CRN is live at Dell EMC World 2017 in Las Vegas. Get all of our coverage of the event, as well content from the Dell EMC World 2017 special issue of CRN, here.
Dell EMC World News
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Dell EMC Bringing Mission-Critical Cloud Power Virtustream Into Channel Program Pat Gelsinger: VMware Opens Up Tech Partners To Expand Cloud Capabilities Virtustream Extends Mission-Critical Cloud Tech To Complex Health Care Applications Michael Dell To Partners: 'Enormous Cross-Selling Opportunities For You' Dell EMC's David Goulden: Modern, Automated Infrastructure Provides The First Step For Cloud Migration Dell EMC Rolls Out 'Flexible Consumption' Rebate For Partners Dell EMC Takes Aim At Cisco With New Open Networking Push |
Dell North America Sales Chief: 'Winning In Both Consumer And Commercial PCs' Is Key Dell EMC World: Michael Dell's 7 Keys To The Future Of Dell Technologies And The IT Industry Dell EMC World: Enterprise Sales Chief Scannell Says Partners Are Booting Competitors, Winning Big Deals Amid Huge Market Opportunity Michael Dell To Partners: 'Enormous Cross-Selling Opportunities For You' Partner Marketing Push: Dell EMC Arms Partners With New MDF Resources Dell EMC Gives Partners The Nod On Commercial PCs With Extension Of Partner-Led Strategy Dell EMC Launches All-Flash Storage Barrage 15 Hot Products Unleashed At Dell EMC World 2017 |
Dell EMC World Special Issue
Dell EMC World: Transformation Titans Map Out Dell EMC's Path To Growth
With the right pieces now in place, Dell EMC's complete-portfolio call to action is being heard loud and clear across the partner ecosystem.
Marius Haas On Why There's 'Zero Debate' About The Value Of Dell EMC's End-To-End Portfolio
Marius Haas believes that when it comes to determining which vendor partner is going to provide you with long-term value creation opportunities, there's no debate that it's Dell EMC.
John Byrne On Partners Pivoting Away From Cisco, HPE, Lenovo, And Selling The Entire Dell EMC Portfolio
John Byrne says that Dell EMC partners are rapidly moving away from competing vendors and aggressively pushing new business opportunities across the entire combined portfolio.
Dell EMC's Cheryl Cook On The Combined Partner Marketing Perspective
Dell EMC's global channel marketing chief Cheryl Cook talks to CRN about the importance of communication when combining the marketing efforts of two massive partner programs.
Chad Sakac On Dell EMC's Push To Turn Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Into A Utility
Dell EMC is putting the 'pedal to the medal' when it comes to hyper-converged infrastructure and is tasking Chad Sakac and his team with making customer transformation as simple as possible for partners.
Jeremy Burton On How Partners Can Take Advantage Of A Combined Dell, EMC
Ahead of Dell EMC World 2017, Jeremy Burton dug into the blockbuster acquisition and how it primes partners to take advantage of the new combined company.
Dell EMC's David Goulden On What It Means To Be The Biggest Player In Storage
Ahead of Dell EMC World 2017, David Goulden talks to CRN about the new combined storage powerhouse and why you won't heard anyone referred to as 'ex-Dell' or 'ex-EMC.'
Power At Every Position: Dell Fills Exec Lineup With Seasoned Channel, Sales Veterans
The new Dell Technologies intends to lean heavily on EMC's channel experts. Here's a rundown of the executives leading Dell Technologies' sales and channel operations.
Dell Adds Systems Integrators To Its IoT Solutions Partner Program
Systems integrators have a 'unique vertical experience,' says a Dell IoT executive, and have expertise in manufacturing, utilities and industrial automation.
Dell EMC Launches First Midmarket-Focused VMAX Solution At Sub-$100K Price Point
The new 250F is 'VMAX for everyone,' says Dell EMC Vice President of Marketing Peter Smails, delivering enterprise capabilities to a new market of midsize customers.
Partners: Cisco And Dell EMC Will 'Inevitably' Hit VCE Architecture And Sales Crossroads
Although Cisco and Dell are playing nice around VCE for now, partners say architectural differences and sales incentives will inevitably lead to a break up.
6 Fun Facts About Dell Technologies You Might Not Know
Ahead of the first Dell EMC World, here are six fun facts about Dell Technologies, including its environmental efforts, sports sponsorships and its high profile in television and movies.
Thanks to Google Docs you can create your text files, and other documents online without worrying that something might not be saved. It also lets you collaborate on your documents with colleagues easily in real-time. If for any reason, you'd like to download a Google Doc, this article is for you. Read our step-by-step guide about how to download a Google Doc on Windows or Mac computer.
How to download a Google Doc as a PDF?
The process is very easy if you’d like to download your document from Google Docs. Moreover, you can choose in which format you want to download your document: a pdf, .docx, .doc, .rtf, .odt, .txt, and more. To download your document from Google Doc, click on File > Download and select the format of your choice.
You can save your file as a PDF by clicking on File > Print if your file is large. Next to Destination, select Save as PDF. Finally, click Save, and you’ll have your document downloaded.
How to download an image from a Google Doc?
If you want to save an image from your Google Doc and don’t know how to do it, don’t worry. The process is rather simple:
- Right-click on the image you want to save from a Google Doc and select Save to Keep.
- Right-click on this image in your right panel and select Save image As…, choose the directory on your computer and confirm your choice.
If you want to save a Google Doc to your PC with the comments section, all you need to do is download the Google Doc file as a Word document:
- In your Google Doc, go to File > download
- Then click on Microsoft Word (.docx). Your Google Doc will be saved to your PC with its comments.
