Father’s Day is just a few days away and if you intend to make it the best day ever for your dad, we suggest giving him a brand-new premium laptop. The Dell XPS 13 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 are two of the best portable computers out there, and they’re on sale with up to $265 off. Place your order today to make sure that it arrives before the big day.
Dell XPS 13 – $880, was $900
For several years the Dell XPS 13 with its numerous iterations remained our top pick for the best laptop that you can buy. This still holds true with its latest 2020 version. It is one of the most gorgeous and well-built Ultrabooks out there, with sides that are clad in diamond-cut aluminum that screams luxury and top-notch build quality. Aside from its stunning and robust design, it now boasts a taller 16:10 screen that’s flanked by a nearly bezel-less frame, lightning-fast performance, great port selection, and an exceptional keyboard and touchpad combo. The only negative thing about it is that it has one less USB-C port, but that didn’t stop us from giving it a perfect 5-star rating. Right now, the XPS 13 is on sale at Dell’s official website for $880 instead of $900.
This laptop’s 13.4-inch FHD 1,920 x 1,080 non-touch display (the 4K touchscreen version will set you back by $300, and is a power hog) bursts with sumptuous colors, deep contrasts, and an incredible amount of detail. It also gets astonishingly bright, with a 500-nit anti-glare display. Outlining the screen is what Dell calls the InfinityEdge bezel, and it is beautifully scant and modern.
Another fine feature of the XPS 13 is its keyboard. Taking inspiration from the XPS 13 2-in-1 in its appearance, the keycaps are larger, with less space between each. They now stretch up to the sides of the keyboard deck. The keyboard is very comfortable to type on with a firm and tactile bottoming action.
Armed with a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM, this laptop provides incredibly smooth and lightning-fast performance without any hint of lag. And with its 256GB PCIe SSD, transferring files is far from sluggish. In terms of battery life, as we’ve mentioned, we recommend you skip the 4K touchscreen model if you want the most endurance. In our light web surfing test, this unit was able to last over 11.5 hours.
The Dell XPS 13 is thin, fast, long-lasting, and practically perfect. Get it for $880 at Dell’s official website.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – $1,234, was $1,499
The 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 (it also comes in a smaller 13-inch model) is Microsoft’s first flagship portable PC that rocks an AMD Ryzen processor. This collaboration initially had us reeling with excitement, especially since AMD’s recent desktop processors and video cards have given Intel and Nvidia some serious competition. However, besides having incredible hardware and possibly the longest-lasting battery life we’ve seen yet on a laptop, its performance is lacking a bit.
Fifteen inches of screen real estate is ideal for creative professionals such as photographers, video editors, and digital artists. This means they also need to have serious power to be able to handle video rendering and programming, designing, and even a bit of gaming. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 3’s Ryzen 5 is powerful alright, but it’s just a four-core processor. While it’s more than enough for basic productivity tasks, it might struggle with photography and video encoding. Even its Vega 11 graphics capability is a letdown.
We have nothing but good things to say though in terms of design and build quality. Even though this laptop is built like a tank, we were surprised by how light it is at just 3.4 pounds. That means it’s half a pound lighter than the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Its keyboard is also fantastic, with keys that offer plenty of travel and are very quiet and comfortable to use. The touchpad’s pretty impressive as well as. It’s incredibly smooth to the touch and very accurate.
The Surface Laptop 3’s touch display is also an unprecedented delight. Retaining Microsoft’s signature 3:2 aspect ratio, it is packed with 2,496 x 1,664 pixels and is sharp enough for all sorts of uses, including text-based work, digital content creation, and media consumption. That is, if you’re okay with giant black bars above and below the screen due to the unconventional aspect ratio. Finally, battery life is spectacular, capable of lasting the entire workday despite heavy work and with extra juice to spare. This is definitely the laptop you should consider if your main concern is battery life.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 misses the mark when it comes to performance, but if you need a sturdy machine that can last as long as you do, this is for you. Get it for $1,234 instead of $1,499 – a huge $265 off. What’s more, you can score an additional $50 off instantly upon approval for the Amazon Rewards Visa Card, reducing the price even further to $1,184.
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