What exactly is what is the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1? The XPS 15 2-in-1 is among the fascinating laptops available this year for various reasons, one of which is the Intel G Series CPU.
Its G Series CPU is the result of a shady alliance between Intel as well as AMD. It is a combination of Intel’s Kaby Lake CPU architecture with AMD Vega graphics, which means that the XPS 15 2-in-1 is surprisingly powerful in gaming, despite the absence of a DGPU.
The introduction of a new magnetic keyboard, akin to the MacBook Pro’s butterfly buttons for ease of use, and the most impressive laptop screens I’ve ever tested since I last reviewed them, makes it the XPS 15 one of the top Ultrabooks around.
The slightly sluggish Radeon graphics program and an insufficient battery life keep it from earning Trusted Reviews’ hallowed 5/5 score, though.
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 – Design
Its XPS 15 2-in-1 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and at first glance, it appears to have an identical design to Dell’s earlier 15-inch Ultrabook, which I believe isn’t a negative thing. The silver-colored brushed metal chassis and the woven glass fiber finish around the trackpad and keyboard are the same as the XPS 13’s of 2018 and provide the same elegant experience. The build quality is also excellent due to.
The only issues with the design are the awkwardly placed front camera and the somewhat restricted connectivity. Similar to the XPS 13, the 15 2-in-1’s 720p camera on the rear is located beneath the screen and offers all video callers a beautiful perspective of your nose. The absence of full-size USB displays and HDMI ports could be an issue for people using older peripherals. For all other users with two USB ports, there are 2 Thunderbolt 3 and two USB-C 3.1 connections will suffice.
You’ll notice many small but beneficial design changes when you get close. The first is that Dell has introduced the Lenovo Yoga 920 style 360 hinge, which lets you convert your laptop into a tablet-like when you fold the display completely around.
It sounds like a small device. However, when you consider Dell’s active stylus option, that can make this XPS 15 2-in-1 an enticing choice for digital artists or creatives looking to use it as a portable workstation and a sketch station.
The newly designed cooling system uses an exclusive Gore thermal insulator to channel heat to the fans. This also means that the laptop is light for a 15-inch Ultrabook with a weight of only 2kg.
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 Keyboard and Trackpad
The keyboard has been completely revamped. According to Dell, the new keyboard is built using special Maglev technology on a high-speed train. Particularly, it replaces domed membrane switches found on most laptops with the system of “rare Earth-magnets’. This will reduce the number of physical components moving within the keyboard. This means that it could, in theory, it should last longer.
I’ve only used the XPS 15 2-in-1 for two weeks, so I’m unable to accurately assess its long-term durability. However, I can say that it provides one of the most enjoyable typing experiences I’ve had on a laptop for a long time.
The keyboard only has 0.7mm travel; however, every key provides a surprisingly tactile click when pressed. Its quick reset feature and smooth operation make the keyboard more responsive and enjoyable to use than most laptops I’ve tested. I’d like to say that I prefer these switches over the butterfly switches found in MacBook Pro. MacBook Pro, which was the one I used to use most often.
As with the other recent XPS laptops I’ve tried, The 15 2-in-1’s glass-coated Microsoft Precision touchpad is extremely good. It’s a good size and is among the most responsive and precise you can find on a Windows laptop.
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 – Display
Display tech is a different aspect where this XPS 15 2-in-1 excels. The 15-inch touchscreen has resolutions of 1080p and 4K options. The 4K model I tested was very good during my tests of synthetic screens.
This screen’s 0.2865nits black-level, along together with the 450.89 maximal brightness, gives an impressive contrast ratio of 1574:1. The screen is bright and ideal for film binge-watching. The 6735K color temperature may be slightly lower than the ideal 6500k but not to the point that the screen appears unreal or dull.
For those who are creative, the color range is also exceptional. My tests indicated that the screen could cover 99.9 percent of the standard spectrum of sRGB. However, what’s amazing is the 94.2 percent Adobe RGB and 85.2% DCI-P3 coverage. Both of these gamuts are preferred by filmmakers and artists for whom the accurate color representation is essential.
These figures are among the highest I’ve seen on the Windows laptop. The only other computer I’ve used to test these stats was Macbook Pro. MacBook Pro, which was our first choice of ours for those who are creative.
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1-Performance
The performance will differ based on the model of the XPS 15 2-in-1 you get. You can view the different choices of configurations listed below.
The most powerful version I tested, whichan Intel Core i7processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, and 1TB PCIe SSD,, did very well in my tests.
The notebook’s PCMark 8 and Geekbench 4 scores put it on a similar level to high-end Ultrabooks as well as gaming notebooks like Apple’s Macbook Pro regarding CPUs’ performance.
3DMark scores are also quite impressive and easily surpass another of the closest competitors, Surface Book 2. Surface Book 2, on graphic performance.
The Crystal Mark’s 2976.7MB/s read and 520.2MB/s write scores are impressive for a Windows machine, even though they’re not as good as the Macbook Pro or Surface Book 2’s.
It performed as well as its benchmark scores from synthetic tests in real-world use. The laptop handled huge, multi-layer digital art and photography projects without problems. 3D modeling in Blender was fun, too, and I have never experienced significant slowdowns on normal-sized projects. This was also true for editing videos.
The gaming performance was also impressive. While playing using the XPS 15 2-in-1, I enjoyed triple-A titles like Rising of the Tomb Raider, Destiny 2, and Overwatch which were running with playable frame rates of 1080p – however, some settings in graphics required adjusting.
Be aware that intense work can cause an immense strain from this XPS 15 2-in-1’s custom Gore cooling system.
The system works well on paper and uses the custom Gore thermal insulator to channel heat to the fan at its back. However, when playing a few games of Destiny 2 with the XPS connected to the mains power supply, the laptop’s fans went into hyperdrive, producing an utter cacophony that rivaled some gaming laptops’ sound.
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 Life of the battery
The battery’s Life is less than I’d prefer. The battery of 75WHr typically lasts all day when used at a moderate level.
Moderate use involved working with my XPS 15 2-in-1 as my primary laptop for work and as a person. A typical day included word processing and internet browsing during my day with the occasional bit of photo editing or video playback.
But when we ran our fake battery test, which involved looping five minutes of video playback and 10 minutes of web browsing while the screen was set to 150nits, the device did not last longer than 6 hours. Most Ultrabooks with the same size range can last at least an hour more when performing the identical test.
Gaming and video playback also negatively impact the convertible’s battery lifespan. When traveling on a long train trip, it died within less than 4 hours in the middle of a long time of Netflix streaming and gaming.
What are the reasons to buy what you are looking for in the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1?
If you’re looking for the best all-around experience big-screen Windows 10 laptop, you’ll have difficulty achieving it.
Dell hasn’t changed the exterior design too often, but the changes they’ve added to its XPS 15 2-in-1’s keyboard and screen aren’t overt, but they’re important improvements. In addition, the brand-new G Series CPU and graphics options make this laptop a contender for one of the top 2018 Ultrabooks.