Need more help with Google? Check out our Forum!
Microsoft has had almost a decade to perfect the Surface Pro detachable tablet, culminating in the Surface Pro 9 that promises to hold on to the laptop’s place as the best 2-in-1. Dell just recently introduced the brand-new XPS 13 2-in-1 detachable tablet, a complete redesign from the previous 360-degree convertible 2-in-1 format.
Challenging such an established standard with so many years to refine its design is no small feat. Does the XPS 13 2-in-1 have what it takes to replace the Surface Pro 9 as the best detachable tablet 2-in-1?
Specs
| Microsoft Surface Pro 9 | Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 | |
| Dimensions | 11.3 inches by 8.2 inches by 0.37 inches | 11.5 inches x 7.9 inches x 0.29 inches |
| Weight | 1.94 pounds | 1.23 pounds |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1235U Intel Core i7-1255U Microsoft SQ 3 (5G models) |
Intel Core i5-1230U Intel Core i7-1250U |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe Microsoft SQ 3 Adreno (5G models) |
Intel Iris Xe |
| RAM | 8GB to 32GB LPDDR5 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x (5G model) |
8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x |
| Display | 13-inch 3:2 PixelSense 2,880 x 1,920 IPS up to 120Hz | 13-inch 3:2 2,880 x 1,920 IPS |
| Storage | 128GB to 1TB removable PCIe SSD 128GB to 512GB removable PCIe SSD (5G models) |
512GB or 1TB PCIe SSD |
| Touch | Yes | Yes |
| Ports | 2 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 1 x Surface Connect port 1 x Surface Keyboard port 1 x nano SIM (5G models) 2 x USB-C 3.2 (5G models) |
2 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB-C to USB-A adapter 1 x USB-C to 3.5mm audio jack adapter 1 x nano SIM (optional) |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 Optional 5GB WWAN |
Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 Optional 5GB WWAN |
| Webcam | 1080p with infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello 10MP rear-facing |
1080p with infrared camera for Windows 11 Hell0 2160p rear-facing |
| Operating system | Windows 11 | Windows 11 |
| Battery | 60 watt-hour | 49.5 watt-hour |
| Price | $1,000+ | $1,000 |
| Rating | 3.5 out of 5 | 3.5 out of 5 |
Price and configurations
The Surface Pro 9 Intel-based entry-level configuration is $1,000 for a Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. The most expensive model is $2,600 for a Core i7, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The 5G ARM-based model starts at $1,300 for a Microsoft SQ 3 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD and ranges up to $1,900 with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. You’ll spend an additional $280 for the Surface Signature Type Cover and Surface Slim Pen 2.
The XPS 13 2-in-1 starts at the same $1,000 for a Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and four times the storage at 512GB. Fully configured, Dell’s tablet is $1,500 for a Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The XPS Folio and XPS Stylus are an additional $100 when configured with the system. That makes the XPS 13 2-in-1 a better value at the entry-level configuration, thanks to the additional storage, and is considerably less expensive for the high end, albeit with less RAM.
Design
- 1. Microsoft Surface Pro 9
- 2. Dell XPS 13 2-in-1
The Surface Pro 9 retains the rounded edges, aluminum construction, and smaller bezels of the previous generation, with the usual Surface build quality that ranks the tablet as one of the most attractive and solid you can buy. It’s available in Platinum, Sapphire, Forest, and Graphite colors in the Intel version, and Graphite in the 5G version. The XPS 13 2-in-1 is also solidly built, with square corners, even smaller bezels, and an aluminum frame around a glass back that optimizes for wireless connectivity. It’s available in Sky and Slate, with its 5G version available only in Slate.
The biggest point of distinction between the convertible tablets is the Surface Pro 9’s integrated kickstand with its wide range of angles. The XPS 13 2-in-1 lacks that feature, meaning Microsoft’s tablet is much easier to use on its own. With Dell’s model, you must attach the folio to prop up the tablet and you get just three angles determined by magnets on the tablet’s rear side.
In addition, the Microsoft Surface Type Cover props up at an angle for more comfortable typing, while the Dell XPS Folio keyboard only lies flat. That’s much less comfortable, even though the XPS Folios edge-to-edge keyboard with precise, snappy switches might be more comfortable than the Type Cover’s deeper but not as precise versions. The touchpads on both are similar in size and work fine.
The XPS 13 2-in-1 has fairly typical pen support with the XPS Stylus and its 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt functionality. The Surface Slim Pen 2 has those features as well as haptic feedback that makes for a more realistic experience, and the Surface Pro 9’s 120Hz display provides for smoother inking.
Both tablets have 1080p webcams with infrared cameras for Windows 11 Hello passwordless login via facial recognition, while the XPS 13 2-in-1 also features a fingerprint reader. The Surface Pro 9 specs show a 2160p rear-facing camera while the XPS 13-in-1 has a 10MP camera.
Both the XPS 13 2-in-1 and the Surface Pro 9 Intel version have the same number of Thunderbolt 4 ports, and neither has a 3.5mm audio jack. The Surface Pro 9 5G version has USB-C 3.2 instead, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. Microsoft’s tablet also has a Surface Connect port for power, whereas the XPS 13 2-in-1 must use one of its USB-C ports to charge up. The XPS 13 2-in-1 offers optional 5G WWAN connectivity, while you have to purchase the ARM-based 5G Surface Pro 9 for always-connected internet.
