Dell XPS 14 beats MacBook Air 15 M5 in VRR-enabled battery comparison
© Hardware Canucks Dell’s new XPS 14 has recorded one of the strongest battery results seen from a recent Windows laptop. In testing by Hardware Canucks, the system lasted a little over 43 hours in a light web browsing test with variable refresh rate enabled. The same comparison showed around 20 hours in 4K YouTube playback and about 2.5 hours in gaming, while Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air with M5 lasted about 14.5 hours, 14 hours, and 4 hours 10 minutes in those respective tests.
That figure needs context. Notebookcheck’s own review of the XPS 14 measured 16 hours and 45 minutes in a Wi-Fi browsing test at 150 nits, with the panel running at 120 Hz by default. Dell’s official specifications list the base IPS panel as a 1 Hz to 120 Hz display, so the 43-hour result appears tied to VRR behavior and a light workload rather than a standard fixed-refresh battery run. Dell XPS laptops are of the first to feature these new 1Hz panels, as we covered in a separate article .
© Hardware Canucks Dell currently sells the XPS 14 in the US from $1,599. The base configuration includes an Intel Core Ultra 5 325, 16GB LPDDR5X memory, a 512GB SSD, a 14-inch 2K display, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an 8MP webcam, and a 70Wh battery. Higher-end models move to the Core Ultra X7 358H, 32GB memory, 1TB storage, and a 2.8K OLED panel.
Apple announced the 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 at $1,099 in the US and the 15-inch model at $1,299. Apple also doubled the starting storage to 512GB, while keeping 16GB unified memory standard.
XPS 2026 without discrete GPUs
Unlike previous-generation XPS systems, these laptops rely only on integrated graphics. Intel Arc B-series graphics, based on the Xe3 architecture, are capable enough even for casual gaming. Still, as an owner of a 2013-era XPS system, it is hard to imagine the XPS lineup no longer includes a discrete GPU.
Source via NotebookCheck :
