Get ready to dig into Android 13! The next major release of Google’s OS is now available as a beta. For lucky owners of the Google Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 5a, Pixel 5, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4, or Pixel 4 XL, you’ll be among the first users to see what Android 13 “Tiramisu” has to offer.
Alongside the supported Google Pixel devices, Android 13 is also available for a wide range of devices from different OEMs through Developer Preview programs.
Keep in mind that the preview builds won’t give you the full Android 13 experience as it’s very much a work-in-progress. The beta is aimed solely at developers, since they need to test their apps against new Android platform APIs months before the next Android version becomes available for the general public. Installing the Developer Preview/Beta on your daily driver isn’t recommended, as you might face various system instabilities. Do back up your data before proceeding.
This page will serve as a one-stop download index for every Android 13 build released by Google. We will keep the page updated with the latest OTAs and factory images for the supported Pixel smartphones. You can learn how to install Android 13 on Google Pixel smartphones and other devices by visiting our dedicated guide.
Google showcased its latest Pixel device, the Pixel 6a, during the I/O 2022 keynote earlier this year. While the device is yet to make its way to the market, we’ve already seen plenty of leaks about it. A few weeks ago, Malaysian YouTuber Fazli Halim gave us a thorough look at the latest affordable Pixel in a hands-on video. Now, they’ve shared a full review of the device, which highlights that its fingerprint scanner is faster than the one on Google’s flagship Pixel 6 Pro.
For the unaware, the fingerprint scanner on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro has been in the news ever since the devices hit the shelves last year. Shortly after the devices went on sale, we saw several reports suggesting that the in-display fingerprint scanner on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro felt sluggish compared to other premium flagships.
Google also acknowledged the issue and shared some details about why the fingerprint scanner on its latest flagships might feel slow at times. Despite these claims, Google released a software update to improve the fingerprint scanner performance on the Pixel 6 series in November last year. However, the update did not make much of an improvement.
When Google lifted the covers off the Pixel 6a at I/O this year, many wondered whether the cheaper device would feature a better in-display fingerprint scanner. Turns out, it does. YouTuber Fazli Halim’s review of the Pixel 6a includes a side-by-side comparison of the fingerprint scanners on the Pixel 6 Pro and the Pixel 6a.
As you can see in the attached video, the fingerprint scanner on the newer model is not only faster but also a bit more accurate than the one on the Pixel 6 Pro. The device unlocks even with a quick tap on the fingerprint scanner, while the Pixel 6 Pro displays a “Hold a little longer” prompt at the bottom of the display. At the moment, we’re not sure if Google implemented a software fix on the Pixel 6a to achieve better results or opted for a new, more reliable in-display fingerprint scanner altogether. We expect to find out when the Pixel 6a officially goes on sale next month.
Your Wear OS smartwatch can do much more than display notifications and count your steps. Many of the best Wear OS apps can help you be productive, stay on top of your tasks, control your smart home devices, and more. While most smartwatches come packed with a bevy of fitness and wellness features, you can still add a lot of new functionality to your watch using third-party apps.
Whether your goal is to get in shape, improve strength, start running, eat clean, sleep better, or all, there’s a perfect Wear OS app for everything.
Strava
Considered the holistic app for runners and cyclists, Strava for Wear OS provides an easy way to track your runs, rides, and hikes right from your wrist. Just install the app, grant location and sensor access, and you’re good to go. The app is well-optimized for Wear OS with a clean UI and an easy-to-navigate menu. It also has an auto-pause feature for running and bike rides which automatically pauses the recording session as soon as you stop your activity. The app can also track your indoor run and ride, freestyle workout, handcycle, and Nordic Ski. You can view a detailed breakdown of your completed activity on your smartphone. Note that the Wear OS app is limited to activity recording. Features like distance tracking, training & coaching, and community features are restricted to the mobile app.
