The Thin-Bezel Laptop is the new Black (or Silver)

Starting with the much-publicized Dell XPS-13, reducing the amount of material (and space) around the edges of a portable computer’s screen has been one of the greatest innovations to laptops since the introduction of the USB type C port. Essentially, the 13" screen can now fit into the space previously required for an 11" screen (making the Dell XPS 13 a great alternative to the Macbook Air). Likewise, a 14" screen roughly fits into a 13" space, and 15.6" into a 14" space. All of this comes with some compromises, though.

In general, I’ve seen three variations:

Moving from left to right:

• The earliest of the designs, variation one places the webcam at the bottom and offset to the left or right, thus being dubbed the “nose hair cam”.
• Variation two “improves” on this by placing the webcam in the middle.
• Variation three chooses to compromise an enlarged top bezel space and places the webcam at the top.

I’ve created a list of some of the more well-known current and upcoming “borderless” laptops, let’s first discuss Variation one and two collectively:

Variation one and two: webcam at the bottom and less space at the top:

1. Dell XPS 13 (variation one): This is the champion of the thin-edged laptops (I know, we shouldn’t use this term anymore). Dell’s term for this is infinity edge. It is available with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled so for software developers, it’s a popular choice.
2. Dell XPS 13 2–in-1 (variation one): This expands on the XPS 13, adding the ability to become a tablet.
3. Dell XPS 15 (variation one): This is the big brother of the XPS 15, having a larger screen.
4. Dell Precision 5510 (variation one): This is similar to the XPS 15, but with more powerful options, such as the Xeon processor (as opposed to a U-series ultra-low-power i3, i5, or i7 processor). It is also available with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled.
5. Lenovo Yoga 910 (variation two): Lenovo is one of the few companies that I know of with 14" models, so the 14" screen fits into the 13" space. Additionally, this nifty little fellow converts into a tablet (like the HP Spectre x360), so it can be used in many different ways! Apart from being beautiful with its watchband-inspire hinge, it’s good enough for my wife (and she’s tough to please!)

Variation three: Webcam (and more space) at the top:

1. HP Spectre x360: This one has left some space at the top for the webcam.
2. Lenovo X1 Thinkpad Carbon: The newest of all, this is Lenovo’s famous rugged Mil-spec tests Thinkpad design finally reduced in size and weight, with a 14" screen.