Dell refreshes its XPS 13 with facial recognition and more ahead of CES

CES 2018 is just a few days away now, and that means that it's time for companies to start announcing new products. Dell is among the first out of the gate, with a new XPS 13, its consumer flagship laptop. The last time we saw an XPS 13 refresh was in August, and we reviewed it, we found it to be an excellent device.

The new laptop contains the same processor options as that one, which is Intel's eighth-generation U-series chips. It still has an InfinityEdge display too, although the bezels have been slimmed down even more, and the resolution has been bumped up to 2160p (4K).

The new XPS 13 has Dell Cinema built into it, promising "state-of-the-art sound, color, and streaming to elevate your entertainment experience." For example, it improves streaming by dedicating network resources to the video, similar to how Killer Wi-Fi does it for gaming. That means that there will be less buffering.

Naturally, the device itself is also thinner and lighter than its predecessor, and Dell is once again claiming that the XPS 13 is the smallest 13-inch laptop on the planet. The PC is less than a foot wide at 11.9 inches, and it's less than half an inch thick (0.46 inches) at its thickest point (0.3 inches at its thinnest).

Unfortunately, like previous models, the camera is still placed beneath the display; however, enthusiasts will be pleased to see that an IR camera has been added for Windows Hello. Dell will still be keeping the fingerprint reader around though, but it has finally been moved to the power button.

The laptop ditches any USB Type-A ports, and instead it now has three Type-C ports, two of which are Thunderbolt 3 and one is USB 3.1 Gen 1. All of them support charging, PowerShare, and DisplayPort. As far as ports go, there's also a micro-SD card reader, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a Noble Lock slot.

The Dell XPS 13 starts at $999.99, although that includes a 1080p display, 4GB RAM, and 128GB of storage. If you want to fully spec it out at 4K, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD, it's going to cost quite a bit more. The new laptop will be available today.

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