Performance
The Surface Pro 9 uses 15-watt Intel 12th-gen U-series CPU, specifically the 10-core/12-thread Core i5-1235U and Core i7-1255U. We reviewed the XPS 13 2-in-1 that uses 9-watt chips, the Core i5-1230U and Core i7-1250U with 10 cores and 12 thread, and the tablet with the Core i5.
Unsurprisingly, the Surface Pro 9 was faster in our benchmarks. The differences in Geekbench 5 and our Handbrake test that encodes a 420MB video as H.265 weren’t as significant as the huge discrepancy in Cinebench R23. The XPS 13 2-in-1 is fanless, and perhaps that caused some throttling in this CPU-intensive benchmark.
Note that there’s also a 5G Surface Pro 9 running a Microsoft version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 ARM processor. That machine is likely to be considerably slower than both Intel tablets.
| Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (Core i7-1255U) |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (Core i5-1230U) |
|
| Geekbench 5 (single / multi) |
Bal: 1,170 / 6,518 Perf: 1,598 / 8,165 |
Bal: 1,435 / 6,099 Perf: 1,572 / 7,028 |
| Handbrake (seconds) |
Bal: 166 Perf: 127 |
Bal: 139 Perf: 144 |
| Cinebench R23 (single / multi) |
Bal: 1,124 / 7,537 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 1,064 / 3,032 Perf: 1,065 / 3,009 |
| PCMark 10 Complete (higher is better) |
4,045 | 4,535 |
Display
Both laptops utilize 3:2 2,880 x 1,920 IPS displays, but the XPS 13 2-in-1’s panel is slightly smaller and so sharper. The Dell also had significantly higher brightness and contrast and better color accuracy, making it a more pleasant display for demanding productivity work. Neither laptop has wide enough colors for creators.
Where the Surface Pro 9 display wins out is in its 120Hz refresh rate. That makes for better inking and an overall smoother Windows 11 experience. It’s also great for gaming at higher frame rates. Though neither of these laptops is designed with that in mind, their onboard GPUs are enough for very lightweight esports play.
| Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (IPS) |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (IPS) |
|
| Brightness (nits) |
409 | 480 |
| AdobeRGB gamut | 80% | 78% |
| sRGB gamut | 99% | 99% |
| Accuracy (DeltaE, lower is better) |
1.24 | 0.8 |
| Contrast ratio | 1,050:1 | 1,840:1 |
Portability
The XPS 13 2-in-1 is slightly thinner than the Surface Pro 9 at 0.29 inches versus 0.37 inches and lighter at 1.23 pounds versus 1.97 pounds. Both are light and small enough to slip comfortably in a backpack, but the Surface Pro 9 is more comfortable to use without the bulk of its detachable keyboard.
The Surface Pro 9 was stronger in battery life thanks to its larger battery. It lasted about eight hours in our web browsing test, for example, compared to the XPS 13 2-in-1 at just six hours. The 5G Surface Pro 9 would likely get significantly better battery life overall.
The Surface Pro 9 is better, but a lot more expensive
The Surface Pro 9 is the better detachable tablet 2-in-1, in terms of its inking experience, performance, and battery life. It’s also more expensive than the XPS 13 2-in-1, which does offer 5G connectivity in its Intel version.
Overall, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 is the better machine — just be ready to pay a lot more for it.
Editors' Recommendations
The best PDF editors allow you to get even more done with PDF files. However, the real question is which PDF editor is best suited to your needs and workflow. Despite their appearance, Portable Document Format files can actually be changed in the same way that you can alter a text document with the right software. The best PDF editors let you open up almost any PDF file so that you can edit, alter, annotate, sign or convert it to other popular file formats including Microsoft Word.
The PDF format was first developed by Adobe co-founder Dr. John Warnock back in the early 90s. He designed it in such a way that it could digitally capture the high-quality design and layouts of printed pages in magazines and newspapers.
While they are often presented as finished documents, PDF files can be changed and altered. The best PDF editors can also recognize text in scanned documents, let you edit both text and images and make annotations so that someone else can update the original document.
If you regularly work with PDF files as part of your job or in your free time then one of the best PDF editors will make things even easier for you. We’ve tested more than a half-dozen different options and these are the best ones for altering text, changing images and annotating PDF files. There are also both free and paid options for Windows and Mac that allow you to work on PDFs like a pro on either operating system.
The best PDF editors you can buy today
Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
You'd expect Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to be great because it comes from Adobe, the birthplace of the portable document format. To some extent, this full-service PDF-editing application meets that expectation.
Acrobat Pro DC offers a complete set of PDF-editing tools, and it even lets you edit scanned documents. Acrobat DC's OCR engine can convert scanned documents to text, which you can then search through and change.
But Acrobat doesn't offer to convert an entire document the moment you open it. Instead, the app waits for you to begin using the Pro DC's edit tools, recognizing and converting the pages as you select them for editing. Changing text in an OCR'd document was simple and the results looked great.
It's also easy to edit images and text in documents you haven't scanned. I was able to make changes to everything with zero issues.
What I don't like about Acrobat Pro DC is the interface. It feels like a half-realized demo of what the app could be. Editing tools surround your document, and the UI feels disorganized, offering few options for customization.
Because it's designed to work on both Macs and PCs, Acrobat Pro DC looks like it belongs in neither environment. This doesn't make this program bad at what it's supposed to do; it just makes you feel like you're working outside your chosen OS.
Our new pick for the best free PDF editor is PDF Candy, because it offers something many free options do not — an OCR feature for scanning text. You can't edit OCR'd text in this web-based PDF editor, but you are able to upload PDF files and extract text and create a text document, RTF file, or Word document in both .doc and .docx formats.
