This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Dell

Finding the best Windows 11 laptop isn’t about chasing the newest processor or spending the most money. It’s about choosing a laptop that feels effortless to live with every day. The best models are the ones you don’t have to think about. They wake up quickly, stay comfortable on your lap during a cross-country flight, slip easily into a backpack for the morning commute, and still have enough battery left when you’re answering emails from the airport lounge or finishing a presentation at the kitchen table.

For the majority of people, the Dell XPS 13 strikes that balance better than almost anything else in its class. Starting at $699.99, it combines a sleek design, a lightweight build, a vibrant high-resolution display, and dependable performance in a package that’s easy to carry and enjoyable to use. Whether you’re working remotely a few days a week, taking notes in a college lecture, managing your finances from home, or streaming your favorite show after work, it delivers the kind of ownership experience that matters long after the excitement of buying a new laptop has worn off.

Of course, no single laptop is perfect for every buyer. Some people need more connectivity for external displays and accessories. Others want a larger screen, advanced AI features, or extra performance for demanding creative work. Dell’s lineup reflects those different priorities, with the Intel® Core™ Ultra–powered XPS 14 and Dell 14S offering compelling alternatives depending on how and where you work. Understanding those differences is often far more valuable than simply comparing processor names or memory configurations.

What makes a Windows laptop worth buying today?

Laptop shopping has become more complicated than it needs to be. Every product page is packed with processor names, graphics options, AI features, and technical specifications, yet those numbers rarely explain what it’s actually like to live with a laptop every day.

The qualities that shape that experience are often much simpler. A laptop should feel comfortable enough to carry from home to the office without becoming a burden. The keyboard should remain comfortable after hours of writing. The display should be bright enough to work near a window or in a busy coffee shop, while the battery should comfortably last through a typical workday without creating charger anxiety. These are the details that determine whether you’ll still enjoy using your laptop three years from now.

Build quality deserves just as much attention. A rigid aluminum chassis, a responsive trackpad, and a well-designed hinge might not stand out on a specification sheet, but they’re the things you’ll notice every time you open the lid. They also tend to separate premium laptops from models that simply compete on price.

Another area that requires equal attention is display. More people split their day between spreadsheets, video calls, streaming, creative projects, and web browsing than ever before. A sharper display with good color accuracy and enough brightness for different environments makes each of those tasks noticeably more enjoyable. Features like a variable refresh rate aren’t just technical talking points either. They make scrolling feel smoother, reduce visual fatigue during long reading sessions, and contribute to a more polished overall experience.

Battery life deserves similar context. Manufacturers measure it under controlled conditions, so the headline number shouldn’t be the only deciding factor. What matters more is whether a laptop can comfortably get through the way you use it, whether that’s spending the afternoon moving between meetings, working from a library, or catching up on work during a delayed flight. Looking beyond the specification sheet often leads to a better buying decision.

Why the Dell XPS 13 stands out

Many Windows laptops are built around a single strength. Some focus on squeezing in the fastest processor possible. Others chase the lowest price or prioritize a long list of ports. The Dell XPS 13 takes a different approach by balancing the features that most people use every day instead of excelling in just one area.

Portability is one of its biggest advantages. Weighing just 2.2 pounds and measuring 12.7 mm thick, it’s the lightest and thinnest XPS laptop Dell has built. Walking across a college campus, commuting into Manhattan a few times a week, or packing for a business trip feels noticeably different when your laptop doesn’t dominate your backpack or carry-on.

The display follows the same philosophy. Instead of simply offering a higher resolution, Dell pairs the compact 13.4-inch panel with a 2560 x 1600 touch display, up to 500 nits of brightness, Dolby Vision support, full DCI-P3 color coverage, and a variable refresh rate that adjusts between 30Hz and 120Hz. The result is a screen that feels equally comfortable whether you’re editing a presentation, reviewing vacation photos, watching a movie on a flight, or juggling multiple browser tabs throughout the day.

The rest of the experience reflects the same attention to day-to-day usability. A CNC aluminum chassis gives the laptop a polished feel without adding unnecessary weight, while quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, and an IR camera round out a modern feature set. Dell also rates the XPS 13 for up to 17 hours of streaming, making it well suited to long workdays or travel when finding a power outlet isn’t always convenient.