Don’t have hours to spend at the gym? No worries. Why spend hours sweating and soaking at the gym when you can squeeze a solid 7-minute workout into your busy day at home using the Seven app. The best part here is that you don’t need any special equipment. All workouts can be done with just your body. The app displays visual cues of the exercise on your smartwatch along with a countdown bar indicating how much time is left in the current set. Each set is followed by a brief rest period during which you can also see an overview of the upcoming workout. Once you complete the exercise, the training results, including your heart rate activity throughout the session, can be seen on your smartphone. You need to buy a monthly/yearly subscription to unlock all workouts and additional features.
Adidas Running is a powerful app that lets you track your fitness routines for running, walking, jogging, and cycling. In addition, you can also record more than 90 sports activities like cricket, yoga, swimming, basketball, etc. The Wear OS app can be used in two ways: in standalone mode or as a secondary display. In the standalone mode, the app uses the watch’s built-in GPS to precisely track your activity along with your heart rate data. However, in this mode, you can’t access features like Training Plans, Interval Traning, and Voice Coach. If you wish to use the watch as a second display, you’ll need to start an activity on your smartphone. Overall, it’s a great alternative to Strava.
Calm is one of the most popular apps for meditation, relaxation, and managing stress. It offers a range of guided breathing exercises to help you relax, focus, unwind, or energize yourself. Another useful feature is mood check-in which lets you track your current mood with the help of emojis and labels. The app also features a wide selection of meditation programs, sleep stories, and calming music which you listen to directly on your Wear OS smartwatch.
In addition to tracking physical activity, tracking your nutrition and calories is equally important. With Lifesum, you can track your meals and water intake right from your wrist. Your calorie goal is displayed prominently in the app, with a plus button appearing at the bottom that lets you quickly log your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. The circular green progress bar fills up as you log food/water data. In addition, the app can also keep tabs on your physical activity. Overall, the app is nicely designed but lacks some important features compared to the smartphone version.
Sleep as Android
Getting enough sleep is just as important as exercising and eating healthy. Most of the time, you’ll be perfectly fine with your smartwatch’s in-built sleep tracking. But Sleep as Android goes the extra mile to ensure you’re getting proper sleep and waking up on time. It has many additional features, including a smart alarm that wakes you up at an optimal time, CAPTCHA wake-up verification to prevent you from oversleeping, snoring detection, and sleep talk recording.
Wake up Well is a smart alarm clock that lets you wake up fresh and energized. Unlike traditional alarms, which fire off at a specified time, Wake Up Well identifies your sleep phase and tries to gently wake you up when you’re in Rapid Eye Movement sleep. Studies show that in the REM sleep stage, your brain is more active, and your body is naturally waking up thus, it’s the best phase to wake up as opposed to the deep sleep stage. Wake Up Well uses vibrations to wake you up, so your partner or other people in the house aren’t disturbed.
That wraps up our round-up of the best fitness and wellbeing Wear OS apps. As you can see, there are a lot of amazing fitness and wellness apps to get the most out of your Wear OS smartwatch. While there are tons of other apps to consider, these are the best options, in our opinion.
These apps should work well across Wear OS smartwatches. But if you are looking to make a purchase, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic get our recommendation.
Have you ever been thinking about buying a new monitor and wishing the store had one with a 16:18 aspect ratio? Of course not. No one has. But LG thought we needed one, and here we are with the new DualUp Monitor; and I’m shocked at how easy it is to call it one of the best monitors around.
First of all, it’s actually just a good monitor, with a wide color gamut and accurate colors out of the box. It’s got a high resolution too, so it’s really not missing anything.
And then there’s the aspect ratio, which lends itself nicely to any content that scrolls vertically. You can also nicely stack two windows on top of each other.
The LG DualUp Monitor is available now for $699.99
The LG DualUp Monitor went on sale in mid-June, and comes in at $699.99. There are no options for this item, such as colors or different configurations, so that’s really all you need you know. You can get it from vendors like Amazon, Best Buy, and LG.com.
