This article gives you my Apple MacBook Air vs DELL XPS 13 9300 (2020) comparison with specs included. Since you asked, this is the 2020 MacBook Air and the Dell XPS 13 9300 the 2020 Edition by popular request. Both Intel ice-like tenth generation CPUs 13,3 to 13,4-inch displays with 16 by 10 aspect ratio.
So flat out this is not a completely fair comparison. Why is that? Because the MacBook Air as ever runs on Intel’s lower power 8 to 9 watts CPUs what was called the core M and then the Y series and now Intel doesn’t quite even give it a name anymore and the XPS 13 is your typical ultrabook with a 15 watt CPU only a little better because they basically over wanted to that 25-watt point so yeah keep this in mind.
In terms of pure CPU benchmarks and tests like that the Dells go running circles around the air the 13-inch MacBook Pro in this respect is the more direct competitor to the Dell which Apple hasn’t refreshed yet with Intel’s 10th gen isolate. When they do we can revisit that comparison again too.
Also, the pricing is different. The XPS 13 on launches and gotten more expensive than it used to be so it starts at $1250. It gets you a Core i5 with eight gigs of RAM and a 256 gig NVMe SSD and Intel UHD g1 graphics. The MacBook Air starts at $999 but that’s what the core i3 making surrounds a 256 gig NVMe SSD but Intel iris plus graphics with better graphics so we’re using a little bit more apples to apples no pun intended to sort of comparison there.
And, we’re using the $1299 model of the MacBook Air which has a Core i5 with eight gigs of RAM and a 512 guess sd bigger SSD. Across the board, you’re gonna get intel iris + graph is gonna get faster graphics with the MacBook Air whereas with the Dell you have to look at their more expensive models. They bundled the Intel iris + graphics with the core i7 config typically with a 4k display you’re looking at around $1,800 pretty pricey for an ultrabook.
In terms of the size of the footprint, the Dell XPS 13 is always one of the most compact things. So that almost no bezel designs even though it’s 13.4 inches versus the MacBook Airs 13.3 it’s actually got the smaller footprint in terms of thickness they’re almost exactly the same. MacBook Air is gonna be a little thinner at the front but overall they’re within one millimeter of each other.
At the back which is the thickest point despite the fact the MacBook Air is named air, it’s actually a little heavier 1.2 9 kilograms versus 1.2 kilograms for the dell.
For display options there’s only one display option it’s the retina 2K equivalent display for the MacBook Air and it’s a very pleasing display with full sRGB coverage so it sits in between the two dell options. With dell, you have full HD or you have the 4k, a little bit more in one dimension than 4k because in sixteen by ten aspect ratio but basically.
So, with the Dell, the full HD display is available in a matte non-touch so if you like matte displays right away there’s a winner for you. It’s also available on the glossy touch screen which is the one that we happen to have and then there’s that 4k option those are all 500 nits displays according to Dell.
Now, with the MacBook Air, it’s around 315 s which is pretty bright for your average indoor use but for those who are working outdoors a lot keep in mind 500 nits is certainly more useful. Or, again, there’s the 13-inch MacBook Pro which has a brighter still display and a wider color gamut which you’ll see on the 4k display. For the Dell, the 4k display is a somewhat wider color gamut Ben the full HD display.
Now, Apple does have a low reflectance display so as glossy displays go it’s not that bad oh and there’s touch. Obviously, Mac OS doesn’t support touch, Sony no touch screen there you gotta go look at an iPad if you want to touch it.
I in the max favorite, it’s a very nice-looking display. And, one thing I can say that really is excellent about Mac OS it’s system-wide color management so your colors don’t go from garish to more appropriate and all that sort of thing randomly in depending on what program you’re using. And, also, their system-wide handling of displays scaling so if you get the 4k display on the Dell you might find some apps that still have dialog boxes with really tiny text and Photoshop since I’m still troubled struggles to get all the tools in the UI to be a viewable size you get the idea. And, with a Mac, usually not a problem.
