Dell adds top-placed webcam to new thinner, more powerful XPS 13 2-in-1

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  The updated Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 with its new 16:10 display. [credit: Valentina Palladino ]

Dell is revamping the look and feel of most of its high-end laptops and convertibles this year, and the latest to get a fresh coat of paint is the XPS 13 2-in-1. At Computex 2019, the company showed off the redesigned convertible that has more external changes than its updated XPS 13 laptop—the hinge is different, the keyboard is different, and yes, it now has a webcam that sits atop its display panel.

The XPS 13 2-in-1's chassis remains a mixture of metal, carbon fiber, and, on the white model, glass fiber in its palm rests. Dell updated the hinges on the device so that the new ones let you transition between laptop and other modes more swiftly. The new sequential hinge also lifts the device slightly when in laptop mode, and the rubber feet beneath the hinge should prevent slipping. Like other XPS laptops, it's a variable-torque hinge that slowly lowers the lid when closing the machine and should make opening it easier as well.

I first noticed the new MagLev keyboard on the XPS 13 convertible: the keys are larger, sit closer to the bottom of the chassis, and have just 0.7mm of travel. Overall, the keyboard and trackpad area have a slick, streamlined look that resembles Apple's MacBook Pro—since I regularly use a butterfly keyboard, the newfound shallowness of the XPS 13 convertible's keys didn't bother me. However, it won't be the most comfortable for users who detest shallow keyboards. A new rectangular power button and fingerprint module sits at the top-right corner of the keyboard, giving users one form of Windows Hello biometric authenticity.

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