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The Dell XPS 13 Plus (model 9320) arrived in 2022 as the boldest laptop Dell had made in years, and in 2026 it’s worth buying only refurbished at a steep discount. It introduced a gapless keyboard, an invisible touchpad, and a touch-sensitive function row. This Dell XPS 13 Plus review looks at how that design holds up in 2026, what reviewers found after launch, and which newer laptops make more sense now that Dell has replaced it. The short version: it still looks stunning, and it now sells refurbished for far less than its $1,299 launch price, but a few of its design experiments didn’t age well.
Quick verdict: The XPS 13 Plus pairs a beautiful aluminum and glass chassis with fast 28-watt Intel processors and an excellent organic light-emitting diode (OLED) option. Middling battery life, no headphone jack, only two ports, and a capacitive function row hold it back. Buy it refurbished at a steep discount if design matters most to you. Check the Dell XPS 13 Plus price on Amazon.
Key takeaways
- What it is: A 2022 13.4-inch premium Windows laptop with 28-watt Intel processors, an optional 3.5K OLED touchscreen, and only two Thunderbolt 4 ports.
- Who it’s for: Design lovers who want a sharp OLED screen and mostly work plugged in or within a few hours of an outlet.
- Price: It launched at $1,299 with a Core i5, 8 gigabytes of memory, and 512 gigabytes of storage, and it now sells refurbished for far less (as of November 2026). Prices change often.
- Main weaknesses: Tom’s Hardware measured just 7 hours and 34 minutes of battery life, and the laptop has no headphone jack and a hard-to-use capacitive function row.
- Successor: The 2026 Dell XPS 13 starts at $699, weighs 2.2 pounds, and lasted 14 hours and 26 minutes in Tom’s Guide’s web browsing test.
Dell XPS 13 Plus at a glance
| Spec | Dell XPS 13 Plus (9320) |
|---|---|
| Processor | 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1240P, i7-1260P, or i7-1280P (28 watts); a 2023 refresh used 13th Gen Core i5-1340P and i7-1360P |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe (integrated) |
| Memory | 8GB to 32GB low-power double data rate 5 (LPDDR5), soldered |
| Storage | 512GB to 2 terabytes (TB) of solid-state drive (SSD) storage, replaceable |
| Display | 13.4-inch: 1920 x 1200 non-touch (500 nits), 3456 x 2160 OLED touch (400 nits), or 3840 x 2400 touch (500 nits) |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt 4 (Universal Serial Bus Type-C, or USB-C); no headphone jack; USB-C to USB Type-A (USB-A) and USB-C to 3.5-millimeter adapters in the box |
| Webcam | 720p with infrared (IR) sensor for Windows Hello face sign-in |
| Battery | 55 watt-hours (Wh), ExpressCharge to 80% in about an hour |
| Weight | 2.71 pounds (1.23 kilograms) non-touch; 2.77 pounds with OLED |
| Launch price | $1,299 with Core i5, 8GB of memory, and 512GB SSD |
Specs come from Tom’s Hardware’s XPS 13 Plus review and Dell’s XPS 13 Plus product page. Configurations varied by retailer, so check the exact processor, memory, and screen on any unit you buy.
Is the Dell XPS 13 Plus discontinued?
Yes. Dell carried the Plus design into the 2024 XPS 13 (models 9340, 9345, and 9350), which dropped the “Plus” name but kept the gapless keyboard and capacitive function row. In January 2025, Dell retired the XPS brand in favor of three tiers called Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max, and its premium consumer models became Dell Premium laptops. That rebrand didn’t last. Dell revived XPS at CES 2026 with the XPS 14 and XPS 16, and it replaced the touch function row on those models with physical keys.
