
Small, slick design makes Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 the PC laptop to beat - artsandsci
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/03/review-dell-makes-a-great-laptop-better-with-the-xps-13-convertible/
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kohanz
I just ordered a (non-2-in-1, Kaby Lake) 13" XPS yesterday. To be honest, I
was against ordering from Dell after reading about all of the quality control
issues (just see the Dell subreddit for the sheer volume of problems), but got
sucked in by a very good sale price (am paying CAD ~ $2000 including taxes for
a 13", 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, 4k Touch). I haven't even received the laptop and
I'm already regretting my purchase. My order was "held up" and I had to call
in to speak with a Dell sales rep for about an hour to get it to go through.
What I discovered later by doing some reading is that essentially what
happened is that my order was of high enough value that it was flagged, such
that the sales rep could cancel the online order, replace it with a new one,
and collect a commission on it. I'm more than slightly annoyed by this because
in doing so, he invalidated a rebate of about $200 that I would have collected
on the initial purchase (through ebates.ca). I know it sounds outlandish, but
this happens consistently to people in forums that I have read. The sales rep
even half-admitted it to me that the order was flagged because it reached a
certain price threshold. This is Dell Canada, so other countries may have
different experiences. Super shady business practice, if you ask me.

I know I'm saving a ton of money over a similarly-(but still inferior)-spec'd
MBP (would run me about $2600 Canadian all-in, with no touch bar), but I
already have such a bad taste in my mouth that unless the machine is flawless
on delivery (the odds of which seem low, based on reading other people's
experiences), it's getting returned and I'll take my business elsewhere.

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danieldk
That sounds awful!

 _I know I 'm saving a ton of money over a similarly-spec'd MBP (would run me
about $2600 Canadian all-in, with no touch bar),_

I bought a MBP 2016 last Saturday. It was defective (basically, the kernel
would panic in a couple of minutes, probably bad memory). We called Apple
support on Sunday (they actually called us within two minutes on request, no
need to call and wait). Although they gave us the incorrect advise to make a
genius appointment, we went to the store the next day, got the option to
either get the money back or get a new machine. No questions asked. I didn't
even have to show the defect.

MacBooks have a pretty large margin, but you typically get it back in service.

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pierrebai
Frankly, I don't know where you live in Canada, but in Quebec, anything you
order that arrives defective can be replaced at no cost. It's not good
consumer service, it's the law. (Lemon law.)

I've bought tons of stuff at NewEgg and never got problem getting either
refund and replacement. I bought a refurbished Acer V3 13" (Skylake, 6GB RAM,
256GB SSD, full HD touch screen) for 700$. Works flawlessly.

~~~
kohanz
This is true, but the hoops you have to jump through to prove a defect and get
said return varies greatly between companies. I think the point of the Apple
story is they do it without asking any questions. From what I've read, Dell
for example will have you spending at least an hour or two on the phone or in
a chat with someone who may end up arguing with you about whether something is
an actual defect or not. There's a big difference in how customers are
treated.

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sandGorgon
The XPS is a Linux showcase laptop. I have run Fedora latest on this laptop
(which installs like a breeze. ubuntu has problems with the latest NVME ssd).
Gnome is the UX to beat in laptops now.

Gnome is optimized for sheer developer productivity and looks very slick.
Fedora with kernel 4.9+ is excellent. Everything just works on the XPS.

~~~
smcl
Is that true across the board on the XPS line? I thought they used slightly
different parts for the "Developer Edition" \- intel instead of Broadcom wifi,
off the top of my head. If it is true then I'm sold - I'm looking at picking
up a Windows laptop in the next couple months and was thinking of grabbing a
Surface Book if MS get another revision out soon. But if the XPS series is a
first class citizen in Linux then that may clinch it since I'll have a nice
fallback when I get sick of Windows :D

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jasonkostempski
I'd like to know this too. I see no mention of Linux in the article or the
product page[1] (which ars doesn't seem to link to in the article, only link
to other articles they've written about dell stuff, which seem like common
practice these days. What happened to organic linking?)

[1][http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-9365-2-in-1-laptop/...](http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-9365-2-in-1-laptop/pd)

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sandGorgon
I have the non-developer version of the laptop.

Imho the only thing that really differs is the network card. And in the XPS,
you can replace your network card. Having said that , I have the non developer
version and have had out of the box experience.

In fact, it has been a long time since I saw network problems on any laptop
for a long time. The biggest issues you will see are around secure boot and
UEFI configuration. Dell has an excellent BIOS that takes care of this.

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hrodriguez
Lovely machine but I personally can't stomach the 16:9 aspect ratio. This
usually limits my options when it comes to hardware. Wish Dell came out with
similar but sporting a 3:2 or 16:10 screen (with Linux support).

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mellamoyo
What do you find problematic about the 16:9 aspect ratio?

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dijit
Low verticality and too much width, which sucks when reading long snippets of
code which are 84 columns wide.

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nightski
I use a 21:9 screen and can definitely report that it does not suck. I can now
stack 4 snippets of 84 column wide code across my screen instead of one.

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bluedino
Going column to column doesn't disorient you?

