lionus. That SSD sounds like super cool and fast at PCI Express, but 51 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:45,599 either I've got like wax buildup in my ear, or you just said this notebook has 52 00:03:42,959 --> 00:03:52,239 4 gigs of RAM on the $1,000 model and a mere 8 gigs on the 53 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:53,920 $1,750 model. Well, you might have 54 00:03:52,239 --> 00:03:57,799 enough wax in your ear to cause hearing problems. Gross, by the way. But that 55 00:03:55,920 --> 00:04:05,280 wasn't the issue just now. Dell's 2015 XPS13 doesn't even have the 56 00:04:02,319 --> 00:04:08,599 option to configure it with more RAM than I can fill up with a single 57 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:14,000 multi-tabbed internet browser. There is more good stuff 58 00:04:10,879 --> 00:04:16,720 though. The material choices are superb 59 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:23,040 with a similar machined aluminum and real carbon fiber black and silver theme 60 00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:25,680 to the one that I have and love so much. 61 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:28,880 The whole device is astonishingly slim. Yet, even while running the 62 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:34,160 workbenchmark that I used for battery life testing in PC Mark 8, the fan 63 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:39,680 stayed either very quiet and sometimes didn't even spin. And the IO has been 64 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:44,800 dramatically improved for me anyway by the addition of an SD card reader to go 65 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:49,040 with the USB 3 port and lock on this side and the additional USB 3 port, 4K 66 00:04:47,199 --> 00:04:54,240 capable mini DisplayPort port, power jack, battery life indicator, and four- 67 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:59,040 pole combo audio jack on the other. But I have more criticism, too. while the 68 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:03,040 bottom is a solid chunk of aluminum with only vent holes and rubber feet to 69 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:08,320 disrupt its awesomeness. And the screen itself is phenomenally rigid considering 70 00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:12,400 how thin and basically bezelless it is. The keyboard has taken a significant 71 00:05:10,639 --> 00:05:16,400 backward step in the build quality department. The backlight is nice and 72 00:05:14,479 --> 00:05:20,639 white and the layout is pretty much ideal other than a slightly shorter than 73 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:26,160 I'd like backspace key, but the key travel distance is very short. The 74 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:29,360 membrane switches have an unsatisfying 75 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,800 frontheavy and sudden tactile bump. And 76 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:35,199 much more importantly than any of that other stuff, the entire keyboard has way 77 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:39,520 more flex than I'd expect in a premium product like this, regardless of how 78 00:05:37,039 --> 00:05:43,600 thin and sexy it is. While I'm piling on, I do have some other gripes in no 79 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:47,039 particular order. Uh Dell, the power adapter is super small, which is nice, 80 00:05:45,199 --> 00:05:50,800 but your friction locked power plug wore out on my old notebook and basically 81 00:05:49,039 --> 00:05:54,880 falls out now on that one. I'm disappointed this hasn't been revised. 82 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:59,759 Your nonsense McAfee trial and Dell update were using 25 plus% CPU doing 83 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:03,680 lordly knows what when I first booted the thing up at one point. I've since 84 00:06:01,919 --> 00:06:07,440 removed them both. The speakers are sidefiring rather than front-facing 85 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:11,120 which bites. And there's a bit of a lip on the bezel here that makes swiping in 86 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:15,039 from the right for the charms menu kind of uncomfortable and difficult. Okay, 87 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:19,680 that last one was pretty petty which means we're probably heading to the good 88 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:24,479 stuff again. The precision trackpad's default medium delay for palm rejection 89 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:28,280 is horrible, but once I changed that, I got used to it pretty quickly. There is 90 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:33,600 something I can't quite put my finger on. What a joke. Uh, but even now, I'm 91 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:37,440 actually experiencing some kind of cursor accelerationbased tracking 92 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:41,039 annoyances with fine movements, but I'm pretty sure that's Windows fault. So, as 93 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:45,440 far as the hardware is concerned, overall accuracy, responsiveness, and 94 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:49,360 the feel of this glass pad with seamless clicky buttons on the bottom is very, 95 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:53,440 very solid. And so is pretty much the rest of this device. I mean, thanks to 96 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:57,680 its fifth gen processor, my i5 equipped model managed a score of 2846 in the PC 97 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,759 Mark Work Suite that I ran as a battery life benchmark. and to see how far we've 98 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:07,199 come in the last couple of years. Well, it did that while managing 99 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:10,319 35%. Yes, deep into double digits. More 100 00:07:07,199 --> 00:07:12,000 battery life than my old product. And 101 00:07:10,319 --> 00:07:15,599 speaking of battery life, Dell actually sent over this battery pack thing which 102 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,479 you can use to squeeze some extra out of it and charge other stuff like your 103 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:23,759 phone while you're at it, if you're into that sort of thing. So, we have come a 104 00:07:20,639 --> 00:07:26,479 long way, but it's bottom line time now. 105 00:07:23,759 --> 00:07:32,400 And the bottom line is the XPS 13 2015 edition is a fantastic and stunningly 106 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:36,960 beautiful machine that I love, but that lacks the customizability on Dell's 107 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:41,199 website that would allow me to configure it into something that I would buy. The 108 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:45,599 pre-baked options make a lot of trade-offs that sound great on paper, 109 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:50,720 like giving up 20% of its rated battery life for a fancy high pixel density 110 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:55,840 display in the premium models, but in practice are let down by the awful 111 00:07:53,440 --> 00:08:00,879 experience that is using Windows with UI scaling. So, Dell, if you're listening, 112 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:05,680 I love this device. Um, but here's the one that I would want to see next time. 113 00:08:02,479 --> 00:08:07,280 1080p IPS with a touchscreen covered in 114 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:11,599 Gorilla Glass so that I can conserve some battery and don't need to scale and 115 00:08:09,759 --> 00:08:15,280 16 gigs of RAM. Seriously, that's critical. And let me have whatever 116 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:18,800 processor and SSD that I want in whatever trim level I want. It seems 117 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:25,120 like a lot of the options are locked down kind of unnecessarily. A build to 118 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:26,319 order option would be nice. Speaking of, 119 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:32,399 I don't know, something that I just said, Valentine's Day is fast approaching. I know, right? And today's 120 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:36,800 sponsor, ProFlowers, has a great solution to this pro, excuse me, 121 00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:40,800 wondrous occasion for our subscribers in the US. They're a flower delivery 122 00:08:38,719 --> 00:08:43,760 service that saves you the hassle of going to the store and selecting 123 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,880 something at the last minute. Just head over to their website, pick out 124 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:50,959 something that you like, check out, and boom, they're set to deliver on 125 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:55,120 Valentine's Day. 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You can buy a tool t-shirt 134 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,760 like this one, you can give us a monthly contribution, or you can change your Amazon bookmark to one with our 135 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:31,839 affiliate code. So, every time you buy one of these, I don't even know if they have these on Amazon, probably. Let's 136 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:37,310 hope they do. Uh, we get a small kickback. Thanks again for watching, and 137 00:09:33,519 --> 00:09:47,720 as always, don't forget to subscribe.