Dell XPS 13 challenges MacBook Neo with $599 starting price

Dell has positioned its new XPS 13 as a direct rival to Apple’s MacBook Neo, pricing the laptop at $599 for students and $699 for the general market. When COO Jeff Clarke announced the model ahead of Computex 2026, he addressed the comparison head-on: "We didn't change a single feature when the Neo was launched.

We stayed true to the XPS' identity ... And I think we've achieved it with the $599 price point." He also said, "We're not in a race to the bottom. We're not trying to be the cheapest option." The XPS 13 uses Intel’s Wildcat Lake Core Series 3 chips, available as a Core 5 (6-core) or Core 7 (8-core) with integrated GPUs, and shares the same 18A process as Intel’s Panther Lake Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs.

Dell says the platform can still deliver up to 17 hours of battery life. Memory options run from 8GB to 32GB of LPDDR5X and storage spans 256GB to 1TB. The laptop keeps a premium feel with a 13.4-inch 2.5K LCD touch display that supports a 120Hz variable refresh rate, 500 nits of brightness and 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

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