HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13: Which is the Better Ultrabook?

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By Omoyeni Araokanmi

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Wondering which to choose between the HP Envy and Dell XPX 13-inch laptops? If yes, this HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13 comparison is just what you need.

HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13: At First Glance

With the world becoming a global village and the fast adoption of remote work, many people are clamoring for slimmer, good performance laptops.

HP and Dell aimed for such laptops when they unveiled the Envy 13 and XPS 13 in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Coincidentally, both laptops have been found on several websites as top travel-friendly laptops to buy.

In fact, the HP Envy 13 is one of those laptops that has been said to be an alternative to the Apple MacBook Air. Similarly, the Dell XPS 13 has been well recognized as a top-of-the-range laptop.

This then sparks the question – is it just a mere coincidence or are the claims true? To find answers, you’ll have to read on!

HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13: Design, Dimensions and Weight

One obvious thing about both the HP Envy 13 and Dell XPS 13 is that both manufacturers got the memo on having an appealing design. In fact, both laptops share some similarities when it comes to design.

At first glance, you’ll notice the subtle, yet appealing silver aluminum body of both laptops. It appears that HP and Dell continued the good design work they had going on with previous models of their respective brands.

Talking about brands, as similar as their build material looks, you can tell their respective brands with the logos well defined. At the top of the lid, there’s the “Dell” logo on the XPS 13 while the newly refined “HP” logo takes the center stage of the Envy 13.

In addition to the manufacturer’s logo, you will know what model series these laptops belong to with yet another logo. To be more exact, the Dell laptop has the “XPS” logo deeply inscribed at the laptop’s base.

Then comes the “ENVY” text logo subtly engraved behind the hinges. Speaking of hinges, the HP Envy 13 has hinges that function similar to the ErgoLift hinges of ASUS laptops.

If you don’t know what that means, these hinges actually do the job of lifting the laptop’s base slightly up. As you may have guessed, this enhances the laptop’s airflow as well as the typing experience.

Just in case you’re wondering, the Dell XPS 13 does not have similar hinges. However, the hinges of this Dell laptop are still sturdy enough no matter the number of times you open this laptop.

Asides from being good-looking, we cannot ignore the fact that these two laptops are lightweight. The Dell XPS 13 is lightweight at 1200 g while its dimension of 295.7 x 198.7 x 14.8 mm (W x D x H) makes it evident that it is slim.

We cannot say anything less for the HP Envy 13 as well with its weight of 1270 g and its dimension of 307 x 211.5 x 147 mm (W x D x H). Just by looking at the numbers, the Dell XPS 13 is definitely lighter and slimmer than the HP Envy with slight differences.

With weight and dimensions aside, let’s move to what we’ll find under the lid of both devices.

On lifting the lid of both laptops, there’s the familiar near-bezel-less look we often see in modern laptops. Although, just by having both laptops side by side, it’s evident that the XPS 13 has slimmer bezels compared to the Envy 13.

Having covered a lot of grounds about the design of both laptops, I’ll now compare their display features.

Interestingly, both laptops share very similar display features. For example, they both have a display size of 13.4-inch with an IPS display panel.

If you didn’t know, IPS technology makes it possible to easily view the content of the display screen regardless of where you’re seated. This is technically referred to as “viewing angles”.

Fortunately, the IPS technology of the Dell XPS 13 does a good job of displaying on-screen content clearly in whatever viewing angles. On a disappointing note for the HP Envy 13, this laptop does not deliver quality viewing angles like its competitor.

Hence, when the screen of the Envy 13 is not directly in front of you, the display quality diminishes.

On a different note, a display resolution of Full HD (1920 x 1080) is another display feature both the XPS 13 and Envy 13 have in common. The FHD resolution of both laptops provides a deep, clear, and bright display with a good amount of color accuracy.

Whether it’s text, videos, or images, the color reproduction makes the display of both laptops clear and vibrant.

In fact, the good work of the display resolution makes it hard to say which laptop has a more vivid display than the other. Interestingly though, the XPS 13 and Envy 13 both have other display resolutions you can opt for if you need something more than FHD.

To be exact, you can get the Dell XPS 13 with an OLED 3.5K (3456 x 2160) or a UHD+ (3840 x 2400) which is also known as 4K. As for the HP Envy 13, its alternate display resolution is the UHD+ (3840 x 2400) resolution.

Notably, going for any of these other display resolutions would require that you pay extra. Nonetheless, the FHD resolution should be just fine for your display needs.

