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I’m looking forward to getting my hands on Dell’s 2026 XPS lineup. If you don’t know, the series disappeared for a while last year during a rebranding effort that replaced the devices with “Plus” and “Premium” lines. Customer feedback was not the most positive. Fans wanted the old series and its distinctive features back. For 2026, Dell delivers.
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I’ll admit that when my colleague and ZDNET editor Kyle Kucharski reviewed the XPS 14 last month, I was a little jealous. Now it’s finally my turn dell xps 16 –and it might be my favorite laptop of 2026. This isn’t just a return to form; This is a development. Dell refined many aspects of its flagship device, making it a strong case for one of the best computers of the year.
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premium design
I’m a big fan of the aesthetics of laptops. The graphite finish that wraps the entire chassis gives Dell’s devices a smooth, sophisticated look. I just like the color. It does pick up some fingerprints, but not too bad or overly distracting.
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One thing you’ll notice in the image is how thin this laptop is. The company says the XPS 16 weighs 3.65 pounds and is 14.6 mm (0.57 inches) thick, making it easy to slip into a backpack, which has plenty of room. According to Dell, the machine is made primarily of CNC-machined aluminum, and the display is made of Gorilla Glass 3.
These materials provide the laptop with a sturdy form factor. I didn’t go out of my way to test its durability, although I can confirm that it feels solid enough to handle the occasional drop.
The biggest drawback is port selection. You only get three Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack; nothing more.
Like previous models, the XPS 16 has a flat keyboard that sits flush with the wrist rest. The keys are a bit dull. Certainly the worst I’ve ever felt, but not on the same level as keyboards with 1.5mm travel distance. One notable change is the removal of the touch-sensitive function row, replaced by traditional physical keys.
I had no objection to the touch row at first; However, I think physical keys are a good return and should attract more people.
In the older XPS series, the trackpad was completely invisible. There were no visual indicators. This time, the trackpad is outlined by lighter stripes in a different shade of black. You can see them in the image above. In use, it is excellent: responsive, intuitive and spacious.
Multimedia Powerhouse
Above the keyboard is a stunning 16-inch 3.2K OLED touchscreen. This is easily one of the highlights of the XPS 16. The panel delivers rich, accurate colors with excellent sharpness, making it a great choice for content creators. Its ultra-thin bezels help create an immersive experience. Fine details in objects come out clearly. While using the webcam I could see individual strands of my hair on the screen.
Also: I used an M.2 PCIe enclosure for data storage, and it made file transfers much faster
Speaking of which, there is an 8MP camera above the display that is capable of capturing sharp, vibrant 4K videos. Image quality is top notch thanks to HDR support. Backing it all is a powerful quad-speaker system consisting of dual 3W main speakers and dual 2W tweeters, tuned with Waves MaxAudio Pro.
There’s no dedicated subwoofer, but the laptop doesn’t need one. The main speakers provide adequate bass. Nothing is felt missing. Whether you’re listening to spoken word, music, or YouTube videos, the audio quality is clear, loud, and well-balanced.
Display
For the review, I tested the top-end prebuilt configuration currently available from Dell. It had an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H processor, 32GB of RAM, an integrated Intel Arc graphics card, and a 1TB SSD. It’s a robust, all-round setup. It is capable of handling video editing, photo work and coding projects without any hassle. In day-to-day use, the machine delivers fast, reliable performance that feels close to a top-tier desktop PC.
The table above compares several benchmark scores with other flagship laptops, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Book6 Ultra and the M5 MacBook Air. You’ll notice that the XPS 16 outperforms most other laptops in raw processing power, which shows its top performance. It has been overtaken by Apple’s machine, although not by much.
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In Cinebench tests, Dell’s device lags far behind the Galaxy Book6 Ultra and the ThinkPad P1. It’s worth noting that those two laptops have dedicated Nvidia graphics cards. So, naturally, they will be better. Still, the Cinebench 2026 score of 4,065 is very good for the integrated Intel Arc GPU. These numbers show that the XPS 16 can handle heavy creative workloads well. Plus, it’s quite cheap.
Before I get into the price, I want to quickly mention the battery.
My review unit lasted about 14 hours on a single charge, which is solid for a laptop in its performance class. You can spend an entire workday on this machine. If battery life is a top priority for you, the base model may be a better choice. Dell claims the lower model can run for up to 31 hours before tapping out.
ZDNET’s shopping advice
pricing for dell xps 16 Starts at $1,900. The base configuration includes an Intel Core Ultra 7 325 processor, integrated graphics, 16GB LPDDR5x RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 16-inch 2K display. There are two unique offers attached to my review unit.
The $2,350 version includes a copy of Battlefield 6, survival game Everwind, and access to both Adobe Premiere Pro and Creative Cloud photography plans. The $2,460 Dell XPS 16 includes the same software, plus a year of Adobe Express Premium, McAfee+ Premium, and Dell Care Premium.
I would recommend the XPS 16 to anyone looking for a premium Windows 11 machine, especially if you’re a content creator who wants a reliable workstation on the go.