LG DualUp Monitor: Specs
27.6-inch SDQHD (2560 x 2880) Nano IPS Display
3-Side Virtually Borderless Design
DCI-P3 98% (Typ.), sRGB 135% (Typ.), 1.07B Colors
HDR 10, Color Calibrated
300nits (Typ.) Brightness
HDMI 2.0 x2, DisplayPort 1.4 x1, USB 2.0 1up, USB 3.0 2down, H/P out
USB Type-C x1 (Power Delivery 90W)
Live Color Low Blue Light, Ambient Light Sensor
PBP (2 Source, 1 Source)
Ergo Stand
Extend/Retract 210mm, Swivel -335~335°,
Height 130mm, Down Height 35mm, Pivot 90° (Counterclockwise),
Tilt -25~25° Adjustable Stand
7W x 2ch Stereo Speakers (with Waves MaxxAudio)
The screen: What can you do with a 16:18 display?
The LG DualUp has a 27.6-inch 16:18 display, which is the size of two 21.5-inch 16:9 displays stacked on top of each other
It’s really good for vertical scrolling and for putting two wide apps on-screen at once
Display quality
As far as screen quality goes, it’s really good. I wanted to come right out of the gate and say that, because it’s really easy for companies to try something radically new, and in the effort to get there, abandon all of the rest of the things on the checklist of items that are needed for a good product. That’s not what happened here. The DualUp has an all-new form factor and it’s still a great monitor.
It supports 100% sRGB, 87% NTSC, 91% Adobe RGB, and 94% P3, which is pretty great overall.
Brightness maxed out at 344.3 nits, which is impressive since LG only promises 300 nits. It also exceeds the promised 1,000:1 contrast ratio, and it well exceeds the promised 700:1 minimum contrast ratio. As far as display quality goes, there’s some underpromising and overdelivering going on here.
The LG Ergo Stand
It supports USB-C, DisplayPort, and HDMI, as you’d expect, and interestingly, it comes with the LG Ergo Stand instead of a standard desktop monitor stand. At first, I hated that it didn’t come with a traditional monitor stand that sits on a desk, since that’s just what I’m used to.
However, the Ergo Stand grew on me rather quickly. It makes the screen easy to adjust, and it doesn’t take up space on my desk, freeing up room for other things (obviously it’s junk but we won’t talk about how consistently messy my desk is).
The LG DualUp changes what I want in a monitor.
Also, it’s nice and easy to adjust the height and angle of the screen, and you can rotate it too. However
you want to use it, you can. It’s really useful if you adjust your workflow throughout the day. For example, I use a standing desk, and I use it in different positions when standing and when sitting. I also adjust it sometimes for calls, since this is a tall display, and webcam angle can be an issue.
You can also rotate the display. It’s not uncommon for someone to take a 16:9 monitor and turn it to 9:16, but this monitor is actually designed for that portrait orientation. You can still rotate it from 16:18 to 18:16 if you want something just a bit wider.
The unique 16:18 form factor
Like I said in the very beginning of this article, I never imagined that I’d like a display with an aspect ratio like this, but here we are. It’s quite good. There are two key use cases. The first that I noticed was vertical scrolling. I’m a writer, so when I have a long draft, I can see more of it at a time than I can with a standard 16:9 display. You have to remember that in any CMS, there are also other blocks of things besides just the text editor, so more space means a better writing experience.
This goes for reading too, or just general web browsing. If you’re reading this review on an LG DualUp Monitor, you’ll just be able to see more at once. It also just feels natural to read in portrait orientation; I think that’s something that we’ve figured out with phones and tablets.
I was amazed at how easily the DualUp fit into my workflow.
The other key use case is snapping windows side-by-side, meaning top and bottom. This screen is 27.6 inches measured diagonally with a 16:18 aspect ratio, so it’s the same as two 21.5-inch monitors on top of each other. The downside is that a 21.5-inch monitor is really small, so that’s the width that you’re getting here.
But what’s cool is that you can put two 16:9 apps on top of each other. Now, of course you could do that with two monitors, but thanks to how snapping in Windows 11 works, you can adjust the sizes. Maybe you want the top window to take up two thirds of the screen and the bottom one to be smaller. With one monitor, it’s easier to do that.
