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The MacBook Neo was a complete disruption to the patron PC panorama, bringing premium-tier options to a aggressive $599 value level. However its reign as king of the hill is being challenged. PC makers are responding with laptops that overtly compete with the Neo by one-upping its weak factors.
Living proof: the brand new Dell XPS 13 — beginning at $599 for college students and $699 for normal shoppers — is the thinnest and lightest XPS but, lighter than the Neo, with an even bigger show, and higher connectivity (and a backlit keyboard, in addition).
Additionally: Watch out, Neo: Dell’s new XPS 13 costs $599 and retains premium features
How does it obtain this? A mix of light-weight {hardware} (8GB as much as 32GB of RAM) and Intel’s new “Wildcat Lake” Core Collection 3 chips, battery-efficient processors designed for price range PCs that commerce in uncooked energy for a extra accessible value level.
Let’s break down the variations between the MacBook Neo and Dell’s new XPS 13, preserving in thoughts that I’ve not but gone hands-on with the XPS 13 and these factors are primarily based on specs solely — not normal use over an prolonged interval.
Specs
|
Apple MacBook Neo |
Dell XPS 13 (2026) |
|
|
Show |
13-inch non-touch, 60Hz refresh, 2408 x 1506 decision, 500 nits |
13.4-inch contact, 30-120Hz variable refresh, 2560 x 1600 (2.5K) decision, 500 nits |
|
Weight |
2.2 kilos |
2.7 kilos |
|
Processor |
Apple A18 Professional |
Intel Core 5 or 7 |
| RAM/Storage | 8GB / 256GB-512GB | 8GB-32GB / 256GB-1TB |
| Battery | 52Whr | 36.5Whr |
| Digicam | 2MP/1080p HD +IR webcam | 1080p FaceTime HD digital camera |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6 |
| Worth | Beginning at $599 for college students, $699 normal | Beginning at $599 for college students, $699 normal |
Ports and I/O
Winner: XPS 13
The MacBook Neo has two USB-C ports, and so they each help charging, however they’re each on the identical aspect, and so they’re a USB 3 and USB 2. This implies they’re capped out at 10Gb/s and 480Mb/s respectively. That is usually sufficient for the on a regular basis person, however something past that’s going to really feel sluggish.
Additionally: Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo hands-on: This budget laptop makes me worried for Windows
The XPS 13 has two USB-C (3.2 Gen 2) ports as nicely, nevertheless it one-ups the Neo by putting one on all sides, and each are equally quick. Moreover, they each help charging and Show Port 2.1. Having that right-side charging port generally is a enormous high quality of life enchancment once you’re touring — one thing each of those laptops shall be doing.
Observe, nevertheless, that the Neo has a 3.5mm headphone jack and the XPS doesn’t. However forthcoming configurations of the XPS 13 may even help Kensington lock slots, which personally, I might slightly take over the audio jack.
Integrations
Winner: MacBook Neo
MacBooks have a leg up on Home windows laptops relating to pairing along with your iPhone, and the Neo would not sacrifice any of these options. It runs the identical working system as the most recent, high-end MacBook Professional (MacOS 26 Tahoe) and provides customers all the identical capabilities: Cellphone Mirroring, FaceTime, Messaging, and seamless file transfers with AirDrop or iCloud. When you’re already a part of Apple’s ecosystem, the Neo is a price range gadget with little trade-offs.
Cool issue
Winner: MacBook Neo
Let’s face it, the Neo mogged the price range PC market so exhausting as a result of it introduced some colour and character to an area dominated by grey, uninspired design. The Neo is available in 4 colours (when was the final time you noticed a yellow laptop computer?) the place the XPS 13 is available in grey and… a darker grey. Critically, each the “Sky” and “Storm” colorways are so comparable it is exhausting to inform them aside.
Customizability
Winner: XPS 13
The XPS lineup was already recognized for being extremely customizable, and that is nonetheless the case right here. The XPS 13 comes 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB of RAM, and storage wherever from 256GB as much as 1TB. The Neo, alternatively is rather more locked down: 8GB of unified reminiscence and both 25GB or 512GB storage. Observe, nevertheless, that neither are upgradeable.
The XPS 13 can be not restricted to the lower-end “Wildcat Lake” processors; extra configurations will launch later this yr with the extra highly effective Intel Core Extremely “Panther Lake” chips, doubtlessly bringing much more reminiscence, storage, or different {hardware} (OLED show? Haptic touchpad?) choices.
Portability
Winner: XPS 13
Dell will need to have seen the scale of the MacBook Neo as a private problem, as a result of it one-upped every metric individually. The XPS 13 manages to be smaller in size and width but nonetheless have a barely bigger show (13 inches vs. 13.4 inches). The XPS can be half a pound lighter, a testomony to the XPS line’s implausible construct high quality. Observe, nevertheless, that each are the very same thickness, at 0.50 inches.
Additionally: Dell XPS 14 (2026) review: A Windows laptop I wouldn’t mind returning to from Mac
All of those metrics in the end come right down to millimeters. In apply, each of those laptops are exceptionally moveable and light-weight, and can really feel very comparable in on a regular basis use.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The 2026 Dell XPS 13 was solely simply introduced, so I’ve not but gone hands-on with it. Nonetheless, primarily based on the launched specs and expertise with dozens of different XPS laptops, it is secure to say it will likely be a cultured gadget with a premium construct, regardless of the low value. Nonetheless, the XPS 13 that competes with the Neo is de facto only one configuration out of a number of totally different choices.
It would not be inaccurate to say “the most affordable” XPS 13 is a Neo competitor, the place choices with high-end processors might doubtlessly price as a lot. The MacBook Neo might have much less configuration choices, however that is additionally the purpose: it has a transparent imaginative and prescient that is straightforward to speak. In that sense, the Neo is the extra “true” price range laptop computer, and the one I might advocate to shoppers searching for simply that.