Connectivity is quite similar. Both of them have two USB-C slash Thunderbolt 3 ports, full four-lane 40 gigabits per second at that. Both have headphone jacks as in a microSD card slot which is nice to have. Dell puts one port on each side which might be a little bit more convenient Apple puts them both on the same side and one is used for charging.
When it comes up to two keyboards, whose Apple has switched over to the magic keyboard for the 2020 refresh thank God for the traditional scissor key one millimeter of key travel. The Dell is also pretty low-key travel and they feel very similar on saying this one is a toss-up. And, they’re both backlit.
And white for the trackpads you have the usual large and wonderful trackpad with Mac OS and all that sort of thing, the gestures yeah. Dell is a precision trackpad which is a good thing but I don’t still don’t find it quite as good as the max. That’s not a surprise is it though.
Dell has Wi-Fi 6 the Mac still has Wi-Fi 5 that’s not an issue today for most people but if you’re gonna keep this machine in three years two million might wish you had this slightly faster Wi-Fi standard going on.
When it comes to upgradeability, neither of these is really great. At least with the Dell, you can replace the SSD. It’s a standard m2 SSD they both use nvme fast SSDs but the max is soldered on. The RAM is soldered on both and the Wi-Fi card is soldered on so you’re not looking at while the upgradable machines here. But, at least, you can swatch and swap the drawing on the dome. You can get either of these with up to 2 terabytes of storage. And for RAM, they both max out at 16 gigs and again that’s soldered on. And, they both use 37 33 megahertz fast low-power ddr4 Ram.
When it comes to cooling, you know this isn’t gonna be a surprise because the Dell has a higher wattage which means a higher heat CPU. It’s the one that’s gonna run hotter and you’ll hear the fan more often on it.
When it comes to benchmarks, as I said, it’s just not a fair comparison because you have two different classes of CPUs here. They know Mac, Mac does fight back though with having better graphics performance and fur if you’re comparing it to the base model Dells of Intel u HD graphics instead of Intel iris plus graphics.
For speakers, here’s a little surprised who’s that max typically really good speakers so the errors are pretty good and I would give it the edge for bass but I like the clarity and the spatial separation better on the XPS 13. They’re both really pretty good though.
For very small laptops battery capacity is really close on this 49,9Wh with a max of only 50 watt-hours versus 52 watt-hours. The Dell is independent which display you opted for with the Dell though the Full HD is obviously gonna use a lot less power. 4K displays really suck up the powers we’ve seen from many windows laptop reviews. So, the Mac is really strong on battery life not a surprise they’re, very efficient power the CPU they’re in the operating system does a good job too.
So, the Mac it’s pretty easy to get nine hours of actually used time on a charge. With the Dell it’s gonna vary you could do nine 10 maybe even 11 hours on that base model we could also stretch more with out of the Mac depending on your power settings and all that. But, the 4k display is gonna drop that by a couple of hours at least.
They both come with compact chargers but the max is a lot more compact, again, because it uses a lower wattage CPU it doesn’t need such a big charger but I wouldn’t call the Dell as a real burden to carry.
Lastly, there’s the operating system difference. So, that’s always the thing where a Windows laptop might beat a Mac laptop on some of the specifications and all that sort of thing it also depends on which operating system you prefer.
I like them both an awful lot I do like some things about the Mac particularly the color management the displays scaling and the stability. You don’t run into driver issues so much and some people already complaining about their dell having real Tech Audio Driver problems uninstall and reinstall not that it’s a problem machine by any means but that still happens with Windows and less with the Mac. So, if your tolerance for those things is not real high that might push you towards the MAC.
So, there you have it, the Dell XPS 13 90 300 versus the 2020 MacBook Air, and like I said, it’s not really exactly a fair comparison by price and buying the kind of CPU inside but hopefully have an idea now which one might be better for you or and then there’s a 13-inch MacBook Pro.
