Dell, as well as Apple, have released two modern laptops we’ve seen in quite a time. They’ve released the Dell XPS 13 Plus and the M2 MacBook Air both push the limits of laptop design, however differently. Which one is the most innovative and worth your cash?
After having examined the two devices on my own and having reviewed both devices myself, I’m now ready to outline the advantages and drawbacks of both and provide you with my personal recommendation on the best one to buy.
Design
Both laptops are top of the line with regards to looks and design. MacBook Air M2 is more modern in appearance and design. MacBook Air M2 looks more typical in that it takes some of the design features from MacBook Pro 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro 14 and 16-inch and converts them into smaller dimensions. It has a narrower bezel, a notch, rounded corners, and a lid that is flat.
The XPS 13 Plus takes the XPS brand in a completely new direction. A lot of the trademarks of the brand have been eliminated and the XPS 13 Plus is as exciting as laptops can get. The keyboard is a long way all the way from end to end, making an extremely modern appearance. The trackpad, however, is totally invisible. Similar to the MacBook Air that it is equipped with a haptic feedback trackpad which means it doesn’t have a mechanical click mechanism.
The only place this MacBook Air M2 continues to be the leader is in its size. It’s 0.44 millimeters thick, this is the thinnest laptop in this category. The only laptops that are as close are a couple of high-end Chromebooks and a few modified Windows laptops. Based on the power of the M2 processor, MacBook Air is able to be extremely slim without losing performance. At that point alone it’s an absolute game changer.
Although this XPS 13 Plus is fairly compact on its own It’s more compact than what you’ll get from the M1 MacBook Air. M1 MacBook Air in that way.
Keyboard and trackpad
The two models have one of the most powerful trackpads and keyboards on laptops that you can buy. There’s a lot of commonality between these two inputs as well. Both have 1mm of travel on the keyboard, as well as tactile feedback trackpads.
There are two points to take into consideration regarding the design of these keyboards, however. The first is that MacBook Air comes with a row of function keys. MacBook Air includes a row of function keys in full-size in contrast to those that are half-sized found on the M1 MacBook Air. They allow easy access to brightness and volume control much easier than before. This Dell XPS 13 Plus takes the opposite route, changing the functions keys to touch-sensitive buttons. Although they didn’t bother me more than I expected but I still favor the actual keys. The buttons that light up certainly appear futuristic, however.
Finally, I am really impressed with the size of the keys in the XPS 13 Plus. This “edge to edge” design implies that keys such as Ctrl and Shift keys are wider.
Ports
Both laptops are pretty minimalist in terms of ports. Both of them rely heavily on USB-C, but there are some crucial differences. The first is that each of the MacBook Air M2 and the Dell XPS 13 Plus feature two USB-C ports. The MacBook Air keeps both on the left side, whereas the XPS 13 Plus has one on the left side and one located on its right. I would prefer this model over the XPS 13 Plus in this way, and not to make it easier.
Its XPS 13 Plus has another advantage over the MacBook Air, but it’s due to the capability that these ports offer. It is worth noting that the MacBook Air can still only support one external monitor that is up to 4K resolution, while the XPS 13 Plus can handle two. This is crucial for those wanting to connect their laptops to a dock and use them as a home workstation.
Of course, it’s not just the MacBook Air M2. MacBook Air M2 also comes with a MagSafe 3.0 power adapter which allows you to free the USB-C port to make other connections. The MacBook Air M2 also has an audio jack that also the XPS 13 Plus leaves out completely. Although Dell includes a no-cost USB-C adapter included in this box, it is possible that you may be left with a few options if using it to play audio, and another to power.
Webcam and display
The MacBook Air has just one display available which is the 2560 x 1664, 13.6-inch “Liquid Retina” panel. It’s a stunning display that has up to 486 Nits of brightness. It’s not quite as stunning as the HDR display of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, but neither does the XPS 13 Plus.
There are numerous screen options available with this XPS 13 Plus. I have tested with the 3.5K OLED screen which is the best choice in terms of the quality of the image. It is also possible to choose either a smaller quality LED screen or a larger resolution 4K LED setup. Its 3.5K OLED screen isn’t identical to MacBook Air, but it’s still brighter than MacBook Air, and it offers more color saturation and precision compared to that the MacBook Air. Of course, as OLED is the case, it features deeper black levels as well as more contrast.
It also comes with a touch screen which is something that the MacBook Air still does not come with.
For webcams, The MacBook Air is the far better choice. It’s 1080p, as opposed to the 720p model, and provides superior performance in low-light calls.
Battery life and performance
In the majority of situations, it is the MacBook Air M2 is the most efficient laptop. It could come at an unexpected level, given the fact that the chassis is much smaller as well as how much longer the battery’s life span is. Yet, regardless of whether it’s pure single-core performance when it comes to benchmarks, the performance of GPUs, or video editing with Premiere Pro, the MacBook Air M2 is the most powerful laptop. For instance, it’s the MacBook Air M2 is 54% more efficient at exporting timelines with Premiere Pro. Even when using the XPS 13 Plus’ performance mode, the MacBook Air M2 is still 36% quicker in exports.
MacBook Air MacBook Air also manages to remain cooler than a laptop in the external. Although internally, it can be extremely hot the MacBook Air’s surface temperatures stay extremely cool, particularly in the palm resting position. There’s no fan, and that is a much quieter notebook that its predecessor the XPS 13 Plus.
There are a few caveats with these claims, however. The first is that the model I tried wasn’t the base model that has nerfed performance in a number of areas. It’s got only an eight-core GPU, while the SSD is one NAND chip. This has led to lower storage performance, which affects things like file transfers or any other task that relies on being able to access the SSD.
It doesn’t have any effect on the battery’s longevity, however. Whatever configuration you purchase MacBook Air M2 delivers incredible battery life — particularly when compared with that of the Dell XPS 13 Plus. It will last for 18 hours, compared to the 8 hours of the Dell XPS 13 Plus. It’s not even close to the same level.
Conclusion
In making a choice between these laptops, most users will choose the operating system they feel better at. And, in both cases, you’ll get a top-quality laptop.
While I love the striking design in the XPS 13 Plus design If you’re looking to evaluate them against each other and side by side, you’ll find that the MacBook Air M2 is clearly the superior laptop. It’s more efficient, lasts longer on a battery, and also offers superior media and video conferencing. It’s also interesting that both laptops cost the same according to the configuration.