Dell XPS 13 9305 vs Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
You can select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Case
Design, materials, durability and usability
NanoReview Score
Key Differences
Advantages of the Dell XPS 13 9305
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 440 grams less (around 0.97 lbs)
- Much smaller footprint: 13% more compact case (93.1 vs 107.1 square inches)
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
- Can run popular games at about 285-389% higher FPS
- Higher screen refresh rate: 120 versus 60 Hz
- Around 3.7x better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench R23 test
- Features a much bigger (~35%) battery – 70 against 52 watt-hours
- Thinner bezels and 4% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Better webcam recording quality
- 53% sharper screen – 254 versus 166 pixels per inch (PPI)
- Provides 25% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 400 nits
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Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
Weight | 1.16 kg (2.56 lbs) | 1.6 kg (3.53 lbs) |
Dimensions | 302 x 199 x 15.8 mm 11.89 x 7.83 x 0.62 inches |
312.6 x 221.2 x 15.5 mm 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches |
Area | 601 cm2 (93.1 inches2) | 691 cm2 (107.2 inches2) |
Screen-to-body ratio | ~81.1% | ~84.6% |
Side bezels | 3.8 mm | 3.4 mm |
Colors | Silver | Silver, Gray |
Transformer | No | No |
Opening angle | - | 135° |
Size comparison
Cooling system | Active | Active |
Vapor chamber | No | No |
Number of fans | 2 | 2 |
Max. fan speed (RPM) | - | 6241 RPM |
Noise level | - | 49.5 dB |
Display
Size | 13.3 inches | 14.2 inches |
Type | IPS LCD | Mini LED |
Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 120 Hz |
PPI | 166 ppi | 254 ppi |
Aspect ratio | 16:9 | 16:10 |
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels | 3024 x 1964 pixels |
HDR support | - | Yes, Dolby Vision |
Touchscreen | No | No |
Coating | Matte | Glossy (Antireflective) |
Contrast | 1000:1 | 48900:1 |
sRGB color space | 100% | - |
DCI-P3 color gamut | - | 99.3% |
Response time | 30 ms | 49 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
Voltage | 7.6 V | - |
Full charging time | - | 2:30 hr |
Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
Replaceable | No | No |
Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
USB Power Delivery | Yes | Yes |
Charging port position | Left | Left, Right |
Charge power | 45 / 65 W | 67 / 96 W |
Cable length | - | 2 meters |
Weigh of AC adapter | - | 274 grams |
CPU
CPU name
Base frequency | 1.7-3.0 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
Turbo frequency | 4.1 GHz | - |
Cores | 2 | 10 (8P + 2E) |
Threads | 4 | 10 |
L3 Cache | 6 MB | - |
Integrated GPU | Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 | Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) |
Fabrication process | 10 nm | 5 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
TGP | 15 W | 30 W |
Type | Integrated | Integrated |
Fabrication process | 10 nm | 5 nm |
GPU base clock | 300 MHz | 450 MHz |
GPU boost clock | 1100 MHz | 1296 MHz |
FLOPS | 0.84 TFLOPS | 5.2 TFLOPS |
Memory size | System Shared | System Shared |
Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
Memory bus | - | 256 bit |
Memory speed | 4.27 Gbps | 6.4 Gbps |
Shading units (cores) | 384 | 2048 |
Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 24 | 128 |
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 12 | 64 |
GPU performance
RAM
RAM size
Channels | 4x2 GB | 4x4 GB |
Clock | 4267 MHz | 6400 MHz |
Type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
Upgradable | No | No |
Storage
Storage size
Bus | PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x) | Custom |
Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
Channels | 1x256 GB | 1x512 GB |
Upgradable | Yes | No |
Total slots | 1 | - |
NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
Audio chip | Realtek ALC3271-CG | - |
Speakers | 2.0 | 4.2 |
Power | 2x2W | - |
Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
Loudness | - | 84.9 dB |
Microphones | 2 | 3 |
Connectivity
Wi-Fi standard | v6 | v6 |
Bluetooth | v5.1 | v5 |
Fingerprint | Yes | Yes |
Optical drive | No | No |
Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
Webcam resolution | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 |
USB-A | No | No |
USB Type-C | 3x USB 3.2 | 3x USB 4.0 |
Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 4 |
HDMI | No | 1x HDMI 2.0 |
DisplayPort | No | No |
VGA | No | No |
Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
Ethernet (RJ45) | No | No |
SD card reader | Yes | Yes |
Proprietary charging port | No | Yes |
Input
Keyboard type | Island | Island |
Numpad | No | No |
Backlight | Yes | Yes |
Key travel | - | 1 mm |
Size | 10.5 x 6.5 cm | 13.2 x 8.1 cm |
Surface | Glass | Glass |
Windows Precision | Yes | No |
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can be different depending on the laptop’s particular configuration or region.
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Total votes: 24