CarlTheWebmaster

I have used both and gave back my MacBook and kept the Dell.

Both are very lightweight and small, really miracles of engineering if you come from the early laptop days.

It really comes down to MacOS vs. Windows. For me, Windows (particularly Windows 10) decided it.

The non-reflective screen on the Dell is perhaps the nicest laptop screen I have ever seen or used in my entire life. Build quality overall seems excellent but time will tell.

maortega15

I had the XPS13. Purchased it at a Microsoft Store with Complete protection. Got it in October, but the speakers and hard drive gave out on me around December.

chongl

XPS13 here...moved on from a Vaio Z that I wish was still here

deniah

Ive been on every other generation of Precision (industry/engineering grade) laptops going back a decade.

The build quality and screen quality is rubbish (colo accuracy, brightness, gamma, hue, etc etc etc). Wouldn't buy one with my money

DYKWIA

So, on your sample of one machine, you confidently assert that Dell is now not a good brand?

The XPS13 gets glowing reviews is the magazines that I've read.

I was thinking of getting one, but decided to hold out to see what the next MacBook Pro range is like.

timfountain

So you assertion is based on one datapoint and probably an infant mortality? As a counter datapoint, in my group we have run through 100's of Dells over the years with very few issues and most of those issues were user related (dropped, mostly). And back to the OP, I am not a fan of Mac OSX (I have a Mac pro and a Macbook). I've been using Windows for so long that I know every nook and cranny, and in terms of stability etc. there is very little to differentiate between OXS and Win 10, at least for me. I spend all my time in either a browser or the MS office suite and vastly prefer office for Windows over Mac.

timfountain

A big no-no for who? Not for me and the other 8,000 people in my company. I have both Mac's and PC's at home and work and the transition for me is much harder from PC to Mac, but that is based on 20 years of using Windows.

Siberian_Viktorya

I love my Macbook Air, but its low-res screen is seriously outdated in 2016.

Shame on Apple for not releasing a new Macbook Air with Retina screen.
(actually, there's a 50/50 chance that they'll kill off the Macbook Air )

My Macbook Air is more than fast enough for 99% of the stuff I do. It
even does light video encoding very well.(light as in 1080p, under 8gb
video size)

Unfortunately, if I have to pick a new laptop right now, I will most likely
pick the Dell XPS 13.

mikelat

Check out the HP Spectre x360. I've had mine for a while and still loving it.

maortega15

I actually had 2 Dell XPS13's. The first one, it was acting up on me and the screen had problems so I had to exchange it while it was in the 30-day return policy. The second one, was when the SSD and speakers gave out and that was after the return policy window. After speaking with Dell directly, I was able to get a new one but decided to sell it eventually.

I had multiple Dell PC's over the years but the quality has declined over the years.

And the reviews are probably "out of the box" reviews. I'm not sure if the reviews will still hold up after a year or so, maybe a few months after opening it.

Siberian_Viktorya

that reminds me... I also have a Windows10 laptop that has touchscreen.
Despite what Apple says, I would love it if they could find it in their hearts
to add touchscreen capability to Mac OS and new Macbooks(Pro, Air, whatever)
But I suppose I'll just have to keep on dreaming because it ain't ever gonna
happen. Then again, Apple gave in and made big iPhones, so who knows.

TWA884

+1.

Best computer I have ever owned.

nkedel

Both good machines, but there is really no comparison.

If you want to run Windows, get the Dell.
If you want to run MacOS X, get the Macbook Air.

Really, you need to answer that question first, and do your own research on it as asking "Windows vs. MacOS X" on a message board is just flamebait.

Although if you want to run MacOS X, you should consider waiting for the next-generation ones to come out (later this year sometime?) as the Broadwell-based Macbook Air is pretty dated at this point.

You also don't say what you plan to do with it; both are fine for general use, but they use ultrabook CPUs and are a bit underpowered for power users, and both have soldered, non-upgradable memory (and limited amounts of memory by current standards in their top configurations.)

Also, I assume you mean the 13" Air. I wouldn't touch the tiny 11" Air with a cattleprod; if you absolutely have to look at a machine that tiny, the Macbook Retina is a better machine, but if you have average-size hands for an adult male, you will regret getting a machine smaller than the 12.5"/13" models that are the smallest to have a regular size keyboards.

Do you have a main system you use day to day, or is this going to be also used day to day? How much of the year do you spend on the road?

For my own use, with a higher-end machine I use day to day, I'd go with (A). There are some really great deals on refurbished 12.5" Dell and Lenovo models, in some cases down under $300.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...6592-_-Product

Won't have the battery life that you get with the new Ultrabooks, but thanks to a full-wattage CPU, if you put an SSD in, it will be at least as fast (faster for some applications) and it can be easily upgraded. And at $229, that's hardly pocket money, but you can replace it several times for the price of the cheapest XPS 13 or MBA.

Some people find it very easy, some people don't.

It really depends on the specific applications and services they use.

The more you're a power user on either system, the harder transitioning to the other will be. For casual, point and click users, they all kind of work the same and it requires thought to do things. The more you have in muscle memory and don't have to think about it, the more the differences will bug you.

nkedel

There is a humongous difference in quality between the better lines of Dells sold for business, and the cheaper consumer line ones.

In fairness, everyone else's cheap consumer line machines are crud too; the only reason Apple doesn't get hit with that is that they don't sell any cheap machines (and unlike other manufacturers, haven't distinguished between consumer and business lines in a long time.)

WilcoRoger

A big no-no for me. I routinely must use Windows based computers and I hate every minute of it. I made the transition some 5 years ago, it was a breeze to go Win -> OSX and every single time it's a major PITA the other way round.

I never liked windows or more broadly Microsoft, but I had to use it for decades - even then Linux was my go to OS, when I had the choice.