Intel Haswell availability?

Basically I agree, however: the DE is quite likely based on some existing product, like the XPS DE was based on the XPS 13. There's the problem: the XPS 13 got replaced by the ( . Sorry for obscenity) 7000 series.

Now, it certainly depends on what Dell decides, as Mr. George pointed out. Maybe they come up with a 15 inch DE (not my flavour) - I have no idea what may be the basis for such a machine.

Now, if Dell intends to bring a direct successor to the XPS 13, i.e. a laptop in ranging somewhere from 12 to 14 inches, it seems likely (perhaps even obvious) that such a machine may be based on the 7000...

We'll see, however, I fear! 

"There's the problem: the XPS 13 got replaced by the <ADMIN NOTE: Substitute character removed as per TOU> Sorry for obscenity) 7000 series."

How did you come to this conclusion?

The new Precision notebooks look like a step back only if you compare them to the XPS 13 ultrabooks. However, Precision notebooks are mostly designed for businesses and enterprise customers. XPS ultrabooks are consumer products. Therefore I seriously expect that Dell will release new better versions of the XPS laptops end of September, or middle of October, unless things are so bad at Dell that they will decide to kill the XPS line completely.

Hi,

First of all, thanks for your awesome work :)

My feedback:

1.- Haswell + Iris pro

2.- I'd really like to buy the next developer edition with a Latin american keyboard.  Are we going to have that possibility?.  I'd pay more for that keyboard if it's necessary.

Thanks again.

Hernán.

My feedback:

1. More interested in battery life and quad-core than Iris. But quad core may not fit in an ultrabook :(

2. If someone's requesting custom keyboards, can we finally have something ergonomic? Like keys in vertical columns and a colemak layout? I know the answer will be no, but can't for the life of me understand why people are concerned about the micro optimisations (regional differences) when the macro ones (staggered key positions, qwerty layout) haven't been improved from when they were originally designed to stop typewriter arms jamming.

Back to the XPS 13 DE: I think it's a brilliant idea. Mobile + high res (unfortunately not matt or passive) screen + enough CPU power for at least a bit of compiling. Oh, forgot the current version doesn't have a high res screen. Will the Haswell refresh add that?

The current version has a 1920x1080 display packed into a 13 inch screen.  That's going to be pretty darn sharp and typically 1080 is considered "full HD" so exactly how high of a resolution are you looking for?  I think 1920x1080 is excellent.  Are you looking for something like Apple's "retina" display (13" model is 2560x1600)?  Personally I don't really see that being a requirement.

I'm actually looking at this laptop again quite seriously.  It looks like I'll be starting a new job soon (I'll be accepting the offer on Monday) and the hiring manager's only requirement for a system was that he won't buy a Windows system.  Most people are running Macs (at least one guy was even running Ubuntu on it), and at least two people had System76 laptops.  Not sure how much RAM I will need at this company so 8GB may actually be sufficient, but given my previous experience with the Galago Ultrapro -- I probably won't be asking for a System76 laptop.

So I'll probably either be running Ubuntu on a Macbook Pro or this XPS 13 DE.  The advantage of buying the Dell is that I get to support my local business (Keep Austin Weird!) and support a company that is embracing/contributing to open-source software (even if it's only a small experimental part of the company).  Would sort of hate to get this model immediately before a new revision comes out but such is life sometimes.

I'm a software developer, so I would highly rate RAM and a quality keyboard, then build quality, battery life etc. For the display, intel graphics and 1080p seems sufficient for me at least. Also, the reviews I can see all say the RAM is soldered to the main board. Please don't do that!

Basically I'd look at all the people who traditionally have bought thinkpads like the x220 or one of the t-series, but are looking for a new home. Lenovo changed the keyboard to one more like what Dell and Apple use. I suppose I can learn to like the feel, but they also removed the pageup/pagedown and scroll lock and print screen. The xps keyboard seems even more simplified which is a shame. Is there any chance you'd consider bringing back a grown-ups' keyboard?

If I were speccing one of these to also play games on, I'd want it to work at least with some of the popular linux titles now available on steam. In fact, I'd probably expect the steam client to come pre-loaded.

The current version has a 1920x1080 display packed into a 13 inch screen.  That's going to be pretty darn sharp and typically 1080 is considered "full HD" so exactly how high of a resolution are you looking for?  I think 1920x1080 is excellent.  Are you looking for something like Apple's "retina" display (13" model is 2560x1600)?  Personally I don't really see that being a requirement.

Sorry, I got confused about the screen (there's also a 720p option).

But yes, would love to hear about availability of a Haswell model.