Ultimately, the LG DualUp Monitor is really flexible and useful. I was amazed at how quickly and easily it fit into my workflow.
Should you buy the LG DualUp Monitor?
The LG DualUp Monitor is certainly unique, but it’s definitely not for everyone.
You should buy the LG DualUp Monitor if:
You do a lot of vertical scrolling, whether that’s from reading, writing, and so on
You find stacking apps on top of each other useful, at different sizes
You should NOT buy the LG DualUp Monitor if:
You need a monitor that’s wider than a 21.5-inch 16:9 screen
You want something more traditional
As mentioned earlier, the cool thing about stacking apps on top of each other on a monitor like this is that you can resize them. For example, the app on top can take up two thirds of the screen, something you can’t comfortably do with dual monitors. Of course, the big drawback is that the LG DualUp is the size of two small monitors.
Honor has been making earphones for years, and I reviewed the Honor Magic Earbuds in the first half of 2020. They were a pair of distinctly average earphones and came about essentially as a rebrand of the Huawei FreeBuds 3i. The company has been making earphones since, and while I’m confused about the naming lineage, what I can say is that the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro are a pretty fantastic pair of earphones that I’ve grown to love.
For the technical specifications, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro feature a coaxial dual-driver design with an 11mm loudspeaker, active noise canceling, fast charging, and temperature monitoring that’s limited only to some regions. They come in both white and gray and offer up to four hours of battery life per earbud with ANC switched on. They also support being connected to two devices at a time for fast switching, use Bluetooth 5.2, and feature wireless charging and fast wired charging.
Basically, these are a premium set of earphones that I feel comfortable crowning as one of the best wireless earphones, and it’s hard to find fault with them. I think they’ll make an excellent addition to any smartphone ecosystem, and in this review, I think you’ll see why.
5-minute charge adds 2 hours of combined playback time
Other Features
Active noise cancellation support (48dB peak)
USB Type-C port for charging
In-ear thermometer (region dependent)
Touch controls
Colors
White
Gray
Honor Earbuds 3 Pro: Design
The Honor Earbuds 3 Pro don’t exactly pack a unique design, but it’s kind of hard to do something unique with earphones. Samsung achieved something different with the company’s Galaxy Buds, and Huawei’s FreeBuds Pro had a more squared-off design. Aside from that, they all more or less look the same, and it’s no different here. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just an observation. As for this colorway, I’m a massive fan of the more “smoky” look. That does set it apart from the likes of Apple’s AirPods, and it’s also just an aesthetic preference.
There are multiple sensors on each earbud — a proximity sensor and an AI temperature reader. It’s hard to make a unique design for earphones, and as someone who has used a lot of truly wireless earphones, a lot of them do look the same.
They’re comfortable to use for long stretches of listening
The touch controls are finicky, thanks to the small stem on the earbuds. They’re kind of difficult to use at times and can misunderstand touches rarely, though they work and you eventually get the hang of them after a while.
That aside, the design is functional and they’re comfortable to use for long stretches of listening. The silicone tips fit nicely in my ears, and I didn’t need to change a size up or a size down like I’ve had to with some earphones, such as the OnePlus Buds Pro. There are a smaller set and a larger set that come in the box.
Honor Earbuds 3 Pro: Audio, Battery, and Software
No matter what, the most important aspect of any pair of earphones is how they actually sound. I’ll always forgive a pair of earphones for lacking in features if they have good sound because that’s what people are probably actually buying them for. Given Huawei’s previous proficiency in audio (between the Huawei Sound and the Huawei FreeBuds Pro), I figured that some of that sound tech would have made its way to Honor, too. As it turns out, it definitely has.
I loved the Huawei Freebuds Pro, and I’ve used a lot of earphones since then, too. I’ve used some of the best offerings from Samsung, OnePlus, and the Nothing Ear 1 earphones to name a few, and so far, none of them quite match up to the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro, and they successfully top the Huawei FreeBuds Pro, too. In essence, I think these are my favorite earphones that I have currently.