Another optional display feature you’ll only be getting depending on your budget is the touchscreen feature. To make more sense, the Dell XPS 13 offers an optional touchscreen feature depending on the model you purchase.

This is to say that if you want the touchscreen model of this laptop, you’ll have to pay extra just like the display resolution options. In contrast, the HP Envy 13 has the touchscreen feature of this laptop by default for whichever model you go for.

Away from the touchscreen feature, using these laptops in direct sunlight is something you should consider. This is because the Dell XPS 13 has a maximum brightness of 600 nits.

If you think that’s impressive then the HP Envy 13 will blow you away with its maximum brightness of about 1000 nits.

Such amount of brightness levels means that you can conveniently use these laptops outdoors. Even with that said, it’s obvious that the HP Envy 13 will do a better job than its rival when brightening your screen.

Now that you have a good idea of what the display features are like, I’ll now move on to the deck area of both laptops. At the very beginning of the keyboard layout, the power button of the Dell XPS 13 is what you’ll see.

Even though it looks like every typical power button – it isn’t. As a matter of fact, the power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor used to securely log in to Windows.

HP did not leave out this feature on the Envy 13 either. However, the power button is located at the top of the keyboard deck while the fingerprint sensor is located at the lower end beside the arrow keys.

Regardless of their respective positions, both fingerprint sensors are super responsive and unlock Windows in milliseconds. Now, focusing on the keyboard itself, the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 13 both offer backlit keyboards.

This means that typing in the dark would not be a problem. Speaking of typing, both laptops have really good keys that are well-spaced and super comfortable for typing.

One reason the typing experience is good on these devices is because of their even 1.3 mm key travel. This figure represents the total distance it takes when a key is pressed into the laptop chassis and it returns to its original form.

It is important to mention that 1.5 mm is the most common key travel. Nonetheless, smaller is better, which means that 1.3 mm is also a good figure.

Moving on, the common component that accompanies a keyboard is the touchpad. The touchpad of both laptops looks sophisticated in a way that makes you know they are definitely not cheap.

Furthermore, the touchpad of the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 13 are just the right sizes – neither too small nor too big.

In addition to having the right size, both touchpads are also a delight to use. There’s no lagging and you can conveniently use two fingers on both touchpads.

Away from touchpads and keyboards, other aspects of a laptop base include ports which I’ll be dwelling on now. Starting with the Dell XPS 13, this laptop has a very modern selection of ports.

To be precise, this Dell laptop has a power-in port and a Thunderbolt 4 port on the right side. As for the left, there’s also one Thunderbolt 4 port and a microSD card slot.

That’s pretty much it – only two USB ports are what you’ll find in the Dell XPS 13. That should not disappoint you because there’s an upside to this.

With the fast pace of technology, many gadget manufacturers are making it possible to reduce the number of ports on a laptop. So if you think the ports of the Dell XPS 13 are limiting, it isn’t and I’ll explain why shortly.

Now that you know the port situation of the Dell XPS 13, let’s talk about that of the HP Envy 13. Even though this HP laptop does not have any Thunderbolt 4 port, it offers others.

In precise terms, a USB 3.1 Type-A, USB 3.1 Type-C, and a microSD card reader are the only ports you’ll find in the HP Envy 13. By comparison, the ports of the Dell XPS 13 are more favorable than that of the HP.

Wondering why I said that? Well, the Thunderbolt 4 of the Dell XPS 13 can do everything you’ll need the HDMI and USB Type-A ports for.

Apparently, Thunderbolt 4 ports can power devices, transfer data, and display a video source to an external monitor all at once. In contrast, you will be able to transfer data using the USB Type-A and C ports of the HP Envy but you cannot display a video to an external monitor.

By and large, the HP Envy 13 and Dell XPS 13 check all the boxes when it comes to what an ultraportable should look like. However, the poor viewing angles of the Envy 13 and the lower screen brightness of the XPS 13 are respective flaws to note for both laptops.

Another aspect we cannot also ignore is the better port options of the XPS 13 over the Envy 13. Considering all these, it seems like a difficult decision but I’ll rate the HP Envy 13 lower than Dell XPS 13

Specifically, I will rate the HP Envy 13 an eight out of ten.

As for the Dell XPS 13, it has the upper hand, so I’ll rate it a nine out of ten in this HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13 comparison.

HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13: Processor (CPU) Performance

The next area to best compare the features of the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 13 is the aspect of the processor. To get right into it, the Dell XPS 13 features a quad-core Intel Core i7-1165G7.