You can choose from 44 tools to create or convert PDF files. It's also easy to rearrange pages within a document, add watermarks, protect PDF files with passcodes, edit metadata within a PDF file, split or add pages to documents, and extract images. actual text editing is pretty limited, the trade-off you make to enjoy a fairly feature-rich free PDF editor.
Once you've made your edits in PDF Candy, you can download the edited document or upload a new document to work on. PDF Candy keeps all of your documents in a queue so you can download them all at once after you've finished making changes to them.
PDFescape is a basic, web-based PDF-editing and -annotation program you can use for free to work on PDF documents that are smaller than either 10MB or 100 pages, whichever is greater. (PDFescape used to limit you to 50 pages, so the higher limit is a welcome change.) If you need to edit larger files, you can upgrade to a premium account for $36 a year. There's also an "ultimate" plan for $72 per year.
Accessible through any modern web browser, PDFescape offers no OCR capabilities like PDF Candy does. But PDFescape's annotation tools are easy to use. You'll find a pretty solid set of standard annotation tools that can easily add, highlight and strike through text; insert notes; and otherwise mark up the pages of your PDF file. Using the web app's insert tools, you can also add new images and text to a document, white-out text, and add web links and form fields.
PDFescape does have some major limitations in adding new text. Because there are no OCR capabilities, you can't make changes to existing text; you're limited to adding new text to an existing document. Additionally, the app has very limited font options, as it doesn't use any of your computer's fonts. So you're limited to Arial, Courier New, Times New Roman, Verdana and a Signature font for signing documents.
Apple's Preview app is built-in to the macOS and offers a minimalist but valuable set of tools for marking up any PDF file. You won't find full-on PDF editing here. But if you need a basic set of tools for highlighting or redacting text, making notes, or adding comments to a document, you won't likely need much more than what's already available on your Mac.
Preview's markup tools are hidden when you first open a PDF document. To see them, you'll have to look for the small pencil icon that appears near the Spotlight search bar at the top of your PDF document's toolbar. Clicking this reveals a small set of tools you can use to select text and add objects, text or notes to your document.
The app's standout feature is a signature tool you can use to store a signature you create using your trackpad or scan using your Mac's iSight camera. You can then easily add that signature to a document by clicking Preview's Signature tool. Simple and easy to use once you set it up, Preview's signing feature will prove its usefulness every time a digital document requires your John Hancock.
You can access all of Preview's editing tools without opening Preview, as long as you're running macOS 10.14 Mojave or later. Just use QuickLook to view a PDF, then turn to the Markup button in that mode.
Readdle's macOS-only PDF Expert is a popular PDF-editing tool that allows you to make changes to text in existing PDF documents, including by removing and replacing images, updating text, and adding text of your own. PDF Expert lacks OCR capabilities, so if you want to edit text in scanned documents, you'll need to look beyond this program.
Of all the apps I tested, PDF Expert has the cleanest interface and therefore was the most pleasant to use. Two tabs appear at the top of the screen: Annotate and Edit. Clicking one of them gives you an appropriate selection of tools to perform either annotation or editing tasks.
PDF Expert's editing tools are flawless. Click text in your PDF, and tools for editing text will slide out so you can make changes. Select an image, and tools for changing the image appear. You can move selected text anywhere on the page you want or remove it altogether.
PDF Expert struggles with large documents; otherwise, this would have been my top pick for both macOS and Windows. But every time I attempted to open my nearly 450-page test file, PDF Expert hung. Until this program behaves more dependably, look elsewhere if you tend to work with larger documents.
Wondershare's PDFelement Pro is a full-featured PDF editor with an OCR engine for recognizing scanned text and a standard set of tools. With those, you can fill in forms, annotate documents, create and add signatures, and edit images within a document.
PDFelement had no problem opening anything I threw at it, including scanned documents, large files and image-heavy PDFs. Once documents are open, PDFelement Pro offers a fairly simple interface, with a set of tools on the left side of your document that are easy to figure out. Just select a tool, and you can go to work making changes to the file.
Editing images, adding signatures and using annotations in the application all worked as planned, but I did experience some odd behaviors when I was editing or adding text using PDFelement Pro. In particular, when I was editing existing text in a document, the application wanted to make the text bold and would not allow me to change the content back to regular text. Also, when I added new text boxes, my own text did not display normally; the program always added a space after I typed an apostrophe. And the program constantly played my Mac's system beep as I typed. That's both annoying and not optimal.
Sejda is a web-based PDF-editing application that works on any OS that has a modern web browser. A desktop version converts that web interface into something that runs on your computer.
You can use a free version of Sejda, but it limits the number of daily tasks you can perform and the size of the documents you can access.
To get the most out of the program, you can buy an annual license for both the web and desktop versions for $63. A perpetual license for the desktop version is a one-time payment of $126, but it doesn't provide you access to future updates or the web version. You can also buy a weekly pass for both versions for $8 if you've got a one-time project that requires Sejda.
Sejda has no OCR engine, so you can't use this app to edit PDF files created from scanned documents. You can edit only PDF files that already have selectable text.
To edit your PDF file, you upload it to the Sejda website and then use the toolbar at the top of the page to choose your tools. You'll find tools for editing text, adding links, adding form fields and images, and signing or annotating your document. All of Sejda's tools are rudimentary at best.
