Products
Dell XPS 15 (2023)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Aug 22, 2024 02:27 PM
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Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Oct 29, 2025 03:02 PM
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BestBuy.com
Size
15.6"
Operating System
Windows 11
Size
15.3"
Operating System
macOS
Our Verdict
Dell XPS 15 (2023)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024)
The Dell XPS 15 (2023) and the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024) are both premium productivity laptops that provide a great user experience overall. However, you can get more performance out of the Dell, as it's available with faster CPUs and discrete GPUs. Unlike the MacBook Air, it has active cooling fans to minimize thermal throttling, making it better suited for heavy, sustained workloads.
Variants
- XPS 15 (XPS9530-9565SLV-PUS) (Platinum Silver - 3.5K/i9-13900H/RTX 4060/32GB/1TB)
- XPS 15 (XPS9530-7718SLV-PUS) (Platinum Silver - FHD/i7- 13700H/Arc A370M/16GB/512GB)
- XPS 15 (XPS9530-7701SLV-PUS) (Platinum Silver - FHD/i7- 13700H/RTX 4050/16GB/iTB)
- XPS 15 (XPS9530-7749SLV-PCA) (Platinum Silver - FHD/i7-13700H/Arc A370M/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD43LL/A) (Midnight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYU3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYV3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD23LL/A) (Silver - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYP3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYQ3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD13LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYM3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYN3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD33LL/A) (Starlight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYR3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYT3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/512GB)
Main Differences for
School
School
Threshold
School
8.2
8.8
Webcam & Microphone
5.3
8.7
Portability
7.9
8.7
Battery
8.7
9.1
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.0
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
7.9
8.7
Dimensions Photo
Size
15.6"
15.3"
Thickness
0.7" (1.9 cm)
0.6" (1.4 cm)
Width
13.5" (34.2 cm)
13.4" (34.0 cm)
Depth
9.1" (23.2 cm)
9.3" (23.7 cm)
Volume
92.0 in³ (1,507.5 cm³)
68.8 in³ (1,128.1 cm³)
Weight
3.5 lbs (1.6 kg)
3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)
Charger Size
12.3 in³ (201.2 cm³)
4.2 in³ (68.6 cm³)
Charger Weight
1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
8.4
3.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
7.5
6.0
RAM Slots
2
0
Storage Slots
2
0
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
Yes
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
1920 x 1200
2880 x 1864
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
145 PPI
226 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
94%
87%
Refresh Rate
5.9
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
No
Contrast
7.8
7.5
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,606 : 1
1,412 : 1
Brightness
8.3
8.7
Maximum Brightness
451 cd/m²
494 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
24 cd/m²
2 cd/m²
Reflections
7.9
9.1
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Matte
Glossy
Total Reflections
3.77%
1.47%
Indirect Reflections
2.01%
0.38%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.76%
1.09%
Black Uniformity
6.5
7.3
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
1.663%
1.103%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
8.1
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
36°
Color Washout From Right
35°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
60°
Color Shift From Right
60°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
38°
Brightness Loss From Right
38°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
49°
Gamma Shift From Right
51°
Vertical Viewing Angle
7.2
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
28°
Color Washout From Above
27°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
45°
Color Shift From Above
45°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
30°
Brightness Loss From Above
29°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
29°
Gamma Shift From Above
28°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
1.4
9.9
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
9.18
1.47
Avg. Gamma
2.17
2.24
Avg. Color dE
6.74
0.98
Avg. Color Temperature
5,169 K
6,742.3 K
Color Gamut
8.8
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
112.48%
99.93%
sRGB uv
110.58%
99.72%
Adobe RGB xy
81.65%
87.43%
Adobe RGB uv
90.52%
92.34%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
82.74%
99.05%
DCI P3 uv
87.24%
98.72%
Rec. 2020 xy
59.48%
71.83%
Rec. 2020 uv
64.17%
73.49%
Flicker
10
9.0
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
No
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
> 1000Hz
Flicker Active Below
0%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
8.1
8.0
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
71 gf
62 gf
Actuation Force
39 gf
40 gf
Pre-Travel
0.95 mm
0.80 mm
Total Travel
1.40 mm
0.91 mm
Touchpad
9.5