The direct successor is the new Dell XPS 13 (2026), which Dell unveiled at Computex in June 2026. It starts at $699 (or $599 for students), weighs just 2.2 pounds, and uses Intel’s Core Series 3 or Core Ultra Series 3 chips with a 13.4-inch 2560 x 1600 touchscreen that runs at 30 to 120 hertz (Hz). Tom’s Guide gave it an Editor’s Choice award and measured 14 hours and 26 minutes of web browsing, roughly double what reviewers saw from the 9320. It still has only two USB-C ports and no headphone jack, though. See the new Dell XPS 13 on Amazon.
Design and build quality
The XPS 13 Plus looks like nothing else in the Windows world. Dell machined the chassis from aluminum, covered the palm rest in a single sheet of glass, and offered Graphite and Platinum colors with tone-on-tone keyboards. At 0.6 inches thick and about 2.7 pounds, it slips easily into a bag, and Tom’s Hardware called the chassis attractive and light. Dell also used recycled and low-carbon aluminum and shipped the laptop in packaging made from recycled and renewable materials.
The invisible haptic touchpad sits flush with the glass palm rest, with no visible edges. Tom’s Hardware found it workable after adjusting the haptic strength in settings, but it still wanted a visible border. Most owners adapt within a few days.
Keyboard and capacitive function row
The zero-lattice keyboard runs edge to edge with no gaps between the oversized keycaps. Key travel measures only 1 millimeter, but Tom’s Hardware found the typing comfortable. The bigger problem sits above it: the capacitive touch row replaces the physical function keys, along with Escape, Delete, Home, End, and Print Screen. Reviewers widely complained that you have to look at it to hit the right key, and Dell offers no customization. The fingerprint reader in the power button also sits right next to Backspace, which leads to accidental presses. Dell’s decision to drop this touch row on its 2026 XPS laptops says a lot about how buyers received it.
Display options
Dell offered three 13.4-inch screens with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The base 1920 x 1200 non-touch panel reaches 500 nits and suits office work. The 3.5K OLED touchscreen is the one to get: Tom’s Hardware measured 366 nits, 84.2% of the Digital Cinema Initiatives P3 (DCI-P3) color gamut, and deep OLED contrast that makes movies and photos pop. A 3840 x 2400 (often marketed as 4K) touch panel topped the range. Not every XPS 13 Plus has a 4K screen, despite what many listings imply, so confirm the resolution before you buy.
Performance and cooling
Dell gave the XPS 13 Plus 28-watt P-series processors instead of the 15-watt chips in the regular XPS 13, plus larger dual fans. The extra power shows in multicore work. Tom’s Hardware found that its Core i7-1280P unit dropped from about 10,900 to the low 6,000s in sustained Cinebench R23 runs in the default Optimized mode, but held scores in the mid 9,000s in Ultra Performance mode, at the cost of more fan noise. The underside reached 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) under load.
Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics handle photo editing, light video work, and older or less demanding games at modest settings. This isn’t a gaming laptop, though. Creative professionals who need much more power should read our MacBook Pro M3 Pro review.
Battery life
The 55Wh battery is the XPS 13 Plus’s biggest weakness. Tom’s Hardware measured 7 hours and 34 minutes in its web browsing, video, and graphics test and called it “just OK,” and the OLED and 4K models drain faster than the base screen. ExpressCharge restores about 80% in roughly an hour, which helps. On a used unit, expect less, since batteries lose capacity with age. Dell’s newer XPS 13 and Intel’s latest chips last far longer.
Ports and connectivity
You get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and that’s it: no USB-A, no microSD slot, and no headphone jack. Both ports also handle charging, so you can’t charge while using both included adapters at once. A compact USB-C hub with High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and USB-A ports solves most of these problems, and USB-C wired earbuds skip the adapter. Thunderbolt 4 does support external monitors and high-speed docks, and Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 keep wireless connections current.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Striking, premium aluminum and glass design
- Excellent 3.5K OLED option
- Strong performance from 28-watt chips
- Comfortable full-width keyboard
- Replaceable SSD
- Big refurbished discounts in 2026
Cons
- Mediocre battery life
- No headphone jack and only two ports
- Capacitive function row is hard to use
- Invisible touchpad edges take getting used to
- Soldered memory
Dell XPS 13 Plus vs. current premium ultrabooks
Premium 13- and 14-inch laptops have improved a lot since 2022, especially in battery life. Amazon is our main affiliate partner, and it carries the XPS 13 Plus (mostly refurbished) alongside the newest ultrabooks from Dell, Apple, ASUS, Lenovo, and Microsoft. Prices change often, so check the latest deals.