The Honor Earbuds 3 Pro sound incredible, and they're comfortable to wear for long periods of time
The Honor Earbuds 3 Pro sound incredible, and they’re comfortable to wear for long periods of time. If you want to check out the playlist I’ve been primarily listening to with these earphones, you can check that out here on Spotify. Songs such as EDEN‘s Modern Warfare balance the low-end with the rest of the mix perfectly, with Honor successfully straying away from the heavy focus on the low-end that we often see in cheaper earphones. One of my favorite songs of all time, Float On by Modest Mouse, is also done a massive service, coming through as clean as ever.
In terms of audio quality, Honor is very much a winner here. The Honor Earbuds 3 Pro sound fantastic, and are fundamentally just a solid pair of earphones. There’s no overpowering bassline, but it’s very clearly present, and the highs and mids remain firmly in check. For a pair of earphones, they do a solid job of not having a totally narrow sound either, the soundstage comes across a lot wider to me than some other earphones I’ve used like the Galaxy Buds 2.
When it comes to active noise canceling, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro also manages to do an impressive job. They successfully block out audio from around me pretty well and have served me well on public transport like the bus and the train. They do have a transparency mode, but it’s not great and a bit mediocre — generally the case when it comes to earphones, anyway. I’ve never really used a transparency mode that I’ve actually liked, and that includes the AirPods Pro. I’d rather just take them off entirely.
If you want to modify settings on these earphones, you’ll need the Honor AI Space app. It’s just like the Huawei AI Life app if you’re familiar with it. You can update your earphones, change gestures, run a “fit test” (though these don’t tend to be great, either), or change the noise-canceling mode. There’s no iOS app though, so Apple users beware.
Removing an earphone from your ears will automatically pause the music playing and turn off ANC, though you can turn that feature off from the app if you want. Putting the earphone back in your ear will continue playback. You can also listen with one earphone at a time with your gestures still active too.
As for battery life, the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro have been completely adequate. They boast only four hours of playback with ANC on, but I think that will suit most people, anyway. I haven’t run into a situation yet where my earphones were almost dead and I needed to throw them back into the case just to charge up, and I don’t think I’ve really ever had that experience with any pair of earphones.
Are the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro worth your money?
They're pricey, but they've earned that price tag
Coming in at £169 in the U.K. and €199 in Europe, these are an expensive pair of wireless earphones. However, they’re also one of the best pairs that I’ve ever used. They’re pricey, especially when compared to the rest of the competition, but they’ve also earned that price tag as a premium set of earphones.
The biggest criticism I can make of these earphones is the absence of aptX technology. They support the AAC codec so they still offer higher bit-rate streaming than SBC, Most people won’t care about the tech specs either; if they work, they work, and these do.
If what you want is a solid pair of earphones with excellent sound, then these are the earphones to get. It would have been nice to test the AI temperature monitoring to compare it to an actual thermometer, but the feature isn’t active in Ireland. Honor says that it’s not active in “United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Czech, Finland, and Romania,” though given it’s also not available in Ireland, I suspect that it may be inactive in the European Union as a whole. I’m absolutely in love with these earphones for the sound quality though, and that’s what matters most.
Dell’s XPS 15 has been one of the best laptops for creators for years, and the 2022 model is no different. It blends a four and a third pound chassis with the performance of Intel’s 12th-gen 45W processors and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics, all while delighting the user with a 3.5K OLED display and a powerful quad-speaker setup.
It’s not perfect. Dell continues to prioritize narrow bezels over a quality webcam, and that’s an issue in the age of working from home. Plus, the cost of parts is going up, and we’re seeing the price of devices keep up with that.
This year’s model is just a spec bump, with a faster CPU and faster memory, but certain things still caught me by surprise. Battery life was really good, something I never expect from a laptop with a 45W CPU and RTX graphics. Ultimately, it’s just a delightful laptop that I’m happy to recommend.