This Intel processor has a 12 MB cache and a base and a maximum frequency of 2.80 GHz and 4.70 GHz respectively. As for the HP Envy 13, it also features a quad-core Intel Core i5-8265U.

Furthermore, this laptop’s processor has a 6 MB cache while its base and maximum frequencies are 1.60 GHz and 3.9 GHz respectively. Now that you know these processors’ specifications, can you really tell what they are capable of?

Well, figures upon figures make little sense without knowing the level of performance. That said, I will be providing benchmark test results used to analyze processor performance.

To further support these benchmark test results, I will also be discussing the real-life performance of these processors. Starting with benchmark tests, two popular benchmark test tools do the job of testing laptop processors.

One is the Cinebench 20 while the other is the Geekbench 4 benchmark tests. For this comparison review, I will provide the results of the test carried out with Geekbench 4.

Just before I do that, you might be wondering what the Geekbench 4 is and why it is relevant. Well, this benchmark tool runs a series of tests on a computer’s processor and in turn, discovers the capacity of that processor to finish computing tasks.

Like most tests, the higher the score of the Geekbench 4, the better the performance.

That said, the Dell XPS 13 scored about 5200 points. A little less than that number is the HP Envy 13 with a score of about 4800 points.

Looking at these numbers, the Dell XPS 13 definitely outperforms the HP Envy 13 in the benchmark test. As functional as benchmark tests are, you also need some practical insight on how a processor functions in real-life use.

On that note, the Envy 13 and XPS 13 can handle about 12-15 web tabs opened.

In addition to that, these laptops can also handle some mild photo editing tasks. Anything more than these computing tasks will likely result in high fan noises and lagging.

Summarily, the difference in benchmarks test scores makes it evident that the Dell XPS 13 is a better performer. Hence, I will rate the XPS 13 and Envy 13 a nine and eight respectively in this HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS comparison.

HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13: Memory (RAM) Performance

In the aspect of memory, the HP Envy 13 and Dell XPS 13 share some differences as well as similarities. If that’s confusing, do not worry, I’ll clarify.

The HP Envy 13 has a standard memory of 8 or 16 GB RAM while the Dell XPS 13 has a standard memory of 16 or 32 GB. Evidently, HP and Dell offer you the opportunity to purchase a model of either laptop with different memory capacities.

Furthermore, the maximum memory capacity of the HP Envy 13 is 16 GB while that of the Dell XPS 13 is 32 GB – now you see the difference between both devices. As for the similarities they share, both laptops have just one memory slot which is not upgradable.

This means that the RAM is soldered to the motherboard and cannot be replaced by the end-user. Only the manufacturers can do such a dissembling, which explains why Dell and HP provided multiple memory options to choose from.

Consequently, you’ll have to choose wisely when picking either of these laptops – it’s best to go for the memory that will be very sufficient for your tasks. Speaking of tasks, you’ll pretty much be interested as to how the memory of both laptops performs.

To figure that out, I’ll have to present their performances in a similar manner as the processor section. However, instead of dealing with the Geekbench benchmark, the memory of a computer is best analyzed with the PCMark 8.

Wondering how the PCMark functions and its relevance? Not to worry, I’ll explain.

The PCMark 8 is a benchmark test tool that analyzes the multitasking ability of a computer by making it undergo multiple work productivity tasks simultaneously. Clear enough right? – now, let’s move on.

Before getting to their respective memory performances, it’s important to note that our comparison review unit of both laptops has 16 GB RAM respectively.  

Another thing to note about this test is the scoring system. Like the processor benchmark tool, a higher score on the PCMark means better performance.

Moving on to performance metrics, the Dell XPS 13 resulted in a score of about 7040. HP Envy 13 tried to come close with a score of about 6800 points.

This score difference seems quite close to that of the processor performance test scores, right? Apparently, this makes it another win for the Dell XPS 13.

Just before we begin rooting for the winner, let me give you an idea of how both laptops perform in real-life use.

For laptops with 16 GB RAM, multitasking will be a breeze. Both laptops should handle about 15 web tabs with Audiomack music streaming and YouTube going on in the background.

In a word, despite the similar real-life performance, the benchmark test indicates that the XPS 13 outperforms the Envy 13 yet again. In addition to performance, the Dell XPS 13 offers a higher maximum memory capacity.

Going by those reasons, the HP Envy 13 scores lower with a score of seven. For the Dell XPS 13 though, I will rate that an eight in this section of the HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13 comparison.

HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13 Storage Options and Performance

We’ve been seeing a lot of similarities so far between the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 13. Likewise, the storage aspect is not an exception.

