Technologies

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 Review: A Surface-like Slate for Less

The latest hybrid XPS isn’t as expensive as the Microsoft Surface it apes, but parts of it aren’t as good, either.

The newest XPS 13 two-in-one from Dell looks and feels a lot like the Surface Pro from Microsoft. Yes, there are many other Windows tablets with clip-on keyboards, but the Surface is the original and still best known, so it’s the one you’re most likely to compare with this.

I’ve always been a fan of the XPS line in general, and specifically the XPS 13 clamshell laptops. This two-in-oneversion has some of the same aesthetically minimalist touches and mod-feeling matte aluminum body. Even better, it costs a good deal less than a comparable Surface Pro, depending on how you configure each system.

7.7

XPS 13 Two-in-One

$1,299 at Dell

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Like

Less expensive than some competing products
Fanless, silent operation
Excellent keyboard feel

Don’t Like

Kickstand implementation is poor
Keyboard lies perfectly flat
No headphone jack

A Surface Pro 9 with a Core i5 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, along with the keyboard cover, is $1,578. A similarly configured XPS 13 two-in-one, also with the keyboard cover, is $1,299. And that’s with a bigger 512GB SSD, too. An exact comparison is tough because the Surface Pro 9 doesn’t offer a pairing of Core i5 and 512GB, while the XPS 13 two-in-oneoffers only 512GB and 1TB storage options. Prices can also change regularly with limited time discounts and deals. (As of this review, the Surface Pro 9 is offering a free keyboard cover for a limited time, a savings of $179.)

There’s also an ARM-based Surface Pro 9 (the model we reviewed) that uses Microsoft’s SQ3 chip instead of one from Intel and adds 5G support, but there’s no comparable XPS two-in-oneoption for that.

Dell XPS 13 9315 2-in-1

Price as reviewed	$1,299
Display size/resolution	13-inch 2,880×1,920 Touch
CPU	1GHz Intel Core i5-1230
Memory	16GB LP-DDR4
Graphics	128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Storage	512GB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD
Networking	Wi-Fi 6E 1675 (AX211) 2×2 + Bluetooth 5.2

Keyboard and kickstand sins

But configured as closely as possible, there’s a pretty big price difference. Still, I’m still not sure I would go with the XPS two-in-oneover the Surface Pro 9. Why? Because the two things the Surface has perfected about tablet/laptop hybrids, the kickstand and the keyboard cover, are not quite as perfected here.

And that’s a shame because the 13-inch 2,880×1,920 screen is bright and rich-looking. It’s rated for 500 nits brightness, and in practice it makes for a very good TV/movie streaming device when lying in bed. The Surface Pro supports a faster 120Hz refresh rate, versus just 60Hz here. That can mean smoother video, but also have an impact on battery life. Having a higher, or variable, refresh rate is a nice feature to have, but most people will be happy with a 60Hz screen.

But the keyboard cover, which Dell calls the XPS Folio, is a letdown. I’ll start with the good news: It’s just $100 extra, not the criminal $179 Microsoft charges for its keyboard cover. But unlike the Surface keyboard, which can angle up at the back for a more ergonomic experience, the Dell version sits flat on your desk and that’s it. The actual keys are large, flat, edge-to-edge-style keys, which is a good use of limited space, and in fact, it feels more like a solid laptop keyboard than the Surface version. But, the lack of any kind of incline option made it feel awkward.

A far bigger sin is how the kickstand is incorporated into the XPS Folio itself, instead of being built into the tablet. That means to prop up the XPs 13 two-in-one, you need the full keyboard cover attached, even if you just want to prop the tablet up like a standalone screen. While the Surface Pro allows for almost unlimited kickstand angles, the back of the XPs Folio slides down into three magnetic stops, and it’s entirely possible none of them will feel exactly right to you.

Fanless performance

Once you get past these design foibles, the XPs 13 two-in-oneis a respectable performer for a U-series Core i5 Windows system. It’s fanless, which makes it totally silent and helps battery life, even if it’s a theoretical limiter on overall performance because the heat needs to be regulated.

A current M2 MacBook is faster, as is the Core i7 XPS 13 Plus and the most recent Core i5 XPS 13, but not by a huge amount. I’d call this a perfectly fine PC for mainstream tasks and even some photo or video work.

Battery life is also nearly 7.5 hours on our online video streaming test. Again, nowhere near what some other laptops with bigger batteries can pull off, but still very good if you’re going to be doing a lot of video streaming.

This see-sawing list of pluses and minuses leave the XPS 13 two-in-onein a strange place. The price is right, considering the components, accessories, design and performance. But in some of the quality of life issues, it falls behind the more expensive Surface Pro line, and you’ll have to decide if the price tradeoff is worth it for the kickstand and keyboard differences.

