Thinnest Screen Bezel

I had a chance to go hands-on with the XPS 13 at Dell’s launch event and was more impressed with the notebook’s premium look than just its size. The screen itself is an engineering marvel, with the smallest laptop bezel ever, measuring just 5mm on either side of the screen. Dell had to put the webcam in the lower left corner of the bezel rather than the middle top, because the top bezel is just too thin to fit the sensor. I fired up the camera for a moment and noted that it appeared to be looking up at me, so the angle may me slightly different than notebook users are used to. The notebook is made from machined aluminum, but the deck is carbon fiber with a luxurious soft touch finish. The keys seemed springy when I touched them so it looks like XPS users will be in for a very comfortable typing experience between the soft palmrest and key feel. The touchpad seemed quite large, as well. As I lifted and held the XPS with one hand, it never felt flimsy or fragile, despite its narrow frame. Dell claims that the XPS 13 will get a full 15 hours of battery life with its default, 1080p display and 11 hours with the more power hungry WQHD panel. We’ll have to see how it does on our Laptop Mag battery test, but if it even lasts 8 hours on a charge, that would be impressive. The Dell XPS 13 is available starting today at Dell.com. We look forward to getting a closer look at this svelte system in the weeks ahead.