Dell XPS 15 (2023) Laptop Review: A Prosumer Media-Lover’s Go-To

With the weight that Dell’s XPS lineup carries, one expects greatness when a new model debuts. And, with its understated design, speedy processor, and phenomenal display, I’d say the 2023 Dell XPS 15 (9530) laptop upholds the acclaimed title.

Dell dubs its XPS 15 (9530) a “prosumer” laptop, and its latest XPS release is indeed a device of greatness. But like anything extraordinary, some specs are less than perfect, like the 720p integrated camera, the slightly uncomfortable build, and the lack of integrated USB-A ports.

Nonetheless, Dell’s 2023 XPS 15 laptop is about the pinnacle of everything a Windows user could want in a laptop, with a few exceptions. You’ll pay some serious dough for my configuration (my device is $2,800 retail), but if you need a trusted device for producing content or multimedia projects, it might be worth it to shell out the extra bucks.

The Design: A Pro Premium Look and Feel

• Dimensions: 13.57 x 0.71 x 9.06in (344.72 x 18 x 230.14mm)
• Weight: Starting at 4.23lbs (1.92kg) for OLED screen
  
• Display: 15.6in 3.5K (3456 x 2160) InfinityEdge OLED, anti-reflective, anti-smudge
• Model Number: 9530
• Screen Size: 15.6in
• Chassis material: CNC machined aluminum in platinum silver with carbon fiber composite palm rest in black
  

Unlike the unexpected design of the Dell XPS 13 Plus, the Dell XPS 15 (9530) has a predictable build. It shouldn’t, in the least, be controversial like the XPS 13 Plus. Its design works, and although it isn’t flashy, it does have some premium touches, like the shiny XPS logo on the bottom, the large cooling system, and the carbon fiber palm rest.

The top lid of the laptop features a pleasing silver color and the Dell logo. When you open the laptop, you’ll see a large 10-keyless keyboard, a sizeable touchpad, and two up-firing speakers, all surrounded with carbon fiber material. The screen measures 15.6 inches. At the top of the display are the two microphones and the integrated camera.

The laptop’s edges are the one thing I didn’t like about this design, as while they’re rounded, they still feel quite sharp if you lean against the corners or edges with your wrists or palms.

Ports and Connectivity

One expects to have at least one USB-A port in a laptop of this size, but Dell went in a different direction here. Even though USB-C isn’t universal yet, the XPS 15 has three total USB-C ports (two of which are Thunderbolt). On the laptop’s left side, you’ll find the two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports and a wedge-shaped lock slot.

Note: Read this if you’re confused about the difference between Thunderbolt and USB-C.

The XPS 15 has a 3.5mm headphone/microphone jack, a full-size SD card reader, and a USB-C port on the right side.

Thankfully, if you need an HDMI port (also missing on the laptop) and a USB-A port, the XPS 15 comes with an adapter that has one of each. Still, this may not be enough if you’re working on media-heavy projects, in which case, you’ll need a USB-C hub.

Touch Inputs: Keyboard, Trackpad, and Touchscreen

• Touchscreen: Yes
• Display Materials: Edge-to-edge Corning Gorilla Glass 6
• TrackPad: 5.87in glass surface precision touchpad
• Keyboard: Full size (10 keyless) backlit chiclet keyboard

Comfort and responsiveness are everything in a laptop’s touchscreen, trackpad, and keyboard, and Dell has managed to hit them all out of the park. The 2023 XPS 15 (9530) features a full-size 10-keyless keyboard that has the best type feel I’ve felt in a while. It also feels like the perfect size, which does matter when you type as much as I do. (I previously commented on the Razer Blade 18‘s small keyboard).

Meanwhile, the trackpad, which takes up about a third of the bottom area underneath the keyboard, is responsive enough to prevent my flying fingers from making random mistakes and does well with all the actions like two-finger scrolling and right- and left-clicks.

The touchscreen, made of Corning Gorilla Glass 6, is slightly less responsive than other touchscreens I’ve used before. Sometimes you’ll need to double-tap a spot to open an app if your first tap doesn’t work, but the touchscreen is above average overall.

Performance: A Swift and Painless Workhorse

Working from home, as I do, requires a lot of a device, and the Dell XPS 15 (9530) was up to the task. From casual game breaks to word processing to tab-heavy internet browsing to audio recording and photo editing, this laptop took a figurative beating. I also used it as my primary media-consumption device for everything, as my smart TV blessed me with the black screen of death recently, and streaming any form of media (music, YouTube, shows, movies, etc.) was a pleasure.

I had two minor issues when using this laptop. The first was an unexpected freeze of Zoom, with the camera unresponsive. Once I rebooted the laptop, the problem went away, so I chalked that up to an update issue. The second issue was a slowdown when I was playing a YouTube video with about 25 tabs open, in addition to Photoshop. All in all, minor complaints considering how well the XPS 15 performed overall.

Gaming With the Dell XPS 15 (9530)

Playing games on the Dell XPS 15 (9530) was an enjoyable experience, thanks to the NVIDIA GPU, which brings significant color depth and realism with its DLSS3 and full ray-tracing. As Dell notes, this laptop is not a gaming laptop. It does well with what it can do, but the CPU can’t handle resource hogs, so if you play big franchise games that require a lot of your CPU and GPU, you’ll experience some latency.