No recommendation is complete without acknowledging the trade-offs. The XPS 13 includes two USB-C ports and is currently available with 8GB or 16GB of memory. Buyers who regularly connect multiple wired accessories, rely on legacy USB devices, or simply prefer having more built-in connectivity may find the Dell 14S to be a better fit. Being clear about those compromises doesn’t weaken the XPS 13’s recommendation. It simply recognizes that the best Windows laptop isn’t the one with the longest feature list. It’s the one that best matches how you’ll actually use it every day.

Premium when your laptop does more than regular work

A lightweight laptop is easy to appreciate until your workload begins to outgrow it. Opening dozens of browser tabs, working across multiple documents, editing high-resolution images, or spending hours in video meetings places different demands on a machine. More screen space becomes useful. Battery life starts to matter more. A sharper webcam and AI-assisted features move from nice additions to routine conveniences.

Dell positions the XPS 14 for exactly those scenarios. While it carries forward the signature design language of the XPS family, it adds capabilities that support heavier daily workloads. Buyers can configure it with a 2.8K tandem OLED touch display, an 8MP 4K HDR webcam, Copilot+ PC capabilities, and three Thunderbolt 4 ports with DisplayPort 2.1 support. Individually, those features may seem incremental. Together, they create a laptop that’s better equipped for professionals who spend much of the day creating, presenting, collaborating, and moving between demanding applications.

Battery performance is another reason many buyers will find the upgrade worthwhile. Dell rates the XPS 14 for up to 31 hours of streaming on the 2K display configuration at 250 nits and pairs that with a 70Wh battery built using 900ED battery cells, a technology introduced to increase energy density within the same physical footprint. Long days away from a desk become easier when charging stops dictating your schedule, whether you’re working through connecting flights, attending an all-day conference, or finishing a proposal from a hotel room before the next morning’s meeting.

Moving up to the XPS 14 isn’t about buying the most expensive model in the range. It’s about choosing a laptop that keeps pace as your work becomes more demanding. Buyers whose day-to-day revolves around documents, streaming, email, and everyday productivity will still find exceptional value in the XPS 13. Those who rely on their laptop as their primary workstation will appreciate the extra room, endurance, and capability the XPS 14 brings to the table.

Built for buyers who value practicality

Not every laptop needs to be the lightest or the slimmest. Plenty of buyers simply want a machine that fits naturally into the way they already work. Connecting an external monitor at the office, plugging in a flash drive, giving a presentation in a conference room, or transferring photos from a camera shouldn’t require carrying a bag full of adapters.

That’s the thinking behind the Dell 14S. Instead of chasing the smallest footprint possible, it offers a broader selection of built-in connectivity, including two Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI 2.1, two USB-A ports, and a headset jack. Pair those with an aluminum chassis validated to MIL-STD-810G standards, and the result is a laptop built for people whose work regularly moves between desks, meeting rooms, airports, and home offices.

Copilot+ PC capabilities also make the 14S an attractive option for buyers looking to explore Microsoft’s latest AI experiences without stepping into the flagship XPS range. Its appeal isn’t built around a single standout specification. Instead, it comes from offering the kind of flexibility many users still value most. Someone who connects to two external displays during the day and edits family photos in the evening will probably appreciate built-in ports more than saving a pound in weight.

Every laptop reflects a different set of priorities, and that’s evident across Dell’s lineup. The XPS 13 is the recommendation for buyers who value portability and elegant design above all else. The XPS 14 expands on that foundation with a larger display, stronger battery credentials, and additional capabilities for more demanding workflows. The Dell 14S rounds out the range with a practical approach that puts connectivity, durability, and versatility first, making it a natural fit for buyers who expect their laptop to adapt to a variety of environments instead of excelling in just one.

Choosing the right laptop starts with understanding your routine

Comparing processors, memory, and storage is often the easiest part of buying a laptop. Deciding how that laptop will fit into life is where the better decision usually gets made. Someone who commutes into the city several days a week is likely to value portability differently from someone who spends most of the day connected to multiple monitors at a desk. A college student carrying a laptop between lectures will naturally have different priorities from a consultant who spends half the month on the road.

Dell’s current Windows lineup reflects those different needs instead of trying to force every buyer toward the same machine. The XPS 13 delivers the strongest overall balance for buyers seeking an all-round laptop. The XPS 14 adds meaningful upgrades for buyers who need more screen space, longer battery life, and advanced features. The Dell 14S focuses on practicality, offering the ports and durability that many professionals continue to rely on every day.

