Dell XPS 12 Review: A Jack of All Trades Flipscreen Ultrabook

Conclusion: A Deliberate Balancing Act

While the XPS 12 isn’t flawless, it’s a very interesting laptop nonetheless. To my knowledge, no one else is really trying this flipscreen approach; that’s either good news or bad news, depending on why most companies take an alternative route. If they’re doing it because making a good flipscreen is too challenging, costly, and/or prone to breakage that would be bad. If on the other hand everyone else is merely playing it safe while Dell strikes out to find new and interesting ways of creating a hybrid laptop, we applaud such efforts. It’s tough to determine the precise reasons, but I’m inclined to think it’s more of the latter, perhaps with some disagreements on what approach is best thrown in as well.

Personally, I like plenty of aspects of the XPS 12 from the laptop perspective. The keyboard works well, it looks very nice, and if you ever need to use it as a tablet it can do that as well. I’ve used better pure laptops, but I’ve also used plenty of laptops and Ultrabooks that are far worse; I could definitely get by using the XPS 12 in place of other laptops. The tablet usage isn’t nearly as good, as I find a 12.5” tablet just feels unwieldy in most circumstances, and the fact that my primary tablet apps aren’t present (yet) with Windows 8 doesn’t help matters. In practice, even when trying to replace my regular tablet usage I found the design far more conducive to using it as a laptop. Still, as an all-in-one mobile device there will be some that like what Dell has created.

What I do like about the XPS 12 as a tablet is the performance: compared to my aging Tegra 3 tablet, the XPS 12 is blazingly fast. Web pages load quicker, the thing cold boots in ten seconds, and given time the apps aspect should improve as well. Still, I personally would rather have an Ivy Bridge tablet with a good keyboard dock (e.g. something like the ASUS Transformer, but with a Core processor) than a hybrid where you always have to carry the keyboard and additional weight around.

We had a chance to see Acer’s upcoming 7W IVB tablet at CES, which seems to hit all the right notes but it doesn’t actually have a keyboard dock that turns it into a pseudo-laptop. Of the options I’ve currently seen, the Lenovo Helix is probably closest to what I’m after, but even that might be a bit ahead of its time. Haswell is likely to be the inflection point where Intel’s Core processor will really start to find its way into pure tablets—with or without a dock. In the meantime, we have Dell’s XPS 12, which has a good display, a good keyboard, good performance, and okay battery life. It’s also rather heavy for a tablet (but only half a pound more than the lighter Ultrabooks), so keep that in mind.

There are a few areas where the XPS 12 feels a bit rough. The WiFi stack on my unit has an issue with periodic disconnects, and the Cypress touchpad definitely doesn’t work as well as I’d like. For a premium device, missteps like this can definitely mar the experience. Given that this review has been in the works for a while (it’s a long story…), the fact that no driver updates have come out to improve the situation is a bit disheartening. On the other hand, the workaround for the WiFi is simple (disable/enable/reconnect) and the touchscreen does shore up the weak touchpad performance, but these are still areas where manufacturers need to pay more attention. The same goes for the display colors; preloading a color profile into the hardware at the factory shouldn’t require much effort and it can make a world of difference. And finally, I definitely notice the lack of a flash card reader (SD support alone would be sufficient for most); as it stands, that would be one more item to tote around if I were to use the XPS 12 as my primary laptop.

Then there’s the question of pricing. Dell’s XPS 12 starts at $1200 and gives you basically the same set of hardware that you’ll find in the $999 Surface Pro—though it’s really more like $1129 since you’d have to buy the optional keyboard for Surface Pro, and then subtract $50 or so for the pen. $70 less for a lighter device that functions better as a tablet, comes with a pen, but has an inferior keyboard is what you’re looking at, not to mention even with the keyboard Surface Pro would weigh about a pound less. That’s certainly a viable compromise, and I could recommend either one depending on the intended use. But if you look at something like the Vizio CT14 that’s now going for $700 [Update: now $788], again similar specs but no touchscreen, you could buy one of those and a great tablet (e.g. 32GB iPad 4 or 32GB Nexus 10) for the same price. Dell’s pricing isn’t out of line with what other touchscreen laptops are targeting, particularly those with 1080p IPS displays and some form of hybrid functionality, but it’s still a lot more than most non-business users are likely to spend.

Long term, I think we’re going to see tablets creep up in terms of performance and features and thus force laptops and hybrids to come down in price. In the meantime, there’s still a niche market for hybrids like the XPS 12. Until we can somehow have it all—which isn’t always practical when you consider the various elements people would like to have—people are either going to have to give up something and go with a hybrid or they’re going to need multiple devices. As convenient as a tablet or a smartphone can be at times, I for one just don’t see myself giving up a larger display area and a dedicated keyboard when I need to write. Make the XPS 12 a bit less bulky (closer to 2 pounds and 15mm thick) and give me a calibrated display from the factory, then boost battery life closer to 10 hours and it would have just about everything I could want from an ultraportable/hybrid. We’re probably a year or two away from that being feasible, but this is one of many steps in that direction.

With the XPS 12, Dell has made some conscious decisions about what features they're going to include and omit, as well as where to spend money and where to cut corners. The materials and build quality are very good, but a few of the components would benefit from some additional TLC (e.g. please use a Synaptics touchpad and drivers next time, or at least ElanTech or Alps). The dimensions and weight are another area Dell chose to go a bit bigger rather than cut battery capacity or keyboard travel. In the end, the XPS 12 works quite well in most areas, but I'm not convinced $1200+ touchscreen Ultrabooks are going to sell as well as the OEMs might like. Vizio's Ultrabook offerings seem to prove that prices well south of $1000 are possible, and that's what we're likely to recommend.