MacBook Air 13 M4 wins — The MacBook Air 13 M4 excels in portability and battery life with 18 hours tested by Notebookcheck, while the Dell XPS 1…
Scores: MacBook Air 13 M4 8.2/10 · Dell XPS 16 7.8/10
The MacBook Air 13 M4 excels in portability and battery life with 18 hours tested by Notebookcheck, while the Dell XPS 16 delivers stronger performance with Intel Core Ultra 9 scoring 20% higher in multi-core benchmarks per Tom's Hardware. The XPS offers a superior OLED display for media but adds weight and fan noise. Choose based on whether silence and lightness or raw power matter more.
| MacBook Air 13 M4 | Dell XPS 16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 13.6-inch Liquid Retina, 500 nits | 16-inch OLED, 400 nits |
| Processor | Apple M4 | Intel Core Ultra 9 185H |
| RAM | 16GB unified memory | 32GB LPDDR5X |
| Battery Life | Up to 18 hours video playback | Up to 12 hours video playback |
Our pick: MacBook Air 13 M4. It edges out the alternative on fanless design for silent operation. That said, Dell XPS 16 still wins on high-performance cpu for demanding workloads — consider it if that single trade matters most for your use.