But it is solely $699 (or $599 for college students). The XPS 13 makes comparable trade-offs because the MacBook Neo. First, it begins with solely 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. It additionally begins with a slower Intel Core 5 processor (observe: not Intel Core Extremely). I will be to search out how the efficiency and battery life stack up in opposition to the MacBook Neo, however Dell is clearly taking notes from Apple, which used a slower iPhone chip within the Neo as an alternative of an M-series laptop-grade processor.
What’s good concerning the Dell XPS 13, although, is you can scale it up appropriately. The MacBook Neo is capped in each storage and reminiscence, however the XPS 13 might be configured as much as 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage.
I have been testing plenty of $500 to $600 laptops just lately from firms like Acer, Lenovo, and HP, lots of which take a extra typical Home windows strategy to rivaling the MacBook Neo by providing higher specs at decrease costs. All of them have 16 GB of RAM and use extra highly effective chips, too. However none problem the MacBook Neo in show high quality and chassis supplies. That does not imply there is not a spot for one thing just like the HP OmniBook 3, nevertheless it would not play for a similar viewers because the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Neo.
The Unsuitable Path
Inevitably there could be an organization that thinks it might experience on the success of the MacBook Neo with out understanding what makes it tick. Final week, Microsoft introduced two variations of its Floor Laptop computer for Enterprise PCs: a higher-end 13.8-inch mannequin and a less expensive 13-inch machine. The 13.8-inch mannequin is a extra customary refresh, implementing Intel’s new Core Ultra X7 368H Panther Lake chip—and most notably, it nonetheless begins with 16 GB of RAM.
The smaller 13-inch mannequin is the place issues get problematic. Regardless of its beginning worth of $1,200, that configuration solely comes with 8 GB of RAM. Don’t get too caught up within the worth, since enterprise PCs all the time include an up cost. The beginning RAM is the eyebrow-raising spec. Not like the brand new Dell XPS 13, Microsoft is not tricking this out with a thinner chassis and an upgraded display—it is simply providing you with much less computing energy and calling it good.
And to be honest, this “optionally available” 8 GB mannequin is coming later this yr, separate from the 16 GB and 24 GB variations. But it surely’s exhausting to think about Microsoft being keen to promote an 8 GB laptop computer in 2026 if Apple hadn’t paved the way in which. Whereas there’s no 2025 Floor Laptop computer 13 for Enterprise for direct comparability, the buyer model of the Floor Laptop computer 13 began with 16 GB of RAM. This looks like a straight generational downgrade.
