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Dell XPS 13 review: The first budget laptop to rival Neo raises the bar for all PCs
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Dell's new XPS 13 dropped with a singular purpose in mind: compete with (and take down) the MacBook Neo. Does it do that? It depends. But it absolutely does raise the bar for "budget" Windows laptops -- something PC makers realized they could no longer avoid post-Neo. Perhaps, then, the question is not so much about the Dell XPS 13's relationship to Apple's most affordable MacBook and more about how it relates to other inexpensive Windows devices. Seen in that light, the XPS 13 is the best budget Windows laptop on the market right now.
Also: Dell's new XPS 13 is a MacBook Neo rival that costs $599 and retains premium features
That's not hyperbole. The XPS 13 would be a fantastic device even if it weren't considered "budget" -- it's exceedingly thin and light, has an airtight build with no cheap-feeling components, and the keyboard, trackpad, and display are not just acceptable, they're quite good.
Dell's XPS 13 punches well above its $699 starting price.
The reason the XPS 13 is such a home run is simple: it's a great laptop on its own, regardless of any justification of its price point, position in the ecosystem, or its "mission" to dethrone the Neo. That said, if you had given me this laptop a year or two ago and asked me to guess the price, there's no way in hell I would have said $699.
Its origin story might begin, then, with Dell's veritable mea culpa ahead of CES this year, when company execs got on stage and admitted their questionable Pro/Plus/Premium branding decisions didn't actually pay off financially, pledging to bring back the XPS and committing to making more accessible (read: cheaper) products.