Compare similar premium ultrabooks on Amazon
| Laptop | Processor | Display | Best for | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell XPS 13 Plus (9320) | Intel Core i5 or i7 (12th or 13th Gen) | 13.4-inch, up to 3.5K OLED | Design lovers buying refurbished | Check price |
| Dell XPS 13 (2026) | Intel Core Series 3 or Core Ultra Series 3 | 13.4-inch 2560 x 1600, 120Hz | Long battery life at a low price | Check price |
| Apple MacBook Air 13-inch | Apple M-series | 13.6-inch Liquid Retina | Battery life and macOS users | Check price |
| ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED | Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen AI | 14-inch OLED | OLED screens for less money | Check price |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x | Qualcomm Snapdragon X | 14.5-inch OLED | All-day battery on Windows | Check price |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus | 13-inch touchscreen | A simple, light Windows laptop | Check price |
- Dell XPS 13 (2026): It weighs half a pound less than the Plus, costs roughly half its launch price, and lasts much longer, according to Tom’s Guide. T3 found the Core 5 version sluggish with heavy multitasking, so consider 16GB of memory. See the Dell XPS 13 on Amazon.
- Apple MacBook Air: It’s fanless and silent, it runs far longer on battery, and it keeps a headphone jack. See the MacBook Air on Amazon.
- ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED: It offers an OLED screen, more ports, and a lower price than most premium rivals. See the Zenbook 14 OLED on Amazon.
If you want a laptop that folds into a tablet, our Lenovo Flex 7i review covers a cheaper 2-in-1 alternative.
Who should buy the Dell XPS 13 Plus?
Buy a refurbished XPS 13 Plus if you love its minimalist design, want a sharp OLED screen, and mostly work plugged in or within a few hours of an outlet. Skip it if you need all-day battery life, use wired headphones daily, or rely on function keys for work, such as coding or spreadsheet shortcuts. For most new buyers, the 2026 XPS 13 or a MacBook Air is the smarter purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Dell XPS 13 Plus have a headphone jack?
No, the Dell XPS 13 Plus doesn’t have a headphone jack. Dell includes a USB-C to 3.5-millimeter adapter in the box, but it occupies one of the two Thunderbolt ports.
Can the XPS 13 Plus run two external monitors?
Yes, the XPS 13 Plus can run two external monitors. Each Thunderbolt 4 port can drive a display, or you can use a Thunderbolt dock to connect two monitors through one cable.
How long does the XPS 13 Plus battery last?
The XPS 13 Plus battery lasts about 7.5 hours in a mixed test with the OLED screen, according to Tom’s Hardware. Expect less with heavy workloads or the 4K panel, and more with the base 1920 x 1200 screen.
Does the XPS 13 Plus come with Microsoft Office?
No, the XPS 13 Plus doesn’t come with Microsoft Office. It ships with Windows 11 and a trial of Microsoft 365, so you need a subscription to keep using the Office apps.
Final verdict
The Dell XPS 13 Plus remains one of the best-looking Windows laptops ever made, with a gorgeous OLED option and strong performance. Its short battery life, two-port design, and capacitive function row show their age in 2026, and Dell itself has moved on to a cheaper, longer-lasting XPS 13. Buy the Plus only at a deep refurbished discount. Check the current Dell XPS 13 Plus price on Amazon.