Dell XPS 13 9380 2019 (i5 8265U, 256GB, UHD) Subnotebook Review

[Redaktion]

The webcam is back at the top. But is that all for the 2019 XPS 13 from Dell? Not at all, because the dual-fan solution ensures good – even though not stable – performance utilization we rarely see among such slim laptops. Update: Whiskey Lake only has an advantage under sustained workloads

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-13-9380-2019-i5-8265U-256GB-UHD-Subnotebook-Review.401871.0.html

[fozzybear]

Is the terrible coil-whine still present?

[Drauzio Oppenheimer]

Is the lid hinge rock solid ? I´m afraid as they made it softer to open, it would wobble way more than the 9370.

[J.Tapio]

Would be nice to see how undervolting the CPU affects the performance of this laptop

[Murhaf]

Curious to see how it'd perform after undervolting the CPU.

[Victorious]

Please verify if the Waves max audio drivers are still being used, and penalize the laptop accordingly. Its presence makes any sort of audio editing work impossible; just google "xps 13 waves max audio" for more info since I can't paste links.

[sfyhn]

What happened in the PC Mark 8 tests? It scores significantly lower than the 2018 model.

[Liad Sagi]

they moved the camera up , and....what else?

[AA]

Review the Latitude 7400 2-in-1 please.

XPS is good but the Latitude is truly premium and more interesting.

[Franck]

Excellent review, thanks a lot !

[Tomatot]

Thank you for giving us the best laptop reviews on the web. I check your website daily and I'm always amazed by the among of details and professionalism in your reviews. Keep it up :)

[sticky]

The screen is not bad, but not anything laudable either.

Remember XPS 9343, the original bezeless design iteration back in 2015 had nearly equal display specifications - 400 nits, 1000+:1 contrast, 100% sRGB, for both FHD and QHD+. In fact, the black levels were even better.
Since then it's been 4 years. Today, the best laptop screens are pushing 700+ nits, 100% AdobeRGB and the deepest blacks with OLED, surpassing even high-end monitors. Yet the XPS has been at a virtual standstill.

Laptops need to aim for HDR 600 standard and should be impeccably calibrated in factory at this price level. Marketing buzzwords like "HDR DolbyVision" aren't passable. Countless frustrating cases over backlight bleed and QC issues aren't forgivable. Companies have to get it together.

[doa379]

If you need serious power under load then augment your Ultrabook with a desktop. You can expect to do anything heavy on an U-series cpu.

[doa379]

typo you CAN'T

[Dave P.]

Actually, you would be really lucky to get the xps13 9380 with AUO panel. I have checked 3 units back to back in a local chain store in Melbourne, AU and none of the units are using AUO panel. The device manager reports SHP14AD, not B133xxxx.