Geekbench 5 (multicore)

Asus ROG Flow Z13

11,620

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

8,592

Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320

8,302

Dell XPS 13 9315

7,369

Dell XPS 13 9315 2-in-1

6,133

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

5,652

Microsoft Surface Pro 8

5,317

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

Cinebench R23 (multicore)

Asus ROG Flow Z13

12,389

Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320

10,344

Dell XPS 13 9315 2-in-1

7,474

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

6,796

Dell XPS 13 9315

5,332

Microsoft Surface Pro 8

4,176

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

3,318

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

Online streaming battery drain test

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

1,039

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

645

Dell XPS 13 9315

611

Microsoft Surface Pro 8

524

Dell XPS 13 9315 2-in-1

449

Asus ROG Flow Z13

381

Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320

235

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

System configurations

Dell XPS 13 9315 2-in-1	Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 1GHz Intel Core i5-1230U; 16GB DDR4 4,266MHz RAM; 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 512GB SSD
Dell XPS 13 9315	Windows 11 Home; 1GHz Intel Core i5-1230U; 16GB DDR5 6,400MHz RAM; 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 512GB SSD
Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320	Windows 11 Home; 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-1280P; 16GB DDR5 6,400MHz RAM; 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 512GB SSD
Microsoft Surface Pro 9	Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 3GHz Microsoft SQ3; 16GB DDR4 RAM; 7,889MB shared Qualcomm Adreno graphics; 256GB SSD
Microsoft Surface Pro 8	Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 3GHz Intel Core i7-118G7; 16GB DDR4 RAM; 128MB Intel Iris Xe graphics; 256GB SSD
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)	Apple MacOS Monterey 12.4; Apple M2 8-core chip; 8GB RAM; Apple 10-core GPU; 256GB SSD
Asus ROG Flow Z13	Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 2.5GHz Intel Core i9-12900H; 16GB DDR5 6,400MHz RAM; 4GB Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti graphics; 1TB SSD

The best laptops in every category

Technologies

iOS 17 Cheat Sheet: Your Questions on the iPhone Update Answered

Here’s what you need to know about new features and upcoming updates for your iPhone.

Apple’s iOS 17 was released in September, shortly after the company held its Wonderlust event, where the tech giant announced the new iPhone 15 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. We put together this cheat sheet to help you learn about and use the new features in iOS 17. It’ll also help you keep track of the subsequent iOS 17 updates.

iOS 17 updates

Using iOS 17

Getting started with iOS 17

Make sure to check back periodically for more iOS 17 tips and how to use new features as Apple releases more updates.

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

+15 More

See all photos

Technologies

Get Ready for a Striking Aurora That Could Also Disrupt Radio Communications

Don’t expect the storm to cause a lingering problem, though.

A geomagnetic storm is threatening radio communications Monday night, but that doesn’t mean you should be concerned. In fact, it may be an opportunity to see a colorful aurora in the night sky.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a geomagnetic storm watch after witnessing a coronal mass ejection from the sun on Saturday. The watch, which was issued over the weekend and will expire after Monday, said the onset of the storm passing over Earth on Sunday night represented a «moderate» threat to communications. As the storm continues to pass through, it could deliver a «strong» threat on Monday night that could cause radio communications to be temporarily disrupted during the worst of it.

Even so, NOAA said, «the general public should not be concerned.»

A coronal mass ejection occurs when magnetic field and plasma mass are violently expelled from the sun’s corona, or the outermost portion of the sun’s atmosphere. In the vast majority of cases, the ejection occurs with no real threat to Earth. However, in the event the ejection happens in the planet’s direction, a geomagnetic storm occurs, and the Earth’s magnetic field is temporarily affected.

In most cases, geomagnetic storms cause little to no disruption on Earth, with radio communications and satellites affected most often. In extreme cases, a geomagnetic storm can cause significant and potentially life-threatening power outages — a prospect that, luckily, the planet hasn’t faced.

Switching poles

Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic poles switch, with the north pole and south pole swapping positions. During those cycles, the sun’s activity ramps up as it gets closer to pole-switching time. The height of its activity is called solar maximum, and scientists believe we either may be entering the solar maximum or may be already in it.

During periods of heightened solar activity, sunspots increase on the sun and there’s an increase in coronal mass ejections, among other phenomena. According to NOAA, solar maximum could extend into October of this year before the sun’s activity calms and it works towards its less-active phase, solar minimum.

Even when geomagnetic storms hit Earth and disrupt communications, the effects are usually short-lived. Those most affected, including power grid operators and pilots and air traffic controllers communicating over long distances, have fail-safe technologies and backup communications to ensure operational continuity.

But geomagnetic storms aren’t only about radios. In most cases, they also present unique opportunities to see auroras in the night sky. When the storms hit, the plasma they carry creates a jaw-dropping aurora, illuminating the night sky with brilliant colors. Those auroras can be especially pronounced during the most intense phases of the storm, making for nice stargazing.

If you’re interested in seeing the aurora, you’ll need to be ready. The NOAA said the «brunt of the storm has passed» and even if it lingers into Tuesday, there won’t be much to see after Monday night.

Technologies

Last Total Solar Eclipse for 20 Years Is Coming: How to See and Photograph It

It’s your last chance until 2044.