Making the right choice isn’t about finding the laptop with the longest specifications list. It’s about finding the one that disappears into your routine, supports the way you work, and continues to feel like the right decision long after the day it comes out of the box.

Choosing the laptop you’ll enjoy using

Finding the best Windows laptop ultimately comes down to understanding how you’ll use it every day. Some buyers need a machine that travels effortlessly between home, work, and the occasional flight. Others need a larger display for multitasking, longer battery life for demanding schedules, or the flexibility to connect multiple accessories without carrying extra adapters.

The Dell XPS 13 remains the strongest overall recommendation because it delivers the qualities that matter most in daily use. Its lightweight design, polished finish, vibrant display, and dependable performance create a laptop that’s easy to live with long after the excitement of buying something new fades. Starting at $699.99, it also occupies a sweet spot where premium design feels attainable rather than aspirational.

Buyers who expect their laptop to double as a primary workstation should look at the XPS 14, particularly if a larger display, longer battery life, Copilot+ PC capabilities, and enhanced video conferencing features are likely to become part of their daily routine. Those who place greater value on built-in connectivity, durability, and flexibility will find the Dell 14S a more practical companion for years.

The best laptop isn’t always the one with the longest specification sheet. It’s the one that fits naturally into the way you work, travel, learn, and stay connected. Choosing a laptop with that perspective in mind is far more likely to leave you satisfied years down the road than simply choosing the model with the biggest numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Dell XPS 13 a good laptop for everyday use?

Yes. The Dell XPS 13 is well suited to everyday tasks such as web browsing, productivity applications, video calls, streaming, and light creative work. Its combination of a lightweight 2.2-pound design, well-crafted aluminum chassis, high-resolution touch display, and up to 17 hours of streaming battery life makes it an excellent choice for people who want a laptop that’s easy to carry and comfortable to use throughout the day.

What’s the difference between the Dell XPS 13 and Dell XPS 14?

The XPS 13 is the best entry device for most buyers, with a strong emphasis on portability, everyday usability, and all-day comfort. The XPS 14 builds on that foundation with more advanced features and capabilities, including a larger display, Copilot+ PC support, an available 2.8K OLED touchscreen, and an 8MP 4K HDR webcam, all in a slightly larger and heavier design. 

Who should choose the Dell 14S instead of the XPS 13?

The Dell 14S is a better fit for buyers who regularly connect external displays, USB devices, or presentation equipment. With HDMI 2.1, USB-A ports, Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, and a durable aluminum chassis validated to MIL-STD-810G standards, it prioritizes flexibility and practicality over achieving the lightest possible design.

Is battery life more important than processor specifications?

For many buyers, yes.Modern processors, including the Intel® Core™ processors available in the XPS 13 and the Intel® Core™ Ultra processors available in the XPS 14 and Dell 14S, are capable enough for productivity, which means battery life, display quality, keyboard comfort, portability, and overall build quality often have a greater impact on the ownership experience.

How much RAM should a Windows laptop have?

The right amount of memory depends on how you use your laptop. Daily tasks such as browsing, email, streaming, and document editing generally require less memory than creative applications or heavy multitasking. The Dell XPS 13 is currently available in 8GB and 16GB configurations, allowing buyers to choose the option that best matches their workload and budget.

How long should a premium Windows laptop last?

A well-built high-quality Windows laptop should comfortably serve most users for several years when matched to the right workload. Build quality, battery health, software support, and choosing specifications that meet both your current and future needs all play an important role in extending the useful life of a laptop. Durable construction and thoughtful design often matter just as much as processor performance when it comes to long-term ownership.

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Roblox is pushing its games into standalone apps and web browsers even as 182 federal child sexual exploitation cases remain pending.

The company announced September 11 that creators will be able to release standalone games for mobile devices, PCs, and consoles. Players will also be able to open Roblox games in Chrome by the end of 2026 without installing the main app.

Standalone releases and browser links could expose Roblox games to more people through app stores, search, videos, social posts, messages, and email. Roblox hasn’t said whether every game will include the main app’s protections or who will enforce them.

Previous child safety coverage documented how Roblox’s social features can connect children with strangers. Conversations can then move to outside services where its moderation tools no longer apply.

