Dell updates the XPS 13 2-in-1 with a new design, Intel's 10th Gen processors, webcam above the screen, new keyboard and larger touchpad, starting at $1,000
I don't throw the word “perfect” around a lot, but that was honestly the best way to describe the latest XPS 13.
Context & Ripple Effects
This 2019 refresh slots into a remarkably stable product line: Dell had already updated the standard XPS 13 in January 2018 with an 8th-gen quad-core chip and 4K InfinityEdge display [[a:925445]], and the playbook repeats here — new Intel silicon, a design tweak, and the same sub-$1,100 entry price. The headline change is the webcam moving above the screen, undoing the awkward below-the-display placement that the bezel-free InfinityEdge design had forced for years.
The move matters because the 2-in-1 is Dell's convertible answer in the premium ultraportable segment, and the fixes target exactly what reviewers dinged: camera position, keyboard feel, touchpad size. The cadence holds afterward too — a 10th-gen XPS 13 refresh with Iris Plus graphics and a 16:10 screen followed within months, and by 2022 Dell went further, redesigning the 2-in-1 as a detachable Surface rival.
First-order effects
- Buyers of Dell's premium convertible get the long-requested fix directly: a webcam above the screen instead of below the keyboard deck, plus a reworked keyboard and larger touchpad at a $1,000 starting price.
- Intel gains another flagship showcase for its 10th Gen processors in the consumer segment, keeping its silicon in the marquee Windows convertible tier.
Second-order effects
- Rival premium convertibles face pressure to match the above-screen webcam and input refinements, since those were the standing complaints against bezel-light designs across the category.
- Dell's decision to hold the entry near $999 across successive XPS 13 generations forces competitors in the thin-and-light space to justify any pricing above that anchor.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the XPS line iterates annually around a fixed $999 price point with Intel's CPU roadmap setting the pace — a structure that eventually pushes even the 2-in-1 toward a full detachable form factor, as Dell's own 2022 redesign confirmed.
The trend: Premium Windows ultraportables are converging on an annual refresh cadence pegged to Intel's processor generations and a persistent $999 entry price, with industrial-design fixes chasing reviewer complaints one generation at a time.