We’re in a laptop CPU war, and Dell’s XPS 13 is a highly contested battleground. At IFA 2024, Intel has launched its new Core Ultra processors, now in their Series 2 (or second generation), and they make a couple of impressive claims over the Qualcomm Snapdragon X model.
First off, the battery can supposedly last for 26 hours while streaming video, which beats Qualcomm’s claims by at least four hours. How that will play out in actual testing, we’ll have to wait and see, but it certainly sounds promising.
It should be noted that 26 hours of battery life is only quoted for the lower-resolution FHD+ (1900 x 1200) model. The higher-resolution options tax the battery a bit harder, including the model that comes with tandem OLED, which Dell estimates to get just 14 hours in this same test.
While it sounds like the 1200p model gets the best battery life of the available options, the XPS 13 remains the only laptop to offer tandem OLED as an option. The technology debuted on the iPad Pro earlier this year, as well as on the previous-gen Intel Meteor Lake XPS 13. It remains an option here, offering better battery life than conventional OLED. The tandem OLED panel tops out at 400 nits, though, while the IPS panel goes up to 500 nits.
Beyond longevity, the new XPS 13 also has a more powerful neural processing unit (NPU),capable of 48 tera operations per second (TOPS). This puts it above the 40 TOPS of the Snapdragon X Elite and a significant step up from 10 TOPS of the previous generation of Intel chips. Unfortunately, there isn’t a ton of benefit to having a powerful dedicated NPU. Recall was supposed to be the headlining Windows feature to utilize the NPU, but it’s been delayed and sullied by security concerns.
Dell does claim that the NPU can enable “advanced AI capabilities such as test and image creation and faster photo or video editing.” We’ve seen a few use cases, such as Cocreator in Paint, but it still feels like the early days for the technology, with these Copilot+ features coming in the future.
Dell’s new XPS 13 is available for preorder today with a starting configuration price of $1,400. That makes it the priciest version of the XPS 13, though it comes with a fairly loaded spec sheet, including 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Even still, when similarly configured, it’s overall more expensive than the Snapdragon X Elite version by $100.
Interestingly, Dell is currently selling the Qualcomm version for $999, which is a killer deal given what it comes with. The Meteor Lake (or Core Ultra Series 1) XPS 13 will remain in the lineup, currently with a starting price of $1,149 for a configuration that starts with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.