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Dell XPS 13 9305 vs Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)

47 out of 100
Dell XPS 13 9305
VS
70 out of 100
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Dell XPS 13 9305
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
You can select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Display
3024 x 1964
CPU
RAM
Storage

Review

Evaluation of Dell XPS 13 9305 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) important characteristics
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

What are the key differences between the notebooks
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 specs
Laptop:
XPS 13 9305
vs
MacBook Pro 14 (2021)

Case

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 solution
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)
Display tests
Contrast 1000:1 48900:1
sRGB color space 100% -
DCI-P3 color gamut - 99.3%
Response time 30 ms 49 ms
Max. brightness
XPS 13 9305
400 nits
MacBook Pro 14 (2021) +25%
500 nits

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)
Submit your Cinebench R23 result

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
XPS 13 9305
0.84 TFLOPS
MacBook Pro 14 (2021) +519%
5.2 TFLOPS

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
Ports
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
Keyboard type Island Island
Numpad No No
Backlight Yes Yes
Key travel - 1 mm
Touchpad
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.

Cast your vote

So, which laptop would you choose?
10 (41.7%)
14 (58.3%)
Total votes: 24

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