Get your eclipse glasses ready, Skygazers: the Great American Eclipse is on its way. On April 8, there’ll be a total eclipse over North America, the last one until 2044.

A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking the sun and turning an otherwise sunny day to darkness for a short period of time. Depending on the angle at which you’re viewing the eclipse, you may see the sun completely shrouded by the moon (called totality) or some variation of it. The more off-angle you are and the further you are from the path of the eclipse, the less likely you’ll be to see the totality.

The 2024 total solar eclipse will happen on Monday, April 8. The Great American Eclipse will reach the Mexican Pacific coast at 11:07 a.m. PT (2:07 p.m. ET), and then traverse the US in a northeasterly direction from Texas to Maine, and on into easternmost Canada. If you want a good look at it, but don’t live in the path of totality, you shouldn’t wait much longer to book accommodation and travel to a spot on the path.

Or how about booking a seat in the sky? Delta Airlines made headlines for offering a flight that allows you to see the entire path of totality. Its first eclipse flight, from Austin, Texas, to Detroit sold out quickly. But as of Monday, Delta has added a second flight from Dallas to Detroit, which also covers the path of totality. The airline also has five flights that will offer prime eclipse viewing.

Not everyone can get on one of those elusive eclipse-viewing flights. Here’s a look at other options to nab a chance to see this rare sight and what to know about it.

Total solar eclipse path

The eclipse will cross over the Pacific coast of Mexico and head northeast over mainland Mexico. The eclipse will then make its way over San Antonio at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET on April 8 and move through Texas, over the southeastern part of Oklahoma and northern Arkansas by 2:50 p.m. ET.

By 3 p.m. ET, the eclipse will be over southern Illinois, and just 5 minutes later, will be traveling over Indianapolis. Folks in northwestern Ohio will be treated to the eclipse by 3:15 p.m. ET, and it will then travel over Lake Erie and Buffalo, New York, by 3:20 p.m. ET. Over the next 10 minutes, the eclipse will be seen over northern New York state, then over Vermont. By 3:35 p.m. ET, the eclipse will work its way into Canada and off the Eastern coast of North America.

Best places to watch the Great American Eclipse

When evaluating the best places to watch this year’s total eclipse, you’ll first want to determine where you’ll have the best angle to see the totality. The farther off-angle you are — in other words, the farther north or south of the eclipse’s path — the less of an impact you can expect.

Therefore, if you want to have the best chance of experiencing the eclipse, you’ll want to be in its path. As of this writing, most of the cities in the eclipse’s path have some hotel availability, but recent reports have suggested that rooms are booking up. And as more rooms are booked, prices are going up.

So if you want to be in the eclipse’s path, and need a hotel to do it, move fast. And Delta’s eclipse-viewing flight from Dallas to Detroit has just four seats left at the time of publication.

Eclipse eye safety and photography

As with any solar eclipse, it’s critical you keep eye safety in mind.

During the eclipse, and especially during the periods before and after totality, don’t look directly at the sun without special eye protection. Also, be sure not to look at the sun through a camera (including the camera on your phone), binoculars, a telescope or any other viewing device. This could cause serious eye injury. Sunglasses aren’t enough to protect your eyes from damage.

If you want to view the eclipse, you’ll instead need solar viewing glasses that comply with the ISO 12312-2 safety standard. Anything that doesn’t meet that standard or greater won’t be dark enough to protect your eyes. Want to get them for free? If you’ve got a Warby Parker eyeglasses store nearby, the company is giving away free, ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses at all of its stores from April 1 until the eclipse, while supplies last.

If you don’t have eclipse viewing glasses handy, you can instead use indirect methods for viewing the eclipse, like a pinhole projector.

Read more: A Photographer’s Adventure With the Eclipse

In the event you want to take pictures of the eclipse, attach a certified solar filter to your camera. Doing so will protect your eyes and allow you to take photos while you view the eclipse through your lens.

There’s also a new app to help you both protect your eyes and take better photos of the eclipse on your phone. Solar Snap, designed by a former Hubble Space Telescope astronomer, comes with a Solar Snap camera filter that attaches to the back of an iPhone or Android phone, along with solar eclipse glasses for protecting your eyesight during the event. After you attach the filter to your phone, you can use the free Solar Snap Eclipse app to zoom in on the eclipse, adjust exposure and other camera settings, and ultimately take better shots of the eclipse.

2024 eclipse compared to 2017

The last total solar eclipse occurred in 2017, and many Americans had a great view. Although there are plenty of similarities between the 2017 total solar eclipse and the one coming April 8, there are a handful of differences. Mainly, the 2024 eclipse is going to cover more land and last longer.

The 2017 eclipse started over the northwest US and moved southeast. Additionally, that eclipse’s path was up to 71 miles wide, compared with a maximum width of 122 miles for this year’s eclipse. Perhaps most importantly, the moon completely covered the sun for just 2 minutes, 40 seconds in 2017. This year, maximum totality will last for nearly four-and-a-half minutes.