Valentina Palladino
LAS VEGAS—Dell kicked off CES 2017 by adding a some flexibility to one of its most popular notebooks. The company announced the new Dell XPS 13 two-in-one, which takes everything good about the latest Dell XPS 13 notebook and puts it into a convertible design. According to Dell, the priority with this new convertible (as well as the rest of its two-in-one notebooks) was to make a device that could perform well in tablet, tent, and other modes, but that didn't lose the practicality and functionality of a regular laptop.
The cosmetic differences between the new XPS 13 convertible and Dell's original notebook aren't glaring, but they are important. Most noticeable is the new hinge connecting the display to the keyboard deck. Using two geometric attachments, the display is able to flip backwards and lie nearly flat against the back of the keyboard deck. There is space in between the two panels, making it look less seamless than a device like Lenovo's Yoga Book. Also, the display panel and the keyboard deck are not the same length, which makes the keyboard deck jut out slightly more than the lid when in tablet mode.
Dell kept the matte-black, soft-touch finish found on the XPS 13 laptop in this convertible, and the chassis is made of carbon fiber composite and CNC machined aluminum. It shares that sleek and professional look with the original XPS 13, and at 2.7 pounds (1.2kg) it's light and easy to tote from room to room. In the short time I spent with the XPS 13 convertible, it appeared that its steel hinges supported the display enough for the device to be a sturdy laptop as well as a flexible two-in-one. The keyboard deck feels solid as well, so I don't anticipate any wobbliness or balance issues when working with the XPS 13 convertible on your lap.
Since the new model is a convertible, Dell had to make both display options touch-capable and we're glad it did. The XPS 13 convertible will have two display options: a 13.3-inch, 1920x1080 touchscreen and a same-sized 3200x1800 touchscreen. There's no 4K display option though, which feels like an oversight. Both options support Dell's Active Pen, too, although that's an optional accessory.
Another change we're happy to see is the inclusion of a fingerprint sensor on the keyboard deck (the photos above are of pre-production units, and of XPS 13 convertible models without the fingerprint sensor). This will be an optional hardware perk that you can get if you plan to use it with Windows Hello's biometric security features. And with the addition of the XPS 13 convertible to Dell's lineup, the company will also be updating the XPS 13 notebook to include a fingerprint sensor.
On the flip side, we're bummed that the XPS 13's webcam remains underneath the display panel. This makes the camera's angle not conducive for really anything—however, it will eventually support facial recognition to be used with Windows Hello. We're curious to see how well the camera can recognize faces considering its location, but we'll have to wait for that: a Dell representative told me that the IR features of the camera will be turned on once Microsoft releases the Redstone 2 Update of Windows 10. For ports, the XPS 13 convertible has one USB Type C Thunderbolt 3-enabled port, one USB 3 port, a microSD card slot, a Noble lock slot, and a headphone jack.
In typical Dell fashion, you can customize many of the internals on the XPS 13 two-in-one. You have the choice of a Kaby Lake i5 or i7 processor, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage. A note about the XPS 13's new design and power efficiency: the new design is fanless, and it has temperature sensors that know when the machine is getting too hot. When that happens, the device automatically lowers power to the CPU to prevent overheating the system. Every model has a 46Whr battery inside, and Dell estimates it'll last 15 hours on a single charge.
Overall, Dell fixed some issues we had with the XPS 13 in this new convertible while keeping up with the majority of other PC companies turning popular notebooks into two-in-ones. Check in with Ars to see a full review on the XPS 13 convertible in the coming weeks. The XPS 13 two-in-one will be available this month starting at $999.
Listing image by Valentina Palladino