New Dell XPS 13 DX13260 aims to redefine the concept of a budget laptop; coming 16 June to Malaysia
When Apple rolled out their MacBook Neo awhile back, competing brands were gobsmacked at the price tag and what they had to offer. Now, Dell is taking the fight back to Cupertino as they showcased their latest incarnation of their premium XPS 13 series at Computex 2026.
When it comes to ultraportables, the Dell XPS series set the standard for Windows laptops with premium aluminium and carbon fiber builds, beefy specs and sleek design.
The new Dell XPS 13 DX13260 that I beheld at their booth at Computex 2026 fits the hallmarks of its forebears with a host of premium features but came with a pleasant surprise – a modest price tag that clocked in at about US$699 which is about RM2,844 with current exchange rates.
Dell XPS 13 DX13260 Specs and First Impressions
Even with such a modest price tag, Dell has surprisingly retained the vast majority of the premium feel and much of the features of the premium XPS line. The chassis is machined from premium CNC aluminium and weighs just 1kg while being just 12.7mm thin, making it wonderfully svelte and light enough for all-day carry in a backpack and currently the thinnest and lightest XPS series laptop ever made.
Belying its price tag, the XPS 13 DX13260 looks and feels every bit as premium as its predecessors that often cost much more.
Flipping it open on its smooth hinges also revealed several other premium features that the Neo lacks, namely a backlit keyboard and, most important of all, a 13.4-inch 2.5K (2,560 x 1,600 pixels) InfinityEdge touch display that’s slightly larger than the Neo.
Not only does it allow for touch input, the display also supports 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, making it ideal for content creators, has 500 nits peak brightness and also has 30-120Hz variable refresh rate too. Even better, the Dell XPS 13 DX13260 also features fast WiFi 7, a feature overlooked by the Neo.
Where the Dell XPS 13 DX13260 makes concessions to cost is in its hardware with the laptop running on the new entry-level Series 3 aka ‘Wildcat Lake’ Intel Core 5 or Intel Core Ultra 7 processor with up to 32GB LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB SSD with a 52Whr battery rated for up to 17 hours of video streaming on a single charge.
When I beheld the XPS 13, it certainly didn’t look and feel like a budget laptop in the slightest. The fact that it has a metal chassis, a large 2.5K touchscreen and equivalent build quality to a premium flagship laptop from a competing brand but the price of a budget laptop make it a compelling proposition.
The Dell XPS 13 DX13260 will come in a lighter metallic gray finish dubbed Sky and a darker metallic colourway dubbed as Storm
While I didn’t get the chance to put it through its paces, the Dell XPS 13 DX13260 with its budget price tag is intended as a budget laptop that makes it ideal for casual users and students where its efficient Wildcat lake chipset plays to its strengths with everyday paperwork and productivity-related tasks – web browsing, watching videos, editing text and the like. Once we get our hands on a test sample, we can put it through its paces.
Dell XPS 13 DX13260 Malaysia availability
Based on the Dell Malaysia website, the XPS 13 DX13260 is set to arrive in Malaysia this coming June 16, 2026 though there’s no official word on how much or what configurations will arrive on our shores.
