Dell’s ultra-popular XPS 13 exclusively used Intel chips – until today

Today marks a historic day for the Dell XPS 13: it’s the first Dell XPS 13 notebook without an Intel chip inside. But no, it isn’t an AMD Ryzen chip. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite powers the new XPS 9345, instead.

And that’s not all. The Dell Latitude 7455 uses the Snapdragon X Elite, and the slower, slightly less powerful Snapdragon X Plus will ship as part of the Latitude 7455, too, as well as the Latitude 5455, Inspiron 14 and Inspiron 14 Plus.

We knew that Dell had signed up to use the Snapdragon X Elite as early as last October, when nine PC makers committed to supporting Qualcomm’s new X Elite processor. We didn’t know as much about the Snapdragon X Plus, which uses a cut-down version of the Elite without the turbo boost options. But it seems that Dell is even more committed to the X Plus than the X Elite.

Presumably, these will be Copilot+ PCs, offering the AI benefits of features that Microsoft announced Monday Those include Recall, which will allow you to hunt down information on an explorable timeline; Live Captions with AI-generated captions of streamed audio; Auto Super Resolution; and Cocreator, the AI art generator within Microsoft Paint. All have Copilot keys.

Dell XPS 13 9345

The Dell XPS 13 9345 goes on sale today, but will ship “later this year,” Dell says, for a starting price of $1,299.

On paper, Dell’s Snapdragon-powered XPS 13 is very similar to the existing XPS 13, which uses an Intel Core Ultra processor. While the processor differs, of course, the weight (2.70 pounds) is the same. Dell offers the same 13.4-inch screen options (2560×1600, 120Hz; 2880×1800, 60Hz; and 1920×1200, 120Hz) as it does on the existing Intel-based XPS 13. Even the dimensions are exactly the same (11.62 x 7.84 x 0.58-0.60in) as the Intel-based XPS 13, which implies that one of the selling points of the X Elite platform was a minimal redesign of the platform.

Dell isn’t saying what the expected battery life of the XPS 13 9345 is, either. It has a 55Wh battery inside, same as the Core Ultra version. That may prove to be a big difference, or it may not.

Dell’s new XPS 13 9345 also includes a 1080p webcam. WiFi 7 is inside.

There are a couple interesting differences, however. For one, the new Dell XPS 13 9345 ships in either Platinum or Graphite, rather than just Graphite. Dell includes 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB storage options, but also promises a 4TB storage option that will be offered later — something that’s not advertised on the Core Ultra model. Dell’s XPS 13 (Core Ultra) also offers an 8GB LPDDR5 option; the Snapdragon-powered XPS 13 does not. Otherwise, you’ll have a choice of 16, 32, and 64GB of LPDDR5X memory inside.

There’s also an intriguing twist: Dell will ship the XPS 13 using the X1 Elite X1E-80-100 to American customers, but has reserved a model with the X Plus (the X1P-64-100) for China only. And — as somewhat expected — these laptops don’t ship with Thunderbolt ports, since Intel doesn’t certify non-Intel laptops. Instead, one compatible USB4 port is included.

You’ll have the option of either Windows 11 Home or Pro, optimized for Windows on Arm.

Dell Inspiron 14, Inspiron 14 Plus 7441

Dell isn’t sharing the price and release date for the Dell Inspiron 14, but it is for the Dell Inspiron Plus 7441. That laptop can be preordered today, to ship later this year for a starting price of $1,099.

Unlike the Dell XPS 13 9345, Dell’s Inspiron line has been welcoming of non-Intel processors. But this is still the first Inspiron to use a Qualcomm chip inside.

As the name might suggest, the Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 includes a Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100 inside, with just a single memory option of 16GB of LPDDR5X DRAM. Dell offers two storage options, however: an PCI NVMe SSD in 512GB and 1TB capacity points. The laptop includes a 14-inch, 2560×1600 display.

The Ice Blue laptop includes a pair of USB 4.0 ports, a 10Gbps USB-A port, a microSD card reader, and a headphone jack. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 offer connectivity.

The Dell Inspiron Plus 7441 is slightly heavier than the XPS 13, at 3.17 pounds. It measures 12.36 x 8.8 x 0.66in.

Dell did not publish the specifications of the Dell Inspiron 14.

Dell Latitude 7455, Dell Latitude 5455

Dell didn’t provide the launch date or the cost of these laptops. The company didn’t provide specifications for the Dell Latitude 5455, either.

The Dell Latitude 7455 offers the choice of either the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 or the Snapdragon X Plus, the X1P-64-100, hiding behind a 14-inch 2560×1600 display. The 400-nit IPS display offers multitouch capabilities.

You’ll have the option of “up to” 32GB of LPDDR5x SDRAM and up to a terabye of Gen4PCIe SSD storage in an M.2 slot. Connectivity is provided by WiFi7 and an optional 5G Qualcomm modem, plus Bluetooth 5.4. A Pluton processor provides security. You also have the choice of either a 54W battery that’s either standard or rated for a long life cycle.

Ports include a pair of USB 40 ports, an undisclosed 10Gbps port, an optional fingerprint reader, microSD card reader and a 3.5mm jack.

Laptops