I may be mistaken but I believe that the 720p screens are for the Windows version of the XPS 13 only.  The "Developer Edition" comes with a 1080p screen which should be razor sharp on that screen size.  I know the configuration has already been refreshed once in the past, so perhaps the first version of the XPS 13 DE had a 720p screen as well?  In any case, the current revision is definitely 1080p.

I really hope to see a refresh soon too!  I think we all do.  :)

With projects like this, and Steam, and even Android -- I think Linux is finally becoming recognized as a mainstream competitor.  Of course, we all knew this years ago but it's not our fault that everyone else is just now catching up.  ;)

Hi everyone, I also registered just for this topic. Seems I'm not alone with the opinion, that there is no real competitor to the Macbook Air/Pro series on the market... (Especially with the haswell refresh of the Air and the upcoming refresh of the Pro version.) I bought the XPS 13 some month ago, but had to send it back because of issues with the trackpad. However, in general my experiences with it were quite nice and it's still the only serious linux ultrabook. If Dell could upgrade some specific specs and work on existing problems I am willing to give a possible XPS 13 DE refresh a new chance. Therefore, here is my 'wishlist' for a (hopefully) soon XPS refresh:

Crucial features:

• Refresh (and official announcement) soon: I think there are a lot of people badly waiting for options in context of haswell ultrabooks and other companies will release haswell refreshes as well in that segment.
• Haswell: Increased battery life etc.; battery life on XPS 2013 was quite ok, but compared to the (effective!) 10-12 h of the new Air... I wouldn't buy any laptop now with an (effective) life lower than 8-9 h.
• Screen:
  • 13,3'' is alright, but I would prefer a 14'', especially a slightly increased height for reading code would be nice. 
  • The screen is much too glossy! I like the 1080 IPS display, but sometimes it's not possible to avoid the sunlight even inside. In the end laptops are made for using them in different environments, so you cannot always avoid non-perfect light conditions. And that REALLY sucks with the actual display. I would prefer a matte display in general. In case you can't change that I think there might be ways to at least reduce the 'glossiness' of the screen somehow - like it is now it's definitely too much and prevents sometimes to use the laptop.
• Trackpad: I can't help, I didn't get the feeling for the XPS trackpad when I used it. It's hard to describe but it would like you to do lots and lots of testing of that particular aspect, since you're dealing with it all the time you're using the laptop. The trackpad feeling makes much of the usability for me. Also this issue leads to the next point:
• General build quality: You did a quite good job here up to now. Definitely keep this like it is or even improve the quality (if that is possible). One of the first points I look at.
• Faster support of newest Ubuntu version: I know this should be already the case. However, I had problems with my XPS with 13.04 around that time (end of June) with driver support (backlight). I think it's important to put more effort here and to be really sure everything works out of the box. (That's the main point by selling a linux pre-installed machine, isn't it?)

Nice to have:

• Dock option: Some people here suggested the option to be able to dock the laptop via thunderbolt to monitor and keybord.
• SD card reader: Really helpful and definitely more worth than, e.g., the battery life indicator.
• Ubuntu super key: Someone here said it already: Details matter!
• 512gb SSD: 256gb is fine for most issues, a 512gb option would be better. (Even if I don't know if you sell enough machines for several versions of the laptop being profitable.)

All in all I think you guys do a really good job with the Sputnik releases! I think you can play a leading role in the future development of Ubuntu to a mainstream distribution and profit a lot from upcoming releases and efforts linux related. Maybe right know the profit from it is only marginal but it might give you guys future options... ;) Hope to hear soon from a haswell-related XPS release! :)

Recently purchased the Sputnik.  The form factor is sweet to look at and cool to carry around but I find it a little difficult to really work on the small screen.  I spend most of my time connected to a monitor so it's not a bug deal.  

I know it's kind of bucking the trend but  I'd really like to see a 17" version. 

.dawn,

thanks for the feedback and input!  

Barton,

I know you don't want to give out details on future products, but could you at least give us a hint on whether you plan to refresh the current XPS 13 DE line? While many people in this thread expressed an interest in a larger form factors (14" or even 17"), for me the current 13", and I believe many others as well, is a sweet spot. In fact, I consider the current XPS 13 DE design to be pretty much perfect, the only issue really are now outdated internals.

If you plan to refresh the current hardware (or similar) with Haswell, I'll be happy to wait a little longer as long as I know that it's worth waiting, but if you plan to replace the current form factor with e.g. Latitude 7000 series hardware as others have suggested in this thread, I'd probably start looking elsewhere as that form factor is really too big and bulky for my needs.

Thanks a lot for all your work and dedication to the Project Sputnik, I really wish all companies would communicate with their customers the same way!

Petr

I second that...