At CES 2024, Dell made waves by unveiling revamped models across its popular XPS laptop line, including all-new 14-inch and 16-inch variants designed to compete with Apple’s MacBook Pro models.
Headlining the new models are the XPS 14 and the XPS 16, offering new design languages and the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors to power new AI and ML-focused features.
Key Features of New Dell XPS Laptops
The redesigned XPS laptops sport thinner bezels, taller 16:10 displays, an edge-to-edge keyboard and trackpad, and new “artic white” and “sky blue” color options. Dell focused heavily on adding AI capabilities through Intel’s Core i Ultra chips and integrated “Copilot” button.
| Model | Key Specs | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|
| XPS 13 | 13.4″ display, Intel Core i5-1560U, Intel Xe integrated graphics | $999 |
| XPS 14 |
|
$1,299 |
| XPS 16 |
|
$2,099 |
The new laptops also feature Wi-Fi 6E for faster connectivity, up to 2TB storage, Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 1080p webcam, and a updated 4-sided InfinityEdge design previously seen on the XPS 13 Plus.
Dell Bets on AI With Dedicated “Copilot” Button
The new XPS laptops are the among first consumer systems to be powered by Intel’s upcoming 13th-gen Core i9 “Raptor Lake” chips. Featuring up to 24 cores (8 performance cores, 16 efficiency cores), the flagship Core i9-13980HX promises up to 5.6GHz Turbo clock speeds.
The new CPUs come integrated with updated Intel Deep Learning Boost technology called Intel Movidius VPU that accelerates AI performance directly on the CPU die.
To allow easy access to these AI capabilities, Dell has added a dedicated “Copilot” button on the new XPS laptops. The Copilot button allows activating or summoning Windows 11’s Copilot feature that leverages Intel VPU for AI-assisted capabilities on top of Windows.
When pressed, the Copilot button triggers AI experiences like automatically generating content summaries, identifying products or people in photos, describing images to visually impaired users, removing backgrounds from videos, and more.
The Copilot button and underlying Intel VPU gives Dell’s premium consumer laptops easy access to a growing list of AI capabilities leveraging models trained by Anthropic, rather than offloading large AI models to the cloud.
“The new button makes AI simple, seamless, and easily accessible,” said Mariel A XPS Product Manager at Dell. “You can ask Copilot to tag and summarize hours of video, intelligently crop photos, describe images for the visually impaired, plus so much more.”
Competing With Apple’s 14” and 16” MacBook Pros
The revamped XPS 14 and 16 seem positioned to go head-to-head with Apple’s latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
While Dell touts AI integration advantages from Intel Core i Ultra chips, Apple offers the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips on its high-end laptops packing extra GPU cores instead of AI accelerators. GPU performance has traditionally been valued for creative pros, but AI integration could give Dell a leg up for new emerging workflows.
Dell appears to position the XPS 14 as a competitor to Apple’s entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro chip, while the XPS 16 takes on Apple’s highest-end 16-inch M2 Max configuration:
| Dell XPS 14 | Apple 14″ MacBook Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 14” 3K+ (2880 x 1800) OLED touch, Dolby Vision | 14.2″ 3024 x 1964 Liquid Retina XDR display, 120Hz ProMotion |
| CPU | 13th Gen Core i7-13700H | M2 Pro (12-core CPU)
| GPU | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 | Up to M2 Pro (19-core GPU)|
| RAM | 16GB LPDDR5 | 16GB / 24GB|
| Storage | 512GB / 1 TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD | 512GB / 1TB / 2TB / 4TB / 8TB SSD |
| Battery Life | Up to 12+ hours video playback | Up to 17 hours wireless web browsing |
| Ports | 2x Thunderbolt 4, MicroSD, USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2, Combo Jack | HDMI port, SDXC card slot, 3x Thunderbolt 4 ports |
| Weight | 3.1 lbs | 3.5 lbs |
Meanwhile, the XPS 16 better matches up against Apple’s high-end 16” MacBook Pro:
| Dell XPS 16 | Apple 16″ MacBook Pro |
|---|
|Display | 16″ 4K+ (3840 x 2400) OLED touch, Dolby Vision | 16.2” 3456 x 2234 Liquid Retina XDR display, 120Hz ProMotion
| CPU | 13th Gen Core i9-13980HX | M2 Pro (12-core CPU) or M2 Max (12-core CPU)
| GPU | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 | Up to M2 Max chip (38-core GPU)
| RAM | 32GB / 64 GB LPDDR5 | Up to 96GB unified memory
|Storage | 1TB / 2 TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD | Up to 8TB SSD |
| Ports | Thunderbolt 4, SD card reader, USB-C with power delivery and DisplayPort | HDMI port, SDXC card slot, 3x Thunderbolt 4 ports|
| Battery Life | Up to 11 hours video playback | Up to 22 hours video playback |
| Weight | 4.4 lbs | 4.7 lbs |
Both Dell and Apple have focused heavily on high resolution, highly color accurate OLED displays for image and video editors. The XPS 16 is configurable with Nvidia RTX 40-series laptop GPUs up to the RTX 4070 while Apple relies on the M2 Max chip’s GPU cores for graphics performance.
Outlook: Demand Driven by AI Hype?
The extent to which built-in AI features will drive sales of Dell’s new XPS laptops remains to be seen. Much will depend on the quality of AI experiences exposed by the Copilot button.
If the AI capabilities prove gimmicky or unreliable, the hype around built-in AI could fall flat. But if Dell manages to deliver truly useful AI experiences taking full advantage of the Intel VPU hardware, it could give the new XPS laptops an edge that even Apple can’t quickly mimic across its line.
Dell plans to begin sales of the 2024 XPS laptops starting in Spring 2024, likely in late March and April. Specific pricing, configurations and availability details will firm up over the coming months. But current pricing estimates show the new XPS line carrying a premium over previous generation models.
For now, read more details and early impressions on Dell’s revamped XPS laptops line from this year’s CES:
- https://www.engadget.com/dell-unveils-new-xps-13-14-and-16-laptops-ahead-of-ces-2024-110041195.html
- https://www.crn.com/news/computing/2024/dells-new-xps-laptops-pack-intel-core-ultra-chips-for-built-in-ai-features
- https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/01/the-dell-xps-laptop-as-we-know-and-love-it-is-no-more/
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