The Dell XPS 15 9520 starts at $1,449 and is available now
It’s available in either Platinum Silver or Frost colors
Announced this spring, the Dell XPS 15 9520 is available for purchase now, and it starts at $1,449. That base model will include a Core i5-12500H, 8GB DDR5 memory, a 256GB SSD, and an FHD+ display. It won’t include dedicated graphics.
As usual, there are lots of options. You can get it with up to 64GB RAM and a 2TB SSD, and the display has two different 4K options (technically the OLED one is considered 3.5K), one of which is OLED and the other of which isn’t. The CPU goes up to a Core i9-12900HK, and the graphics card goes up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti.
There are two colors. One is Platinum Silver, packing a black carbon fiber keyboard deck. It’s the classic XPS look. The other is Frost with a white woven glass fiber keyboard deck.
Dell XPS 15 (2022) specs
CPU
12th Generation Intel Core i7-12700H (24MB Cache, up to 4.7 GHz, 14 cores)
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB GDDR6 (40W)
Display
15.6-inch 3.5K (3456 x 2160) InfinityEdge OLED touch display, DisplayHDR 500, 400-nit, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 100,000:1 contrast ratio, 176° wide viewing angle +/- 88° / 88° / 88° / 88°, up to 0.65% anti-reflective, anti-smudge
2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) with DisplayPort and Power Delivery
1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (DisplayPort / Power Delivery)
1x Full-size SD card reader v6.0
1x 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack
Wedge-shaped lock slot
1x USB-C to USB-A v3.0 & HDMI v2.0 adapter ships standard
Storage
512GB PCIe 4 x4 SSD
Memory
16GB (2x8GB) DDR5 Dual Channel at 4800MHz
Battery
86Whr battery (built-in), 130W AC adapter (USB Type-C)
Audio
Studio quality tuning with Waves MaxxAudio Pro and Waves Nx 3D audio
Quad-speaker design with 2.5W x2 woofers and 1.5W x2 tweeters = 8W total peak output
3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack featuring Waves Nx 3D audio with head tracking
Dual microphone array optimized with Waves MaxxVoice supporting VoIP
Microsoft Cortana capable
Inputs
Touch Display (optional)
2 Digital Array Microphones
Full size, backlit chiclet keyboard; 1.3mm travel
Glass surface Precision Touchpad
Windows Hello fingerprint reader in power button & HD (720p) Windows Hello camera in upper bezel
Ambient Light Sensor for display backlight control
Material
CNC machined aluminum in platinum silver with carbon fiber composite palm rest in black
OS
Windows 11 Home
Price
$2,253
These are the specs of the unit that Dell sent me for review. As mentioned above, the base model starts at $1,449.
Design: There are no design changes
It has the familiar Dell XPS design, with a black keyboard and silver exterior
There are three USB ports, and it also includes an SD card slot
To be clear, the only things that have changed gen-over-gen are internal. If you knew what the Dell XPS 15 9500 and 9510 models looked like, you can safely skip this section.
The model that Dell sent me comes in Platinum Silver with a black carbon fiber palm rest. This is what I consider to be classic XPS. Back when there was only one colorway for the entire lineup, this was it. Since then, it’s expanded. The second one was Frost with a white woven glass fiber palm rest, and I have to say, that one is pretty sweet. That second option debuted with the XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1, but it more recently came to the XPS 15. The XPS 17 only has the XPS classic look.
The middle is stamped with a shiny Dell logo, and that’s the flashiest part of the exterior. The sides are silver, a design that actually debuted with the XPS 15 9500 a couple of years ago; prior to that, the sides matched the black keyboard deck.
It has all of the ports that you need, as long as they’re USB Type-C. There are actually three USB Type-C ports, two of which are Thunderbolt 4. Thunderbolt is the most versatile port there is, supporting 40Gbps transfer speeds and fully supporting USB4. The USB Type-C port on the other side, however, is USB 3.2 Gen 2, so you get 10Gbps transfer speed. You can charge the laptop with any of the three, and it’s actually nice to have a powerful machine like this that uses USB Type-C for charging. It’s somewhat rare since, for a time, Power Delivery only supported up to 100W.
