Dell unveils promising new Intel XPS 13 AI PC, but can it outperform the Snapdragon model?
Dell released its first AI-powered laptop in 2024, the Dell XPS 13 with Snapdragon X Elite, and now it plans to join the line with another model: the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 AI processor.
The latest XPS 13 features a dedicated NPU that can handle up to 48 TOPS, an incredibly high number that is only surpassed by two other laptops: the upcoming HP OmniBook Ultra with a Ryzen mobile CPU featuring an NPU that boasts 55 TOPS and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 equipped with an NPU in that chip that boasts 50 TOPS.
The AI-powered XPS 13 is also said to offer 26 hours of battery life while streaming on an FHD+ (1920 x 1200) display. It has two other more powerful display configurations — a QHD+ (2560 x 1600) and a 2880 x 1800 OLED — so battery life should still be excellent.
In terms of aesthetics and build quality, the Intel-equipped Dell XPS 13 remains largely unchanged with its thin and light chassis, seamless Gorilla Glass touchpad, edge-to-edge keyboard design, and the infamous touch-based touchpad. Not a bad thing, considering the XPS 13 is known for its look.
Will Intel ultimately make it?
I sang hymns in my Dell XPS 13 review with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite CPU, citing both the exceptional performance and battery life thanks to the aforementioned chip. The laptop ran with a speed and efficiency that I hadn’t experienced in a Windows laptop in years, with the battery lasting up to 20 hours between charges.
And while Dell claims that this upcoming Intel version of its laptop will have even better battery life, I remain skeptical. Intel’s processors have been somewhat lackluster in the battery life category for generations, thanks to a focus on raw performance over power management. And yet the Snapdragon beats it on both counts, showing the true potential of Windows laptops, even with some limitations for Windows on ARM.
It’s hard to gauge how much better the Intel CPU in this laptop will be, since we haven’t really seen it in action on the AI PC side of things yet. This could either save Team Blue from the jaws of defeat or, if performance is ultimately still worse than Snapdragon, it could be the manufacturer’s swan song.
Only time will tell how the Intel version of this machine will fare. Hopefully it will dispel my doubts and compete with the Snapdragon version, as more options and competition in this space are always welcome in my book.
