This Dell laptop is the best Windows alternative to the Apple MacBook Pro 16
Quench your MacBook Pro thirst with this gorgeous Dell laptop
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Let’s be clear, straight off the bat; the16-inch Apple MacBook Prois the most powerful lightweight laptop money can buy right now. There is no laptop of this size on the market that boasts 8TB of storage and 64GB of RAM. At just over 16mm in thickness and with a weight of 2kg, it truly is a technological feat.
The Macbook Pro’s nearest rival, however, has to be theDell XPS 15 9500. It doesn’t quite carry the same cachet asApple’s newest machine, but still has a few cards up its sleeve if you’re looking for aWindows 10PC that’s at least in the same ballpark.
Note, this particular XPS 15 model is not currently on offer and is only available in the US. For some reason,Dellthinks the rest of the world doesn’t deserve a thin-and-light laptop with 64GB of memory.
Gunning for the MacBook Pro
Thetop-of-the-range XPS 15 modelactually shares a lot of similarities with the MacBook; it has a similar CPU (8-core, 16MB cache and a 45W TDP), 64GB of memory and 2TB PCIe SSD.
It features a smaller 15.6-inch touchscreen display, but it’s anOLEDmodel with a4Kresolution, making it sharper than Apple’s. It’s powered by anNvidiaGeforce GTX 1650 GPU with 4GB of video memory, which is more than a match for theAMDRadeon Pro 5500M in the MacBook Pro.
As you might expect, Dell has the upper hand when it comes to pricing. At $3,049.99 (around £2,500/AU$4,500) with Windows 10 Home instead of Pro, the XPS 15 undercuts Apple’s equivalent by a staggering 27%, with the equivalent MacBook Pro 16 coming in at $4,199 (roughly £3,370/AU$6,200).
The comparison becomes even less favorable for Apple when you factor in warranty and services. AppleCare+ for the new MacBook Pro costs $379 and includes a three-year warranty, two incidents of accidental damage and 24/7 priority access to Apple experts. Dell, on the other hand, provides 4-year ProSupport Plus (with next business day onsite service and accidental damage service) for $360, which is both better value and cheaper.
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The XPS 15 might not garner the same attention and acclaim as Apple’s machine, but its many qualities and cheaper price tag make it a serious contender.
Bear in mind
Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled inwebsite buildersandweb hostingwhen DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.
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