While many are still hung up on the redesigned Dell XPS 13 Plus (2022), the company is shelling out devices for fans of their 2-in-1 and Plus Developer’s Edition, now with Ubuntu 22.04 onboard.
Dell announced the release of its XPS 13 2-in-1, the 13 Plus Developer’s Edition with Ubuntu 22.4, as well as an updated Dell Pro Webcam (WB5023).
For anyone who can look beyond the branding of a Microsoft Surface Pro, and wants to get a bit more bang for their buck, Dell’s XPS 13 2-in-1 with keyboard Folio included starts at $1,099 US or $1,499 CAD.
Starting August 25th on Dell.com, customers can snag an ultra-light 2-in-1 rocking a 13-inch detachable HDR display with up to 500 nits of brightness on a 3:2 aspect ratio. Dell’s also equipping its 2-in-1 with the latest Intel 12th Gen chips ranging from a Core i5 up to a Core i7 with 10 cores.
In addition to the latest processing power, customers can customize their Dell 2-in-1 with up to 1TB PCIe SSD storage and connect through either of the 2 Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports with use of additional USB-C to USB-A or USB-C to 3.5mm adapters that ship with the device.
Most notably, the XPS 13 2-in-1 will be the first XPS to support 5G connectivity, but may come through carrier deals as it doesn’t appear standard for next week’s retail launch.
The construction of the new 2-in-1 is a bit lighter than the standard bearer Surface Pro, at 1.6lbs and 1.8lbs with the optional Folio keyboard attached.
Similar to the Surface Pro, Dell is equipping its 2-in-1 with magnetically charged stylus support that delivers “a natural writing and inking experience,” and similar to Microsoft, Dell will be charging for the convenience, an extra $100.
For a quasi-more traditional laptop experience, Dell also announced its XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition that takes all the visual trimmings of the new XPS 13 Plus but swaps Windows for Linux, starting at $1,299 US or $1,769 CAD.
Linux users can now tote around the same stylish and powerful XPS 13 Plus that includes an edge-to-edge 4K+ OLED screen, zero-lattice keyboard, 12th Gen Intel Core 28W processor and up to 32GB of LPDDR5 memory with integrated dual channels.
Dell has opted to go with Ubuntu 22.04 for the distro and certifies it for long-term-support (LTS) which should keep users up to date until 2027 with updates and 2032 for security issues.
With Dell shipping an Ubuntu flavored XPS 13, there some other additional changes that come with the laptop that include the latest version of GNOME 42 for “increased desktop performance,” PulseAudio sound server for improved Bluetooth support, the latest toolchains for Python, PHP, Ruby Perl, GCC, Go and now Rust.
Out of the box the Dell XPS 13 Plus with Ubuntu supports LibreOffice, Thunderbird email and Firefox as your Office and Edge replacements as well as integration for Active Directory and policy support for Ubuntu Advantage.
Unfortunately, Dell isn’t offering a hard date on the Dell XPS 13 Plus with Ubuntu release at the moment.
Last up is the Dell Webcam Pro that starts at $134.99 and is available globally today. For a little over $100 customers get a professional grade 2K QHD webcam that utilizes the Sony STARVIS sensor in conjunction with a multi-element lens for clearer and brighter images.
On the software side, Dell is combining its Overlap HDR and Facial Detection Auto Exposure technology to read both the environment and the subject to optimal image capture. There is also some image signaling, AI auto framing, noise reduction and Dell Peripheral Manager software tossed in to help users set up the best look for their Teams or Zoom calls.