Roblox also hasn’t confirmed whether the mobile plan includes conventional iPhone and iPad apps. It hasn’t said who would publish them, how Apple would review them, or who would handle moderation after release.

More access carries the same risks

As of September 1, 182 federal cases remained pending in multidistrict litigation accusing Roblox of facilitating child sexual exploitation and assault. Plaintiffs allege that predators used the platform to contact and exploit them when they were minors.

Roblox has denied wrongdoing. The company points to age verification, automated systems, human moderators, parental controls, and restrictions based on a user’s age.

At least 10 state attorneys general had also filed lawsuits against Roblox by July 30 over child-safety concerns. Several cases make similar allegations that Roblox failed to protect children from predators while presenting the platform as safe for young users.

Louisiana sued Roblox on August 14, 2025, alleging that the platform facilitated child sexual abuse material and exploitation while failing to implement basic safety controls or adequately warn parents.

Next, Kentucky filed suit on October 6. It alleged that Roblox’s design, marketing, and safety practices exposed children to sexual exploitation and misled families about the risks.

Texas announced its lawsuit on November 7. It accused Roblox of violating online safety laws and deceiving parents about the dangers children could encounter on the platform.

Florida filed suit on December 11, alleging that Roblox misrepresented the platform’s safety while failing to prevent children from encountering graphic adult content or being contacted and groomed by predators.

Other states have reached settlements requiring the company to pay millions of dollars and adopt additional protections.

Alabama and West Virginia settled separate investigations in April for more than $23 million combined. The agreements require age verification for all users and tighter limits on content and communication features available to children younger than 16.

Nevada reached a $10 million settlement on April 15, with Roblox committing another $2.5 million to safety initiatives. The agreement also requires additional parental controls and a liaison for law enforcement.

The settlements don’t establish liability, and Roblox has denied wrongdoing. However, the agreements show that regulators demanded protections beyond those the platform previously offered.

Roblox playtesting

Evidence of continuing weaknesses has also come from outside the United States. Australian regulatory testing found that adults could send connection requests to young children without parental consent.

Children and adults could also interact in forums outside games, while children’s profiles and connections remained visible. On August 19, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner secured a court-enforceable undertaking requiring Roblox to make children’s accounts private by default and limit contact from unknown adults.

Roblox must also improve its complaint system and hire an independent auditor to examine its safeguards, including its age-estimation technology. The company has three months from the undertaking to introduce the required changes.

App Store review can’t monitor every interaction

Any standalone iPhone or iPad game distributed through the App Store would have to comply with Apple’s review rules. Apps with user-generated content must filter objectionable material, provide reporting tools, let users block abusive accounts, and publish contact information.

App Review can require those protections to be present when an app is submitted, but Apple doesn’t operate the moderation systems or monitor every interaction after release.

Roblox is already distributed through the App Store. Apple can require moderation tools, but Roblox remains responsible for running them and responding when they fail.

Browser play removes the App Store from the path entirely. A link shared through search, social media, video, a message, or email will be able to send a player directly into a supported game.

Roblox wallet overview

Roblox hasn’t said whether browser play will use the same age checks, parental controls, and communication restrictions as its main app. Chrome support will arrive first, with other browsers following later.

Young creators face a separate problem

The lawsuits alleging sexual exploitation are separate from criticism of how Roblox’s creator economy treats children and teenagers. A 2021 investigation by People Make Games accused Roblox of enabling young developers to perform demanding work for little or no payment.

Young creators can join development teams organized outside Roblox, often through Discord. Those arrangements can leave the platform with little visibility into working hours, ownership disputes, bullying, or how earnings are divided.

Roblox supplies the development tools, hosting, distribution, and virtual currency used to pay creators. Eligible developers can exchange earned Robux for real money, but Roblox controls the exchange requirements and conversion rate.

Roblox reports that creators have earned more than $5 billion through its Developer Exchange program since 2013, including about $1.7 billion during the 12 months ending June 30.

Those figures show how much Roblox has paid creators collectively, but not how development teams divide the money or whether every contributor was fairly compensated.

Roblox is also lowering the barrier to game creation through Build, a prompt-based tool inside its app. Users published about 9,000 games during an alpha test in New Zealand, and Roblox reports that 71% of those creators had never used its professional Studio software.

