Dell XPS 16 9640 vs XPS 14 9440 vs XPS 13 9340 – A Family Feud

    The closest thing that you can get to a MacBook family on the Windows side, today we have the new 2024 XPS series from Dell. It packs three devices: the XPS 13 9340, the middle brother, aka the XPS 14 9440, and the oldest brother, the XPS 16 9640. They all provide a similar function: be the best possible office powerhouse. Obviously, the smaller laptops do have an overall disadvantage when it comes to performance, however, all three pack CPUs from the same processor family, so you can expect great things even from the smaller XPS 13 9340.

    To see exactly how different all three laptops are, today we’re comparing them thoroughly, from the design, construction, specifications, and especially performance. So strap in and get ready for a clash like no other, in LaptopMedia’s exclusive chapter of Family Feud: XPS Edition.

    Dell XPS 16 9640: Specs Sheet / In-depth Review

    Dell XPS 14 9440: Specs Sheet / In-depth Review

    Dell XPS 13 9340: Specs Sheet / In-depth Review

    Dell XPS 16 9640 configurations:

    Dell XPS 14 9440 configurations:

    Dell XPS 13 9340 configurations:

    Specs table

    SpecificationDell XPS 16 9640Dell XPS 14 9440Dell XPS 13 9340
    Operating SystemWindows 11 Pro, Windows 11 HomeWindows 11 Pro, Windows 11 HomeWindows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home
    ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 7 165H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 165H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 165H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
    Intel Core Ultra 5 125H
    GPUNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop)
    Intel Arc (8-cores)
    Intel Arc (8-cores)
    Intel Arc (7-cores)
    Display16.3”, 4K+ (3840 x 2400), 90Hz, OLED
    16.3″, FHD+ (1920 x 1200), 120 Hz, IPS
    14.5”, 3.2K (3200 x 2000), 120Hz, OLED
    14.5″, FHD+ (1920 x 1200), 120 Hz, IPS
    13.4″, 2.8K (2880 x 1800), OLED
    13.4″, QHD+ (2560 x 1600), 120 Hz, IPS
    13.4″, FHD+ (1920 x 1200), 120 Hz, IPS
    Memoryup to 64GBup to 64GBup to 64GB
    Storageup to 4000GB SSDup to 4000GB SSDup to 2000GB SSD
    Battery99.5Wh70Wh55Wh
    Weight4.7 lbs (2.13 kg)3.7 lbs (1.68 kg)3.7 lbs (1.68 kg)
    Dimensions14.10″ x 9.45″ x 0.74″
    (358.18 x 240.05 x 18.70 mm)
    12.60″ x 8.50″ x 0.26″
    (320 x 215.98 x 6.70 – 18.03 mm)
    11.63″ x 7.84″ x 0.58″
    (295.3 x 199.1 x 14.8 – 15.3 mm)
    Ports
    • 3x USB Type-C 4.0 ports with Thunderbolt 4, Power Delivery, DisplayPort
    • 1x MicroSD card reader
    • 1x 3.5 mm audio jack
    • 3x USB Type-C 4.0 ports with Thunderbolt 4, Power Delivery, DisplayPort
    • 1x MicroSD card slot
    • 1x 3.5 mm audio jack
    • 2x USB Type-C 4.0 ports with Thunderbolt 4, Power Delivery, DisplayPort

    Unboxing

    The XPS 13 comes with a simple 60W charger. With the XPS 14, you have either a 60W or a 100W charger, depending on whether you have the iGPU or the discrete NVIDIA GPU. Lastly, since the XPS 16 comes with an NVIDIA GPU in all of its configurations, you get a 130W charger.

    As an optional accessory to the XPS 14 and XPS 16, you can find a USB Type-C to Type-A and HDMI adapters.

    Dell XPS 13 9340
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 16 9640

    Design and Construction

    The three laptops couldn’t look more similar, with a fully aluminum chassis, sharp edges, and slightly rounded corners. The three even come in the same Platinum and Graphite color options. The smaller dimensions of the XPS 13 does have an impact on functionality, as the lack of space on the base does result in the speakers being mounted on the bottom.

    As for the XPS 16 and XPS 14, they both bring front-facing stereo speakers, as well as more ports on the sides, which makes them more suitable for power users and professionals who want to connect extra peripherals, a monitor, and other accessories.

     

    Dell XPS 16 9640Dell XPS 14 9440Dell XPS 13 9340
    Weight4.7 lbs (2.13 kg)3.7 lbs (1.68 kg)2.6 lbs (1.19 kg)
    Dimensions14.10″ x 9.45″ x 0.74″
    (358.18 x 240.05 x 18.70 mm)
    12.60″ x 8.50″ x 0.26 – 0.70″
    (320 x 215.98 x 6.70 – 18.03 mm)
    11.63″ x 7.84″ x 0.58″
    (295.3 x 199.1 x 14.8 – 15.3 mm)

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Keyboard and touchpad

    The keyboard layout is the same for all three laptops, as well as the physical dimensions. We find a dedicated Copilot button, which Microsoft now wants to be on any Windows keyboard, be it for a laptop or a desktop. It replaces the Context Menu key, which usually does the job of a right click. The keyboards themselves are really good. The design is fresh and something that Dell is pioneering. The key travel is there (however, it can be longer), and the feedback is clicky and consistent, so typing is super comfortable.

