Once upon a time in Computerland it was all Macintosh this, iMac that, iPod’s at the ready, iTunes – and iCool was pretty much the default position. Apple were the artistic Silicon Valley underdogs with all the creative verve and innovative ideas by the sack full. BUT, in recent years, possibly since Steve Jobs sadly passed away it feels to me like Apple have taken their eyes off the ball and refocused them squarely onto the stock market. Profits have taken precedence over innovation and somewhere along the line they became the big bad wolf that Windows computers and Bill Gates were to me 10 years ago.
As a result of late I’ve been shying away from the (Apple) tree and gone searching for pastures new. The Chromebooks aren’t quite there yet, but their potential as budget (and top end) workhorses is strong enough to give Tim Cook (Apple CEO) a few sleepless nights in between new iPhone launches. I’ve switched to an Android phone and something else that caught my eye was the new generation of XPS Laptops by Dell.
Dell are definitely in the ascendancy of late and with gorgeous high-end design and build quality, partnered with groundbreaking spec and blisteringly quick processors inside an impressive range of models, the XPS range has put Dell firmly on the laptop front-page.
Similar in concept to the (also cool) Microsoft Surface Books, the XPS range comes with a clever removable touchscreen to go from laptop to tablet in an instant. It’s connected by magnets and thanks to some masterful engineering the traditional keyboard can be removed easily with one hand (unlike the Surface Book).
As far as processing power goes the entry level XPS13 (£849) features an impressive 6th Generation Intel i5 processor, 4gig memory and 128gb solid state drive that will handle as much frantic multi-player gaming action as you can throw at it. Should you need to take it to the max, the top of the range ultra-thin, InfinityEdge touch display QHD+ (4K) resolution, 16GB Memory 512GB SSD, i7 chip version (£1,499)will boost your coffee shop street cred to unimaginably high levels.
Things change quickly in computerland and while Apples fairy tale continues through a blackened veil there’s still more than a few twists in the road to come.
This is a collaboration with Dell, but all thoughts are my own