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Latitude vs XPS
Hi All,
We have been purchasing Latitudes (7000s) series for years. Now that the EDocks have been replaced with the thunderbolt docks staff are asking for XPS-13's. They like the size/weight. We don't really use the IT management capabilities of the Latitudes and I can get and I& in both. For business use, should I stay with the Latitude line or is the XPS a good alternative? I am mainly asking about durability here. Thanks
ejn63
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July 26th, 2018 10:00
There's probably not a lot of difference in similar XPS and Latitude lightweights any longer. That said, the XPS tends to get the cutting-edge hardware first and change platforms much more rapidly - if you're prepared to deal with that (and yes, it can mean waiting for BIOS releases to fix known problems -- longer than for XPS models) - and you're prepared for a heterogeneous system population, the XPS will likely serve just fine.
jphughan
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July 26th, 2018 10:00
On the durability front you'll be fine with the XPS systems. An aluminum and carbon fiber chassis is nothing to sneeze at. In terms of other aspects, I have a Latitude 7480 for work, an XPS 15 for personal use, and my wife has an XPS 13 for personal use, so I spend a lot of time around both product lines. I like both of the XPS systems, but the Latitude gets a clear edge on keyboard quality -- at least the "mainstream" 14-inch models. I've never used the Latitude 2-in-1 models and such, so I can't comment on those. That's not to say that the XPS keyboards are bad, just not as nice, although in fairness I'm a keyboard snob since I can type about 140 WPM on a good keyboard. And on the trackpad front, the Latitudes give you dedicated click buttons as well as a pointing stick, neither of which are available on XPS systems. But the XPS systems have their own perks, particularly with respect to chassis design and feature set (on the XPS 15) -- and XPS systems seem not to have the same price premium that Latitude systems command.
My dream system would be something with XPS internals and aluminum/carbon fiber chassis but a Latitude keyboard and trackpad (I never use the pointing stick), but so far I haven't seen one.
ejn63
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July 26th, 2018 15:00
"My dream system would be something with XPS internals and aluminum/carbon fiber chassis but a Latitude keyboard and trackpad (I never use the pointing stick), but so far I haven't seen one."
For that, you won't be able to stay with Dell - that's called the Thinkpad X1 Carbon.
jphughan
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July 26th, 2018 18:00
The X1 Carbon isn't aluminum and carbon fiber, and for my own use case I'd want XPS 15-level internals (including a dGPU and H-series CPU), which the X1 Carbon doesn't deliver, in fact most Lenovo laptops don't until you get to the really bulky and heavy models. Plus the ThinkPads continue to insist on having the Fn and Ctrl keys backwards. I know there's a BIOS option to swap them, but the Fn key is still larger than the Ctrl key, so it doesn't work as well -- and the fact that they offer a BIOS option to swap those keys in the first place is a tacit admission that they know they're doing it wrong. I guess that's just another element of their fear of changing anything about their keyboards for fear of upsetting their devotees. The IdeaPads have those keys in the proper layout, but those models don't appeal to me as much.
ejn63
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July 26th, 2018 18:00
The X1 Carbon is magnesium alloy and carbon fiber -- close enough, though it's painted so the metal does not show.
No one however makes a better touch typing keyboard than Lenovo does on the Thinkpad -- and if you've had your hands on the competition (and I mean the XPS, competing HPs and the touch-strip Macs), the disparity is getting bigger and bigger as the competition's keyboards approach closer and closer to the feel of the control on a washing machine or microwave oven than they do a computer.
bob_m10
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August 2nd, 2018 15:00
So I had an XPS 13 and a 7390 side by side today. The durability seemed about the same to me. The XPS 13 was slightly thinner but the 7390 had HDMI and USB ports that users like. Tough choice.
Zeph19
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March 15th, 2019 22:00
BS! I'll take an XPS keyboard every time over a Thinkpad Extreme. And as far as the internals are concerned there is no comparison. XPS wins that battle going away for similar priced machines. Better cpu's, better RAM, and better hard drives for comparable priced models, and anyone price comparing both on each site can prove that in under 5 minutes! Reality! You can have your overpriced cute keyboard with the weaker internals Thinkpad Extreme. I'll take the machine that actually performs far better at a given price, the XPS! :-)
Zeph19
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March 15th, 2019 22:00
Mehintegro
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August 10th, 2019 13:00
I own the XPS13 (9370) and recently got the Lattitude (7490) from my company. Both strong, lightweight and great fun to work with.
Although the XPS13 is a great machine, my preference is the Lattitude:
- matte display (I don't like the glossy types)
- slightly better keyboard and mouse with 2 buttons (and yes, that is subjective)
- the camera position is better (above and not below the screen - is improved with the 9380)
- full size USB-A and HDMI connectors. Good thing it still has 1 USB-C/Thunderbolt3 connector so i have one charger for both laptops and a USB-C Hub to share monitor etc
- the overall handling - although the XPS13 is leighter, it feels heavier due to the slightly thicker seize and being from aluminium.
Price-wise however (in this case) the XPS13 (€1300) is cheaper than the Lattitude (€1800), so privately I would still opt for the XPS13 as the price difference is not worth it as the XPS13 is still a GREAT machine .