    The touchpad on the XPS 13 is the smallest, while the XPS 14 and XPS 16 have similarly-sized units. Finding the borders is a bit tricky, but most of the time the edges are between the two Alt keys. As you can see, on the top we’re missing the function row of keys. They have been made touch capacitive too, with light-up icons that can be switched between the F-keys and the Media keys. As the bottom and top portion are made of glass, the touchpad and other capacitive areas are super smooth.

    Dell XPS 16 9640Dell XPS 14 9440Dell XPS 13 9340
    Touchpad dimensions5.83″ x 3.54″
    (148 x 90 mm)
    5.87″ x 2.91″
    (149 x 74 mm)
    4.41″ x 2.52″
    (112 x 64 mm)

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Ports

    The XPS 16 and XPS 14 have the same port selection, with three USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, which offer Power Delivery, as well as DisplayPort capabilities. There’s also a MicroSD card slot and an audio jack. The XPS 13 only has two of the same Thunderbolt ports, lacking the audio jack and the SD slot.

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Display and Sound Quality

    All three XPS laptops come with the same resolution panel, a 16:10 Full HD+ IPS panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. However, due to the different screen sizes, they all have different characteristics.

    Full HD+ 16:10 IPS panelDell XPS 16 9640Dell XPS 14 9440Dell XPS 13 9340
    Pixel density139 PPI156 PPI169 PPI
    Dot pitch0.18 x 0.18 mm0.16 x 0.16 mm0.15 x 0.15 mm
    Retina distance24.80″ (63 cm)22.04″ (56 cm)19.68″ (50 cm)

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    All three laptops have excellent viewing angles, as you can see from the 45° images below.

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Now let’s check the luminance uniformity of the three laptops. Explained in simple words, it shows how evenly lit the panel is. This is important for overall image quality, but even more important for creators and designers, who need a screen that presents an identical color palette in its entire area.

    The XPS 14 has the brightest screen of the bunch, with the lowest deviation and the highest contrast ratio. In terms of color temperature (you can check this guide), the XSP 13 has the coldest screen of the bunch. Having a colder screen is generally good for outdoor use, as it makes the overall image appear much brighter and more visible, however, a more neutral color temperate like the one on the XPS 16 is more desirable for Creator work and indoor use.

    Full HD+ 16:10 IPS panelDell XPS 16 9640Dell XPS 14 9440Dell XPS 13 9340
    Peak brightness (middle of the screen/average for the entire display area)479/454 nits492/469 nits434/408 nits
    Max deviation10%7%11%
    Color temperature (on white screen)6170K6990K7450K
    Contrast ratio1910:12100:11750:1

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Color coverage

    Here are some illustrations (Fig. 1), (Fig. 2) & (Fig. 3). 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 all three Dell XPS laptops.

    Full HD+ 16:10 IPS panelDell XPS 16 9640Dell XPS 14 9440Dell XPS 13 9340
    sRGB100%95%92%
    DCI-P384%76%74%

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Color accuracy

    Now let’s see how big is the difference 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 three laptops with our Web Design and Office Work profile applied. The XPS 16 is the most accurate of all three, with a dE of 0.8. dE values below 1.0 are indistinguishable by the human eye, so its as accurate as it can get.

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Dell XPS 16 9640 16.3″ Sharp 17TDN-LQ163N1 (1920×1200) IPS: Buy our profiles

    Dell XPS 14 9440 14.5″ HPXJN-145WU1 (1920×1200) IPS: Buy our profiles

    Dell XPS 13 9340 13.4″ Sharp KJFGR-LQ134N1 (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.

    It’s nice to see that all three displays show no PWM usage at all brightness levels.

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Sound

    All three laptops have setups with no deviations from clarity across the entire frequency range. The XPS 16 and XPS 14 do have a simple design advantage, in the fact that their front-firing speakers will be directed towards you, so if your laptop is in your lap, you will be able to hear it better, rather than your legs muffling up the sound, as often happens with bottom-firing speakers.

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Performance – CPU, GPU, Storage

    All three laptops come with the same Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, which brings 16 total cores (6 Performance cores, 8 Efficiency cores, and 2 Low Power Efficiency cores) and 22 total threads (we have highlighted the CPUs and GPUs that are inside the laptops that we bought in bold).

    SpecificationDell XPS 16 9640Dell XPS 14 9440Dell XPS 13 9340
    Operating SystemWindows 11 Pro, Windows 11 HomeWindows 11 Pro, Windows 11 HomeWindows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home
    ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 7 165H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 165H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 165H
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
    Intel Core Ultra 5 125H
    GPUNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop)
    Intel Arc (8-cores)
    Intel Arc (8-cores)
    Intel Arc (7-cores)

    CPU tests

    You can clearly see that the XPS 16 takes the best care of the Ultra 7 CPU. It’s also interesting to observe that there’s a clear 20% step up from laptop to laptop. The XPS 14 is 25% faster in Cinebench R23 than the XPS 13, while the XPS 16 is 20% faster than the XPS 14 in the same benchmark.

