Dell XPS 13 2015 Release Date, Specs & Price: Meet MacBook Air's Match

Has the rumored MacBook Air Retina already found a match? Well, it looks like that it's going to have a new rival. Say hello to the new Dell XPS 13.

The new Dell laptop which was unveiled during the recent Consumer Electronics Show last January boasts of its 13.3-inch Touch display at an improved resolution of 3200 x 1800. This resolution is incomparable to the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro's 2560×1600. It also has a very tiny bezels which measure 5.2 mm on top and on the sides.

Smallest laptop?

It is thin and very light at 2.6 to 2.8 pounds. The new laptop is dubbed as the "smallest 13-inch laptop on the planet."

"We're not worried about someone being able to make a smaller x and y (width and height)...At 15 millimeters at the back (of the Dell XPS 13), we feel like moving to (thinner) 12 millimeter design is giving up performance and battery life. If you're pulling 3 millimeters out of the design, you're going to compromise," Forbes quoted XPS Product Marketing Director Donnie Oliphant as saying.

Oliphant also told Forbes that they launched this thin and light laptop to compete with the rumored 12-inch MacBook Air Retina. "We definitely believe that the next MacBook Air is going to be a very aggressive design," he said adding that they believe that the new Apple laptop would be very powerful with the new Core M chip.

The new Dell laptop would be powered by the latest fifth generation Intel Core i processors and will have 4GB and 8GB variants. Dell also boasts of its new battery which could last up to 15 hours. Aside from that, the new Dell laptop also showcases an improved trackpad.

Price

The Verge says the new Dell laptop starts at $799 and could reach up to $1,899.

MacBook Air Retina

Meanwhile, the rumored 12-inch MacBook Air boasts not only of its new size but also of its new Retina display which is a first in this Apple laptop variant. Mac Rumors report citing KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said the new laptop will be lighter and slimmer than the current MacBook Air and will definitely be better than its predecessors.

It is believed that the new Apple laptop will have the newly released Intel Broadwell Core M chips and will be fanless as well. The new Apple laptop is also expected to get a new trackpad design, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, fast PCIe-based flash storage, and Thunderbolt 2 ports. Mac Rumors is also suggesting that it will be the first Apple notebook to have the new reversible USB Type C connector, allowing USB cables to be inserted into it at any orientation. The laptop is expected to come in three different colors -- Silver, Gold, and Space Gray. It is rumored to be released this first quarter of the year.