11 ms·

Build quality, trackpad and screen are the hallmarks of the XPS13 line. However, it seems very risky to install this on a laptop, since driver support and such

Build quality, trackpad and screen are the hallmarks of the XPS13 line. However, it seems very risky to install this on a laptop, since driver support and such will change on Apple's whim.

mulletbum 10y ago
I have to source for it, but I can't imagine any laptop having a better trackpad than MBP. Any idea how good in comparison it is?
- widforss 10y ago
  I haven't used a MBP myself, but according to head-to-head reviews [1][2] the MBP trackpad is better. The XPS one is really great though. [1] http://www.alphr.com/laptops/1002278/dell-xps-13-vs-macbook-pro-13-which-flagship-ultraportable-laptop-reigns-supreme/page/0/1 http://www.alphr.com/laptops/1002278/dell-xps-13-vs-macbook-... [2] http://www.itpro.co.uk/laptops/21797/macbook-pro-15in-v-dell-xps-15-head-to-head-review-6 http://www.itpro.co.uk/laptops/21797/macbook-pro-15in-v-dell...
  - CalRobert 10y ago
    I use an XPS 13 and 2016 MBP daily. They both have great trackpads. The only place where the XPS 13 is inferior in terms of build quality, so far as I can tell, is coil whine. I believe they've fixed that in the most recent versions. Also, even though it's not a big deal I'd rather not have a touch screen at all as I do on the XPS. It's useless, and registers touches when I close the lid (I prefer not to suspend if I'm just walking from one room to another) Edit: I should note I use Ubuntu exclusively on the XPS 13. I don't know what the trackpad is like in Windows. Presumably it's comparable.
    - haspok 10y ago
      They did not fix the coil whine. Nor the dynamic screen brightness issue. Just FYI. Oh, and the I2S mode for audio is still broken in the latest kernels (headset microphone not recognized, loud pops at power saving switchoffs), so I have to use Ubuntu to get a HDA-enabled kernel out of the box. Also my XPS13 is 2 years old and the "carbon fiber" cover started to disintegrate along the edges. The screen hinge is a bit loose so it wobbles a bit with movement. Other than that it's fab :)
      - compuguy 10y ago
        The fix for the dynamic screen brightness is to flash a firmware that dell provides for the HIDPI display. If you have the 1080p display, you are out of luck.
    - ahassan 10y ago
      Just bought a brand new 9360 and the coil whine is definitely not gone.
- tatoalo 10y ago
  I've tried both the XPS 13 trackpad and the MBP 13 & 15 late 2016. I feel pretty safe to say that the XPS has by far the best trackpad experience on any Windows-based laptop I've tried but it's very much behind the MBP (IMHO!).
  - gigatexal 10y ago
    Yep the trackpad is what brought me to Apple and OS X is what kept me loyal.
    - tatoalo 10y ago
      On the late 2016 models I was honestly worried that the dimension changes introduced were a little bit too much. After a couple of weeks I haven't found any reason for going back to the previous generation, MacOS Sierra palm rejection software is pure magic and gestures across the entire OS are super smooth!
  - ianai 10y ago
    Then you got lucky. My trackpad skips around horribly on my xps13. I can't believe how horrible that trackpad is.
    - AdmiralAsshat 10y ago
      Not sure if your XPS13 is running Win10 or Linux. Anecdotally, I've got Fedora on mine, and I noticed a huge difference in the trackpad responsiveness when I switched from the Synaptics driver over to libinput. Palm detection got way better, for one thing.
      - ianai 10y ago