Prompting in Roblox

Build could give more people a practical route into game development. It could also bring inexperienced creators into an economy where ownership and payment arrangements aren’t always easy to understand or enforce.

Roblox Wallet will begin reaching eligible independent U.S. creators who are at least 18 later in 2026. The account will provide daily payouts as earnings clear, but its age restriction means it doesn’t address how minors contributing to development teams are paid.

Safeguards have to follow the games

Roblox is expanding age-aware recommendations and creator-submitted Quick Words that it will review before use. A new Friends chat tab will follow players between games, while voice typing is rolling out for in-game messages.

Those additions give Roblox more communication to moderate as its games move into new distribution channels. The announcement doesn’t explain whether moderation, reporting tools, and parental controls will operate consistently across the main app, standalone releases, and web browsers.

Players spent 29 billion hours on Roblox during the second quarter across more than 180 countries, according to company figures.

Roblox has detailed how it intends to make games easier to find, launch, and monetize. It hasn’t shown how its oversight will expand at the same pace, leaving safety concerns and questions around young creators unresolved as the platform reaches for more players.

For a little while vacuum tubes and semiconductors were fighting a heated battle for dominance, with bipolar junction transistors and 1959’s RCA Nuvistor both allowing you to build a compact circuit with relatively low power usage and no high voltages. Although we now know that semiconductor technology won out overwhelmingly, that doesn’t mean that you cannot build a brand new Nuvistor board in 2026, as [Eric Schlaepfer] AKA [TubeTimeUS] recently did.

Nuvistors saw their most use in small-signal radio frequency applications, like VHF and UHF, with excellent low-noise characteristics that saw them used until the early 1970s in television sets, radios and oscilloscopes, as well as in space probes like the 1960s US Ranger Moon missions, so by that metric they had a good run.

Nothing so exciting is built in this video, sadly, but alongside a breakdown on how nuvistors work, we do see a discrete 555-style timer built using a gaggle of tetrode nuvistors, giving a pretty good idea of what using them in a project is like. Being a vacuum tube at its core, nuvistors still have the heater element, which is what gives vacuum tubes their reputation for being slow to start working and large current draw.

Despite their drawbacks, nuvistors still have a range of benefits compared to modern-day transistors, including being practically immune to electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) all the way up an EMP that will destroy most semiconductor electronics.

That said, the somewhat limited 8-nuvistor implementation of the 555 had to get a few extra pins for the heater supply, which burns up about 7.5 Watt just to allow the circuit to function. Terming it the ‘hollow-state 555 timer’, it works effectively just like any semiconductor 555, just with that extra power cost and of course no significant prospect of making it smaller, barring a semiconductor evolution as with the pixels-sized CRTs in the SED and FED type displays.

We covered the nuvistor before, including a great reference on this device, and its history that was much longer than people often assume today, as well as the vacuum tubes we use every day in for example our microwaves.

Folding a sheet of metal in a straight line is one thing, but how does one fold multiple curved lines into a sheet of aluminum without fancy machines? [John] demonstrates how to do exactly that with little more than hand tools and a fair bit of patience. The secret is drilling a lot of small holes along each fold line.

First, a bit of background. [John] wanted to fabricate a curved piece of aluminum as cover that would match the sleek aerodynamic lines of a Belly Tank Lakester. The trick is that there isn’t a single straight line to be found, and the fold lines are all curves. How can one do such folding with only hand tools?

[John] found that fabrication was possible by drilling small holes all along each fold line, then carefully bending as needed. The line of holes weakens the metal, acting like a score line, and allow the required curves to be made cleanly. There’s some finishing work and straightening involved, but the hard part of making the actual folds is taken care of.

One method that didn’t work was cutting a shallow groove in the metal to create something like a pre-scored fold line. [John] tried this and found that while the metal does indeed fold along the weakened line, the aluminum tends to crack in the process. When making a line of holes instead, the metal between each hole bends nicely.

This technique does mean the finished part ends up with small perforations along each fold, but the part is mounted on the bottom of the car and [John] says that he’d have to look quite closely to notice. A little polishing goes a long way, too.

We have covered many ways to bend sheet metal and while machinery exists to do it exceedingly well, great results can be had with little more than simple tools and some patience.

Watch [John] go through the process in the video embedded below, or skip to 7:55 if you just want to see the end result.