To start with, both the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 13 have a storage size that varies from 256GB to 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. This means you can purchase either laptop with 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD.

Notably, 1 TB is the maximum storage capacity of both laptops. This maximum storage can be achieved differently on both laptops in terms of upgradability.

To be precise, the Dell XPS 13 storage is upgradable which means you can replace the SSD storage yourself. However, this is not the case HP Envy 13.

The reason for this is that HP Envy 13 has its storage soldered to the motherboard and cannot be easily replaced by the end-user.

On a different note, there’s an additional storage feature you should know about, which is the MicroSD slot. Regarding this, the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 13 both have a microSD card slot for those who intend to use an SD card for file transfer.

Speaking of file transfer, SSD storage is known for being fast in saving and opening files than HDD. Fortunately, it’s not a different case for these two laptops.

To be more exact, we found out that the HP Envy 13 takes about 13 seconds to copy a 4.97GB file at a rate of 391 mb/s. The Dell XPS 13, on the other hand, performed this task about half the time.

Specifically, it took this Dell laptop about 7 seconds to transfer a 4.97GB file.

Now that you know how long you’ll spend transferring a file of that size, let’s talk about the health of the storage drive on both laptops.

To analyze that, there’s a need for yet another benchmark test tool which is called the CrystalDiskMark. This benchmark tool gives clarification on whether or not a computer storage drive is healthy and it does that by providing read and write speed.

Unfamiliar with the meaning of read and write speed? Well, read and write speed determines how long it takes to open and save a file.

Having said that, let’s get to the facts. The Dell XPS 13 has a healthy storage drive with it read and write speed of about 3300 MB/s and 2700 MB/s, respectively.

Even with a lower performance, the HP Envy 13 can still be considered healthy with its read and write speed of about 1800 MB/s and 1790 MB/s. From the look of things, the Dell XPS 13 promises better-performing storage than its competing laptop.

Even at that, the HP Envy 13’s storage is still very useable since it surpasses the average 1000 MB/s of typical SSD storage.

In brief, the HP Envy 13 and Dell XPS 13 share similar storage features. Where they do not share similarities though is file transfer speed and storage health test scores.

Looking at the facts, it will not be far-fetched to rate the HP Envy 13 a lower score of eight. As for its contender, Dell XPS 13, it is best rated a nine in this HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13 comparison.

HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13: Graphics Card Performance

Graphics should be a concern to any game lover or someone in the creative space. Even though the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 13 are not designed solely for these purposes, they’re decent enough for the target market.

To further explain that, I’ll provide the graphics specifications of both laptops. Starting with the Dell XPS 13, this laptop features an Intel Iris Xe Graphics integrated graphics card.

The speed of this graphics card starts at 300 MHz and reaches a maximum of 1300 MHz.

As a quick digression, let me explain what an integrated graphics card means. Basically, an integrated graphics card does not have its own dedicated RAM which means it shares the system’s memory with the CPU to perform graphics tasks.

Alternatively, there’s the dedicated graphics card which functions differently from the integrated graphics card. A dedicated graphics card has its own RAM (called VRAM) that is capable of handling graphics tasks which means it does not share the system’s memory with the CPU.

By this explanation, a dedicated graphics card is more powerful than an integrated one.

Back to graphics specifications, the HP Envy 13 also has an integrated graphics card which is the Intel UHD Graphics 620.

As regards speed, this graphics card has a base frequency of 300 MHz and a boost frequency of 1100 MHz. Looking at the numbers, both laptops seem to have similar specs right?

Well, they may have similar specs but just how similar are their performances? To answer that, there’s yet another benchmark test tool for this which is the 3DMark 11.

3DMark is a test tool that is used to determine the performance of a computer’s 3D graphic rendering and processing capabilities. In everyday language, the 3DMark 11 lets you know just how well a computer device can handle graphics tasks.

Similar to most benchmarks, the higher the score of the 3DMark 11, the better the performance.

Moving on to these test results, the HP Envy 13 scored about 4000 points while the Dell XPS 13 exceeded that with a score of 6600 points. By comparison, these test results prove that the Dell XPS 13 outperforms its major competitor – the HP Envy 13.

In addition to these test scores, I’ll give you an idea of what to expect from these laptops in real-life gaming. If you decide to play The Witcher, the Dell XPS 13 will run this game at around 60 frames per second (fps) on medium settings.

For that same game, the HP Envy 13 will run at around 35 fps also on medium settings. Notably, 45 fps is the playable rate for The Witcher, anything less than this will result in lagging.