9.6
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
9.5
Size
20.9 in² (135.0 cm²)
21.4 in² (138.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.9
8.9
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
85 dB SPL
81 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.4 dB
5.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
-2.0
2.2
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
220 Hz
155 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
13 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.9 dB
2.3 dB
Webcam & Microphone
5.3
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
5.0
9.0
Resolution
720p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
Yes
No
Connectivity
Ports
6.5
5.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
3
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 3
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
SD UHS 1
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
Apple MagSafe 3
Security Lock
Yes
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.3
5.3
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
Core i7-13700H
M3
Core Count
14
8
Thread Count
20
8
GPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
Arc A370M
M3
Dedicated/Integrated
Dedicated
Integrated
VRAM Size
4 GB
N/A
GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)
N/A
RAM
Capacity
16 GB
8 GB
Modules
2
Unknown
Type
DDR5
LP-DDR5
Speed
4,800 MHz
6,400 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
512 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
449 GB
214 GB
Drive 1
Samsung PM9A1 NVMe 512GB
Apple SSD AP0256Z
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
9.4
9.4
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,817 points
2,322 points
CPU Multi-Thread
11,867 points
10,501 points
GPU Compute
30,858 points
33,403 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
10
9.7
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,906 points
1,892 points
Multi-Thread
16,514 points
9,179 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
8.9
8.7
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
3.1 min
4.0 min
GPU Render Time
1.5 min
1.6 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
6.3
7.4
Basemark Image
Overall Score
29,274
44,950
Storage Drive Performance
9.7
9.2
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
2,115.6 MB/s
2,738.0 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
4,413.0 MB/s
2,834.7 MB/s
Random Write Speed
150.6 MB/s
41.1 MB/s
Random Read Speed
81.9 MB/s
62.5 MB/s
Battery
8.7
9.1
Capacity
86 Wh
67 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
11.5 hrs
12.7 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
13.0 hrs
12.0 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
1.5 hrs
3.5 hrs
Charge Time
2.6 hrs
2.8 hrs
Borderlands 3
4.2
3.1
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
30 fps
20 fps
1% Low
14 fps
7 fps
0.1% Low
4 fps
4 fps
1% Low Delta
39 ms
89 ms
0.1% Low Delta
213 ms
230 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
76 fps
37 fps
Civilization VI
6.8
5.6
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
64 fps
41 fps
1% Low
36 fps
26 fps
0.1% Low
32 fps
17 fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
14 ms
0.1% Low Delta
16 ms
33 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
112 fps
93 fps
Avg. Turn Time
7.21 s
10.24 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
9.2
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
167 fps
1% Low
103 fps
0.1% Low
87 fps
1% Low Delta
4 ms
0.1% Low Delta
6 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
199 fps
Counter-Strike 2
0.0
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
1% Low
N/A
0.1% Low
N/A
1% Low Delta
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
N/A
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
0.0
4.3
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
32 fps
1% Low
N/A
15 fps
0.1% Low
N/A
8 fps
1% Low Delta
N/A
36 ms
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
90 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
N/A
44 fps
Thermals And Noise
7.4
8.1
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
30 °C (87 °F)
27 °C (81 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
48 °C (118 °F)
50 °C (121 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
N/A
Fan Noise Under Load
41.5 dBA
N/A
Power & Fan Control App
Yes
No
Performance Over Time
8.0
7.1
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
96 °C
90 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
12% loss
6% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
67 °C
90 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
1% loss
12% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 11
macOS
Additional Software
Yes
None
Extra Features
Biometrics
Face Recognition and Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen Support
No Stylus Support
Secondary Display
No
No
Touch Pen
No
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Dell XPS 15 (2023)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024)
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Dell XPS 15 (2023) vs Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024): Main Discussion
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