        It's running Win10 and I've installed different drivers. It works ok after changing various settings and using my pointer and ring finger instead of pointer and middle finger for scrolling.
  - jpkeisala 10y ago
- ergo14 10y ago
  I like trackpad on my Dell better than on my mbpro. But i think it is matter of personal preference. I like the friction it gives. But keyboard on my dell is leagues ahead of mbp hands down.
  - mcintyre1994 10y ago
    Like you said, personal preference - I have the Dell at work and a MBP 2015 with the force touch trackpad at home, and I much prefer the macbook - the Dell requires more force to register a click the further away from the bottom where the MBP is even.
    - bostand 10y ago
      Aren't all these configurable in Windows? I'm pretty sure you can set it exactly the way you want...
      - mcintyre1994 10y ago
        Not that I can see but I could be wrong. I think the Apple one is just perfectly even because it's not mechanical, which I prefer.
        bostand 10y ago
        If you don't see it under the advanced mouse settings (or whatever its called) something is wrong. Most likely you don't have the correct drivers, which is odd since they are installed automatically...
  - Someone1234 10y ago
    For me the top keyboard is the non-Touchbar MBPs. Touchbar MBP's keyboard is a huge downgrade and I agree that the XPS 13's keyboard is superior. I have no idea why Apple ruined one of the best keyboard in the industry with the Touchbar range.
  - coldtea 10y ago
- vlan0 10y ago
  This is the truth. Apple has mastered the trackpad. I've used some Lenovo trackpads that I would say are close, but Apple still holds this crown without a doubt. The general shoddy build quality of most manufacturers, combined with the fact that Apple would likely sue the pants off of trackpad "clones", is my reasoning for why all other trackpads are just functionally absent when compared to Apple.
IanCal 10y ago
Anecdotal, but my XPS13 is nowhere near the quality of a mac. The trackpad has problems jumping about occasionally, the wifi is unreliable to say the least (linux, but I think also on windows) and the fan spins up sounding like it's catching on something. The audio quality is atrocious. Oh and really bad coil whine as well, a problem I've never had with macs. However, it's fairly alright and significantly cheaper.
- ahassan 10y ago
  I just bought an XPS 13 9360 and returned it due to the coil whine. I've never had that issue on my Macs before so once I get refunded I'm going to buy a MBP instead.
  - acomar 10y ago
    I've been hearing about the coil whine for ages, but I've never heard it over multiple 9550s and a 9360. I'm even in an office right now surrounded by the 9550s which were supposed to be plagued by the issue. Is it that the whine is occurring at a frequency I can't hear?
    - jeron 10y ago
      my T450s has coil whine but you have to be in a dead silent room to hear it, I assume it would be the same for the Dells
      - IanCal 10y ago
        It's loud enough on my 9350 I can hear it clearly over the top of music or videos playing.
- mattdotc 10y ago
  FWIW, I replaced my WiFi/Bluetooth adapter immediately upon receiving my 9343. I had been following the XPS13 developer edition forums for a while, and the adapter that shipped with most XPS13 had a Broadcom chipset with bad Linux support. An Intel card was recommended instead. I actually had my card on-hand hand ready to go the day I received the laptop shipment. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RCZ4I6S/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RCZ4I6S/ref=od_aui_deta...

