Where they actually differ
The most decisive specs, ranked by how much they matter — before the full spec table.
| Spec | Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 | Dell - XPS 13 (9350) |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 66 Wh | 55 Wh |
| CPU cores | 10 | 12 |
| Screen size | 15.3 " | 13.4 " |
| Claimed battery life | 18 h | 20 h |
| Thunderbolt ports | 2 | 0 |
| Panel type | IPS | OLED |
Between the MacBook Air 15 M4 and XPS 13 (9350), the MacBook Air 15 M4 comes out ahead in battery / screen size, while the XPS 13 (9350) wins on cpu cores / claimed battery life. Overall, the MacBook Air 15 M4 scores 63.3 and the XPS 13 (9350) scores 61.8 on our Mars Score.
Which should you buy?
These two are nearly even on the Mars Score (63.3 vs 61.8). The decision is not about overall quality — both clear the bar — it is about which specific trade-offs fit your use.
Pick the MacBook Air 15 M4 if your top frustration with your current device is running out of charge before the day ends — endurance is the lead spec here. The biggest gaps in its favor are battery, screen size, thunderbolt ports. The single most decisive one: Battery — 20.00% more. 66 Wh vs 55 Wh.
Pick the XPS 13 (9350) if you care most about cpu cores / claimed battery life. Its strongest claims are cpu cores, claimed battery life, panel type, among others. The single most decisive one: CPU cores — 20.00% more. 12 vs 10.
Both ship with comparable ram, storage, refresh rate, so those specs do not separate the two — focus on the differences below.
Bottom line: there is no wrong answer here — match the spec advantages to how you actually use the product. The Mars Score parity says both are well-rounded; the differences are about trade-offs, not quality.
Which should you buy: Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 or Dell - XPS 13 (9350)?
Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 leads the current Mars Score by 1.5 points.The more useful decision is the trade-off behind that result: compare screen size, weight, battery against the way you will actually use the product.
Choose Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 if…
Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 has the measurable edge on battery wh, screen size in, port thunderbolt count.
Choose Dell - XPS 13 (9350) if…
Dell - XPS 13 (9350) has the measurable edge on cpu cores, claimed battery h, panel type.
This is a structured comparison of the published catalog values. It is not a claim of identical real-world performance across every workload; use the linked spec drill-downs and methodology page to inspect the inputs.
Why Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 wins
- ▲Battery — 20.00% more. 66 Wh vs 55 Wh.
- ▲Screen size — 14.18% more. 15.3 " vs 13.4 ".
- ▲Thunderbolt ports — 2.00 more. 2 vs 0.
Why Dell - XPS 13 (9350) wins
- ▲CPU cores — 20.00% more. 12 vs 10.
- ▲Claimed battery life — 11.11% more. 20 h vs 18 h.
- ▲Panel type: OLED (vs IPS).
- ▲Weight — 0.32 kg less. 1.19 vs 1.51.
Spec comparison
Design
| Spec | Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 | Dell - XPS 13 (9350) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 1.51 kg | 1.19 kglead |
| Thickness | 11.5 mmlead | 14.8 mm |
| Build material | aluminum | aluminum |
| Backlit keyboard | true | true |
| Fingerprint reader | true | true |
Display
| Spec | Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 | Dell - XPS 13 (9350) |
|---|---|---|
| Screen size | 15.3 "lead | 13.4 " |
| Refresh rateⓘ | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Panel typeⓘ | IPS | OLEDlead |
Performance
| Spec | Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 | Dell - XPS 13 (9350) |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Apple M4 | Snapdragon X Elite |
| CPU cores | 10 | 12lead |
| GPUⓘ | Apple M4 10-core GPU | Qualcomm Adreno |
| RAMⓘ | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Storageⓘ | 512 GB | 512 GB |
| Storage typeⓘ | SSD | SSD |
Battery & Ports
| Spec | Apple - MacBook Air 15 M4 | Dell - XPS 13 (9350) |
|---|---|---|
| Batteryⓘ | 66 Whlead | 55 Wh |
| Claimed battery life | 18 h | 20 hlead |
| USB-C portsⓘ | 2 | 2 |
| Thunderbolt portsⓘ | 2lead | 0 |
| HDMI | false | false |
Frequently asked
Which has better battery life, MacBook Air 15 M4 or XPS 13 (9350)?+
XPS 13 (9350) claims up to 20 hours — 18h vs 20h.
Which is lighter, MacBook Air 15 M4 or XPS 13 (9350)?+
XPS 13 (9350) is lighter at 1.19 kg vs 1.51 kg.
Which has an OLED display, MacBook Air 15 M4 or XPS 13 (9350)?+
XPS 13 (9350) has an OLED display; MacBook Air 15 M4 uses IPS.