Enlarge / Concept Luna taken apart. (credit: Scharon Harding)

Dell continues tinkering with what it hopes to be a repairable laptop like the Framework Laptop . Last year , it showed off Concept Luna, a clamshell designed to easily disassemble for easy repairs, upgrades, and harvested components. This year, Dell showed the press an updated Concept Luna that could support more power while being even simpler to dismantle. The vendor is also exploring how to automate the process, from disassembly to parts diagnostics, on a broad scale.

Now more repairable (still unavailable)

Dell's Concept Luna laptop is comparable in size to a Latitude with some Dell XPS 13 Plus -like stylings. In person, it looked similar to the Concept Luna demoed last year, including appearing to be a functioning PC. But Dell's representative was able to open this year's version up and pull out internal parts much more rapidly—well under 60 seconds.

The computer was easier to take apart because it doesn't have screws (last year's Concept Luna had four). Dell's rep simply stuck a pin (it could be anything that fits, they said) into a hole in the security lock slot on the right side of the system's deck.

Enlarge (credit: Scharon Harding)

I was treated to a welcome surprise when I first laid eyes on the latest Dell XPS 13 (9315). The color options—a youthful sky blue or a unique purplish brown—are visual candy in a PC world dominated by shimmery silvers, grown-up grays, and boring blacks. Dell's 2022 XPS 13 doesn't compromise by offering a more traditional colorway for cheaper, as prior XPS 13 laptops did, either.

After I moved past appearances, I found there was more to enjoy under the hood. While this machine isn't as wild of a redesign as the one given to the costlier Dell XPS 13 Plus , the company did some tinkering to make the XPS 13 lighter and thinner than ever, all while accommodating quality-of-life upgrades like better speakers and a bigger battery. Unfortunately, it has a dreadfully limited and dongle-dependent port selection.

There are flashier alternatives for a thin-and-light laptop, but the 2022 XPS 13 is an admirable clamshell with more to offer than a couple of unique hues.

Enlarge / Dell's UltraSharp U3223QZ 4K monitor. (credit: Scharon Harding)

I get it; not everyone finds monitors as exciting as I do. For most people, a little extra color or a larger range of tones don't really differentiate one screen from another. So I don't blame Dell for stuffing the UltraSharp U3223QZ 4K monitor with fluff like motion-activated controls, monstrous speakers, and a webcam with presence detection. But after weeks with the monitor, I found none of those extra features as exciting as the monitor's IPS Black panel.

The U3223QZ has a lot to prove. For one, it debuted at the same MSRP as the 5K Apple Studio Display (starts at $1,600 ). Since then, Dell has made the price more competitive ( $1,280 as of writing), but it's still expensive for a 31.5-inch monitor. Dell's U3223QZ is also one of the few monitors to use IPS Black technology, which is supposed to yield about twice the contrast as the typical IPS monitor. I confirmed this with a colorimeter and, more enjoyably, with my eyes.

The bonus features on the U3223QZ have their pluses. The speakers are louder than average and the webcam can automatically log you in and out. But for many people, it makes sense to save money and buy the version of this monitor without the webcam ... and without a dedicated Microsoft Teams button.

Enlarge / Dell's MS700 Bluetooth Travel Mouse. (credit: Scharon Harding)

There's something to be said about a portable PC peripheral. With many people working in various locations and pairing PC accessories with various devices, portability has become a necessity for many. The Dell MS700 Bluetooth Travel Mouse released today prioritizes portability with Bluetooth connectivity and, more interestingly, the ability to twist into a flatter shape.

The twisted mouse is similar to mice like Microsoft's bendable Surface Arc but stands out with its ability to easily toggle across multiple paired devices, plus a cozy texture. But these are about the only enjoyable things about using the MS700.

Dell's MS700 felt scratchy when I moved it around or made extended swipes, and the touch-scroll strip is an inadequate replacement for a scroll wheel. And there are very few customization options with this $65 (MSRP) mouse.

Enlarge / Dell's XPS 13 Plus clamshell laptop. (credit: Scharon Harding)

Dell's XPS 13 laptop has been a staple among Windows ultralights, typically offering decent performance for the price, extreme portability, and good looks.

Apparently, that wasn't enough for Dell, so it released the Dell XPS 13 Plus . Introduced this year (alongside a more traditional 2022 XPS 13 ), it's a revamped version of the XPS 13 that puts performance over everything else.

Wild design choices allow the system to support a 28 W CPU. With the 2021 XPS 13 carrying a 15 W chip and the 2022 XPS 13 supporting up to a 12 W one, this is a notable achievement. But it's also a case of function over form. To put it simply, using the XPS 13 Plus felt weird. From its tightly spaced keys and capacitive touch function row to its minimal port selection, questionable build quality, and extremely high temperatures, this machine can be frustrating to use for daily tasks.

Enlarge / Dell's XPS 15 9520 is nearly identical to the last-gen 9510, albeit with improved processor performance. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Even as an iterative update to an existing computer, Dell's XPS 15 9520 is pretty mild. It's super-iterative. The only thing that separates it from the XPS 15 9510 we reviewed last year is that it swaps the 11th-generation Intel processors for 12th-gen versions. Everything else, from the design to the screen to the GPU, is the same (unless you count changing the foreshortened Windows 10-era rectangle logo on the Windows key to a square Windows 11-era logo).

So we won't spend much time redescribing things about this laptop that we have already mentioned. Weighing just a bit over four pounds, this is still a computer made for people who want more power than a 13- or 14-inch laptop can provide, but who still care enough about size and weight that they don't want to graduate to a full-size desktop or a bulky gaming laptop.

It still has a nice slim-bezel screen, a huge trackpad, a comfortable keyboard with firm-but-not-too-firm keys and a pleasing amount of travel, and Thunderbolt and USB-C ports for accessories and charging (plus a single SD card reader and a headphone jack). A fingerprint reader, face-scanning Windows Hello-compatible IR camera, and a 720p webcam and speakers (serviceable-but-middling in both cases) round out the basic amenities.

Enlarge / Will this screen break before we finish our review? (credit: Scharon Harding)

The Dell XPS 13 Plus laptop released this year was billed as the fancier version of one of the most well-known thin-and-light laptops, the Dell XPS 13 . The XPS 13 didn't necessarily need a fancier version, but added features like a capacitive touch function row and support for a higher wattage CPU gave Dell enough justification to produce a new SKU carrying the "Plus" moniker. Ironically, though, early versions of one of the highest configurations of the XPS 13 Plus have a problem that's surprising for a laptop with its background.

A Dell representative confirmed to Ars Technica today that an "early batch" of Dell XPS 13 Plus laptops with OLED screens "may become loose because of problems with the third-party adhesive used." The issue was reported on yesterday by The Verge .

According to the rep, "only a small number of screens will detach" from laptops of the impacted batch. Dell wouldn't provide an exact number of units affected, but the laptops in question seem to include the first XPS 13 Pluses sent out to reviewers and early purchasers. Dell's rep said that once the issue with the adhesive was discovered, Dell corrected its production process, so other units should not be affected. Units with LCD-LED screens are unaffected, Dell said.