For several years now, the Dell XPS line has continually stood out from the crowd as being one of the best Windows laptop ranges on the market. Now the company has announced a revamped 15-inch model, and a return for the 17-inch model for those wanting even more screen real estate.
The 13-inch XPS models have recently been given their own refresh, and now it's time for the larger editions to have their turn. You'll notice straight away that the display bezels are thinner than ever, something Dell calls InfinityEdge, giving a premium and modern look to these latest XPS laptops.
It was a decade ago when we last saw a 17-inch XPS laptop from Dell, but thanks to those thin bezels, portables with such a large screen aren't as unwieldy as they once were. The new XPS 17 comes with a choice of the newest 10th-gen i5, i7 and i9 Intel Core processors, and on-board graphics up to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060.
That 17-inch screen runs at an aspect ratio of 16:10, and you can get it configured with a 1,920 x 1,200 or a sharper (and more expensive) 4K 3,840 x 2,400 resolution. At the lower resolution, Dell says you'll get around 20 hours of battery life, which is an impressive amount of time if it does indeed hold out for that long.
As for the updated XPS 15 model, it has a 15.6-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio display, again running at a resolution of either 1,920 x 1,200 or 3,840 x 2,400 pixels, depending on your preference and budget. Dell is promising you'll get up to 25 hours of battery life out of this – again, that sounds optimistic, but we're prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt.
The 15-inch model also has a choice of 10th-gen i5, i7 and i9 Intel Core processors to pick from, while the graphics options top out at an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti. RAM options on both the 15-inch and 17-inch laptops range from 8 GB to 64 GB, and storage options start at 256 GB and stop at 2 TB.
Dell is talking up the Waves audio on these laptops, claiming an immersive audio experience way above the norm for thin laptop speakers. The company has also unveiled a special Dell Migrate tool, which can get data and files off your old computer and on to your new laptop with the minimum of fuss (at least, in theory).
Both sizes of XPS laptop look the part, made from two pieces of lightweight, machined aluminum, and these streamlined aesthetics have long been a highlight of this particular series of Dell laptops. As the design has become refined down the years, it's now close to perfect – it's hard to see how Dell can improve on it next time around.
The Dell XPS 13 is on sale now, with configurations starting at US$1,299.99. You'll have to wait a little longer and pay a little more for the Dell XPS 17 – that particular model doesn't go on sale until the (Northern Hemisphere) summer, at a starting price of $1,499.99.
Product page: Dell XPS