Dell XPS 13 (9350) review: a more level playing field

Introduction

Are we really looking at the last ever XPS? Dell’s long-running line set the trend for lustworthy laptops that ran Windows, and was arguably the closest anyone got to besting Apple for design nous – but there was no room for it in the firm’s 2025 rebrand. Time to find out if the XPS 13 (9350) ends things on a high or not.

I’m being dramatic, of course: the the spirit of XPS will stick around under Dell’s new Dell Premium range, and you’ll be able to buy this particular ultraportable for a long while yet. It only appeared at the tail end of 2024, adding the latest Intel ‘Lunar Lake’ chipsets to a range that until then exclusively used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite silicon.

With few other hardware changes and a higher asking price (the version I tested will set you back a considerable £1974 directly from Dell), is it truly better to have Intel inside?

Design & build: shout out to my X

The internals might’ve changed, but this XPS 13 is virtually indistinguishable from the Snapdragon-powered one I tested in September 2024. Both have the same 13in unibody chassis, same distinctive wedge-like shape, and same minimal branding that clearly says “see Apple, we can do slim and sleek too!”

It still feels nicer than many of the Copilot+ laptops I’ve used to date, and my review unit looked very tidy in Platinum colours (silver aluminium outside, and white glass underneath). The darker Graphite seems a bit more businesslike, although I’ve only seen it in photos. Build quality is still top notch, with a sturdy screen hinge and a very stiff chassis.

The XPS 13 remains a top choice for travel, being just over 15mm at its thickest point and weighing in at only 1.22kg. That’s just a few grams heavier than the Snapdragon version, likely because of a different motherboard and cooling system. Neither can match the featherlike Asus Zenbook A14, but comfortably match the latest 13in MacBook Air.

Dell still hasn’t felt the need to add more connectivity, so you’re limited to just one USB4 Type-C port on each side of the system. When plugging in to charge, that just leaves a single free port. Rivals fare considerably better on this front.

That controversial capacitive shortcut row remains when you lift the lid, replacing traditional function keys and illuminating to match the keyboard’s white LED backlight. The keyboard itself run edge-to-edge, with no space for up-firing speakers like the ones seen on the bigger XPS 14.

You’ll again find the power button in the top right corner of the keyboard tray, and it continues to act as a fingerprint sensor for biometric bypassing of the Windows lock screen. The 1080p webcam is Windows Hello-ready, too; I appreciate having both, as the last few laptops I’d tested only had one or the other.

Screen & sound: the OLED advantage

Opting for Intel over Qualcomm doesn’t rule you out from any of Dell’s three XPS 13 display options. The laptop normally ships with a full HD+ resolution LCD, but there’s also a touch-sensitive QHD resolution panel. Both have 30-120Hz adaptive refresh rates for smooth scrolling, too.

The touch-friendly tandem OLED screen on my review unit is arguably the best of the bunch, with a fantastically sharp 2880×1800 resolution and the deep, inky blacks that LCD panels simply can’t get close to. It caps out at a more modest 60Hz, though.

Colours are vibrant and dynamic, while contrast is impeccable. It puts LCD-equipped rivals in the shade, especially for streaming video content.

It surprisingly isn’t the last word in brightness however, falling behind that of the MacBook Air M3 despite the tandem OLED tech. A glossy finish meant light reflections were a little distracting at times, and there’s not a massive amount of screen tilt to make up for it. Still, I appreciated the skinny screen bezels on all four sides, and colour gamut coverage makes it a great choice for creative work.

At the time of writing, it carried a £300 premium over the full HD LCD panel, though was cheaper than the QHD+ option. On one hand it looks a bit miserely when rivals are offering OLED as standard, but seeing how it takes a big toll on battery life – more on that further down the page – I’m sure some frequent travellers will appreciate the choice.

is XPS 13 has the same side- and down-firing 2W speakers as the Snapdragon model, meaning sound is unchanged. Music simply isn’t as deep or full-bodied as a modern MacBook, though there’s a decent amount of volume on tap before things get too shrill at the top end.