The app breaks every line of text in your document into a single text entry, so you can't edit entire paragraphs of text. When you do edit existing text, remnants of the previous text often get left behind in the document. Sejda will let you add new images to a document, but you can't use the app to edit or remove existing images.
Sejda isn't a great app, but it works in a pinch when you need to make a quick change to an existing PDF document and you have no other tools at hand.
How to choose the best PDF editor for you
The first question you should ask yourself when choosing a PDF editor is what you plan to do with it. If it’s just to mark up documents and add digital signatures, PDF annotation software will better suit your needs.
As there are many well-featured PDF annotation programs that are available for free, you can save yourself some money. For instance, as we mentioned, Mac users can save even more time since the Preview app that ships with Apple’s computers includes markup and signature tools.
It also doesn’t cost much, or even anything at all, to create a PDF. You can do so from a Word document or a web page, and also convert a PDF to a Word doc or a JPEG.
However, if you’re in the market for a full-fledged PDF editor that lets you manipulate text and create documents, consider what kinds of features you’ll need for PDF editing. Applications with good OCR capabilities will likely cost more but if you don’t need OCR, you may be able to make do with a free PDF editor.
While PDF editors are great for making changes or notes to documents, they’re not necessary if you simply want to view and read a PDF. For that, check out our list of the best PDF readers you can download.
How we test PDF editors
We looked at both PDF editors and applications used for making annotations in PDFs. Every PDF editor can also annotate documents but dedicated PDF-annotation tools aren’t actually designed to make changes to any of the original content in a PDF document.
While testing each of these applications, we used a few different types of documents including large, text-heavy files, documents with a mix of formatted images and text and simple documents with text and images inserted into the document in a linear fashion. We tested features like text recognition (when supported) and we tried making changes to text, replacing and adding images and adding annotations.
If you’re looking for a 13-inch laptop or 14-inch laptop and you want a truly premium offering, then Dell’s XPS 13 Plus and Apple’s MacBook Pro 14 are likely to be on your list. Arguably, the MacBook is in a different class as a powerful creator’s machine versus the XPS 13 Plus that’s aimed at demanding productivity workers.
Even so, the MacBook Pro 14 has elements that make it a stronger competitor to the XPS 13 Plus than the less expensive MacBook Air M1 and MacBook Air M2. Therefore, it’s important to evaluate the two and see if the more expensive MacBook is worth the extra money.
Specs
| Dell XPS 13 Plus | Apple MacBook Pro 14 | |
| Dimensions | 11.63 inches by 7.84 inches by 0.60 inches | 12.31 inches by 8.71 inches by 0.61 inches |
| Weight | 2.71 pounds | 3.5 pounds |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1240P Intel Core i7-1260P Intel Core i7-1280P |
Apple M1 Pro Apple M1 Max |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe graphics | Integrated |
| RAM | 8GB 16GB 32GB |
16GB 32GB 64GB |
| Display | 13.4-inch 16:10 IPS Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) non-touch 13.4-inch 16:10 IPS Full HD+ touch 13.4-inch 16:10 OLED 3.5K (3456 x 2160) touch 13.4-inch 16:10 IPS UHD+ (3840 x 2400) touch |
14.2-inch 16:10 Liquid Retina XDR 3024 x 1964 |
| Storage | 512GB SSD 1TB SSD 2GB SSD |
512GB SSD 1TB SSD 2TB SSD 4TB SSD 8TB SSD |
| Touch | Optional | No |
| Ports | 2 USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 | 3 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x 3.5mm audio jack SD card reader |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 | Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Webcam | 720p, Windows Hello IR webcam | 1080p |
| Operating system | Windows 11 Home or Pro | MacOS Monterey |
| Battery | 55 watt-hours | 70 watt-hour |
| Price | $1,299+ | $1,999+ |
| Rating | 4 out of 5 stars | 5 out of 5 stars |
Price and configurations
Both are premium laptops, but the MacBook Pro 14 is by far the more expensive at the high end. It starts at $1,999 for an 8-core CPU/14-core GPU M1 Pro processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It’s a whopping $5,899 when fully decked out with a 10-core CPU/32-core M1 Max CPU, 64GB of RAM, and an 8TB SSD.
The XPS 13 Plus starts at $1,299 for a Core i5-1240P CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a Full HD+ non-touch IPS display. Its most expensive configuration is $2,399 for a Core i7-1280P, 32GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and either a 3.5K OLED or a UHD+ IPS panel.
The MacBook Pro 14 top-end models are aimed directly at the most demanding creative professionals. There’s some overlap at the lower end, though, with the MacBook costing $2,199 for an M1 Pro, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD and the XPS 13 Plus priced at $2,099 for a Core i7, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and the 3.5K OLED display. These configurations would be great for those with the most demanding productivity workflows, and they’re where these two laptops directly compete.
Design
- 1. Dell XPS 13 Plus
- 2. Apple MacBook Pro 14
The XPS 13 Plus is an incredibly well-built and designed laptop. Its aluminum lid and chassis are rigid, the hinge opens smoothly with one hand, and the fit and finish are exquisite. The MacBook Pro 14 meets the same standard but somehow transcends it at the same time. It’s a larger laptop with its 14.2-inch display versus 13.4 inches, and the XPS 13 Plus is even more diminutive thanks to tiny display bezels. The MacBook is heavier at 3.5 pounds versus 2.71 pounds while being almost identically thin, and that gives the MacBook a feeling of density that exudes quality. And its hinge is even more refined than Dell’s excellent version.
