Ultrabook Or Surface Pro 6?

[giblet]

I’m after a new device, mainly for work use and I can’t decide between the Dell XPS 13 (9370) or the new Surface Pro 6.

The majority of my work is Office/Google Docs based so whilst I don’t need a powerhouse it would be nice to have a half decent spec device that I could use for a few years to come.

Specs wise the XPS 13 with an i7, 16GB of ram and a 512GB SSD is pretty much the same price as a Surface Pro 6 with an i5, 8GB of ram and 256GB SSD and the keyboard cover so on paper the XPS wins.

Portability wise the Surface Pro 6 seems nicer and slimmer. It would also come in handy to replace my battered old iPad mini 2 for Youtube and web browsing.

If you had the same options, which one would you chose?

[giblet]

Some interesting replies and comments. I’ve already discounted the Chromebooks and the alternatices from the likes of HP.

I had a play about with the XPS13, Surface Pro 6 and the Surface Book 2 in a local John Lewis store on the weekend and I’m still undecided.

The build quality is good across all 3 devices. The standard keyboard cover on the Pro 6 felt alright to type on and the Book 2 seemed ok. All 3 are around the same price and the same spec - 8th gen i5, 8GB ram and 256GB SSD.

The Dell comes with onsite warranty whereas the Surface products are return to base. The last thing I want to is have to ship a device away and be without it for a while. That might end up being the dealbreaker with the Surface options!

[giblet]

Finally fisted the kumquat, went with a Dell XPS 13 9370 via the Dell outlet.

Pretty decent specs for the money at a smidge over £1200 with 3 years onsite warranty -

Intel® Core™ i7-8550U (Quad Core, up to 4.00 GHz, 8MB Cache, 15W)
16 GB Memory
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Class 40 Solid State Drive
13.3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge display, Silver machined aluminium

The specs are probably overkill for what I need but given that I last changed laptops 7 years ago this one should last for the same hopefully.

I’ll probably wait and see what the next generation Surface Pro is like. If they improve the support I’ll probably give it a shot

[giblet]

frisbee said:

I've been looking at a new laptop and the XPS is coming out favourite. I originally looked at gaming laptops, then macs and surface books.

My current one is 9-10 years old. Compared to my work lap top it isn't bad. Compared to my ipad it's dead slow.

The various new USB sockets are slightly confusing.

My current laptop is a CHUNKY 17” Dell Insipron which is meant to be a desktop replacement. It’s done the job over the years.

I’ve got a set of USB C to A adapters so that should help with any old style devices.

[giblet]

It’s the whole sending it away process that played a part me in going with Dell. My XPS will come with 3 years on site warranty, that’s considerably easier than shipping a device off and waiting for it to come back.

[giblet]

DoubleByte said:

Same spec as mine that I also got from the outlet.

It's been ok for size, performance and battery. But the Killer wifi card is a bit suspect. I've kept my eye on the Killer website for driver updates and to be fair it's now working ok if not the strongest signal.

I use if for software dev and toyed with going for the 4K screen version if one came up on the outlet. But there's no point really when you work mainly in text editors of various kinds and I have no use for a touch screen.

Webcam is crap though both in terms of position and quality. My Surface Pro is the dogs by comparison.

Personally I like having 3 USB-C connections - I can plug anything in anywhere, well almost.

I’ve read mixed reviews on the Killer WiFi but I’ll be sure to update the drivers. I have no real need for a touchscreen, the extra battery life is better for what I need.

Since it’ll be used mainly for work, boss has agreed to cover the cost so that’s a win.