I got the best performance from less demanding games like “Ravenlok,” “Potion Craft,” “Homestead Arcana,” and “The Last Case of Benedict Fox,” but I could also eke out decent, though somewhat latent, gameplay for titles like “Warhammer 40,000 Dark Tide.” I should note for “Warhammer,” the latency did affect my combat gameplay, as when it froze or skipped a horde of poxwalkers (basically, alien zombies) ganged up on me.

Tip: Here’s how to take a screenshot on a Dell laptop: hold down the Windows button, Shift, and “S.”

For casual to moderate gamers, this laptop works well to satisfy a midday craving for some combat or alchemy (and was okay for me!), but if you’re serious about competitive gaming, this won’t cut it, as the latency will keep you from coming out as champion.

Graphics and Display: Unleash The Eye Candy

• Display Features: 7.4 million pixels, 0.65% anti-reflective coating, EyeSafe Technology (reduces harmful blue light), wide viewing (176 degrees)
• Native Resolution: 3456 x 2160
• Brightness: 400 nits
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, 8GB GDDR6 (40W)

With a 3.5K resolution OLED screen with over 7 million pixels, it’s no surprise the Dell XPS 15 (9530) has a striking display that pops with vibrancy and clarity. Whether I was streaming movies and TV shows, watching YouTube videos, or playing games, I was met with nothing but eye candy.

YouTube videos set to a 4K resolution delivered a stunning stream, and I didn’t miss my TV an iota while streaming movies or shows because the quality was top-notch. I should mention that the saturation of color on this OLED is fairly high, but I didn’t find it to be too much.

Gaming also delivered a captivating picture no matter what I played. In fact, I played longer than I wanted to during several spurts because the sound and sights were immersive enough to keep me absorbed.

Media Sidekicks: Speakers, Webcam, and Microphones

• Microphones: Two digital array integrated microphones, optimized with Waves MaxxVoice, echo and noise cancellation
• Speakers: Quad-speaker system includes 2 x 2.5W woofers and 2 x 1.5W tweeters, 8W total output, studio quality tuning with Waves MaxxAudio Pro and Waves Nx 3D audio
• Webcam: 720p HD camera

If you want a laptop with some great speakers, the Dell XPS 15 (9530) delivers. The 8W quad-speaker system can reach surprising volumes. Although I preferred to keep the volume between 65 and 80% most of the time, I was impressed at how well it handles a high-volume output without sounding too muddy. At 100%, there was a slight distortion of high and mid-tones, but not as much as I expected. I defaulted to the integrated speakers for most media, but my JBL portable speaker still outperformed them in loudness when it came to streaming movies.

The webcam on the XPS 15 is the most major letdown of the entire device. After experiencing incredible graphics and top-tier performance running programs, the webcam feels like an afterthought.

But it isn’t outright terrible. It’s a standard 720P HD integrated camera, which is fine if you don’t use video conferencing programs like Zoom very often. However, for the price point, it does feel like Dell could’ve done a bit better. For example, the Lenovo Yoga 9i (Gen 8), a significantly cheaper buy, comes with an integrated 1080p webcam.

If grainy webcam video doesn’t bother you, then this won’t be a problem. And, of course, you can always invest in a separate webcam for a clearer picture.

As for the dual-integrated microphones, I used the Dell XPS 15 (9530) to video chat throughout the week and never heard a complaint about my audio sounding muffled. I also recorded myself speaking and singing, and upon listening back, I felt these mics did their job. The noise cancellation worked well enough to cut out the screaming kids in the backyard, but some noticeable shuffling noises courtesy of my dog were still audible. For a laptop, the mics do their job.

Microphone Test of the Dell XPS 15 (9530) In a Quiet Environment

Microphone Test of the Dell XPS 15 (9530) In a Noisy Environment

Battery Life and Charging

• Battery: integrated 86W battery
• Charger: 130W USB-C AC Adapter

Considering the XPS 15’s processor is an Intel Core, you won’t get the same long-lasting battery power as your might with an Intel Evo CPU. But despite the shorter battery life, the XPS 15 (9530) does well. It’s an average battery life, and I’ve encountered much worse on laptops of a similar price. Throughout moderate usage and my bad habit of leaving it on sleep overnight, the XPS 15 averaged about 9.69% drain in an hour. Left on sleep for over 10 hours, the XPS drained 7%. But this doesn’t account for the extreme drainage during gaming.

Gaming with this laptop wasn’t unpleasant, but the fast drain was. In one hour of gameplay, on average, the XPS drained 56.8%. In other words, moderate gaming on this device requires you to stay close to an outlet!

Regarding charge speed, the XPS 15 charged at a rate of about 20 to 30% per hour, which isn’t too speedy but is sufficient enough to make a quick battery top-up less of a chore.

Should You Buy The Dell XPS 15 (2023) Laptop?

If you need a laptop that can handle many different tasks, the 2023 Dell XPS 15 (9530) laptop is worth it. Yes, it’s costly, but you can customize your model to suit your needs. Not everyone will feel 1TB of storage or NVIDIA’s GPU are necessary. For those who want to consume and create media, the XPS 15 (9530) is a top choice, not just for its beautiful display but for its guts to handle video and audio editing, casual gaming, and all your nighttime entertainment.

Those who don’t feel like shelling out quite so much may want to look at the Lenovo Slim 9i, which has some similar specs for less.

You can buy this configuration of the Dell XPS 15 (9530) laptop for $2,799 today or customize yours starting at $1,499.