Mac vs PC: Which one should you buy?
As you may have surmised from our look at these two platforms there is no clear winner, and that¡¯s good. After all, computers occupy such central parts of our lives these days, and our needs all differ wildly, so there will never be a one size fits all solution (no matter what Jony Ive says about Apple¡¯s EarPods).
What is clear is the amount of choice now available for consumers. Windows devices have so much variation in design and capability, while Apple continues to refine its lineup, and the rumoured refresh could see the company finally introduce new designs.
In the end it¡¯s down to how much money you want to spend, what you want to do, and your preferred software platform. The good thing is that the market has matured to a point where it¡¯s actually hard to buy a bad device now. A solid rule of thumb is to save up and spend the most you can afford, as the higher end devices really are on another level at the moment, but the budget market for Windows machines is also in fine fettle.
The Dell Inspiron 13 5000 is a sign convertible laptops are now truly mainstream. Models like this and the Asus ZenBook UX360C have hints of high-end style and powerful components, matched with a practical approach that means they cost £700 rather than £1200. Laptops like this mark a bit of a renaissance for Windows laptops, once again seriously undercutting comparable Apple MacBooks, particularly now the Air series looks truly past-it. Also see: Best laptops 2016
DELL INSPIRON 13 5000 REVIEW: UK PRICE
There are three main specs for the Dell Inspiron 13 5000. The most commonly-sold is the middle variant. It costs £649- to 699, and is probably the version we¡¯d recommend most people look into. It has an Intel Core i5, a 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM.
At first glance the low-end £499 model is alluring, cutting down to a Core i3 CPU and 500GB hard drive. However, it also has a non-IPS screen. We¡¯ve not seen it in person, but it likely uses a lower-quality panel whose viewing angles aren't well-suited to a hybrid like this.
The screen may look funny from the wrong angle, in other words.
The top-end Dell Inspiron 13 5000 we¡¯re looking at costs £799, and upgrades the RAM to 16GB, the CPU to a Core i7. That¡¯s several hundred pounds cheaper than you¡¯d pay for such a spec list in a laptop with a high-end metal frame.
DELL INSPIRON 13 5000 REVIEW: DESIGN
Dell has pulled off a clever trick with the Dell Inspiron 13 5000. It has managed to create a plastic, mostly sensible-looking laptop that still has panache and the sort of lifestyle sensibility that makes MacBooks so attractive.
It has a 360-degree hinge, an ultrabook-influenced layout and little hints like curved edges around the front of the laptop that tell you this isn¡¯t meant to just be a boring work machine. Even though among convertible laptops, it¡¯s definitely the one with a biro in its shirt pocket.
This isn¡¯t a case of Dell being unable to create a style laptop. Just look at the Dell XPS 13 for proof. It¡¯s deliberate.
Dell wants to offer modern laptop sensibilities in a package much more affordable. A MacBook Pro with very similar specs to the £799 Dell Inspiron 13 5000 would cost you £1609, for example. Ouch (granted, the Core i7 CPU Apple uses is slightly higher-end).
In terms of build there are two main sacrifices for this attractive price. First, the entire shell is plastic. Laptops like this will often use aluminium for the lid of the keyboard surround for a higher-end feel, but not so here.
However, it is rigid, which is really more important. Recently we reviewed the Asus UX360C, a fairly similar device but one whose keyboard flexes far too much under moderate pressure. Not only does this make the typing experience worse, flexing can ruing the trackpad click too. The Dell¡¯s keyboard is flex-free. See all laptop reviews.
The Dell Inspiron 13 5000 isn¡¯t perfect, though. It has a pressure point to the bottom left of the keyboard surround that kills the trackpad click if, say, you rest your elbow on it too heavily. But it¡¯s mostly very solid.
