48 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2020REVIEWS DELL XPS 13 2-IN-1 VS. HP SPECTRE X360 13
protocols (which is nice if you want to move it
between, say, a Microsoft Surface and the XPS
13 2-in-1), it’s still an extra cost. So somewhat
better vs. “comes free with the laptop” likely
neutralizes it for most consumer use, which
will largely involve signing documents and
playing Hangperson during boss meetings.
Winner: TieBATTERY LIFE
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 features a 51-watt-hour
battery. In our video rundown test in airplane
mode with ear buds, it cranks out a very
respectable run time of 707 minutes, or just
under 10 hours.
The HP, with its power-efficient “1-watt”panel and larger 61-watt-
hour battery, takes it out to
969 minutes, or almost 4
more hours of video run
time over the Dell. The
HP’s battery life is basically
annoyingly long—for
reviewers who need to
run it all the way down to
finish their testing.
We kind of wished
Dell had integrated a
larger battery, but maybe
it chose to use that space
for more cooling instead.
Winner: HP Spectre
x360 13tPERFORMANCE
Some have argued that performance doesn’t
matter as much on small laptops. It’s a fair
point, given that pushing Outlook, Chrome,
and PowerPoint is basically the same
experience on any premium laptop.
Still, when push comes to shove, you want
to know that the money you paid for your Core
i7 is actually getting you Core i7 performance.
In that case, the winner most of the time is the
XPS 13 2-in-1 7390. There are times when the
Spectre x360 13t comes pretty close, but the
edge goes to the Dell, which pushes its
10th-gen Core i7-1065G7 far harder.
How much harder? We recorded the
clock speed, temperature, and TDP of eachMacworld’s pen expert Leif Johnson thought precision dotting on the 5th-
gen Spectre x360 13t was better than the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1’s, but overall
responsiveness went to the Dell.