Dell is bringing back the XPS 13 with a much simpler pitch: a premium Windows laptop that starts at $699 and lands squarely against Apple’s MacBook Neo. After a messy brand reset and a slide in PC share, that is exactly the kind of correction Dell needed – and it comes with a price that is hard for Apple fans to ignore.
The base model undercuts the MacBook Neo on sticker price for most buyers, while students 16 and up can get it for $599, the same entry point Apple uses for its own machine. Dell is not pretending this is a stripped-down bargain-bin special either. It is positioning the new XPS 13 as the small, light premium laptop people wanted Dell to keep making in the first place.
XPS 13 price and specs
The starting configuration includes an Intel Core 5 320 ”Wildcat Lake” chip, 8GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a 2560×1600 touchscreen. Dell says the laptop weighs 2.2 pounds and is 12.5mm at its thinnest point, which makes it lighter than the MacBook Neo and the MacBook Air. The 13.4-inch display is also a touch larger than the Neo’s 13-inch panel.
- Price: $699, or $599 for students 16 and up
- Chip: Intel Core 5 320 (Wildcat Lake)
- Memory and storage: 8GB RAM, 512GB storage
- Display: 13.4-inch 2560×1600 touchscreen
- Weight and thickness: 2.2 pounds, 12.5mm
Dell adds the little things Apple leaves out
One of the more pointed details is the backlit keyboard, which Dell includes as standard. Apple’s base Neo skips that, a small omission that becomes a much bigger deal once you are paying close to premium-laptop money. Dell also says the XPS 13 uses an aluminum build and can last up to 17 hours on a charge.
The launch model ships in a Sky color that Dell says leans closer to white than its older sky-blue finish. A second color, Storm, is coming later. That sounds cosmetic, but in a category where thin laptops increasingly blur together, even the paint job is part of the sales pitch.
Panther Lake XPS 13 models arrive later this summer
The $699 version is only the opening act. Dell says higher-end XPS 13 models with Intel Panther Lake Core Ultra 7 processors will arrive later this summer, giving the line a clearer ladder from entry-level to more powerful configurations. That matters because Apple has long benefited from forcing buyers to jump up the price stack for better specs; Dell clearly wants a more familiar Windows playbook here.
There is also some timing theater involved. Dell says this lower-cost XPS 13 was already in development before Apple launched the Neo, so the overlap is not just a panicked copycat response. Fine – but the real test is whether Dell can keep the XPS identity stable this time, because consumers have a long memory and a short tolerance for brand chaos.
If Dell ships the promised Panther Lake versions on schedule and keeps the pricing this sharp, the XPS line could finally become the Windows alternative people ask for by name. If not, the new XPS 13 will be remembered as the laptop that arrived just in time to prove Dell still knows how to compete.