Also on the right side is a 3.5mm audio jack and a full-size SD card slot. If you’re a photographer, then you already know how important this is, and you probably already know that a full-size SD card slot is somewhat rare in laptops. But ultimately, this is a creator machine, so it has one.
The design of the Dell XPS 15 9520 is tried and true, and if you like it, you might want to jump on it. The Dell XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 both got redesigned this year, which means that the larger models likely aren’t far behind.
Display: The OLED is as sweet as always
The screen is 15.6 inches diagonally with a 16:10 aspect ratio
It comes in FHD+, OLED 3.5K, and non-OLED 4K
As you’d expect from something with “15” in the name, it has a 15.6-inch display, which has been 16:10 since the XPS 15 9500 came out. There are three options: 1,920×1,200, 3,456×2,160 OLED, and 3,840×2,400 IPS LCD. Dell sent me the OLED model, which is obviously my favorite.
There’s something to remember about Dell’s OLED displays though, which is that you don’t really need them. Their non-OLED screens are so good that you won’t even see much of a difference. With OLED, you get true blacks because pixels are only lit up when they’re being used, and because there’s no backlight, those colors tend to also be more vibrant. However, you can also have a really great IPS LCD screen that could pass as OLED, and that’s what Dell offers.
The OLED screen on the model that Dell sent me obviously scored well on my display tests, supporting 100% sRGB, 94% NTSC, 96% Adobe RGB, and 100% P3. These are the best scores that you’ll find. But again, the other configurations are going to reach in the 90s as well.
Brightness maxed out at 405.7 nits, slightly exceeding the promised 400. As you can see, black doesn’t go up as brightness increases, a benefit of OLED.
The point that I’m trying to get across is that Dell puts really great displays on its XPS laptops. OLED is fantastic as always, and FHD+ is for if you really need the extra battery life.
As always, Dell is committed to having the narrowest bezels around for the most immersive experience. Indeed, it has prioritized that above all else, even chopping down the chin a couple of years ago when it moved from a 16:9 display to 16:10. Unfortunately, that also means that there’s still a 720p webcam when the rest of the market is moving toward higher-quality 1080p webcams thanks to the boom in working from home.
Keyboard: It has a massive touchpad
Dell uses one of the largest touchpads on any 15-inch Windows laptop
The fingerprint sensor still requires you to wait for the PC to boot
As mentioned above, the palm rest is black carbon fiber, and the keyboard is a matching black, using Chiclet-style keys. The keyboard is both comfortable and accurate, although it does leave something to be desired over say, a ThinkPad X1 Extreme, given that ThinkPads are renowned for having the best keyboards. One thing I will say is that while it’s not quite as quiet, I do like the force curve a bit more. To me, Lenovo’s ThinkPads have too long of a key-depth, and they sometimes don’t feel modern.
One thing I absolutely love is the big old touchpad that Dell chose to include. It’s about as big as it gets in a 15-inch laptop, and the only other OEM I see trying to make large touchpads is Apple. It’s great to see on the Windows side. I will say that the big touchpad can feel a bit wobbly at times, and I think a haptic touchpad in its place would be a nice change. Perhaps we’ll see that in a future iteration. In the meantime, I’ll absolutely take this big touchpad as a win.
The keyboard is flanked by the speakers, and Dell actually has four, two of which are underneath the laptop. It has a total of two 2.5W woofers and two 1.5W tweeters, making for an excellent audio experience. They’re tuned with Waves MaxxAudio Pro and Waves Nx 3D, and combined with the beautiful OLED display, this is a great machine for media consumption.
The Dell XPS 15 is the perfect creator PC
Dell used to talk about that a lot more, putting the high-quality display, high-quality sound, and more under an umbrella called Dell Cinema. The branding might not be there anymore, but the quality still is.