I’m drilling down to some fine details in drawing this distinction. You’d need to handle both laptops yourself to see if the MacBook Pro 14 provides a build that you find superior enough to choose it over the XPS 13 Plus. You’ll feel like you got your money’s worth with both machines, and they’re both great-looking laptops with minimalist designs and conservative color schemes, although the XPS 13 Plus’s glass palm rest with hidden touchpad is more futuristic. Hands-on time is a real boon to picking between them regarding design and build quality.
The MacBook does have a notch at the top of the display that some people find bothersome, and it’s there to house a 1080p webcam. The XPS 13 Plus is limited to a 720p camera given its insanely thin bezels. So, the MacBook makes for a better videoconferencing tool, particularly when you consider the software that does a great job of optimizing video quality. Dell includes an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello passwordless login via facial recognition, along with a fingerprint reader in the power button, while the MacBook uses a Touch ID power button.
The XPS 13 Plus changed up the traditional XPS 13 keyboard and mouse. Dell switched to an edge-to-edge keyboard with large keycaps and virtually no spacing between keys. The switches are shallow but snappy and precise, with a confident bottoming action. Dell implemented a set of LED touch function buttons that are OK but not really an advantage over the MacBook’s physical keys. The MacBook Pro 14 enjoys Apple’s Magic Keyboard, which is a more traditional design and also on the shallow side. But it has the best switches in a laptop keyboard, providing a consistently precise feel across all the nicely sized keys. The XPS 13 Plus’s keyboard is great, but the MacBook’s keyboard is better.
Dell also implemented a haptic touchpad on the XPS 13 Plus, and it works well enough. But Apple’s Force Touch touchpad remains the standard, and it’s more responsive and realistic. The XPS 13 Plus has the advantage of an optional touch display that the MacBook Pro 14 doesn’t offer.
Finally, connectivity favors the MacBook. It has one additional Thunderbolt 4 port and adds an HDMI port, a full-size SD card reader, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a MagSafe 3 plug that leaves both Thunderbolt 4 ports available while charging. The XPS 13 Plus even lacks an audio jack, and while Dell includes a dongle in the box, it’s a hassle. The Dell’s wireless connectivity is more up to date, though, with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 compared to the MacBook’s older standard of Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
Performance
When configured with the 8-core CPU/14-core GPU M1 Pro, the MacBook Pro 14 is faster than the XPS 13 Plus with its 14-core/20-thread Core i7-1280P. But, the differences in our CPU-intensive benchmarks aren’t so great as to put the MacBook in another class entirely. Where it shines, though, is in GPU-dependent creative apps where Apple’s optimizations make the M1 Pro must faster than Windows laptops with integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics.
For this comparison, though, we’re looking specifically at how well each laptop meets demanding productivity needs. And in this case, the XPS 13 Plus is more than fast enough when switched to its performance mode using Dell’s thermal management utility. Note that the Dell also runs a lot hotter and louder when fully engaged, while the MacBook Pro 14 stays quieter and cooler. And the MacBook has some serious headroom with a faster M1 Pro and M1 Max available.
| Dell XPS 13 Plus (Core i7-1280P) |
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M1 Pro 8/14) |
|
| Geekbench 5 (single / multi) |
Bal: 1,316 / 8,207 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 1,728 / 9,955 Perf: N/A |
| Handbrake (seconds) |
Bal: 170 Perf: 94 |
Bal: 123 Perf: N/A |
| Cinebench R23 (single / multi) |
Bal: 1,311/ 6,308 Perf: 1,650 / 7,530 |
Bal: 1,531 / 9,519 Perf: N/A |
Display
We reviewed the XPS 13 Plus with its 13.4-inch 16:10 3.5K (3456 x 2160) OLED touch panel, which provides plenty of brightness, extremely wide and accurate colors, and incredibly deep contrast with inky blacks. It’s slightly sharper than the MacBook Pro 14’s 16:10 mini-LED at 14.2 inches and 3024 x 1964. The MacBook’s panel is considerably brighter and enjoys equally deep contrast while its colors aren’t as wide and accurate as Dell’s.
Where the MacBook Pro 14 shines (no pun intended) is in how well it plays back high dynamic range (HDR) video, which Apple calls extended dynamic range (XDR). The XPS 13 Plus has awesome HDR as well, but side-by-side, Apple’s implementation is brighter and more dynamic.
These are two excellent displays for productivity, creativity, and media consumption. Dell gets a nod for offering Full HD+ and UHD+ IPS panel alternatives.
Portability
The XPS 13 Plus is a tiny laptop. It’s smaller and lighter than the MacBook Pro 14. However, both are reasonably portable and slide into a backpack without a problem. If you want the smallest laptop you can find then the XPS 13 Plus wins out, but Apple’s laptop is small enough.
At the same time, the MacBook Pro 14 is built around Apple’s ARM processor that’s not just powerful — it’s also incredibly efficient. The MacBook’s larger 70-watt-hour battery is larger than the Dell’s (55 watt-hours) and it enjoys a CPU that can sip power when not running full speed. That gives it a significantly longer battery life, promising multi-day battery longevity where the XPS 13 Plus will require its charger to make it through a full day.
The MacBook Pro 14 has more headroom
If you’re looking for an excellent productivity laptop, then either the Dell XPS 13 Plus or Apple MacBook Pro 14 will qualify. They’re both more than fast enough for demanding workflows, they have solid build qualities and excellent displays, and their keyboard and touchpads a comfortable to use.
The MacBook Pro 14 is faster, though, and it gets significantly better battery life. You can spend about the same money on both laptops but the MacBook has a higher ceiling. In the end, it’s a better overall laptop for anyone who isn’t looking for the tiniest machine around.
