Dell offers an extensive portfolio of notebooks aimed at both consumers and businesses, but its XPS lineup is its crème-de-la-crème offering for both, generally packing power, style, and the latest technologies into a sleek and lightweight chassis. 2024 looks to be a larger overhaul of the XPS line than we’ve seen in recent years, bringing some new sizes, refreshed design, and the latest Intel processors with hardware acceleration for AI.
Donnie Oliphant, Dell’s senior director of XPS Product Marketing, noted in a blog post that Dell is bringing the design feel of the XPS 13 Plus – originally shown at CES in 2022 – across the entire line. “The new XPS designs take a minimalistic approach that elevates the brand,” he said.
As part of the design overhaul, Dell is taking the opportunity to revamp its screen sizes. The 13-inch model remains, but Dell is replacing the 15-inch with both 14-inch and 16-inch offerings like many other OEMs have done. This gives the XPS line something to offer for those seeking power, mobility, and a larger screen size.
According to Dell, the new portfolio is comprised of CNC machined aluminum and Gorilla Glass 3, available in either Graphite or Platinum “tone-on-tone” colors. As part of the design, all models feature a touch function row for easy switching between media and function keys, a seamless glass touchpad with haptic feedback, and larger keycaps for an improved typing experience. There are various display options, noting that OLED touch options are available, along with other improvements like variable refresh rates, Dolby Vision, a new 1080p webcam, and quad-speaker sound.
Dell XPS 16 Non-Touch in Graphite
Built-in AI, Battery Life, and More
Not to miss an opportunity to ride the AI buzzword bandwagon, Dell is pushing the fact XPS brings new AI-enabled features thanks to the latest Intel silicon, which includes a neural processing unit (NPU) for hardware-accelerated processing of AI workloads in supported applications. Windows 11 already leverages the NPU for certain tasks, like with Copilot, and as more apps take advantage of it the benefit to the user is faster performance, better AI features, and better battery life.
Speaking of battery life, Intel’s Core Ultra processors feature its ExpressCharge tech, which Intel claims can bring a battery to 80% capacity in an hour.
There are some hardware differences between the different sizes. The XPS 16 is the most powerful of the bunch, ideal for those running more demanding applications. It features an Intel Core Ultra processor and is outfitted with up to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU.
The XPS 14 checks in at 21% lighter than the 16-inch model, but retains the option to add a discrete GPU (up to the GeForce RTX 4050). According to Dell, both the XPS 14 and the XPS 16 are NVIDIA Studio-validated systems.
XPS 13 OLED Touch in Platinum
Keeping the 13-inch model, the XPS 13 carries forward the look of the XPS 13 Plus but ups the internals to Intel’s latest processors with Intel Arc Graphics. At 2.6 pounds and a height of 14.8mm (OLED model), it’s the thinnest and lightest notebook in the lineup.
Dell is saving the rest of the details for CES, like when the new models will be available. However, the company did share the starting price for each model. As expected, the premium laptops will come with a heftier price tag. The XPS 13 starts at $1,299, the XPS 14 starts at $1,699, and the XPS 16 starts at $1,899.