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nightski
Not at all. If it's combined with a tiling window manager it is bliss!

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ArmandGrillet
The webcam shows your nostrils, is it really the PC laptop to beat? Everything
else looks good but having such a big issue that will make you look strange
during interviews/meetings (i.e. important moments of your work life) makes it
hard to believe that it is the best laptop available.

~~~
slantyyz
>> is it really the PC laptop to beat

The problem with the headline for me is the implication that everyone is
looking for the same thing from a laptop, when it's obviously not true.

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freehunter
Honestly, this thing checks off almost every piece that people have said they
hate about the new MacBook Pro. No USB-A ports, only 16GB of RAM max, low
performance CPUs, shallow keyboard. I'm surprised anyone is giving it the time
of day around here.

~~~
Tharre
That's because people who want that stuff can simply choose a different
laptop. With Apple however, you're screwed if their top-of-the-line product
doesn't provide the things you're looking for.

And of course it's made even worse by the fact that you're not allowed to run
macOS in a VM, effectively forcing many developers to buy Apple hardware.

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rocky1138
This is neat, but why do we need Thunderbolt when we've got USB Type-C? I
thought that was supposed to be the One True Port moving forward.

~~~
ytjohn
USB-C is the connector, most systems have USB3.1 protocol running over USB-C.
Some phones have USB 2.0 protocol running over USB-C connector. And the new
MacBooks and some new PCs have Thunderbolt3 protocol running over USB-C.

The protocol will self-negotiate and fall back to the most advanced protocol
both devices speak.

~~~
rocky1138
Then why does the article state that it's got both a 1xUSB Type-C and a
1xThunderbolt 3? Why does it differentiate if Thunderbolt 3 requires a USB
Type-C connector?

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maxsilver
> Why does it differentiate?

Because Thunderbolt 3 is faster than USB, and allows for more powerful
devices.

All USB Type C ports support USB, but only some USB Type C ports _also
support_ Thunderbolt 3, so they are labeled differently to show that.

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rocky1138
OK but why would they ever have a USB 3 USB Type-C port if they had one
Thunderbolt 3? Why would they put a crappy one in if they also have a good
one? Why not just have two good ones?

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mattnewton
Why have a crappier version of anything? I suspect it is because it is more
cost effective and the average customer will not know the difference, as most
devices don't speak (and don't need to speak) thunderbolt yet anyways.

~~~
rocky1138
The customer will notice the difference when the TB3 device only works on one
side of their laptop and not the other. This brings us back to the fallacy of
USB Type-C and the idea of One True Plug.

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hodgesrm
Has anybody tried putting Ubuntu on it? I'm using an older XPS 13 with Ubuntu
16.04 for non-work-related tasks and overall it's convenient enough I'm ready
to stick with XPS 13 for the next one.

~~~
aesthetics1
Dell sells and supports a Developer Edition of this laptop with Ubuntu 16.04.

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bradenb
In January I had every intention of picking up one of these. They are
beautiful and seemed to have everything I wanted. But I took a moment to look
again at alternatives and I'm glad I did. After doing some research it seemed
clear that the HP Spectre x360 was actually the ultrabook to have.

I'm not sure how good Linux support is, but with a 512gb M.2 SSD, 16GB, a U
series Kaby Lake processor, and better battery life than the XPS, it felt like
a non issue. I have no problems running VS and my CentOS VMs.

~~~
khedoros1
I've got a 15" HP Envy with a Skylake, and its performance as a Linux machine
has been flawless. I also put Windows 7 on it, and that was _significantly_
more hassle.

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charlieegan3
Does this charge over USB-C?

Edit: seems so, [https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-
content/uploads/2017/03/DSC06...](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-
content/uploads/2017/03/DSC06291.jpg)

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hitlin37
just to add, its available with preinstalled ubuntu 16.04 LTS from dell.

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KerrickStaley
I don't think it is. Not seeing that option at [http://www.dell.com/en-
us/shop/productdetails/xps-13-9365-2-...](http://www.dell.com/en-
us/shop/productdetails/xps-13-9365-2-in-1-laptop)

~~~
hitlin37
maybe its not available in US? Its available in some eu countries.

[http://www.pcworld.com/article/3161861/linux/the-new-dell-
xp...](http://www.pcworld.com/article/3161861/linux/the-new-dell-
xps-13-developer-edition-is-the-little-linux-laptop-that-can.html)

[http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd?3x_n...](http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd?3x_nav=OS_BRAND%3DUBUNT&3x_page=1&filterCollapsed=true)

select OS option above.

Here is the original blog from dell engineer himself.
[https://bartongeorge.io/2017/01/09/welcome-the-new-ubuntu-
ba...](https://bartongeorge.io/2017/01/09/welcome-the-new-ubuntu-based-
precision-line-up-mobile-workstations-plus-a-new-all-in-one/)

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tkwj
Different models. OP was talking about the new 9365 (2 in 1), not the 9360.

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wenbert
How does Dell warranty work? ie: If I buy it from another country?

Reason I go with Apple laptops is that their warranty goes across borders.
Just enter a serial number, and then your done. No more receipts, etc.

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ajharrison
Nice upside down logo. Really slick!

