Dell revives XPS brand at CES 2026 with new XPS 14 and XPS 16

At CES 2026, Dell announced it is bringing back the XPS brand and unveiled the Dell XPS 14 and XPS 16 laptops. The reversal follows last year’s decision to retire the XPS name; Jeff Clarke, chief operating officer of Dell Technologies, acknowledged the company had made a mistake and said, "This complicated brand we rolled out last year didn't do what we said it would do." Clarke said sales after the restructuring were below expectations and that Microsoft’s shift to "AI PCs" has not been the hit expected, which he linked alongside the loss of trusted names to weaker buying.

The refreshed XPS models use Intel's Series 3 "Panther Lake" processors (Core Ultra 5, 7, X7 or X9) and Intel Arc graphics with 12 Xe cores, with Dell citing up to 57% and 78% faster AI performance in the 14 and 16 models respectively. Both models offer 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of RAM and up to 4TB of storage, a 70Whr battery (Dell says up to 27 hours of streaming on the 2K display), modular USB-C ports, an easier-to-remove keyboard for repairability, and an XPS logo on the cover for the first time.

The XPS 14 offers 2K non-touch or 2.8K touch OLED options; the XPS 16 offers a 3.2K OLED up to 500 nits, both at 120Hz and with Gorilla Glass 3 and ultra-thin bezels. Dell also highlighted a thinner 16-inch clamshell at 14.6mm and larger, thinner fans for improved thermals.

Key Topics

Tech, Dell, Jeff Clarke, Panther Lake, Xps