Small but powerful

DELL'S initial announcement of the XPS 13 2-in-1 was met with a mixed reaction.
The original XPS 13 notebook, launched late last year, is what all 13in laptops want to become when they grow up.
However, no one was asking for it to be made into a convertible.
At first glance, the cold, matte aluminium shell of the XPS 13 2-in-1 is a standard among premium fashionable slim laptops.
My favourite design element of this convertible laptop has to be its carbon fibre composite interior and palm rest.
It does not conduct heat, neither does it warm up like metal, and it is coated with a soft-touch paint that makes it feel silky, making it a very comfortable surface to work on.
It is also one of the reasons why the whole device only weighs 1.24kg.
The XPS 13 2-in-1 is small for a 13in laptop. In fact, it is the smallest in Dell’s current lineup.
This is made possible by the InfinityEdge Touch display.
Available in both 1920 x 1080 and 3200 x 1800 resolution, the beautiful display goes right up to the edge, with only the thinnest of bezels.
Because the XPS 13 2-in-1 is a convertible, I often folded its premium 360° hinge over, to turn the laptop into a tablet.
I enjoyed reading e-books and long articles while the device was in this form, which attests to how comfortable the display is.
However, I had two issues while using the device in tablet form.
First, the extremely thin bezel design meant that there was virtually nowhere that I could grip the device without interacting with the screen, and second – before the latest updates – the XPS 13 2-in-1 had trouble figuring out if it was in tablet or laptop form.
I also found it strange that the XPS 13 2-in-1 lacked a volume rocker, a staple in tablets and convertible laptops.
Dell currently offers five variants of the XPS 13 2-in-1.
The range begins with the RM6,499 model that is powered by the 7th Generation Intel Core i5 processor, with 8GB memory, 256GB solid state drive, and Full HD display.
At the opposite end is the RM8,599 model that is powered by a 7th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, with 16GB memory, 512GB solid state drive, and QHD+ display.
These specifications read as ‘good to excellent’. Boot-ups, shutdowns, and most apps are responsive, but the whole setup is not meant for heavy gaming.
The model that we received for review was equipped with the top specifications.
Like all other variants, it has a thumbprint reader to make logging in easy and secure.
It also only has two USB-C ports which can be used for charging, an audio interface, and a microSD slot.
Dell also included a USB-C to USB 3.0 dongle in the box, which is useful.
I did find that the XPS 13 2-in-1 can get hot when its performance is pushed.
Because there are no vents, the heat dissipates through the bottom aluminium shell.
The XPS 13 2-in-1 also has excellent sound, and the speakers are pointed outwards to the sides instead of downward or upwards.
This makes the sound quality stay uniform, no matter the device’s orientation.
The XPS 13 2-in-1 is perfect for doing work while out of the office, for watching movies and TV shows at home, and also for keeping up with reading in between.
In fact, the only thing that may hold you back is the rich price tag.