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日本Dell XPS 16 9640 vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max) – Very Little Differences
We finally got to review the big MacBook Pro 16 with an M3 Pro, so now we can compare it thoroughly to its closest rival in the Windows ecosystem, the Dell XPS 16 9640. Both of these notebooks are hella good for content creation and other workloads that require tons of power, so it would be a blast to put them against each other. You’re getting the best that Apple has to offer in laptop form, while Dell presents one of the best and most powerful XPS notebooks ever made. However, these machines are not only very powerful, but also incredibly efficient, as you’ll see once we get to the battery section.
Today we’re comparing the design, durability, size, keyboards, touchpads, ports, displays, performance, cooling, and whatever else comes to mind, so you can choose between the two, in case you’re looking for a new workhorse laptop for handling complex tasks on the go.
Dell XPS 16 9640: Full Specs / In-Depth Review
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max): Full Specs / In-Depth Review
Dell XPS 16 9640 configurations:
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max) configurations:
Specs table
| Specification | Dell XPS 16 9640 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home | macOS |
| Processor | Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 7 165H Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | Apple M3 Max (16-core CPU) Apple M3 Max (14-core CPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-core CPU) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Laptop, 60W) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop, 50W) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop, 50W) | Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) Apple M3 Max GPU (30-core) Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) |
| Display | 16.3″, 4K+ (3840 x 2400), 90 Hz, OLED 16.3″, FHD+ (1920 x 1200), 120 Hz IPS | 16.2”, Liquid Retina (3456 x 2234), 120 Hz |
| Memory | up to 64GB | up to 128GB |
| Storage | up to 4000GB SSD | up to 8000GB SSD |
| Battery | 99.5Wh, 6-cell | 100Wh |
| Weight | 4.7 lbs (2.13 kg) | 4.7 lbs (2.14 kg) |
| Dimensions | 14.10″ x 9.45″ x 0.74″ (358.18 x 240.05 x 18.70 mm) | 14″ x 9.76″ x 0.66″ (355.7 X 248.1 X 16.8 mm) |
| Ports |
|
|
Unboxing
Inside the box of the MacBook, we find a 2-meter braided *bald eagle screaming in the background* MagSafe cable and a 140W charger. In the XPS 16 box, you get a smaller 130W Type-C charger, while in some regions Dell includes a USB Type-C to USB Type-A and HDMI adapter.
| Dell XPS 16 9640 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) | |
|---|---|---|
| Charger power | 130W | 140W |
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)
Design and Construction
Both of these laptops are made of metal in their entirety. We bought a Space Black MacBook Pro 16 and we’re stunned just looking at it. It’s truly a great-looking laptop and a pretty rigid one at that. There’s no flexing from either the base or the display. As for the XPS 16, it’s much of the same story. However, you only get a Silver color.
The two laptops lack a NumPad while having massive speakers that flank the keyboard. The MacBook undeniably gets the notch, while the XPS 16 has a clean and uninterrupted screen.
| Dell XPS 16 9640 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 4.7 lbs (2.13 kg) | 4.7 lbs (2.14 kg) |
| Dimensions | 14.10″ x 9.45″ x 0.74″ (358.18 x 240.05 x 18.70 mm) | 14″ x 9.76″ x 0.66″ (355.70 x 248.10 x 16.80 mm) |
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)Keyboard and touchpad
The Magic keyboard on the MacBook isn’t really magical, however, it’s quite comfortable for working and typing long hours, which can feel like magic for some people. It’s backlit and tactile and you can’t really ask for more from a MacBook. The keycaps are well-sized except for the arrow keys which are small.
The XPS 16 has a totally different keyboard, with no frame and sharp rectangular keycaps. It looks futuristic and has really good feedback, so typing is great. The touchpad is invisible and has haptic motors that imitate a click (the pad sits between the two Alt keys). The touchpad on the MacBook is covered in glass and has incredible smoothness and responsiveness.
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)Ports
Here comes a day when an Apple laptop will have a wider port selection, as you get an additional HDMI port on top of the Thunderbolt, the audio jack, and the SD card reader.
| Dell XPS 16 9640 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ports |
|
|
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)Display and Sound Quality
The XPS 16 offers a Full HD+ 120Hz IPS panel and a 4K OLED 90Hz panel, while the MacBook Pro 16 has only one display option, a Liquid Retina 120Hz panel. Comparing the two laptops that we have at hand, the display on the MacBook offers a lot more detail. However, the 4K OLED panel on the XPS on paper will blow the MacBook out of the water, in terms of sharpness and detail.
| Dell XPS 16 9640 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max) | |
|---|---|---|
| Panel type | IPS | MiniLED |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 | 3456 x 2234 |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Pixel density | 139 PPI | 254 PPI |
| Dot pitch | 0.18 x 0.18 mm | 0.1 x 0.1 mm |
| Retina distance | 24.80″ (63 cm) | 13.38″ (34 cm) |
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)Viewing angles are excellent on both devices. Here are images at 45 degrees to evaluate quality.
