Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 review

Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 (2022): bold design, honest limits

The Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 is the 2022 design experiment of the XPS line: a $840 ultrabook with a Core i5 1240P, 32GB of memory, and a 1.17kg chassis. Its mobility index of 81 clears the class median by 27 percent, but its composite uscomp score of 39 — 20 percent below the class median — is the verdict's named weakness, and the task axes explain why: this machine prioritized form over sustained capability.

Where it holds up

The office index of 82.35 lands in the high band, portability at 83.2 is high-tier, and at 1.17kg the machine sits in the ultralight weight class — the design brief delivered. Photo design at 37 is mid-tier, 32GB of memory matches the class median, and for document-and-browsing work wrapped in the most distinctive chassis of its generation, the fundamentals hold up four years later.

Where it falls short

The low band is crowded: performance at 34.42, gaming at 23, 3D modeling at 27, engineering CAD at 30, and value at 19.75 — five low-band entries, as crowded as the batch's budget machines despite the premium badge. The composite score of 39 names the pattern: the 1240P's efficiency cores carry the everyday load, but anything sustained exposes the thin thermal design. Value at 19.75 is the second-lowest reading in this batch — the bold chassis has aged into an awkward price position.

Price and depreciation

No baseline price exists in the ledger, so the projection runs rate-only at a modeled 10 percent per year. On $840 that implies roughly $84 of expected first-year loss. The moderate schedule is the good news; the bad news is that value already reads 19.75, so the machine is depreciating from a position the market has already discounted.

Alternatives to consider

The XPS 13 9315 (2022) at the same $840 is the conventional-sibling argument: mobility at 95 versus 81, office at 73.59 versus 82.35 — the same money buys either the design statement or the better traveler. The XPS 13 9310 (2020) at $650 posts the batch's gentlest depreciation and a gaming index of 64 versus this machine's 23 for $190 less. If the Plus design is the point but the budget is firmer, nothing else in this batch approximates it — which is itself the finding.

Bottom line

Fairly priced for the class, barely. The 9320 is a striking, ultralight, high-band office machine with five low-band axes and the batch's second-lowest value reading behind it. Buy it as a design object that works; do not buy it as a capability purchase at anything near full expectations.