It’s official: 15 and 17-inch laptops are out while 14 and 16-inch ones are in. That’s the methodology of Dell which this year has ditched the former for the latter, and indeed, it seems, the practice of the laptop industry in general.
As Digitaltrends points out, Dell is one of the last companies to downsize to 14 and 16 inches – Apple, Lenovo, Asus and “almost everyone already has”. The general benefit is smaller, thinner laptops without a loss in computing power, that can squeeze more readily into backpacks and are less bulky on-the-go.
“We are unifying the design across our XPS portfolio, introducing new screen sizes with the XPS 16 and XPS 14 and revamping the XPS 13 Plus to XPS 13. This trio of laptops share elements that eliminate distractions and place the focus on productivity,” says Dell in a statement.
The new laptops feature CNC (computer machined) aluminium, Gorilla Glass 3, and are available in graphite and platinum variants. There are a couple of features you’ll either love or hate. There are no hard keys on the top row, instead you get illuminated keys that switch between media and functions keys. There’s a large glass touchpad with haptic feedback, but no separate rest point for your wrist.
You can kit the laptops out as your taste and budget deem fit with OLED touch options, graphics card options, variable refresh rates for gaming and viewing, high-resolution screen options and there’s support for Dolby Atmos Immersive Audio and 3D stereo surround sound. Batteries charge to 80 percent in an hour, says Dell.
“The renewed laptop has three new display options to choose from (including FHD+, QHD+ touch and 3K+ OLED touch) to provide you with a versatile visual experience, suitable for everyday productivity to high-resolution content creation.”
Dell says AI is built in the device with AI acceleration, and Intel Core Ultra processors, and the keyboard shows the inclusion of the Windows 11 new Copilot key that Microsoft announced this week.
“The laptops all come with Copilot in Windows 11, harnessing the capabilities of AI to make the things you do every day easier, faster and effortless. Now, with the press of a key, you can have quick access to your everyday AI companion.”
Dell has so far announced US starting prices of $1299 (A$1937), $1699 (A$2534) and $1899 (A$2832) for the XPS 13, 14 and 16 respectively.
“Both XPS 16 and XPS 14 are NVIDIA Studio-validated systems, meaning they deliver industry-leading performance for demanding creative tasks such as 3D rendering, video editing and live streaming, while offering exclusive access to the Studio AI-powered suite of tools and enhanced stability with NVIDIA Studio Drivers,” says Dell.
