Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023) Review: An Unconventional Ultraportable Gets a Minor Update – CNET

Dell XPS 13 Plus at a angle against a gray background

7.5

Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023)

Dell took a big swing last year when it introduced the radically designed XPS 13 Plus with its curious touchpad, keyboard and Function row. Dell is now out with the second version that keeps the unusual chassis unchanged, adding only an updated CPU and faster RAM inside. This update to the XPS 13 Plus supplies the same invisible touchpad, flat keyboard with little to no spacing between the keys and Function row made up of touch-sensitive icons instead of physical keys as the original. The excellent 13.4-inch, 3.5K OLED display returns but, sadly, so too does the 720p webcam that was outdated last year.

Dell XPS 13 Plus laptop turned to show the silver lid Dell XPS 13 Plus laptop turned to show the silver lid

Flat keyboard on the Dell XPS 13 Plus laptop Flat keyboard on the Dell XPS 13 Plus laptop

Borderless touchpad on the Dell XPS 13 Plus laptop Borderless touchpad on the Dell XPS 13 Plus laptop

The lone port on the right side of the Dell XPS 13 Plus The lone port on the right side of the Dell XPS 13 Plus

The review process for laptops, desktops, tablets and other computer-like devices consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our expert reviewers. This includes evaluating a device’s aesthetics, ergonomics and features. A final review verdict is a combination of both objective and subjective judgments. 

The list of benchmarking software we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. The most important core tests we’re currently running on every compatible computer include: Primate Labs Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10 and 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra

A more detailed description of each benchmark and how we use it can be found in our How We Test Computers page. 

Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-71) 12833Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 (2023) 10900HP Pavilion Plus 14 10523HP Dragonfly Pro 9322Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED UX5304V 8491

Geekbench 5 (multicore)

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

HP Pavilion Plus 14 6800Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-71) 6196HP Dragonfly Pro 6085Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED UX5304V 5858Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 (2023) 5433Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 (2022) 4643

Cinebench R23 (multicore)

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

M2 Apple MacBook Air 6803HP Pavilion Plus 14 4541Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 (2022) 4116Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-71) 4116Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 (2023) 3906HP Dragonfly Pro 3790Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED UX5304V 3780

Online streaming battery drain test

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

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