Dell’s XPS laptop line up is about to look very different

This might not be the biggest shake-up of the Dell XPS lineup ever, but between some bigger laptops and a total revamping of the XPS portfolio, it feels like a big deal. The 13-inch Dell XPS laptop is sticking around, but the touchbar-equipped XPS Plus that ran hot in our review is gone, replaced by the 14-inch XPS. And there’s a new 16-inch XPS to replace both the 15-inch and 17-inch laptops.

Plenty of laptop makers have 14-inch and 16-inch devices — notably, Apple launched a MacBook Pro in both sizes back in 2021—but Dell’s flagship XPS laptops have stuck with the more traditional 13-inch and 15-inch sizes.

Dell representatives demurred when I asked them if this new size of XPS laptops is meant as a counter to Apple’s own. But it would make sense! Dell’s XPS laptops are a primary competitor to Apple’s MacBook Pro, and the two lines of laptops have repeatedly aped one another’s design, borrowing little flourishes when it makes sense. There’s a reason the Dell XPS looked like a MacBook Pro for years and also why Apple’s laptops finally shrunk their enormous bezels.

Instead, I was pointed to another benefit of the new and slightly larger laptops: additional internal space. In some cases, that means bigger batteries, as the 14-inch XPS packs in a 69.5WHr battery versus the 55WHr battery in the XPS 13 and last year’s XPS Plus. That should help with how long it will last on a charge—one of our biggest issues with the XPS Plus.

More space in these laptops also means more space for fans and discrete graphics, which is why the XPS 14 will have an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 option. It will also include up to 64GB of RAM, up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 165H CPU, and a 4TB SSD. Those who go with discrete graphics will also see a spec bump for the power adapter, going from the standard 60W charger to 100W.

Unfortunately, all that power means it’s also heftier than the XPS Plus, which maxed out at 2.77 pounds with an optional OLED display. The XPS 14 will weigh 3.8 pounds with the optional OLED display.

The new XPS 13 managed to avoid the embiggening ray with this refresh and it will continue to be the XPS you drift towards if you just need a solid high-end business laptop. That means there are no discrete graphics. Instead, you’ll have to make do with Intel’s new Meteor Lake processors, which sport a dedicated neural processing unit for better handling AI workflows. The XPS 14 can support up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 165H CPU, plus 64GB of RAM and a 4TB SSD.