I tested both versions of the XPS 13, and there’s only one you should buy

It’s not often that we have an opportunity to compare two laptops that are identical other than having a different chipset inside. That’s exactly what we have with the Dell XPS 13, one of the best 13-inch laptops that can be purchased in either Intel-powered XPS 13 (9340) or Qualcomm-powered XPS 13 (9345) versions but are otherwise identical.

Now, when I say identical, I mean it, the chassis design, aesthetics, keyboards, touchpads, displays, and more are exactly the same. But inside is where the magic happens — although in this case, surprisingly, the difference isn’t as much as you might think.

Specs and configurations

Both laptops start at $1,299, but you get more with the Qualcomm version. There’s a Snapdragon X Elite, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 13.4-inch FHD+ IPS display. With the Intel version, you get just 8GB of RAM.

Upgrading to higher configurations, again identical, is also more expensive on the Intel version, for example going to 32GB of RAM is $300 versus $200 (note: it’s technically adding more RAM). Storage costs the same, while the Qualcomm version can get an OLED display for less. The high-end configurations of their respective chipsets, 64GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and a 3.8K OLED display is $2,599 for the Intel version and $2,499 for the Qualcomm version.

That makes the XPS 13 9345 with Qualcomm a slightly better value no matter the configuration.

Design

Both versions look identical on the outside. There’s the sleek XPS chassis with sleek lines and a minimalist look in either silver or black, and then on the inside the latest XPS design aesthetic tends toward the futuristic. The zero-lattice keyboard, all-glass palm rest with hidden haptic touchpad, and LED touch function keys are as modern as they come. When combined with the XPS lineup’s usual incredibly slim display bezels, it all makes each XPS 13 model stand out.

At the same time, this is one of the most robust designs available in a laptop today. The chassis has a dense feel that exudes quality, and the chassis, lid, and keyboard deck are all incredibly solid. Here, too, the XPS 13 stands out as one of the best laptops you can buy.

Stepping into those modern design touches, though, and things start to get a little less attractive. The zero-lattice keyboard, while it has snappy switches and large keycaps, takes some getting used to given the complete lack of key spacing. The haptic touchpad is excellent, except for the fact that it’s hidden — it’s easy enough to lose track of the touchpad’s surface and to swipe against the palm rest instead. And the LED touch function keys have no haptic feedback to let you know when you’ve successfully engaged a function, and you have to look at the keyboard to even try.

Then, there are only two ports, USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 in the Intel version and USB4 in the Qualcomm version, and in both one of them is used for charging. And there’s no 3.5mm audio jack. At least wireless connectivity is completely up-to-date with Wi-Fi 7.

Finally, both laptops have the same 1080p webcams with infrared cameras for Windows 11 Hello facial recognition, and they both have fingerprint readers embedded in the touchpad. The Qualcomm version benefits from a much faster neural processing unit (NPU) rated at 45 tera operations per second (TOPS) compared to the Intel version’s 10 TOPS. That makes the XPS 13 (9345) a part of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC initiative with more AI features and longer-term potential as new features are rolled out.

Performance

Del XPS 13 (9340) uses Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155H with 16 cores (six Performance, eight Efficient, and two Low Power Efficient) and 22 threads, running up to 4.8GHz. That compares to the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 with 12 cores (eight performance and four efficient), running at up to 3.4GHz. The Intel chipset uses Intel Arc integrated graphics while the Qualcomm chipset uses the Adreno integrated graphics.

In our CPU-intensive benchmarks that run natively on Windows on Arm and so provide a fair comparison, at least for apps that don’t run in emulation on the Qualcomm chipset, which will be slower, the XPS 13 (9345) is considerably faster. That’s in both single-core and multi-core applications, which is the first time that Windows on Arm running on a Qualcomm chipset is faster than Intel. Their GPUs are closely matched, though.

Neither of these laptops are optimized for creating applications and gaming, but productivity power users will find the XPS 13 (9345) running on the Qualcomm chipset to be a lot faster.

Display

Both laptops have identical display options, all 13.4-inch 16:10 panels running at 120Hz. Resolutions and technologies include Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS, QHD+ (2560 x 1600) IPS, and 3.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED.

Given that these are the same options, you won’t be choosing between them on displays alone. Note that contrary to some reports, the tandem OLED display in the XPS 13 (9345) is the same as the one that shipped first in the XPS 13 (9340).

Portability

Both laptops are incredibly small thanks to their thin display bezels, they’re thin at 0.69 inches, and they’re light at 2.6 pounds. They’re among the most portable laptops around.

When I reviewed the Qualcomm version, I expected it to get much better battery life than the Intel version. After all, much better efficiency is the primary advantage of Arm chipsets. Surprisingly, though, that’s not what I found. When looking at versions with the same IPS displays, the Qualcomm model did get 2.5 hours longer battery life when running our test video. That’s the least demanding test, though, and when web browsing and running a demanding process like the Cinebench 2024 benchmark, the two laptops are almost identical.

So, that makes battery life less of a qualifier than I thought it would be.

Better performance but with compatibility concerns

These laptops are very closely matched, and they cost almost the same — with the XPS 13 (9345) version running Qualcomm being a slightly better value. They have the same display options, and the Snapdragon version gets slightly better battery life, especially while doing low-lift tasks like watching videos. It also runs a bit cooler and quieter.

So, as long as you have some specific application compatibility concerns with using Windows on Arm (most people will not), the Qualcomm-powered XPS 13 (9345) is the better option.