Keyboard & touchpad: same old story

The keyboard tray hasn’t changed at all from the last time I tested an XPS 13, meaning you’re still getting tightly-grouped keys with ever-so-slightly concave caps that are supposed to help you stay in position when touch-typing. I also remain baffled as to why certain keys, like the tab and caps lock keys, are so big. Having larger than full-size left and right arrow keys, but half-height up and down arrows, is a pain for usability.

There’s an OK amount of key travel here, and the key caps are spring enough that I was never uncomfortable while typing. I’m glad the backlight only kicks in when in very dark environments, because the white light can otherwise be tough to make out against the white keys.

Bumping the escape and delete keys to the capacitive shortcut row still feels like a misstep. There’s no vibration or haptic feedback to let you know you’ve pressed a key or not, so you’ve got to take your eyes off the screen to make sure. It would be far less frustrating if you just had to reach for the touch controls for seldom-used shortcuts like screen brightness or volume mute.

At least I didn’t experience the same click-and-drag issues as with the Snapdragon-powered XPS 13. The invisible glass touchpad worked well throughout testing, though I wish the haptic feedback were a little stronger. The touch surface is bigger than you expect and laptop muscle memory meant I never missed it, but a big more vibration would still go a long way.

Performance: Intel returns

Intel’s ‘Lunar Lake’ Core Ultra Series 2 processors were meant to restore some of the firm’s dignity, after being given a pasting on both performance and efficiency by Qualcomm on the first time of asking. They’re less power hungry than before, and should still have plenty of oomph for the sorts of jobs you’d task an ultraportable laptop with.

The Core Ultra 7 258V in the XPS 13 9350 has eight cores and can turbo to 4.8GHz, which is easily enough for the multiple web browser tabs, mail clients, chat apps, music streaming software and image editor I have open during my working week. It likely helped that my review unit also came with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe SSD – double the memory and storage you get with the entry-level model.

However, synthetic benchmarks put it a half-step behind the Snapdragon X Elite XIE-80-100 for raw performance, and certain jobs on apps optimised for ARM architecture proved faster on the Qualcomm variant. Encode many videos using Handbrake? The Snapdragon system will take half the time.

Positions are reversed in graphics tests and games, where Intel’s more mature GPU knowhow helps it eke out a 10-20% lead depending on the test. We’re still taking about integrated graphics here, but 1080p gaming at medium details was perfectly achievable on older titles, esports-friendly fare and more casual games. This is no gaming laptop, but being able to get a few rounds of Rocket League at more than a slideshow is very much appreciated.

Unfortunately, the XPS 13 didn’t impress on battery life – though that’s not so much the fault of Intel’s silicon as it is the choice of OLED screen. Having tested this chip in other laptops, and the Snapdragon-powered XPS 13 with an LCD panel, this machine’s very modest nine hours of mixed use isn’t all that impressive. I managed to eke out a little more with some extreme power saving settings, but not nearly enough to rival the best long-lasting laptops. The OLED is genuinely gorgeous, but you may have to forego it if time away from the mains matters more.

Dell XPS 13 (9350) verdict

With Intel having largely caught up to Qualcomm on efficiency, sticking a Core Ultra Series 2 chip inside the XPS 13 will make a lot of sense to laptop shoppers who need x86 compatibility. There’s still plenty of performance on offer (for an ultraportable) and I can’t deny the OLED display is simply gorgeous. The Arc integrated graphics have more GPU punch, too.

OLED screens suck down more juice than LCD ones, though, and even if you go for the more battery-friendly panel Intel can’t quite draw level with the Snapdragon on time away from the mains. When it also costs several hundred pounds more for otherwise identical specs, that makes it more of a hard sell.

My issues around connectivity and the keyboard haven’t been addressed, either. As much as I like the XPS 13’s looks, there’ are laptops that are ‘s no shortage of alternatives that are easier to live with everyday.

Dell XPS 13 (9350) technical specifications

Screen	13.4in, 2880×1800 60Hz OLED touchscreen
Processor	Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
Memory	32GB RAM
Graphics	Intel Arc (integrated)
Storage	1TB SSD
Operating system	Windows 11
Connectivity	2x USB-C
Battery	55WHr
Dimensions	295x199x15.3mm, 1.22kg