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Comment by krn | Hacker News Reader

In fact, Dell XPS 13 is twice as powerful as Macbook Air, but lasts only a little shorter on battery[1].

[1] https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-macbook-air-vs-dell-xps-13-i...

It's 20% shorter with the i7 + 4K XPS they've used for their comparisons, that's a fair amount. You can presumably get that back with the i5 model, but then you're not twice as powerful. Makes me want to get the latest XPS even though my 2015 model is still going strong.

Also note the 2019 Air they've got has a smaller battery again (49.9Whr).

> It's 20% shorter with the i7 + 4K XPS they've used for their comparisons, that's a fair amount.

The battery life gains in Macbook Air might come from the different series of processors used, rather than from the battery itself:

> The MacBook Air has Core i5 and i7 processor options, but they're part of Intel's "Y" series of CPUs, intended for thin laptops. They generate less heat and use less power, so you get longer battery life. The flip side is they're not as fast as a standard laptop with a "U" series processor.

Sure, it's certainly mostly due to the Y-series CPU. I'm just pointing out that difference in the 2019 model compared to the 2018 model that was mentioned in the parent comments.

If you were to compare it to the new Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 which uses a 10th gen Intel chip and is marketed to have 17 hours of battery life, I think it'd be more than twice as powerful and that one would last just as long if not longer. But again, that might be an apples to oranges comparison with the different chip generations. But Apple always is a bit behind on adopting those new chips.

Oh wow, that now that sounds like an upgrade. Sadly it doesn't seem to be available in the UK quite yet.

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