This simply means that you’ll get better performance when playing this game on the XPS 13 than the Envy 13. We honestly cannot be disappointed in the HP Envy 13 after all it’s not a gaming laptop.

We can also say the same for the Dell XPS 13. However, based on the aforementioned information, it offers a better gaming performance for a non-gaming laptop.

To wrap up this section, the Dell XPS 13 offers more graphics performance despite not being made for that purpose. For that reason, this laptop gets a rating of nine.

Comparatively, the HP Envy 13 put up a good fight and deserves a rating of eight in this HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13 comparison.

HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13: Battery Life and Performance

Both Dell and HP understand the need to eliminate battery anxiety from the list of common challenges faced by laptop users. Before providing the facts about that, I’ll first discuss the battery features.

Starting with the HP Envy 13, this laptop has a 4-cell, 53 Wh Li-ion polymer battery. The Dell XPS 13 is also on par with a 4-Cell 52 Whr Battery.

Now, back to battery anxiety, knowing the battery life of these laptops is the best answer to that subject. To get right into it, the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 13 both last about 11 hours on continuous web browsing.

Also, if you decide to watch locally saved videos till the laptop drops, you will get slightly different battery performances. In actual fact, the HP Envy 13 lasts for about 13 hours on video playback.

Slightly above that mark is the Dell XPS 13 which will last about 15 hours also on video playback. Please note that on this video playback, Wi-Fi is turned off and brightness is at 50%.

It is also worth noting that battery life is greatly influenced by the screen resolution type of the laptop. Specifically, a higher screen resolution means lower battery juice.

As a result, the 11-hour battery life of both laptops is applicable to the Full HD resolution display. Hence, you should expect a shorter battery life if you opt for the 4K screen resolution of any of these two laptops.

Summarily, HP and Dell packed the respective laptops will enough battery juice to last a day. For that reason, I will rate both laptops an even score of nine in this HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13 comparison.

Our Rating Summary

Rating AreasHP Envy 13Dell XPS 13Notes/Comments
Design89Both the HP Envy 13 and Dell XPS 13 are two great laptops that tick all the boxes in terms of design. Although, there were a few flaws that prevented the Envy 13 from getting an even score as the XPS 13.
Processor (CPU)89Benchmark test scores were the key differences between the Envy 13 and XPS 13. This resulted in the Dell XPS 13 coming on top as the better performer.
Memory (RAM)78Despite sharing similar memory features and real-life performances, the benchmark test proved the XPS 13 as the better performer.
Storage98The storage options of both laptops are the same. However, when it comes to file transfer speed and storage benchmark tests, the XPS 13 does the most.
Graphics Card98For non-gaming laptops, both the XPS 13 and Envy 13 put up a good fight to prove their graphics performance. However, with a little more push, the XPS 13 proved to be a better performer yet again.
Battery Life99Both laptops having the same battery life and battery features made it difficult to declare a winner in this section. This makes both the HP Envy 13 and Dell XPS 13 be regarded even in terms of battery.
Our Average Rating98.5All things considered, the Dell XPS 13 is a better laptop on average.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does HP Envy 13 come with pen?

Unfortunately, this laptop does not come with a stylus pen. You will have to purchase one at an extra cost.

2. When did the Dell XPS 13 9310 come out?

This laptop was released in the year 2020.

3. How long is the battery life of the HP Envy 13?

On average use, this HP laptop lasts about 11 hours.

4. How long does Dell XPS 13 Battery last?

On average use, you should get 11-hours out of the Dell XPS 13.

5. Can I add RAM To HP Envy 13?

Unfortunately, you cannot. The RAM of the HP Envy 13 is not upgradable.

Conclusion

Both the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy 13 are laptops well described as ultraportables with their travel-friendly sizes. Screen resolution options and long-lasting battery life are also featured on both laptops.

With all that in mind, if you want a 13-inch laptop with a touch screen feature by default, you can go for:

However, when it boils down to memory, processor, storage, and graphics performance, the Dell XPS 13 does a better job. However, some of these differences in performance are not to disqualify the HP Envy 13 from being anyone’s choice.

That said, based on my comprehensive comparison of HP Envy 13 vs Dell XPS 13, I recommend:

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About the Author

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Omoyeni Araokanmi

Omoyeni Araokanmi is a Content Writer at Itechguides.com. She has a B.Sc. in Sociology. Omoyeni loves everything tech. If she's not writing tech reviews, she's either reading, watching movies, or enjoying the outdoors. She writes product reviews and buying guides for itechguides.com

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