If you're looking for a more affordable option with solid performance for general use, go for the MacBook Air. It's lightweight and offers a fanless design for silent operation, making it practical for everyday tasks and highly portable. However, if your work involves intensive tasks like engineering, 3D design, or you need the best display quality, the Dell XPS 13 Plus with its high-resolution OLED screen and more powerful processor is a better bet. Keep in mind, the Dell is usually more expensive and a bit heavier, which may affect its portability. Both have good battery life, but if macOS and its ecosystem suit your needs and you want to save money, the MacBook Air is a compelling choice. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2022)
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent battery life
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Dell XPS 13 Plus
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
8.2/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Dell XPS 13 Plus is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Dell XPS 13 Plus outshines the Apple MacBook Air (2022) for engineering and design use primarily due to its more powerful Intel i7 processor, substantially greater RAM, superior OLED screen with higher resolution, and a touchscreen option, factors crucial for intensive tasks and detailed work. While the MacBook Air is lauded for its long battery life, silent operation, and lightweight design, enhancing its portability and comfort for extended use, the XPS 13 Plus offers a larger storage capacity and a GPU that benefits from a more substantial RAM allocation, providing better performance for demanding engineering software and detailed visual design applications.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.4/10
13.6in
SIZE
13.4in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
374.0 nits
The Dell XPS 13 Plus has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Air boasts a high-resolution, bright display that enhances general computing tasks and is suitable for design work thanks to its wide color gamut, but it lacks a high refresh rate that's crucial for smooth 3D rendering. The Dell XPS 13 Plus offers a similarly high-resolution, bright screen for daily activities and excels in engineering and design programs due to its superior color accuracy, but also falls short for gaming and 3D due to its standard refresh rate. Choosing between these two comes down to prioritizing color accuracy for professional design over refresh rates necessary for 3D applications.
Battery
15.0 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Dell XPS 13 Plus has 10 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has best in class build quality, while the Dell XPS 13 Plus has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$899
$1,849
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $899 and the Dell XPS 13 Plus costs $1,849.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell XPS 13 Plus to be very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Dell XPS 13 Plus has a more high-resolution OLED touchscreen and significantly more RAM, which contribute to its rating as very good for general use, while the MacBook Air is praised for fanless silent operation and lighter weight, enhancing its portability and making it good for general use despite less RAM and a lower-resolution IPS screen. Both laptops offer good battery life, with the MacBook Air slightly leading, but the Dell's superior CPU and additional storage make it a strong contender for those prioritizing performance and screen quality over portability and operating noise.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
6.4/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Dell XPS 13 Plus and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has an integrated GPU suited for light tasks and while it supports a fair range of 3D work, its MacOS limits the availability of popular games. In contrast, the Dell XPS 13 Plus boasts a stronger integrated GPU and runs Windows, which has broader gaming compatibility, making it better suited for gaming and more demanding 3D applications.
Content Creation
7.9/10
8.3/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell XPS 13 Plus to be very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
8.0/10
8.3/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Dell XPS 13 Plus and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both very good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Portability
Excellent
Excellent
13.6in
SIZE
13.4in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
2.7 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and Dell XPS 13 Plus both have excellent portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2022) and the Dell XPS 13 Plus compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."
"The XPS 13 Plus is powerful, but has its drawbacks. Dell did not only update the processor generation, but also decided to offer two completely different models from now on. The XPS 13 Plus gets the faster Intel Alder Lake-P chips, and the Core i7-1260P in our review unit offers good performance figures. However, the device once again shows the problems of the current Intel CPUs, because the high performance requires a lot of power. This affects the battery runtime as well as temperatures, so the new model (even with the Optimized power profile) is louder than the older model."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the Dell XPS 13 Plus
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About Dell
Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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Laptops evaluated
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Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
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Recommendations made
22,013
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.