Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 review: great design and build with Windows Hello-compatible fingerprint reader, but pricier than comparable HP Spectre x360 configurations
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica :
Context & Ripple Effects
Dell's XPS line entered this segment as a value play — the original XPS 13 launched at $799 in 2015, with its high-res screen as the costly option. Two years later the 2-in-1 variant flips that story: Ars Technica finds it costs more than comparably configured HP Spectre x360 machines, even though the fingerprint reader only delivers parity on Windows Hello, not an edge.
Dell isn't alone in losing the price fight to HP. The Lenovo Yoga 910 was likewise dinged for costing more than the Spectre x360 despite thin bezels and a 4K panel, which makes HP's convertible the de facto price anchor of the premium 13-inch tier.
First-order effects
- Buyers cross-shopping the XPS 13 2-in-1 against the Spectre x360 now face a Dell premium for equivalent configurations, with the Windows Hello-compatible reader closing a feature gap rather than opening one.
- HP's Spectre line gains a marketing win it didn't have to engineer: two rivals' flagship convertibles are now reviewed as the more expensive option.
Second-order effects
- With both Dell and Lenovo priced above it, HP can hold Spectre x360 pricing steady or spend the headroom on differentiation — the path its own Elitebook x360 took with hardware-rooted security and a privacy screen starting at $1,279.
- Design praise alone stops being a purchase driver in this tier; reviewers' price-versus-Spectre framing pressures Dell to discount or reconfigure the 2-in-1 quickly.
Third-order effects
- If fingerprint readers and slim-bezel designs keep converging across premium Windows convertibles, differentiation migrates toward security hardware and port selection — enterprise-style features bleeding into consumer machines.
- The pattern points to HP's Spectre x360 functioning as the segment's reference product, with competitors effectively forced to justify a premium against it in every review cycle.
The trend: Premium Windows convertibles are converging on design quality and Windows Hello biometrics, leaving the price comparison against HP's Spectre x360 as the deciding factor.