Dell must have known early last year that its laptop rebranding efforts weren't working because after only a year away, the XPS name is back.
At last year's CES, Dell overhauled its laptop branding and did away with many of its familiar names, including XPS and Inspiron. And now, only 12 months later, the computer maker has pulled an about-face and brought back the XPS name. (If there are any Inspiron fans out there, you'll be sad to know that the Inspiron name remains retired.)
Dell's mainstream consumer laptops will still simply be labeled as Dell, but its premium models will again fall under the XPS name. To restart the XPS line, Dell has announced two models today at CES 2026: the XPS 14 and XPS 16. A smaller and cheaper XPS 13 will follow later this year.
Watch this: The Dell XPS Is Back! Hands-On With the Revamped XPS 14 and XPS 16 Laptops
While the XPS was away
Dell replaced the XPS 14 and 16 with the Dell 14 Premium and 16 Premium, and while they boasted sleek looks, they were shockingly heavy. And I wasn't alone in deriding the function row being made up of touch-sensitive icons instead of, you know, actual physical keys, which you can press and receive tactile confirmation that you pressed a key to perform an action.
These Dell Premium models also featured polarizing design elements, including a latticeless keyboard and a borderless touchpad. I didn't miss having spaces between the keys and liked typing on the keyboard more than I thought I would. And I liked the lively, customizable click response of the touchpad and rarely lost track of where its edges were.
Really, my biggest gripes with the Del 14 Premium and 16 Premium were their ponderous heft and the lack of physical keys in the function row.
The XPS name is back, and Dell has slapped it on the lid of the XPS 14 and XPS 16 to prove it.
DellReturn of the XPS
The XPS 14 and 16 models introduce a new design that looks simple and streamlined -- and should thankfully result in fewer sore shoulders. The new XPS laptops are significantly lighter than their predecessors. The XPS 14 weighs roughly 3 pounds, which should be a lot easier to carry around than the 3.8-pound Dell 14 Premium. The XPS 16 weighs either 3.65 or 3.75 pounds (depending on your choice of display), which makes it lighter than even the smaller 14 Premium laptop and a world away from the tank that was the Dell 16 Premium, which weighed more than 5 pounds.
The latticeless keyboard remains, but Dell has added thin, etched lines on either side of the haptic touchpad to let you know where it ends and the palm rest begins.
Variable refresh rates are the big news with the display options, whether you opt for the 2K IPS LCD or 2.8K OLED on the XPS 14 or 3.2K OLED on the XPS 16. The IPS display can vary its refresh rate between 1Hz to extend battery life and 120Hz for smoother movement. Dell says these are the first laptops with such an IPS LCD. Meanwhile, the OLED displays can move between 20Hz and 120Hz.
The Dell XPS 14 and XPS 16 are thinner and lighter than their predecessors.
DellThe XPS 14 and 16 are based on Intel's latest Core Ultra Series 3 processors, starting with the Core Ultra 5 325 and going up to the Core Ultra X9 388H. Before you get too excited about using either for serious content creation tasks, you should know that neither offers any discrete graphics upgrades. You're stuck with Intel Arc graphics, but this latest version of Intel's integrated GPU features 12 Xe cores that Dell says offers up to 50% faster graphics performance.
Dell also says the new XPS laptops introduce a new laptop battery type with 900ED (energy density) battery cells that can store more power in a smaller and lighter package. Dell points out that the XPS 14 is smaller than the 13-inch MacBook Air and claims that the XPS 16 is the world's smallest 16-inch laptop. As for battery claims, Dell says you'll get up to 27 hours of video streaming and 43 hours of local video playback with the 2K IPS display.
In addition to long battery life, the XPS 14 and 16 are designed for a long lifespan. The keyboards are removable and the USB ports are modular to make repairs and upgrades easier.
The Dell XPS 16 has a similarly streamlined design as the model it replaces, but the touchpad is no longer invisible thanks to subtle, etched borders.
Matt Elliott/CNETXPS 14 and 16 pricing
The XPS 14 and 16 will be available starting tomorrow, Jan. 6. You'll find a pair of launch configurations: an XPS 14 for $2,050 and XPS 16 for $2,200. Lower-cost models of each are slated for February.
Dell also announced that it will expand the XPS line later this year with the XPS 13. Dell has yet to share any details about the XPS 13 other than to say it will be thinner, lighter and more affordable than the two models it announced today to restart the XPS line.
