The touchpad features a seductively smooth surface that registered gestures accurately.
When measured with a light meter, the XPS 13 produced 336 nits of brightness. That’s more than the Yoga 900 ( 284 nits) and the nontouch XPS 13 ( 318 nits) could muster. However, the pricier Surface Book ( 387 nits) is brighter.
Color range was on point, with the XPS 13 covering 103.6 percent of the sRGB spectrum. The MacBook Air 13’s color range was significantly more limited, at just 66 percent, although the nontouch XPS 13 ( 92 percent) , Yoga 900 ( 93 percent) and Surface Book ( 99) percent) weren’t far off.
Interestingly, despite good brightness and great color range, the XPS 13’s color accuracy is only slightly better than average. The touch-screen model turned in a Delta-E rating of 3.13. ( Closer to 0 is best.) The nontouch model was much less accurate, with a score of 8.2.
Audio
Even though size is at a premium, the XPS 13 still puts out a lot of sound. When I listened to DJ Mehdi’s I Am Somebody, I was surprised by the Dell’s better-than-average bass and overall volume ( which was more than enough to fill our testing lab) , although I would have liked more crispness from the percussion.
Heat
The touch version of the XPS 13 ran hotter than the nontouch model. After streaming HD video for 15 minutes, a section near the vent on the bottom of the touch XPS 13 registered a disturbing 112 degrees Fahrenheit, far above our typical 95-degree threshold.
Other areas, such as the touchpad and space between the G and H keys, were much less worrisome, at 87.5 and 98.5 degrees, respectively.
The nontouch version of the XPS 13 stayed cooler. The hottest spot on the notebook after our video test was the bottom right corner, at 97 degrees.