    There’s also a similar even step-up in the Photoshop test, but the gap is much smaller. The XPS 14 is 0.17 seconds faster than the XPS 13, while the XPS 16 is 0.20 seconds faster than the XPS 14.

    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

    Moving to the GPU tests, somehow the iGPU inside the XPS 14 shows lower scores than the same iGPU inside the XPS 13. The winner here (to no one’s surprise), the RTX 4060 is around 2 to 3 times faster than the Arc iGPU. You can check the exact benchmark results below.

    Results are from 3DMark Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)

    Storage performance

    It’s common practice that manufacturers will scale up SSD speed with capacity, so the bigger the drive you buy, the faster it will be. Below you can see that the 1TB drive inside the XPS 16 and XPS 13 is a lot faster than the 512GB drive inside the XPS 14.

    Dell XPS 16 9640 – 1TB SSD
    Dell XPS 14 9440 – 512GB SSD
    Dell XPS 13 9340 – 1TB SSD

    Temperatures, Comfort, Battery life

    The extra-powerful cooling on the XPS 16 allows the CPU inside to reach really high clock speeds while running at the lowest overall temperatures.

    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (28W Base Power)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
    Dell XPS 16 96403.58 GHz @ 2.72 GHz @ 2.27 GHz @ 86°C @ 97W3.39 GHz @ 2.73 GHz @ 1.92 GHz @ 90°C @ 80W3.02 GHz @ 2.37 GHz @ 1.70 GHz @ 84°C @ 60W
    Dell XPS 14 94403.01 GHz @ 2.55 GHz @ 1.81 GHz @ 88°C @ 64W1.96 GHz @ 2.53 GHz @ 2.22 GHz @ 96°C @ 58W2.17 GHz @ 1.88 GHz @ 1.33 GHz @ 83°C @ 38W
    Dell XPS 13 93402.26 GHz @ 2.43 GHz @ 2.19 GHz @ 100°C @ 59W1.21 GHz @ 1.34 GHz @ 2.48 GHz @ 96°C @ 38W1.52 GHz @ 1.25 GHz @ 1.67 GHz @ 96°C @ 32W

    Battery 

    The XPS 16 is the champ when it comes to battery life, lasting for 25 hours of web browsing and video playback.

    Dell XPS 16 9640Dell XPS 14 9440Dell XPS 13 9340
    Battery capacity99.5Wh70Wh55Wh

    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

    All three laptops offer the same level of upgradeability, with only one M.2 slot for either 2230 or 2280 NVME SSDs.

    Dell XPS 16 9640
    Dell XPS 14 9440
    Dell XPS 13 9340

    Verdict

    The XPS series is one of the best ways to spend money on a laptop, thanks to the selection of feature. However, the three laptops that we compared today aren’t made the same. Sure, the designs, the specs, and the vision of the three are similar, however, the three devices do have different responsibilities.

    The XPS 13 9340 is there for people who need a light and efficient laptop, with performance taking the second priority. We’re not saying that it doesn’t perform, however, Dell has put more focus on portability. This is clearly shown in the specs sheet, as you only get integrated graphics. The Ultra 7 CPU will allow you to handle decently-intensive workloads, however, the other two XPS devices will do a much better job at that.

    The XPS 14 9440 is the sweet spot between the XPS 16 and the XPS 13, with more CPU performance, thanks to a more robust cooling solution, as well as the option for a dedicated RTX 4050 GPU. It’s for the creators who want to handle more intense workloads but are willing to sacrifice some performance for that 14-inch chassis.

    Lastly, the XPS 16 9640 is the ultimate XPS machine, with the best cooling of the three, which equals to more CPU and more GPU performance. Its display also has the highest color coverage and accuracy of the three. At the cost of a bigger laptop, you get a fully equipped device for all of your productivity needs.

    If we have to make a parallel to the MacBook laptops, the XPS 13 is the MacBook Air, the XPS 14 is the MacBook Pro 14, and the XPS 16 is the MacBook Pro 16. With that said, we’ve also prepared comparisons between the XPS laptops and the MacBooks, so visit us daily to check them out.

    Why choose the Dell XPS 16 9640?

    • 1. The most powerful of all three
    • 2. Battery life is a lot better than the other XPS devices
    • 3. The display on it has the highest color coverage and best accuracy of the three

    Why choose the Dell XPS 14 9440?

    • 1. The sweet spot between portability and performance
    • 2. It can get a lot more powerful with the RTX 4050 GPU
    • 3. Has the brightness display with the highest contrast ratio

    Why choose the Dell XPS 13 9340?

    • 1. The most affordable of the three
    • 2. The lightest notebook of the XPS family

    Dell XPS 16 9640: Specs Sheet / In-depth Review

    Dell XPS 14 9440: Specs Sheet / In-depth Review

    Dell XPS 13 9340: Specs Sheet / In-depth Review

    All Dell XPS 16 9640 configurations:

    All Dell XPS 14 9440 configurations:

    All Dell XPS 13 9340 configurations:

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