MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Premium Laptop Head-On Competition

In this MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13 review, we will look at the laptop that has been dominating best-laptop lists for years with its endurance, performance, and portability.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have the MacBook Pro M1, which is powered by Apple’s powerful in-house chip.

Now read on the find out which laptop comes out the winner.

MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Pricing And Configuration

Dell XPS 13 might be a powerhouse but the company doesn’t want to give it a price tag that puts it out of reach of most users.

With $999 (or Rs. 83,990 on Amazon India), you will have the XPS 13 with RAM of 8GB, a 13.4-inch display, a 1.7-GHz Intel Core i3-1115G4 CPU, a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, and Intel UHD Graphics.

For an extra $100 (or Rs 1,20,990 on Flipkart India), you will have Intel Iris Xe Graphics GPU, a 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, RAM of 16GB, an M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD of 512GB, and a touch screen.

On the other hand, the MacBook Pro M1 comes at the price of $1,299 (or Rs 1,22,900 in India) with an Apple-made M1 chip, a 256GB SSD, RAM of 8GB, an integrated GPU, as well as a 13.3-inch display.

So if you are looking for affordability, MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13, the latter comes out the winner with a more budget-friendly option.

Winner: Dell XPS 13.

MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Design

MacBook Pro M1 is available in Silver and Space Gray. The aluminum chassis exudes minimalist chic and when the device is open, you are greeted with a black keyboard. Plus, users will also have a Touch Bar between the Power and the Esc buttons.

Users get the choice to acquire Dell XPS 13 in either Arctic White or Frost Silver. The undercarriage and the lid are from anodized aluminum chassis. And the twin-coil hinge means users can use one hand to open the laptop.

At a dimension of 11.6x7.8x0.6 inches and a weight of 1.2kg, Dell XPS 13 is lighter than the 1.3kg MacBook Pro M1.

Winner: Dell XPS 13.

MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Security

Both laptops have fingerprint scanners in the power button. While Apple uses Touch ID for its MacBook Pro M1, Dell XPS 13 features Windows Hello.

When it comes to security, Apple’s M1 devices are at the top of the market with advanced runtime protection, data encryption, automatic high-performance encryption, and hardware-verified secure boot.

Winner: MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Ports

MacBook Pro M1 features Thunderbolt 3 ports with support for USB-4 while Dell XPS 13 sports Thunderbolt 4.

Dell offers a sweeter deal with ports here with two Thunderbolt 4 ports on either side of the laptop. On the left, we have a microSD card slot and on the right, there is a headphone jack.

Dell offers a USB-C-to-USB-A adapter with the laptop while Apple doesn’t, so if you go for the MacBook Pro, you might want to shell out some extra money for a dongle.

Winner: Dell XPS 13

MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Display

MacBook Pro M1’s screen shows sharper details with more saturated colors.

On DCI-P3 color gamut, Apple’s laptop outshines Dell’s with 78.3% in color reproduction capabilities, compared to 69.4% of the XPS 13. However, the latter’s 469 nits, compared to the MacBook Pro’s 435 nits can definitely make for a desirable screen.

While Apple’s laptop has a better display, the thick bezels surrounding it puts it under the XPS 13 with ultra-thin bezels.

Winner: MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Keyboard

Dell has added 9% of real estate to the keyboard on the XPS 13 and spaced the keys well. The keys also offer bouncy and firm feedback.

MacBook Pro M1’s keyboard sports big keycaps and lots of key spacing, offering a little bit more comfortable typing experience.

Winner: MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Performance

On Geekbench 5.0, MacBook Pro M1 scores 5,882, compared to 5,254 pf the XPS 13 with Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU.

With the Puget Photoshop test, the MacBook Pro is the winner again with 649, higher than the Dell laptop’s 588.

Winner: MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Graphics

With Rise of the Tomb Raider at 1080p, MacBook Pro 13 achieves 18FPS, compared to 12FPS of the XPS 13.

In the test with Sid Meier’s Civilization Gathering Storm, MacBook Pro beats the XPS 13 again with 29FPS while the latter clocks at 16FPS.

Winner: MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13: Battery Life

The M1 chip also helps prolong the MacBook Pro’s battery life. With video playback, the laptop holds up for 20 hours and with web browsing, it achieves 17 hours.

Dell XPS 13’s 11 hours isn’t bad itself but can’t rival its competitor.

Winner: MacBook Pro

Overall Winner: MacBook Pro with M1

So overall MacBook Pro M1 vs. Dell XPS 13, if you want the best performance and longer battery life, Apple’s laptop is the one for you.

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