Dell and MacBook fans might be torn between which PC brand can do better and gives out more efficient performance. Dell promises a contender with its XPS 13 while the MacBook Air awaits a new update.
MacBook Air has been dominating the well-heeled market of technology for computers but experts say a "real contender" is now out to grab MacBook's title.
Dell XPS 13, with its stunning screen and compact design, was named by Cnet as the first great laptop of 2015 because of its smart design revamp. Dell's all-new XPS 13 was one of the standout products at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show
Dell pushes forward with its laptop design. Its screen border gets thinner as it has been reduced to millimeter. Dell calls it "infinity display" and describes it "virtually borderless" at only 13 inches in width. On top of that, XPS 13 has Core i5 CPU.
However, its touchscreen capacity is not featured by default and boost from the new CPU is minimal. Along with it, upgrades can be an expensive move for any user.
Meanwhile, top-end XPS 13 has resolution of 3200 x 1800 with its QHD+ screen while MacBook Air 13 has 1440 x 900.
The 13-inch model of MacBook Air has 1.3MP while 1080p XPS 13 has 2MP. A 1080p panel might consume 0.9 watts, while a 4K panel controller might use 1.3 watts to 1.5 watts. The high resolution Dell XPS 13 has 5.7MP. Apparently, an increase in resolution means more battery power needed.
With its high resolution display, Dell XPS 13 seems to win tech geeks in terms of battery life as it outperforms MacBook.
However, XPS 13's battery life falls as per assessment of an expert.
Forbes wrote in a review: "Dell's battery life claims miss the mark by a not-insignificant amount, and the XPS 13 still can't match or exceed the Air in that department. I was desperately hoping it would. But is it poor battery life? Absolutely not."
In another report, XPS 13 can only run up to 5 hours for QHD+ version while 6 hours for the 1080p version contrary to Dell quoting 15 hours. Meanwhile, MacBook Air 13 can reach 8.5 hours.
MacBook Air 13 is quite a bit larger than XPS 13.
Apple takes advantage of the Air 13's larger chassis to ramp up battery capacity. MacBook Air 13's battery is 54 watt hours while XPS 13 has 52 watt hour.
For what it's worth, Apple rates the13-inch model, with the 40 percent larger battery, gets you to 12 hours of browsing, 12 hours of movies.
Dell rates the QHD+ version of the XPS 13 for 11 hours of browsing and 8 hours of HD video playback. The 1080p version of the XPS 13 takes it to 15 hours of browsing and just under 13 hours of video.
A report from PC World says "it's not very easy to compare the two platforms on pure battery life."
It added: "I also don't think it's valid to try to compare platform Y against platform X by seat-of-the-pants testing of "using it."
Dell's XPS 13 sells at $799 while MacBook Air 13 sells at $899.
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