It sucks because Dell used to be awesome. My dad is still using a 10 year old XPS.
I usually go for Lattitudes when I'm buying, but this is what the company sent me.
There's no USB-A let alone a 15-pin VGA socket that I use regularly. To quote part of the spec:
'USB-C to USB-A 3.0 adapter (included in the box) USB-C to 3.5mm headset adapter (included in the box)'
How the hell do you actually use it? You can't even plug in a standard USB-A thumb drive without an adapter—an item that's easily lost when traveling about. Same goes for the 3.5mm audio connector. Has Apple planted a Trojan horse inside Dell? It seems like it.
This has to be some kind of joke. If Dell thinks it can sell laptops that aren't very flexible to use—especially high end models—then it's little wonder people aren't buying them.
What's gone wrong with these PC companies that they are so far behind? For instance, it's only now that OLED screens have hit the laptop market and only then on high end devices—that's years after TVs and smartphones had them.
If companies like Dell don't supply us with what we want then we'll go elsewhere.
I'm very relieved that the XPS13 series does not include a VGA header. That would have been a huge design error on their part. This particular need of yours does not match the market need.
> There's no USB-A ... 'USB-C to USB-A 3.0 adapter (included in the box)
I will agree that this is occasionally inconvenient. I don't have as many USB-A devices anymore but when I need to plug one in, it's a bummer to have to go get the dongle. I suppose there may be challenges finding room for a USB-A port while trying to make the device thin and tapered.
> Has Apple planted a Trojan horse inside Dell? It seems like it.
I don't think it's a trojan horse -- but Dell has followed Apple's lead here in ditching USB-A.
The fact is that header is used regularly by many people, especially those who do presentations/use overhead projectors. Moreover, it's been a part of every other Dell laptop I've owned and that's been quite a few.
That's the trouble with this industry—fashion and saving a few bucks by not installing headers in preference to longevity and compatibility. Many of us are tired of that and this planned obsolescence is contributing to e-waste. Dell has a responsibility here.
Dell could have done both but they chose not to. Now we're marching on mass elsewhere.
I can't understand why you and Dell don't get that.
BTW, I've dozens of USB-A thumb drives and it's almost impossible to buy USB-C ones or the dual type where I live (I search everywhere for them because I want them for my smartphone's OTG). As much as I'd like USB-A to disappear it's everywhere and there's no sign of it dying especially on chargers (and I use laptops to charge everything including my smartphone). You must have limited needs and also be very organized to avoid them. Most of us aren't that lucky.
If Dell doesn't understand the market where I live then tough. For starters it's lost me a longstanding customer, and as an IT professional I recommended equipment. Right, Dell's foolhardiness has flow-on implications. From this story it seems that I'm not alone.
HDMI seems to be the right choice there, maybe for the last 5-10 years. Display port might be better, but HDMI has ubiquity.
I'm with you on usb-a and headphone jacks. I hear usb-c is the future, but afaik, mice and keyboards are still mostly usb-a or wireless (which I don't want)
(I've been thinking for a while it's time I paid another visit to Akihabara, that's almost a perfect excuse.) :-)
Gamers are an exception but hard core gamers often do their own builds or go with gaming brands.
That being said I’ve had 4-5 of their Poweredge servers and like/trust Dell’s enterprise gear a lot.
I'm hoping my current one will last until asahi linux is more usable and then I'll buy an M1 mac.
Asus - they have lots of product lines to choose from, from cheap (and therefore not great) to gems such as the ROG Zephyrus line. I have an old UX303 that is still going strong after 7 years of use, a just updated to a ROG Zephyrus G14 2022, and i really like it. Similar dimensions (slightly thicker) and weight to my work issued M1 MBP, works flawlessly and is a pretty good gaming machine (of course being loud in the process, but silent for everything else).
I doubt it, I've been looking for ages and they all have stupid limitations that could be easily fixed such as insufficient ports—see my earlier reply to wyldfire.
When or if you find one then please let us know.