Dell’s New $700 XPS 13 Emerges As A Serious Windows Rival To Apple’s MacBook Neo

Dell’s redesigned XPS 13 laptop is drawing praise from technology reviewers as the most credible Windows-based challenger yet to Apple’s MacBook Neo, arriving at a starting price of $700 amid a year defined by sharp price increases across the laptop industry tied to a global memory chip shortage.

The new XPS 13 was first unveiled at Computex 2026 in Taipei, where it drew immediate comparisons to Apple’s MacBook Neo, the budget-focused laptop Apple surprised the industry by launching earlier this year. Dell initially offered the XPS 13 at an introductory $599 price for students, a figure that quickly fueled comparisons given the MacBook Neo’s original $600 starting price. Apple has since raised the MacBook Neo’s price to $700, putting the two laptops in direct competition at the same price point.

Reviewers who spent extended time with the new XPS 13 have generally described it as a capable, well-built machine that closes much of the gap Windows laptops have traditionally faced against Apple’s low-cost offering. Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar, who previously reviewed the MacBook Neo, said Dell’s execution on the fundamentals stood out. “Dell got the basics right with this XPS 13,” Hardawar wrote, noting the laptop’s all-metal case felt smooth and sturdy, without the case flex commonly seen in other laptops at the same price point.

The new XPS 13 measures 12.7 millimeters thick and weighs 2.2 pounds, making it both the thinnest and lightest XPS laptop Dell has produced, and notably lighter than the MacBook Neo by roughly half a pound, according to Yahoo’s review of the device. Reviewers found the two laptops broadly comparable in screen size and aspect ratio, though several noted the XPS 13’s display can reach a higher peak brightness than the MacBook Neo’s screen.

Under the hood, the XPS 13 is powered by Intel’s new Wildcat Lake processors, with reviewers testing the Intel Core 5 320 configuration in the base model. Early Geekbench 6 benchmark results shared by Windows Central showed the Core 5 320 achieving average scores of 2,575 in single-core tests and 8,000 in multi-core tests, putting it in a competitive position against Apple’s A18 Pro chip, the same processor originally developed for the iPhone 16 Pro that powers the MacBook Neo. A separate, more detailed benchmarking comparison from Gizmodo found Apple’s chip maintaining an edge in raw processing speed, outperforming the XPS 13’s chip by 3% in multi-core tests and by 22% in single-core tests, a gap reviewers said would be most noticeable in simpler daily tasks like web browsing rather than heavier workloads.

Battery life emerged as a strength for the new XPS 13, with Dell claiming up to 17 hours of use based on a 4K video streaming test. Reviewers who tested the laptop under more typical daily workloads generally reported not feeling pressure to stay near a charger throughout the day.

Not every aspect of the new XPS 13 drew praise. Engadget’s review flagged the laptop’s 8GB base configuration of RAM as a likely bottleneck for users planning to keep the device for several years, recommending most buyers pay extra to upgrade to 16GB instead. Reviewers also criticized Dell’s decision to use a traditional mechanical trackpad on the XPS 13 rather than the seamless glass trackpad found on the company’s higher-end XPS models, with Gizmodo noting the mechanical pad failed to register clicks made more than an inch below the keyboard, a limitation the MacBook Neo’s trackpad does not share. On input elsewhere, however, reviewers were more positive about the keyboard, with Gizmodo describing the typing experience as “clacky” and “bouncy” in a positive sense, a departure from the flatter keyboards found on Dell’s other current XPS models.

Connectivity options on the new XPS 13 remain limited, with the laptop offering just two USB-C ports and no other physical connections, mirroring the same port limitation found on the MacBook Neo and requiring adapters for users needing to connect other device types.

Reviewers were largely consistent in framing the ultimate choice between the two laptops as one of ecosystem preference rather than a clear-cut performance verdict. PCWorld’s testing placed the XPS 13 roughly in the middle of the pack when compared against similarly priced Windows competitors using PCMark 10 benchmarks, positioning it ahead of Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 3 but behind Acer’s Aspire AI 14 in that specific test. Yahoo’s review concluded that buyers already deeply invested in Apple’s ecosystem through an iPhone or other devices may find the MacBook Neo’s broader synergy compelling enough on its own, while the XPS 13 offers Windows users a genuinely competitive alternative with some advantages of its own, including its lighter weight and brighter display.

With laptop prices broadly climbing across the industry amid the ongoing memory chip shortage, reviewers have pointed to the XPS 13 as evidence that budget-focused, well-built laptops remain achievable on the Windows side of the market, even as component costs continue pressuring manufacturers throughout 2026.