Replacing 2015 XPS13 - need advice

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augerpro

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Aug 27, 2011
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My old XPS13 is starting to have too many issues and I'm looking to replace it with another slim form factor laptop. I'm looking to improve on two things: brighter screen and longer battery life. I don't want to be limited to two USB-C ports especially when one is for power so I've already crossed off the current XPS13. I'm currently eyeing the 2021 HP Spectre x360 either 13 or 14. Probably going to stay with the FHD screens, and I'm curious if anyone knows how the brightness differs among the various options?

If there are cheaper laptops that are small, bright, long battery, and have more USB ports, I will consider those also. Thanks!
 
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Johnson Mike

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I think you should check out the HP ENVY 13. It's a very similar laptop to the XPS 13, not as premium looking with edge to edge screen, but it's a well-built machine overall and has it's own style. You can get it with FHD screen which is decently bright and fairly colorful as per some reviews I've seen on youtube. And, you also get decent array of ports with it.

If you want to go with the convertible laptop then I would insist you to get the sibling of ENVY 13, the ENVY 13 x360. By going with this you benefit with the new AMD processors which are more powerful and efficient than newest Intel processors right now. As far as build quality and design goes, it is not as premium looking as Spectre x360, but it's a relatively well-built laptop. You'll get excellent battery life here and better performance than the Intel powered laptops, that's for sure. There's a decent selection of ports here as well, however, the USB-C port on AMD laptops does not support thunderbolt because it's an Intel proprietary tech, so if thunderbolt is important to you, you shoult ditch this option. For everything else though, AMD laptops are currently better option with better performance, better efficiency and they are also less expensive than similar performing Intel laptops.
You can check out HP ENVY 13 here and HP ENVY x360 13 (AMD) here.
 
LordVile

LordVile

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augerpro said:
My old XPS13 is starting to have too many issues and I'm looking to replace it with another slim form factor laptop. I'm looking to improve on two things: brighter screen and longer battery life. I don't want to be limited to two USB-C ports especially when one is for power so I've already crossed off the current XPS13. I'm currently eyeing the 2021 HP Spectre x360 either 13 or 14. Probably going to stay with the FHD screens, and I'm curious if anyone knows how the brightness differs among the various options?

If there are cheaper laptops that are small, bright, long battery, and have more USB ports, I will consider those also. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Budget? Also USBC dongles are fairly inexpensive and easy to carry around
 
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augerpro

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Johnson Mike said:
I think you should check out the HP ENVY 13.
Click to expand...
Screen seems bright enough but not that much more than the Spectre 13/14 (depending on review) and battery life is substantially less. Nice laptop though.

LordVile said:
Budget? Also USBC dongles are fairly inexpensive and easy to carry around
Click to expand...
No real budget limit.

I like the Spectre 14, but the display reviews are all over the map. Some get low brightness with the FHD IPS, OLED destroys the battery. The FHD 1000nit option seems cool in that I can use the 1000nit when I must have it (outside) but otherwise can keep it lower for battery life. But again, a lot of bad reviews of people that hate the Sure View or whatever they call seems to make it worse than the FHD 400nit IPS. So I dunno. Wish Dell would get a clue with USB ports, because the new XPS13 is otherwise very nice.
 
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augerpro

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If it had even a single USB-A I'd buy it. I'm not dragging dongles around for the most common connection on the planet.
 
LordVile

LordVile

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augerpro said:
Screen seems bright enough but not that much more than the Spectre 13/14 (depending on review) and battery life is substantially less. Nice laptop though.


No real budget limit.

I like the Spectre 14, but the display reviews are all over the map. Some get low brightness with the FHD IPS, OLED destroys the battery. The FHD 1000nit option seems cool in that I can use the 1000nit when I must have it (outside) but otherwise can keep it lower for battery life. But again, a lot of bad reviews of people that hate the Sure View or whatever they call seems to make it worse than the FHD 400nit IPS. So I dunno. Wish Dell would get a clue with USB ports, because the new XPS13 is otherwise very nice.
Click to expand...
MacBook? The new M1 air melts anything else battery wise, has a great screen and best in class trackpad. Only issue is the 2 USB 4 ports but you can get an adapter for not much.
 
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