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)The MacBook Pro’s display is much brighter, with a slightly colder color temperature that might give the whites some bluish hues, however, it will also make the panel more legible when it comes to outdoor use. The contrast ratio on the MacBook is also much higher.
| Dell XPS 16 9640 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max) | |
|---|---|---|
| Peak brightness (middle of the screen/average for the entire display area) | 479 /454 nits | 581 / 573 nits |
| Max deviation | 10% | 4% |
| Color temperature (on white screen) | 6170K | 6640K |
| Contrast ratio | 1910:1 | 9330:1 |
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)Color coverage
Here are some illustrations (Fig. 1) & (Fig. 2). The whole “sail-shaped” map below consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line shows all the colors from real-world scenes and nature around us.
Then, we’ve drawn some of the most important and interesting color spaces, compared to the colors that the panels of the laptops can display:
Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Photographers/Video Editors: DCI-P3 – used in high-end film production, post-production, and digital cinema
Premium HDR: Rec.2020 – the widest consumer ITU color standard, covering a massive 75.8% of the visible spectrum, a benchmark for premium HDR content
The yellow dotted line shows the color coverage of the Dell XPS 16 9640 and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max).
| Dell XPS 16 9640 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max) | |
|---|---|---|
| sRGB | 100% | 100% |
| DCI-P3 | 84% | 100% |
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)Color accuracy
Now let’s see how big the difference is between the real colors and the ones you’ll see on the three laptops. We measure that distance in DeltaE – the bigger the number, the more different they look.
For the next illustration, we’ve chosen 24 common colors like dark and light skin, blue sky, green grass, etc.
Below you can see the results of the Dell XPS 16 9640 with our Web Design and Office Work profile applied as well as the factory settings of the MacBook Pro 16-inch. The XPS 16 is the more accurate of the two, with a dE of 0.9. dE values below 1.0 are indistinguishable by the human eye, so it is as accurate as it can get.
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)Dell XPS 16 9640 16.3″ Sharp 17TDN-LQ163N1 (1920×1200) IPS: Buy our profiles
PWM – Pulse Width Modulation
PWM or flickering, is a way for displays to adjust brightness. By constantly switching on and off with a high frequency, you get less light into your eyes, thus perceiving the display as darker and more dim. However, this has its drawbacks, as while you don’t see the flickering, your eyes do and constantly have to adjust their aperture, which can cause headaches.
The XPS 16 shows no PWM usage at all brightness levels, while the MacBook’s MiniLED panel flickers at all brightness levels, albeit at a very high frequency, which will enable you to use it for a bit longer before noticing eye tiredness.
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)Sound
Both laptops bring front-firing speakers, with grills flanking the keyboards. Both setups have no deviations across the entire frequency range.
Dell XPS 16 9640
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max)Performance – CPU, GPU, Storage
We’ve highlighted the CPUs and GPUs that are inside the two laptops that we bought.
| Specification | Dell XPS 16 9640 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home | macOS |
| Processor | Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 7 165H Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | Apple M3 Max (16-core CPU) Apple M3 Max (14-core CPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-core CPU) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Laptop, 60W) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop, 50W) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop, 50W) | Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) Apple M3 Max GPU (30-core) Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) |
CPU tests
When comparing the computational performance, the Core Ultra 7 155H is 18% more powerful in the Cinebench R23 test.
Here, we evaluate the CPU's performance using a real-world 3D rendering task, assessing its ability to handle complex computations and rendering workloads efficiently.
Results are from the Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
GPU tests
Between the 50W RTX 4060 and the 18-core GPU of the M3 Pro, the RTX 4060 has a 147% higher score in 3DMark Wild Life.
The results are from 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics). Higher is better.
Results are from 3DMark Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)
The results are from 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited. Higher is better.
Results are from the Unigine Superposition benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Battery
When comparing the batteries of the two laptops, we see that the XPS 16 is the longer-lasting of the two, both in terms of web browsing and video playback. The XPS 16 lasts for 5 hours more in web browsing and almost 4 hours more in video playback, using our automated scripts that provide an even testing ground for all laptops that go through our lab.
Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better
In order to simulate real-life conditions, we used our own script for automatic web browsing through over 70 websites.
Disassembly and Upgrades
The XPS 16 has one SSD slot for PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, while the MacBook is not upgradeable, thanks to the storage and RAM being soldered into the SoC itself.
Verdict
The XPS 16 and the MacBook Pro 16-inch are two very similar devices, smart-looking and powerful laptops that have similar shortcomings. In terms of build quality and design, the two laptops weigh
pretty much exactly the same and have similar full-metal chassis. The keyboards and touchpads provide comfortable typing and gliding.
The MacBook has a wider port selection, with an HDMI port, and has a better display, with higher brightness and contrast. The display on the MacBook covers more colors and the panel itself is more vivid and vibrant. On the other hand, there’s PWM usage at all brightness levels, so keep that in mind.
In terms of performance, the Core Ultra 7 155H and RTX 4060 combo inside the XPS 16 is more powerful than the M3 Pro that’s inside the MacBook Pro. Despite the more performance, battery life is also in favor of the XPS 16, with several hours more overall battery life in our tests. This is on top of offering expandable storage via a single SSD slot.
Dell XPS 16 9640: Full Specs / In-Depth Review
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max): Full Specs / In-Depth Review
Dell XPS 16 9640 configurations:
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3 Pro / Max) configurations:
