Dell XPS – Dell is taking an unusually direct shot at Apple’s budget-laptop dominance with a new XPS 13 announced ahead of Computex 2026. It starts at $599 for students and $699 for everyone else, paired with Intel’s “Wildcat Lake” Series 3 chips, a 13.4-inch 2.5K 120Hz
On the day Dell’s COO Jeff Clarke put a new XPS 13 on the table ahead of Computex 2026, he didn’t dodge the comparison everyone would make. He addressed it straight on—right down to the number.
The new XPS 13 will cost $599 for students and $699 for the general market. and Clarke framed that price as a deliberate continuation of the XPS identity rather than a compromise. “We didn’t change a single feature when the Neo was launched. We stayed true to the XPS’ identity … And I think we’ve achieved it with the $599 price point.”.
The message is bold because it’s not subtle. Dell is positioning its flagship 13-inch laptop in opposition to Apple’s MacBook Neo. aiming at students. young professionals. and budget-conscious consumers who still want premium features. And in the background. it lands at a moment when the broader PC market feels the pressure of rising memory costs.
What Dell built under that price is a lighter, more display-forward machine—with new Intel silicon aimed at budget-friendly performance.
Intel’s “Wildcat Lake” Series 3 chips are at the center of the strategy. Dell says these CPUs use the same 18A process as Intel’s “Panther Lake” Core Ultra Series 3 chips. with similar battery longevity. The chip lineup includes the Intel Core 5 (6-core) or Intel Core 7 (8-core). each paired with an integrated Intel GPU—2xe cores for the Core 5 option and 4xe cores for the Core 7.
Dell’s promise is that the tradeoff is power for affordability, not endurance. With those configurations, Dell says the laptop can reach up to 17 hours of battery life.
Still, Clarke insisted the XPS 13 is not “budget” in the way people usually mean it. “We’re not in a race to the bottom,” he said. “We’re not trying to be the cheapest option.”
The pricing makes that argument hinge on configurations. The $599 entry point is tied to the lowest-end RAM and storage options. The XPS 13 will offer 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and storage options ranging from 256GB up to 1TB.
Then there’s the part that feels hardest to ignore when you’re looking for premium touches at a lower price: the display. The XPS 13 comes with a 2.5K LCD touch display featuring a 120Hz variable refresh rate, 500 nits of brightness, and support for 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
Dell’s pitch also leans on physical differences versus the MacBook Neo. The new XPS 13 weighs 2.2 pounds, compared with 2.7 pounds for the Neo. It also bumps the display size to 13.4 inches, versus the Neo’s 13-inch screen.
The InfinityEdge touch display is designed for more flexibility in gestures like pinch and zoom, and Dell calls out a detail that will matter to buyers comparing ecosystems: there’s no touchscreen on any Macs “yet.”
Even the keyboard is a small tell. The XPS 13 includes backlit keys, something the Neo does not offer. Dell’s description is specific here: they aren’t the zero lattice keys found on the 13’s more premium siblings; instead, they’re black “chiclet” keys that look like a MacBook.
That makes the laptop’s overall design feel more generic—differentiated mainly by the XPS logo on the clamshell—rather than visually aggressive.
Where the XPS 13 really pushes its case is on ports and expandability.
Dell says the XPS 13 includes two USB-C 3.2 ports, one on either side, with support for power delivery and DisplayPort 2.1. By contrast. the MacBook Neo is limited to a single USB-C port with up to 10Gb/s data transfer. while its other USB 2 port caps out at 480Mb/s. Dell also says the XPS 13 supports up to 1TB of storage, double the higher-tier Neo.
Put together. these choices create a device that starts at $599 with a configuration built for the budget end—8GB of RAM. 256GB of storage. and an Intel Core 5 Series 3 CPU. But Dell’s options also leave room to move up without getting trapped in a single “maxed out” ceiling. If buyers jump to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. the price rises well above $699—at which point. Dell suggests it’s closer to the XPS 14 territory.
That flexibility matters too because the XPS 13 lineup isn’t limited to one chip family. Dell notes the XPS 13 will come in higher-end configurations with Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, but those models won’t be available until later—likely in the fall.
Pricing for those additional configurations hasn’t been announced yet. What Dell does confirm is the availability window: the XPS 13 will become available starting in summer 2026.
The sequence of Dell’s claims is easy to follow: a “Wildcat Lake” Series 3 CPU aimed at affordability. premium display specs kept intact. and a port selection that’s more generous than the MacBook Neo’s—then a price point that tries to make the decision feel less like a compromise and more like a swap.
Dell XPS 13 MacBook Neo Computex 2026 Intel Wildcat Lake Intel Core 5 Series 3 Intel Core 7 Series 3 LPDDR5X 2.5K 120Hz display USB-C 3.2 DisplayPort 2.1 laptop pricing students $599
So like… Dell is just copying the MacBook price now? $599 for students sounds way too good.
Wait I thought Apple “Neo” was already a thing, like why are they challenging it? Also 120Hz on a laptop is gonna kill battery right? They say it won’t but cmon.
They say they didn’t change a single feature from “Neo” (??) but the article is literally about a new XPS 13. I’m confused. $699 general is still basically MacBook money, like how is this a budget play.
Wildcat Lake Series 3, Panther Lake, Neo… can’t keep up with Intel names lol. But if it’s the same 18A process does that mean it’s basically the same chip anyway? I feel like the “premium” part is the display and the rest is just marketing. Students will grab it though.