Build quality, trackpad and screen are the hallmarks of the XPS13 line. However, it seems very risky to install this on a laptop, since driver support and such will change on Apple's whim.

mulletbum 10y ago

I have to source for it, but I can't imagine any laptop having a better trackpad than MBP. Any idea how good in comparison it is?

widforss 10y ago
I haven't used a MBP myself, but according to head-to-head reviews [1][2] the MBP trackpad is better. The XPS one is really great though. [1] http://www.alphr.com/laptops/1002278/dell-xps-13-vs-macbook-pro-13-which-flagship-ultraportable-laptop-reigns-supreme/page/0/1 http://www.alphr.com/laptops/1002278/dell-xps-13-vs-macbook-... [2] http://www.itpro.co.uk/laptops/21797/macbook-pro-15in-v-dell-xps-15-head-to-head-review-6 http://www.itpro.co.uk/laptops/21797/macbook-pro-15in-v-dell...
- CalRobert 10y ago
  I use an XPS 13 and 2016 MBP daily. They both have great trackpads. The only place where the XPS 13 is inferior in terms of build quality, so far as I can tell, is coil whine. I believe they've fixed that in the most recent versions. Also, even though it's not a big deal I'd rather not have a touch screen at all as I do on the XPS. It's useless, and registers touches when I close the lid (I prefer not to suspend if I'm just walking from one room to another) Edit: I should note I use Ubuntu exclusively on the XPS 13. I don't know what the trackpad is like in Windows. Presumably it's comparable.
  - haspok 10y ago
    They did not fix the coil whine. Nor the dynamic screen brightness issue. Just FYI. Oh, and the I2S mode for audio is still broken in the latest kernels (headset microphone not recognized, loud pops at power saving switchoffs), so I have to use Ubuntu to get a HDA-enabled kernel out of the box. Also my XPS13 is 2 years old and the "carbon fiber" cover started to disintegrate along the edges. The screen hinge is a bit loose so it wobbles a bit with movement. Other than that it's fab :)
    - compuguy 10y ago
      The fix for the dynamic screen brightness is to flash a firmware that dell provides for the HIDPI display. If you have the 1080p display, you are out of luck.
  - ahassan 10y ago
    Just bought a brand new 9360 and the coil whine is definitely not gone.
tatoalo 10y ago
I've tried both the XPS 13 trackpad and the MBP 13 & 15 late 2016. I feel pretty safe to say that the XPS has by far the best trackpad experience on any Windows-based laptop I've tried but it's very much behind the MBP (IMHO!).
- gigatexal 10y ago
  Yep the trackpad is what brought me to Apple and OS X is what kept me loyal.
  - tatoalo 10y ago
    On the late 2016 models I was honestly worried that the dimension changes introduced were a little bit too much. After a couple of weeks I haven't found any reason for going back to the previous generation, MacOS Sierra palm rejection software is pure magic and gestures across the entire OS are super smooth!
- ianai 10y ago
  Then you got lucky. My trackpad skips around horribly on my xps13. I can't believe how horrible that trackpad is.
  - AdmiralAsshat 10y ago
    Not sure if your XPS13 is running Win10 or Linux. Anecdotally, I've got Fedora on mine, and I noticed a huge difference in the trackpad responsiveness when I switched from the Synaptics driver over to libinput. Palm detection got way better, for one thing.
    - ianai 10y ago
      It's running Win10 and I've installed different drivers. It works ok after changing various settings and using my pointer and ring finger instead of pointer and middle finger for scrolling.
- jpkeisala 10y ago
ergo14 10y ago
I like trackpad on my Dell better than on my mbpro. But i think it is matter of personal preference. I like the friction it gives. But keyboard on my dell is leagues ahead of mbp hands down.
- mcintyre1994 10y ago
  Like you said, personal preference - I have the Dell at work and a MBP 2015 with the force touch trackpad at home, and I much prefer the macbook - the Dell requires more force to register a click the further away from the bottom where the MBP is even.
  - bostand 10y ago
    Aren't all these configurable in Windows? I'm pretty sure you can set it exactly the way you want...
    - mcintyre1994 10y ago
      Not that I can see but I could be wrong. I think the Apple one is just perfectly even because it's not mechanical, which I prefer.
      - bostand 10y ago
        If you don't see it under the advanced mouse settings (or whatever its called) something is wrong. Most likely you don't have the correct drivers, which is odd since they are installed automatically...
- Someone1234 10y ago
  For me the top keyboard is the non-Touchbar MBPs. Touchbar MBP's keyboard is a huge downgrade and I agree that the XPS 13's keyboard is superior. I have no idea why Apple ruined one of the best keyboard in the industry with the Touchbar range.
- coldtea 10y ago
vlan0 10y ago
This is the truth. Apple has mastered the trackpad. I've used some Lenovo trackpads that I would say are close, but Apple still holds this crown without a doubt. The general shoddy build quality of most manufacturers, combined with the fact that Apple would likely sue the pants off of trackpad "clones", is my reasoning for why all other trackpads are just functionally absent when compared to Apple.

IanCal 10y ago

Anecdotal, but my XPS13 is nowhere near the quality of a mac. The trackpad has problems jumping about occasionally, the wifi is unreliable to say the least (linux, but I think also on windows) and the fan spins up sounding like it's catching on something. The audio quality is atrocious. Oh and really bad coil whine as well, a problem I've never had with macs. However, it's fairly alright and significantly cheaper.

ahassan 10y ago
I just bought an XPS 13 9360 and returned it due to the coil whine. I've never had that issue on my Macs before so once I get refunded I'm going to buy a MBP instead.
- acomar 10y ago
  I've been hearing about the coil whine for ages, but I've never heard it over multiple 9550s and a 9360. I'm even in an office right now surrounded by the 9550s which were supposed to be plagued by the issue. Is it that the whine is occurring at a frequency I can't hear?
  - jeron 10y ago
    my T450s has coil whine but you have to be in a dead silent room to hear it, I assume it would be the same for the Dells
    - IanCal 10y ago
      It's loud enough on my 9350 I can hear it clearly over the top of music or videos playing.
mattdotc 10y ago
FWIW, I replaced my WiFi/Bluetooth adapter immediately upon receiving my 9343. I had been following the XPS13 developer edition forums for a while, and the adapter that shipped with most XPS13 had a Broadcom chipset with bad Linux support. An Intel card was recommended instead. I actually had my card on-hand hand ready to go the day I received the laptop shipment. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RCZ4I6S/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RCZ4I6S/ref=od_aui_deta...