of the screen, which, while decent, does have some flex to it. When opening and closing the laptop, if you pull or push the screen too hard from the corner, the casing will bend, which in some instances will make the screen distort on the edges. Once again, this is a small issue but when combined with other aspects of the overall design, detracts from the premium feel of the Yoga 900.The giant bezel around the outside of the screen doesn’t do much to uphold the high-end aesthetic either. When compared with the Dell XPS 13 for instance, the overbearing bezel manages to make the screen section of the laptop seem positively archaic.By no means does the Yoga 900 feel cheap, but for anything over £1,000 you expect quality, and Apple has simply managed to consistently set the bar for design at this price point. In other words, if you’re paying this much, there’s no reason why Lenovo couldn’t match the sturdiness and premium feel of a MacBook.
In a small but noticeable change to last year’s rubber finish, Lenovo has added a faux-leather finish to the area surrounding the keyboard. It may seem pointless at first, but the material serves a useful purpose by stopping the 900 sliding around on a table when being used in Tablet mode. It also feels fairly premium, and reportedly helps with heat dissipation.The backlit keyboard itself improves on the Yoga 3 Pro by adding a dedicated row of function keys such as brightness and volume. The keys, with their rounded bottom edges, use Lenovo’s standard U-shaped design. Overall I found the keyboard felt solid and responsive, unlike lower-end laptops of a similar type. However, I did find the travel to be a touch shallow, but this didn’t detract too much from what is otherwise a robust keyboard.
Once you flip the screen 360 degrees and use the device in Tablet mode, the keyboard locks so you don't accidentally start typing or using the trackpad unintentionally. It does feel slightly strange using the laptop in this way, since the hand you’re holding it with will inevitably hit various keys. This can be distracting as first, as you instinctively feel as though you’re turning on all manner of functions with your unintentional keystrokes.The buttonless trackpad is an area where the 900 falls short. It works well enough, but there was a very slight rattle to the pad on our review model and it would often force me to click twice as the first click wasn’t registered, which became irritating. While not major issues, these elements again undermine the premium feel initially established by the hinge and metallic finish. You can’t help but want a little more for your money.
Mere months ago Dell wowed me with its first 2015 XPS 13 laptop. Featuring a slick design, powerful components and a beautiful display the XPS 13 waltzed in and won the coveted TrustedReviews Awards Best Laptop award.In fact, the XPS 13 was so good that I couldn’t think of any serious ways Dell could improve it at the time. But with the new year approaching, Dell has done just that with its latest XPS 13 refresh.Updated: Since our original review, a couple of new Dell XPS 13 rivals have been announced and are starting to appear on store shelves. They're worth taking a look at, particularly if you're looking for a slightly different offering with something more premium or more wallet-friendly.
First is the Asus ZenBook 3, the laptop that stole the show at Computex last month. In terms of specifications, it's very similar to the XPS 13, with similar processor and storage choices. It's also quite a lot cheaper, but you do pay for that cheapness with build quality and design that doesn't feel quite as premium. During our hands on with the new machine we were impressed with how much tech Asus has been able to cram into such a small and light chassis, and if raw performance-per-pound is what you're after, it'll probably be a great option when it goes on sale. A bottom-of-the-range model starts at £550, with Dell XPS-rivalling specifications available for around £800.Another contender is the high-end HP Spectre 13. HP has angled its new laptop to a different class of buyer, hoping that the copper-coloured highlights, clever hinge and ridiculously thin build will be enough to tempt people away from the Dell XPS 13. During our initial hands-ons go with the Spectre 13, we were impressed by the build quality still slightly taken aback at the huge £1,129 price tag. This will push it out of the budget range of most buyers, but it's still technically quite impressive.
From a distance the XPS 13 looks identical to its predecessor, though this is no bad thing. The XPS 13’s metal frame and compact 304 x 200 x 15mm dimensions give it a sleek premium look that rivals Apple’s Macbook.