Performance: Intel 12th-gen and RTX graphics are a winning combo
The Dell XPS 15 9520 comes with Intel 12th-gen H-series processors, and either integrated graphics, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, or an RTX 3050 Ti
Along with 12th-gen CPUs, the other upgrade includes DDR5 memory
As I mentioned earlier, all of the upgrades on this machine are internal. It now comes with Intel’s 45W 12th-gen processors, which in turn enable it to have DDR5 memory. It’s also offered with either integrated graphics, an RTX 3050, or an RTX 3050 Ti, and those options existed for its predecessor. The configuration that Dell sent me includes an Intel Core i7-12700H, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, 16GB DDR5, and a 512GB SSD.
Personally, I think the Dell XPS 15 is the perfect machine for creators. It’s got the best display, and it’s got just the right internals. But it actually doesn’t have to be. If you want something that’s just a bigger laptop and you don’t need the power, you can get it with integrated graphics. But specced out as it is in this model, I love it.
The Dell XPS 15 is what its predecessors have always been: the best at what they're meant to do
In the battery testing that I’ll talk about in a bit, I used it for work. That’s my usual writing articles in the web browser, and then using apps like Slack, OneNote, and so on. But a lot of what I used it for included apps like Adobe Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, and that was on battery life with the power slider set to best power efficiency. The best way I can put it is that I didn’t have to crank up the dial at any point to get the performance that I needed.
Intel’s new 12th-gen CPUs have a hybrid architecture, with big cores and little cores. The big cores, or P-cores, handle tasks that need a boost in performance. For things that don’t, there are the E-cores.
Ultimately, the Dell XPS 15 9520 is what it has always been. It’s quite possible the best laptop. It’s a perfect blend of power and portability.
For benchmarks, I used PCMark 10, 3DMark, VRMark, Cinebench, Geekbench, and CrossMark. As you can see, I just keep adding more benchmarks.
Dell XPS 15 9520
Core i7-12700H, RTX 3050 Ti
Dell XPS 17 9720
Core i7-12700H, RTX 3060
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro
Ryzen 7 5800H, RTX 3070
PCMark 10
6,640
6,280
6,800
3DMark: Time Spy
4,535
6,250
9,963
3DMark: Time Spy Extreme
2,250
2,967
VRMark: Orange
4,745
8,689
12,249
VRMark: Cyan
2,753
2,752
9,093
VRMark: Blue
1,325
1,902
3,027
Cinebench R23
1,797 / 11,695
1,767 / 11,714
1,423 / 11,729
Geekbench 5
1,774 / 11,580
1,753 / 12,992
1,475 / 7,377
CrossMark overall
1,855
1,871
CrossMark productivity
1,735
1,702
CrossMark creatvity
2,053
2,157
CrossMark response time
1,671
1,624
Included in the comparison is the newest Dell XPS 17, which is meant to be a bit more powerful with its RTX 3060 graphics. I’ll have a review on that soon, although to be honest, don’t expect it to look a whole lot different from this one. It’s obviously a similar product that’s a bit bigger and a bit more powerful.
The model that Dell sent me comes with an 86WHr battery, which is the larger of the two options. Interestingly, battery life is pretty great. My lowest was four hours and 55 minutes and my best was six hours and six minutes, with an average of around five and a half hours. Again, I did leave the power slider on best power efficiency, something that I don’t always do. But performance was so good that I didn’t need to touch it. Indeed, it was quite impressive.
Should you buy the Dell XPS 15 (2022)?
The Dell XPS 15 9520 is the best at what it’s meant to do, but you should be aware of if your use case fits that.
You should buy the Dell XPS 15 (2022) if:
You want the best creator machine with a 15-inch display
You want the best experience when streaming movies and TV shows
You should not buy the Dell XPS 15 (2022) if:
You’re looking for a productivity machine (check out the XPS 13 instead)
You’re looking for a quality webcam
I think the biggest reason not to get the Dell XPS 15 is if you want a productivity machine. That’s what U-series processors and integrated graphics are for, and something like a Dell XPS 13 would actually serve you much better than an XPS 15 would. Of course, there’s also the issue of the webcam, which is something to be aware of.
