{"id":193,"date":"2026-06-03T08:41:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193"},"modified":"2026-06-03T08:41:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:41:40","slug":"dells-xps-13-could-beat-the-macbook-neo-but-theres-one-big-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193","title":{"rendered":"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Every few years, the PC industry needs a brutal reminder that most of us aren\u2019t made of money. Apple\u2019s $600 MacBook Neo was a wake-up call for many in the industry\u2014a reminder there\u2019s a demand for laptops under $1,000 that don\u2019t suck. By first impressions, Dell\u2019s XPS 13 seems to be doing everything it needs to. But there\u2019s one detail that just barely misses the mark.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=191\">Two Years After Copilot+, Nvidia Is Shoving AI Into PCs Again<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The XPS 13 starts at $700, though you can get the device for $600 with a student discount. Specs-wise, it doesn\u2019t sound the most exciting; the base model has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage (both similar to the MacBook Neo). It\u2019s running an Intel Core 5, one of the new Wildcat Lake chips built for lower-end PCs. On its face, it should be perfectly fine for work and streaming.<\/p>\n<p>I couldn\u2019t benchmark the system or open a truckload of Chrome tabs on it during my brief hands-on time, but I was able to fondle the chassis. I\u2019m happy to report that the full CNC aluminum shell feels solid. It\u2019s not heavy, coming in at 2.2 pounds, and I can confirm that it is a hair thinner than the MacBook Neo. I enjoyed the feel of its keys more than I do those of Apple\u2019s Magic Keyboard. Connectivity-wise, it\u2019s limited to just two USB-C ports, which become Thunderbolt 4 if you buy a more expensive version containing Intel\u2019s Panther Lake. Somebody out there will complain about the lack of a headphone jack, though it won\u2019t be me, since this device also supports Bluetooth 6 and Wi-Fi 7.<\/p>\n<p>The screen was a curious case. It\u2019s a full 2.5K touch panel, but it didn\u2019t seem especially bright. It does support a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and down to 30Hz, which may help put it top the max-60Hz Neo for some indecisive customers.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=189\">Nvidia\u2019s RTX Spark Laptops Are the Kick in the Ass Gaming PCs Needed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The one aspect that gave me pause was the trackpad. Apple\u2019s Neo design featured a mechanical pad<span> rather than the haptic pad that graces the MacBook Air\u00a0or\u00a0MacBook Pro, which is not as fancy as those of its premium siblings but still feels excellent to use<\/span>. The XPS 13 also uses a mechanical pad, but its responsiveness was disappointing by comparison. In my testing, it was more sensitive near the bottom of the deck and nearly impossible to press toward the top. The XPS trackpad may not be as bad as what you\u2019ll find on some other laptops, but in terms of pure usability, it\u2019s a disappointing miss.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I also didn\u2019t have the chance to test how this device sounds. Apple\u2019s MacBook Neo includes two 2W side-firing speakers with the sound quality you won\u2019t mind bopping to without headphones. The XPS 13 has four speakers, but they all fire downwards, so the sound quality could really go either way. I\u2019ll have to spend more time with the laptop to determine whether its audio deserves a passing grade.<\/p>\n<p>There are several more laptops here at Computex, like the $600 Acer Swift Air 14, that purport to compete with the MacBook Neo, but Dell has been the most explicit and purposeful in its desire to dethrone Apple for budget notebooks. All that matters is that we\u2019ll have more choice for quality laptops on the low end, and that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=187\">DOGE Whistleblower Had His Brakes Cut Hours After Elon Put Him On Blast, Suit Alleges<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A solid shell and a low price can go a long way. A shady trackpad, not so much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gadgets"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem - Long Haul Moving Pros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem - Long Haul Moving Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A solid shell and a low price can go a long way. A shady trackpad, not so much.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Long Haul Moving Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T08:41:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b\"},\"headline\":\"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T08:41:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193\"},\"wordCount\":622,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/33cfe5f2c43350c2d2050bfcd8516bfa.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Gadgets\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193\",\"name\":\"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem - Long Haul Moving Pros\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/33cfe5f2c43350c2d2050bfcd8516bfa.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T08:41:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/33cfe5f2c43350c2d2050bfcd8516bfa.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/33cfe5f2c43350c2d2050bfcd8516bfa.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?p=193#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Long Haul Moving Pros\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longhaulmovingpros.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem - Long Haul Moving Pros","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem - Long Haul Moving Pros","og_description":"A solid shell and a low price can go a long way. A shady trackpad, not so much.","og_url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193","og_site_name":"Long Haul Moving Pros","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T08:41:40+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b"},"headline":"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem","datePublished":"2026-06-03T08:41:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193"},"wordCount":622,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/33cfe5f2c43350c2d2050bfcd8516bfa.webp","articleSection":["Gadgets"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193","url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193","name":"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem - Long Haul Moving Pros","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/33cfe5f2c43350c2d2050bfcd8516bfa.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-03T08:41:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/33cfe5f2c43350c2d2050bfcd8516bfa.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/33cfe5f2c43350c2d2050bfcd8516bfa.webp","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?p=193#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dell\u2019s XPS 13 Could Beat the MacBook Neo\u2014But There\u2019s One Big Problem"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/","name":"Long Haul Moving Pros","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9c8f732aec56889e8fd0602fe5af4b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com"],"url":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhaulmovingpros.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}