Editors' Recommendations
Canva may be famed for its impressive - and impressively simple - online design app. But the platform offers a lot more than that.
One of the best additions is a free PDF editor. If you’re looking for a simple-to-use PDF editor in your browser, look no further. You can check out the Canva PDF Editor (opens in new tab) at no cost to see how well it fits your workflow.
Canva PDF Editor: Pricing & plans
- Generous and entirely free with only a few limits
Across the board, Canva costs nothing. It’s not just the PDF editor that’s gratis - you can also use the video editing software, photo editor, free logo designer, and a whole host of other digital design tools without opening your wallet, let alone breaking the bank.
It’s generous. But there are a few limitations on the free plan. Premium assets like stock photos and illustrations are locked behind a subscription.
Canva has two monthly/annual subscriptions, Pro and Teams. These unlock tools like cloud storage, social media scheduling, and brand kits - ideal for maintaining consistent company colors and logos across multiple designs. There are also additional plans for those in academia.
Canva PDF Editor: Interface & experience
- Easy to use in almost every way
Creating a new PDF document through Canva's editor is different to, say, Adobe Acrobat (or the countless Acrobat alternatives out there). Rather than setting you free on a blank canvas from the get-go, you’ll need to upload a file.
Once you’ve got your document uploaded, Canva will process it and transform it into an editable file. And it works far better than you might expect, capable of identifying images, text blocks, and backgrounds.
There’s very little you can’t modify at this point simply by clicking on the relevant component. Just to make it even easier, hover over any on-page element and a pink outline will let you know what can be edited, deleted, or moved in your PDF.
If you’d rather build a document from scratch, you can do this through the main Canva design app by creating an A4 canvas, using one of the many templates included, then exporting as a PDF. The design process, however, remains the same.
The PDF editor’s layout is more or less the same as with its graphic design software, and even the Canva Logo Maker and Canva Video Editor.
So, if you’re familiar with these, you should have no trouble getting started here. But even if this is a new platform for you, Canva is delightfully simple to use - it’s one of the key reasons it’s become a popular tool for businesses.
Tools line the left-hand panel. It’s here where you can select a new template, find new elements (in the PDF realm, this is mostly stock photos and vector graphics), upload your own media, and tweak background colors for all or individual pages.
Head down to the Apps category and you’ll find a host of useful extras. Want to connect your Google Drive or YouTube channel to the platform? This is where you’ll do it. It’s also where you can import media files from the likes of Box, Dropbox, and Google Photos.
Elsewhere, you’ll find a basic, but fun drawing tool that lets you - what else? - draw on your PDF files like it’s Microsoft Paint.
Notably, the section includes a QR code creator - the comeback kid of the tech world. Just add your URL and hit Generate QR Code. However, just like everything else in Canva, these are customizable, with options to change both background and foreground colors to fit your brand and your PDF design.
Ultimately, the Apps category is pretty vast, and we recommend exploring it top to toe to find tools that’ll fit your workflow.
- Interface & experience: 5/5
Canva PDF Editor: Editing & modifying
- Simple software for editing PDFs
Dragging and dropping is the name of the game in Canva PDF Editor. Once an element - be it a text box, image, or anything else - is added, you can get it into position simply by dragging it around the page.
Usefully, when moving elements, the tool adds invisible guidelines. This makes it incredibly easy to align blocks with each other or lock an element dead-center. So, even if you’re new to creating and modifying PDFs, you can walk away with a professional-looking document.
If you’re printing your PDF, you can also add margins and bleed lines to ensure you haven’t placed objects too close to the edge, thereby cutting off content.
To remove or edit existing content, click on an element. This reveals a small pop-up just above, letting you duplicate or delete the element. Hit the three dots to unfurl even more options, such as copy, paste, animate, and comment for those engaged in online collaboration.
For even more efficiency, Canva PDF editor supports keyboard shortcuts - you can precisely move elements using the arrow keys, for instance, or select an element, hit delete and it’ll vanish.
Canva PDF Editor: Tools
- Limited tools beyond PDF creation and editing
One of the features that sets top PDF editors apart are the inclusion of advanced tools like eSign software and OCR software. For example, Foxit PDF Editor is equipped with a powerful set of redaction tools - perfect for businesses that need to remain compliant with the raft of data security regulations and laws. The same goes for EaseUS PDF Editor, which has a massive range of professional editing tools.
And this is where Canva’s online PDF editor begins to show its (admittedly few) limitations. Since Canva is, first and foremost, a digital art tool, it doesn’t feature the usual bag of tricks you’ll find in dedicated editors.
Take PDF conversion as an example. Many platforms let you upload a file and convert it to another. That’s technically possible with Canva PDF Editor - but it’s a more complicated method than most, as you’ll upload a document or image file and download it as a PDF (and vice versa). But it’s not a true PDF converter. It lacks a range of output formats. Nor is it as efficient as other platforms because of this.
As such, it’s tailor-made for creating, say, marketing assets or admin forms (there’s even a Canva Forms tool for this specific purpose, with Typeform integration, too).
It's also remarkably easy to share files for review, simply by clicking the Share button, which is where you can also change the filetype and download your documents. However, it likely won’t suffice if, for example, your documents collect digital signatures from external sources or more powerful PDF tools.