Dell’s InfinityEdge screen tech is another pleasing feature. This reduces the screen’s bezel size to mere millimetres and according to Dell makes the XPS 13 the “world’s smallest 13-inch laptop”.I’ve not verified the claim, but can tell you that, compared to competing ultrabooks such as the Lenovo Yoga 900, the XPS 13 is noticeably smaller and more travel friendly. The non-touch model I reviewed fit neatly into my satchel and survived all the usual wear and tear expected of a laptop when dragged around London, with no scratches, chips or blemishes. The laptop’s 1.2kg weight – 1.29kg for the touchscreen version – also meant the laptop never felt like a burden to lug about.Dell’s done a decent job of taking advantage of what little surface real estate the XPS 13 offers and has loaded it with a reasonable selection of ports. Along its right and left sides you’ll find two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI, headphones socket, Noble Lock slot, SD card reader and Dell Thunderbolt 3 connector.
In a perfect world I’d have liked to have another USB 3.0. But considering the laptop’s super-slim dimensions and the fact that most competing ultrabooks don’t feature three USB connectors, this is a very small qualm and the XPS 13 will meet most users’ needs.The inclusion of the Thunderbolt 3 connector will be useful in the future, though it’s not really a big deal now. Thunderbolt 3 aims to offer radically better performance the competing USB 3.0 and USB C standards. The connector is the same shape as USB-C, but, on paper, offers data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps – four times the speed of USB-C.Dell’s also managed to load more storage into its refreshed XPS 13 and is now offering it with 128GB SATA, 256GB PCIe, 512GB PCIe and 1TB PCIe SSD options.
My only other issue with the XPS 13’s design is that, once again, its front-facing webcam has been placed on the bottom left of the screen. It means whenever I take video calls on Skype or Hangouts, the person on the other end gets treated to a wonderful view directly up my nose.I found the backlit keyboard comfortable to type on despite the laptop’s slightly squished dimensions.The keys have decent travel and a pleasantly reactive, tactile feel that makes typing smooth and pleasant. The backlight also ensures you can still type quickly when using the XPS 13 in dim lighting conditions – I used the XPS 13 at some poorly lit launch events without issue.The carbon-fibre-esque finish around the keyboard further aids the laptop’s appeal, and acts as a comfortable place to rest your hands when typing.The trackpad is fairly large, despite the XPS 13’s limited real estate. It’s also suitably reactive and in general I never had any issues using it.
The super-slick machine is chock-a-block full of top-end hardware and custom features designed to make it the ultimate mobile gaming station. But, with the Alienware 15 having wooed us with its gaming charms earlier this year – while also costing a staggering £700 less – the Aorus X5 has plenty to live up to.The Aorus X5's design is slightly predatory, a look synonymous with gaming laptops. The hard lines and a slightly raised beak of this metal laptop's top cover make it look hawkish, almost otherworldly.I’ve never understood why so many OEMs feel the need to make gaming machines look so aggressive – maybe it’s so competitive gamers can feel even more "badass" while racking up their kill count.
I’d have preferred a laptop with a more minimalist design, similar to the Gigabyte P37X – but this is a small quibble. The X5 is a well-designed gaming machine that ticks all the right boxes for gamers when it comes to functionality.The X5 is very well connected, including four USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI and mini-DisplayPort connectors. Rounding off its connection options are D-Sub, RJ-45, SD card and surround-sound inputs.The laptop also features a Killer LAN as opposed to Intel NIC chip. The chip has been designed to improve online gaming performance by reducing lag and increasing the ping rate. There’s been ongoing debate about whether the tech significantly benefits performance, but its inclusion will still be a bonus for most competitive gamers.The quadruple storage system will also ensure that most gamers won’t have to worry about running out of space, providing up to 3.5TB of disk space.
By gaming laptop standards the Aorus X5 is fairly thin and light. It measures 390 x 272 x 22.9mm when closed and weighs 2.5kg. By comparison, the Alienware 15 is 385.8 x 270.2 x 34mm and weighs in at a heftier 3.03kg.Even so, you won't be keen to lug the laptop around London with you on a daily basis. However, the Aorus X5 will easily fit into most moderately sized satchels and carry on luggage for flights.This sounds great, but the X5’s slim dimensions are a bit of a double-edged sword. The laptop’s backlit keyboard has been compromised in order to maintain the laptop's slender frame. This would be fine if the keys were reactive – but sadly, they’re not great.The keys have a little less travel than I’d like and they don’t feel terribly tactile, or clicky. I regularly found myself smashing the wrong key in heated CounterStrike or Rocket League engages. I’m also not entirely sold on the programmable Macro keys' proprietary software – which isn’t very user friendly and makes setting up the left-hand keys a little tricky.