Its second somewhat budget-related compromise is weight. The Dell Inspiron 13 5000 weighs 1.6kg, a bit heavier than something like the Lenovo Yoga 900, which weighs just 1.3kg. It¡¯s heavy enough that you won¡¯t marvel at its lightness when you first pick it up, but still light enough to carry around all day with you. This is nothing like the archetype chunky Dell you may have been lumbered with at work before.
The hinge is more proof of its modern edge. Like other convertibles, it flips around to meet the back of the keyboard, and can stick at any angle. The hinge is one of the few metal parts, giving it the requisite strength.
It¡¯s pragmatic, though. Truly design-led laptops make sure you can open the lid without holding the base in place. It¡¯s a classy finishing touch. You¡¯ll need to put a finger on the lower part here, because Dell¡¯s main priority is making sure the hinge is stiff enough.
You may be familiar with these convertibles by now. The idea isn¡¯t really to make the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 work as a tablet, at least not in the conventional sense. In its tent position or with the screen flipped so the laptop is resting on the keyboard, the touchscreen becomes the closest control method rather than the keyboard and trackpad.
It¡¯s less an iPad-a-like tablet experience, more a touch-controlled PC.
The hinge may not revolutionise the way you use a laptop, but as the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 shows, you¡¯re not paying an extra 50 per cent for the privilege. We¡¯re seeing convertibles this size become accessible, where previously you¡¯ve had to pay a lot for them.
If you need more proof of quite how wide and frankly ¡®normal¡¯ an audience Dell is aiming for, just look at the connections. The Dell Inspiron 13 5000 has two USB 3.0 ports, an extra USB 2.0 port and a full-size 1.4a HDMI.
Right now, this is a great low-maintenance array for a laptop like this. You can plug it into a monitor or your TV without a special cable, and the USBs are designed for today¡¯s gadgets.
It¡¯s just not as well-equipped for tomorrow ¡ª 2017/2018 and beyond. There¡¯s no USB-C port, which is slowly, slowly taking over from full-size USB.
The Dell Inspiron 13 5000 also has a full-size SD card slot. It¡¯s a very practical bunch of connectors, just make sure you¡¯re not going to miss having a USB-C in 12-18 months. Don¡¯t worry about your next phone, it¡¯s more about ultra-fast peripherals like SSDs whose transfer speeds are faster than USB 3.0¡¯s, and for attaching a hub that¡¯ll connect loads of accessories to a single port. Also see: Best budget laptops 2016.
There¡¯s no major sense of compromise in the keyboard. It¡¯s a standard chiclet design with light but crisp keys.
Typing on the Dell Inspiron 13 5000 is comfortable, although the character of the key travel could be a little mellower. This is a case of personal preference, though.
One great extra feature here is a keyboard backlight. There are two intensity settings, and it makes typing in dark rooms much easier. Asus UX-series rivals at the price do not offer keyboard backlights, although HP¡¯s Envy models do.
The trackpad does feel a tiny bit cheap one respect, though. It¡¯s not about the surface, the size or the reliability of the pad. All are fine. What we¡¯re not totally convinced by is the high-pitch button click response.
This is a little like the laptop equivalent of describing how a wine tastes, but it did stick out on first using the Dell Inspiron 13 5000. Try it out in person if you can.
The Dell Inspiron 13 5000 has exactly the right kind of screen for a laptop of this type and price. It¡¯s 13.3 inches across, uses an IPS LCD panel, a touch layer and resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
It has the sharpness, the viewing angles and the general screen quality we¡¯ve become accustomed to in a convertible laptop, roughly bridging the gap between a trad laptop screen and a modern tablet one. The screen looks slightly mottled from an angle, most likely an effect of the touch layer, but it¡¯s only obvious when you look up-close.
We think it actually looks better to human eyes than our colorimeter, the device we used to benchmark screens. The colorimeter says the Dell Inspiron 13 5000¡¯s colour is not much cop, covering just 61.6 per cent of the sRGB standard. However, in person this is mitigated by very solid contrast of 1086:1, a glossy finish and that the display has a slim construction that makes the most of that contrast.