If he's running Linux, it might be that it tooks 5 months after the release of the Developer Edition (the one w/ Ubuntu preinstalled) to fix the most basic/egregious issues: http://bartongeorge.net/2015/08/28/recent-fixes-for-xps-13-d...

Also, that even now, they still ship w/ Broadcom, not Intel wifi. (drivers not in the kernel)

I'm curious about the new Skylake XPS models, but you'd have to either be foolish or a masochist to guinea pig their new models...