A great laptop, but is its stunning
two-in-one design just a gimmick?
Price: $1,949
Ratings: 4/5
Web: www.dell.com
The Dell XPS 12’s party trick is its
12.5-inch screen, which swivels on a hinge within the bezel so that it can be
folder back on itself and used as a tablet. You can use your fingertips to
flick through Windows in both laptop and tablet modes.
The
Dell XPS 12’s party trick is its 12.5-inch screen, which swivels on a hinge
within the bezel so that it can be folder back on itself and used as a tablet
At $1,949 it’s a serious outlay, but with
top components and a stylish design, it’s one of the finest hybrid machines
we’ve seen. It’s made from carbon fiber, with a soft, textured lid and cool
aluminum detailing. There’s a full-sized keyboard and a luxurious track-pad
too, but it’s bulky, which somewhat spoil the hybrid premise.
The XPS 12 weighs a substantial1.54kg,
which is noticeable, especially in tablet mode. It’s good for watching movies
on trains and planes, and provides a comfortable way to use touchscreen apps,
but we’d wager that most XPS 12 users will spend 90 per cent of their time
using it as a laptop.
In this form, the Dell XPS 12 is
magnificent. Inside is a top-end third-generation Intel Core i7 3717U processor
clocked at a very nimble 1.9GHz. It’s the same type of low-power processor
found on all Ultrabooks, but the speed of this chip stands out from the crowd.
The
XPS 12 weighs a substantial1.54kg, which is noticeable, especially in tablet
mode
This processor is backed up by a huge 8GB
of RAM, which is unprecedented in a laptop of this size. There’s no dedicated
graphics card, but with a processor this powerful, you can still expect to
render HD video and edit pictures without any hassles, and gaming will be
within reach, albeit with the settings turned down.
The screen is also remarkable for a
12.5-inch laptop. No expense has been spared, with the panel sporting a
resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. The visuals are brilliant, with bold colors and a
smooth, clean picture combining for an eye-popping experience. Its only rival
is the Asus Taichi, which packs two of these stunning panels into a thinner and
much lighter chassis.
There’s a gigantic 256GB SSD, which is
enough space to make this your main PC, and brings fast boot times and
lightening quick system navigation. You won’t find a bigger solid-state drive
on any laptop.
Solid performance
Although the XPS 12 is heavy, it’s one of
the best-built ultra-portables we’ve used. The swivel component of the laptop
lid is so solid when docked that you wouldn’t know that it moved unless you
were told. Once you know, a firm push is all that’s required to spin the
screen, and it slots into place with a satisfying click. The body itself is
extremely solid, as if it was carved from a single piece of carbon fiber.
The track-pad has the same soft texture
that graces the rest of the XPS 12, but it’s a little unresponsive. The
keyboard, however, is a triumph, with backlighting making it easy to type in
dim conditions.
The
keyboard, however, is a triumph, with backlighting making it easy to type in
dim conditions.
Connectivity is a mixed bag. There are two
USB 3.0 ports, one of which lets you charge devices when the laptop is switched
off, but there’s no HMI port here, with Display Port the preferred method of AV
connectivity. Another disappointment is the power cable, which still has a
transformer brick. Many manufacturers have done away with these on
ultra-portables.
The processor that drives the Dell XPS 12
is one of the best you’ll find, and unsurprisingly it flew through our tests.
Its performance is comparable to laptops like the Asus Zenbook Prime, showing
that opting for smaller size and greater portability doesn’t have to mean
sacrificing power.
As there’s no dedicated video chip inside,
the result in our graphics tests was disappointing. The Dell can handle most
day to day tasks easily, but high-end gaming is out. If you need to edit HD
video or edit huge batches of pictures, however, the powerful processor is up
to the task.
Touchscreen performance was also excellent;
the Dell sports 10-point finger recognition, which means even the most frenzied
touch-typist will get on well with the on-screen keyboard. If we have one
complaint, it’s that the 1080p resolution makes everything look smaller, which
can make it tricky to use some apps. Luckily you’ll always have the track-pad
to hand.
Heavy duty
There’s no doubt that the Dell XPS 12 is
superb Ultrabook. We love the touchscreen laptop form factor, which really
works with Windows 8, and being able to run the latest apps, play games and
then urn programs like Photoshop is an exciting proposition. Unfortunately, as
a tablet, the Dell XPS 12 is far from perfect. It’s too heavy to be held
comfortably for long, and while it’s great for presenting or showing off
photos, we didn’t use it in its converted state as much as we would the Sony
VAIO Duo 11 or the Asus Taichi. Even if this was a standard Ultrabook, weight
would be a complaint.
There’s
no doubt that the Dell XPS 12 is superb Ultrabook
The $1,949 price tag might seem hefty too,
but considering the sheer power of this computer, we believe it represents good
value.
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Specifications
§ Laptop
type: Convertible tablet
§ Thickness:
0.59 inches
§ Weight:
3.35 pounds
§ Operating
system: Windows 8
§ Screen
size (diagonal): 12.5 inches
§ Touch
technology: Capacitive
§ CPU
brand: Intel
§ CPU
family: Ivy Bridge
§ Graphics
type: Integrated
§ Integrated
GPU model: Intel HD 4000
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