The year 2018 has seen an influx of new gadgets in the market today.  Since the year started, technology enthusiasts and innovators have introduced new gadgets , given concepts of new and future gadgets. This was evident in the biggest tech convection CES 2018 held in the beginning of the month.

Now more than ever, more and more people are getting affected by Choice Paralysis. Don’t know what that is?, well it is that sensation you experience when you know you want something, say crisps, but there are so many flavors to choose from that you end up not buying one at all, and going crisp-less. That’s choice paralysis. And the tech world is full of it this year.

For every gadget and gizmo there are hundreds of different makes and models. Making a decision is hard for any customer. So, to cut through some of the confusion, if you are in the market to purchase a laptop this year, Ladies and gentlemen I give you (Drum roll….) Dell XPS 13 , a laptop dubbed to be the best of its Kind in the whole world.

 Key Specifications

• CPU: Intel Core i3 – i7 |
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 |
• Screen: 3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) |Storage: 128GB – 512GB SSD
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8250U / i7-8550U
• RAM :4GB, 8GB or 16GB
• Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro
• Price: From Ksh 145,000
• Release date: 4/1/2018

Dell XPS 13 has landed the standard Windows laptop a top spot in almost every critics list of best laptops for the past two years. Its compact design, excellent battery life and bright, punchy screen tick all the boxes for regular buyers looking for an alternative to their aging MacBook Air laptops.

The XPS model might not have had many physical significant changes, despite the occasional internal upgrade in recent years. The new model however is different. It is 30% thinner than last year’s effort and lighter, too. The 2018 XPS 13 is 11.1mm slim at its thickest edge and 7.8mm at its skinniest. It weighs 1.2kg, which is 6% lighter than the outgoing model.

As for the innards, this year’s Dell XPS 13 is equipped with Intel’s latest Core i5 and Core i7 eighth-generation “Coffee Lake” processors. The configuration options include a choice of either the Core i5-8250U or Core i7-8550U, with 4GB, 8GB or 16GB of RAM. Storage options range from hard disks in the 128GB to 1TB range and PCIe SSDs from 256GB up to 1TB.

The PROs

Due to this skinnier body, the battery is slightly smaller this time around, although its stamina hasn’t taken a hit. Dell claims 20–hour battery life with the Full HD model, and up to 11 hours with the 4K variant.

Dell’s Infinity Edge Display has been around for almost two years but is still a defining feature. The laptop can squeeze a 13.3-inch edge-to-edge screen into the body of a regular 11-inch laptop.

Has more USB Type-C connections. It has 3 of these, with one reserved for charging and the others supporting Thunderbolt 3, and there’s also an SD card reader and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

You can use the webcam to log in to Windows 10 with your face. Likewise, the circular power button next to the keyboard now does double duties as a fingerprint scanner.

CONs

The webcam is still as awkwardly placed as ever, set into the bezel below the screen rather than above it. This makes it a little harder to fully utilize the camera.

The track pad used is slightly temperamental.

The Fingerprint scanner and touchscreen add to the overall price of the laptop.

Another area that sees cutbacks is connectivity. The New XPS no longer has a full-sized USB Type-A port on its edge.

The laptop doesn’t have a windows hello, or any other facial recognition software inbuilt.

Recommendations

The Dell XPS 13 is a premium machine sold at a premium price. It might be costly but it is worth every penny. It can be used for work and play, of course, but it’s definitely more for the former than the latter. Its combination of a small, lightweight body matched with an excellent backlit keyboard and touchpad makes it great for commuters and college students. The keys have a pleasingly firm feel with good travel and are well spaced and sized. The precision touchpad is smooth and responsive with no cursor jumpiness.

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