Canva PDF Editor: Scorecard
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Row 0 - Cell 1 | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Pricing & plans | Free, with optional subscriptions | 5 |
| Interface & experience | Deliciously simple to use | 5 |
| Editing & modifying | Couldn't be easier to create and edit files | 5 |
| Tools | Limited compared to rivals | 3 |
Should I buy?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Canva PDF Editor: Alternatives
Adobe Acrobat, Foxit PDF Editor, EaseUS PDF Editor, and Nitro PDF Pro are great if you want extra power from your PDF editor.
Soda PDF Online, PDF24 Creator, PDF Candy, and SmallPDF are ideal when you want a simple PDF editor in your browser.
Dell has unveiled the next generation of its PowerEdge servers with 4th Generation AMD EPYC processors, designed for AI and high performance (HPC) computing workloads.
The company said the new hardware provides performance and storage advancements, suitable for businesses that perform advanced workloads including data analytics, AI, HPC, and virtualisation.
Dell underlined that customers can expect up to 121% performance improvement, up to 33% more front-drive count for two rack (2U) servers, and up to 60% higher front-drive count for one rack (1U) servers.
“Our latest PowerEdge servers are purpose-built to meet the needs of today’s demanding workloads with efficiency and resiliency,” said Rajesh Pohani, vice president of portfolio and product management for PowerEdge, HPC and Core Compute at Dell Technologies.
“With up to double the performance of the previous generation, combined with the latest in power and cooling innovations, these servers are designed to meet the growing demands of our customers.”
There are four different servers available in the new PowerEdge series:
- PowerEdge R7625 is designed for data centres through its dual 4th generation AMD EPYC processors. This is a 2-socket, which means two slots for CPUs, 2U platform that Dell claimed accelerates in-memory databases by over 72%.
- PowerEdge R7615, a one-socket, 2U server with a faster memory bandwidth than previous generations. This is designed for smaller data centres and can speed up AI workloads.
- PowerEdge R662, a two-socket, 1U server. Dell said this is suited for HPC workloads or running multiple virtual desktop infrastructure instances.
- PowerEdge R6615, a one-socket, 1U server that offers more virtual machine density than previous generations. The server is smaller than the other but still offers increased compute power, and helps limit data centre footprint expansion.
The R7625 is currently available in limited configurations, while the rest of the servers are expected to become available in February 2023.
Dell has also boosted the security features that are built-into its servers. This includes system lockdown, drift detection, and multi factor authentication (MFA). Dell underlined this is extremely important for data centres, with its systems providing a more secure operation. AMD has also included an embedded security subsystem in the new processor to help protect data.
The servers also record details of the server hardware and firmware build at the time of manufacturing. Organisations can then verify that their server arrived as ordered and built from the factory.
The servers come with Dell’s cooling technology, Smart Cooling, to allow for more airflow through the systems than in previous generations. It said this will keep them cool while performing at the highest levels for long periods of time.
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Free DownloadAdditionally, the servers are designed to reduce heat generated, energy consumed, and the burden on other resources needed to power the systems. For example, the PowerEdge R7625 delivers up to 55% greater processor performance efficiency compared to its previous models, said the company.
Lastly, Dell said that the new servers will be part of its commitment to source recycled or renewable materials in over half of Dell product content by 2030. Also, when the company ships multiple servers at once, they will be delivered more sustainably by reducing the number of boxes and materials it takes to ship the systems.
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Free DownloadIn case you’re in the market for a new monitor, this is the time to get one. Both professional and business monitors are now on sale via Amazon, for Cyber Monday. There are a ton of offerings here from Samsung, Dell, Spectre, and more. We’ve hand-picked a bunch of them for the list below, but you can access a full list of available monitors by clicking here.
Spectre 27-inch monitor
Let’s talk about the listed monitors real quick, shall we? Let’s kick things off with a monitor for Spectre. The one that we listed above comes with a 27-inch display, and it’s a fullHD panel. It offers a refresh rate of 75Hz, and comes with built-in speakers, actually. The monitor itself looks really good, and has rather thin bezels. This thing costs $99.97, while it’s usually priced at $169.97.
Dell 24-inch monitor
Next in line is Dell’s 24-inch monitor. This is also a fullHD monitor, and it comes with Comfortview (TUV-certified) feature. It offers a refresh rate of 75Hz, and this is an anti-glare screen with 3H hardness. This monitor comes with a stand as well, and a rather nice-looking one. It is now priced at $114.99, down from $149.99.
Acer 27-inch monitor
Acer also has a 27-inch monitor on this list. This one also comes with a fullHD+ display, and it’s marketed for office use. It has a 75Hz refresh rate, a low blue light filter, and it’s VESA compatible. It includes an HDMI port and a VGA port. This thing actually somewhat resembles Dell’s offering we talked about. The device is priced at $109.99 as we speak, down from $159.99.
Samsung CJ890 49-inch monitor
The Samsung CJ890 is a 49-inch ultrawide, curved monitor, in case you need something considerably bigger. This thing offers a QHD (3840 x 1080) resolution, and it has a 144Hz display. It includes a USB-C port, and an HDMI port, while it also comes with an adjustable stand. This monitor is currently priced at $899.99, down from $1,200.99, so you’re saving up 25% here.
Samsung S33A 22-inch monitor
In case you need something smaller than every other monitor we’ve listed, the Samsung S33A is on sale as well. This is a 22-inch monitor which includes a fullHD display. It has the eye saver mode, and a game mode, while it comes with an HDMI port and a VA panel. This monitor is priced at $89.99, while it usually costs $164.99.
Check out all the deals on offer by clicking here, or tapping the button/link below. We’ve listed only five of them, but there are a lot more available.
Professional & business monitors form Samsung, Dell & more - Amazon
