The latest XPS 13 two-in-one from Dell seems to be and feels loads just like the Floor Professional from Microsoft. Sure, there are lots of different Home windows tablets with clip-on keyboards, however the Floor is the unique and nonetheless finest identified, so it is the one you are most certainly to match with this. 

I’ve at all times been a fan of the XPS line basically, and particularly the XPS 13 clamshell laptops. This two-in-one model has among the similar aesthetically minimalist touches and mod-feeling matte aluminum physique. Even higher, it prices deal lower than a comparable Floor Professional, relying on the way you configure every system. 

A Floor Professional 9 with a Core i5 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, together with the keyboard cowl, is $1,578. A equally configured XPS 13 two-in-one, additionally with the keyboard cowl, is $1,299. And that is with an even bigger 512GB SSD, too. An actual comparability is hard as a result of the Floor Professional 9 does not supply a pairing of Core i5 and 512GB, whereas the XPS 13 two-in-one provides solely 512GB and 1TB storage choices. Costs may change recurrently with restricted time reductions and offers. (As of this assessment, the Floor Professional 9 is providing a free keyboard cowl for a restricted time, a financial savings of $179.)

There’s additionally an ARM-based Floor Professional 9 (the mannequin we reviewed) that makes use of Microsoft’s SQ3 chip as a substitute of 1 from Intel and provides 5G assist, however there is not any comparable XPS two-in-one possibility for that. 

Keyboard and kickstand sins

However configured as carefully as attainable, there’s a reasonably large value distinction. Nonetheless, I am nonetheless undecided I’d go together with the XPS two-in-one over the Floor Professional 9. Why? As a result of the 2 issues the Floor has perfected about pill/laptop computer hybrids, the kickstand and the keyboard cowl, usually are not fairly as perfected right here. 

And that is a disgrace as a result of the 13-inch 2,880×1,920 display is shiny and rich-looking. It is rated for 500 nits brightness, and in follow it makes for an excellent TV/film streaming system when mendacity in mattress. The Floor Professional helps a sooner 120Hz refresh fee, versus simply 60Hz right here. That may imply smoother video, but additionally have an effect on battery life. Having a better, or variable, refresh fee is a pleasant characteristic to have, however most individuals shall be proud of a 60Hz display. 

However the keyboard cowl, which Dell calls the XPS Folio, is a letdown. I will begin with the excellent news: It is simply $100 additional, not the prison $179 Microsoft prices for its keyboard cowl. However not like the Floor keyboard, which may angle up on the again for a extra ergonomic expertise, the Dell model sits flat in your desk and that is it. The precise keys are giant, flat, edge-to-edge-style keys, which is an efficient use of restricted house, and in reality, it feels extra like a stable laptop computer keyboard than the Floor model. However, the shortage of any form of incline possibility made it really feel awkward. 

A far larger sin is how the kickstand is included into the XPS Folio itself, as a substitute of being constructed into the pill. Which means to prop up the XPs 13 two-in-one, you want the complete keyboard cowl connected, even if you happen to simply wish to prop the pill up like a standalone display. Whereas the Floor Professional permits for nearly limitless kickstand angles, the again of the XPs Folio slides down into three magnetic stops, and it is completely attainable none of them will really feel precisely proper to you. 

Fanless efficiency 

When you get previous these design foibles, the XPs 13 two-in-one is a decent performer for a U-series Core i5 Home windows system. It is fanless, which makes it completely silent and helps battery life, even when it is a theoretical limiter on total efficiency as a result of the warmth must be regulated. 

A present M2 MacBook is quicker, as is the Core i7 XPS 13 Plus and the newest Core i5 XPS 13, however not by an enormous quantity. I would name this a wonderfully high quality PC for mainstream duties and even some photograph or video work. 

Battery life can also be practically 7.5 hours on our on-line video streaming take a look at. Once more, nowhere close to what another laptops with larger batteries can pull off, however nonetheless superb if you are going to be doing a whole lot of video streaming. 

This see-sawing record of pluses and minuses depart the XPS 13 two-in-one in an odd place. The value is true, contemplating the elements, equipment, design and efficiency. However in among the high quality of life points, it falls behind the dearer Floor Professional line, and you will have to determine if the worth tradeoff is price it for the kickstand and keyboard variations.