In brief: Dell ahead of next week's annual CES has announced a new version of its popular XPS 13 2-in-1 sporting a larger display, faster internals and a thinner profile to boot. Look for them to go on sale starting January 7, 2020.

The new XPS 13 is constructed of machined aluminum, carbon fiber, woven glass fiber and Corning Gorilla Glass and packs a 13.4-inch, 16:10 display in an 11-inch form factor that Dell said should still fit neatly on an airplane tray table. The XPS InfinityEdge display is also 25 percent brighter than before, we're told.

Under the proverbial hood, you'll find 10th Gen Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processor options as well as an array of memory and storage configurations. You also have options when it comes to the display: there's the standard FHD+ (1,920 x 1,200), an FHD+ variant with a touchscreen and a UHD+ (3,840 x 2,400) model with touchscreen.

The new Dell XPS 13 starts at $999.99 and will be available in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Sweden and France from January 7 before a global launch next month. A developer edition that swaps out Windows 10 for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS starts at $1,199.99 and will be available in February.

Along with the hardware improvements, Dell also mentioned a major upgrade to Dell Mobile Connect, which will now bring some of the functionalities enjoyed by Android phone users to people who prefer an iPhone. That means iOS fans will be able to access their favorite mobile apps from your Dell laptop, do content mirroring, and drag-and-drop files between devices.

This is an interesting development, considering the restrictions Apple has in place that have prevented Microsoft from offering this functionality in the Your Phone app in Windows 10. The Mobile Connect software for iPhone will work with Dell XPS, Inspiron, Vostro and Alienware laptops running Windows 10.

The 2020 Consumer Electronics Show officially kicks off on January 7 and runs through January 10 in Las Vegas. As always, the festivities - and onslaught of tech news - start a couple of days earlier with the arrival of media days starting January 5.