Dell XPS 13 FHD vs. 4K display: Which should you buy?
Best answer: Most people would be better off with the 1920x1200 (FHD+) display rather than spend more on 3840x2400 (UHD+). However, if you're looking for HDR support and better DCI-P3 color, the UHD+ display is the way to go.
UHD+ is overkill for most
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The Dell XPS 13 is one of the best Windows laptops available today, and it's easy to want the highest specs and the most features. But the truth is that for most people, luxuries like a UHD+ display are unnecessary expenses.
If you're involved in creative work such as video editing, then a UHD+ display is probably a good choice. However, at 13.3 inches, it's not as though the FHD+ display looks bad.
The UHD+ display not only affects price, but with more pixels to push, it affects battery life, too. It's also only available with touch, but at least it has an anti-reflective finish that cuts down on glare.
The best value option for most XPS 13 buyers is the FHD+ display, available on touch and non-touch configs. These have Dolby Vision and a 16:10 aspect ratio just like the UHD+ versions, plus you get 100% sRGB color reproduction. The non-touch version has an anti-glare finish, while the touch version has an anti-reflective finish.
A better choice for touch
If you want a touchscreen version of the XPS 13 with inking, there is a better option. The XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315) is a Surface Pro lookalike that comes with a 13-inch display with boxy 3:2 aspect ratio, Dolby Vision, and 2880x1920 (3K) resolution. It hits 500 nits, it boasts HDR 400, and it hits 100% sRGB color.
The hardware inside is very similar, too. You can get Intel's 12th Gen Core i5 and Core i7 U-series CPUs with up to 16GB of LPDDR4x RAM and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. It doesn't come with an active pen, but you can buy one separately for a quality inking experience.
Have a look at our XPS 13 (9315) vs. XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315) comparison for a much deeper dive into what sets these laptops apart.
The XPS 13 (9315) is significantly cheaper without the UHD+ display, and most people won't really need that resolution. The better choice is to go for one of the FHD+ options for the best value.
Looking for an XPS 13 that's much better cut out for inking? The redesigned XPS 13 2-in-1 (9315) boasts a 3K 13-inch touch display and design that's much closer to Microsoft's Surface Pro than anything else from the XPS lineup.
