Dell revives the XPS laptop brand, just one year after killing it off – News

Dell Technologies Inc. has revived its popular XPS brand of professional laptops for business users, just a year after failing to replace it with the “Dell Premium” moniker.

As part of that U-turn, the company has launched two new XPS models in the shape of the Dell XPS 14 and XPS 16 laptops, and they’re among the thinnest laptops ever released. They also boast impressive battery lives and, for the first time, they’ll have a physical XPS logo on their lids.

Dell Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke announced the rebranded rebranding during a press conference at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show today, where he discussed how the PC industry is coming off a particularly eventful year.

“We have a Windows upgrade cycle that’s been lagging historical norms,” Clarke said. “We started the year with tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. We’re encountering one of the slowest CPU transitions I’ve ever been involved in, and I’ve been involved in a few. We have this unmet promise of AI and the expectation of AI driving end-user demand. And if that isn’t enough, we’re about ready to enter 2026 with a memory shortage that is pretty significant that we’re going to have to navigate.”

Clarke said that the company has attempted to navigate these changes but conceded that the company’s PC business went “a bit off course” during the last year. As a result, the company has underperformed lately. “That’s something that’s unacceptable,” he added.

To rectify this, Clarke is planning some changes, and one of the most critical is that those running the company’s consumer PC business will now report directly to him going forward, so he can make sure it has the necessary focus and resources it needs.

However, it’s the changes to Dell’s enterprise PC business that are more interesting. The re-introduction of the XPS brand is a stark admission by the company that it messed up. Last year, the company said it wanted to consolidate its PC lineup with a “good, better, best” naming convention. That saw Dell PCs branded as “Dell” for education, fun and work; “Dell Pro” for professional-grade PCs; and “Dell Pro Max” for high-performance workstations.

All that has now gone out the window. Clarke admitted that the rebranding strategy had failed after receiving feedback from customers and industry experts alike. “Quite frankly, I owe you an apology today,” he said. “We didn’t listen to you. You were right on branding. And I can tell you, I greatly appreciate your relentlessness in telling us so.”

That explains why XPS is back with a bang, with Dell launching two new models based Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors. The Dell XPS 14 and 16 laptops feature integrated Arc graphics with 12 Xe cores to enhance artificial intelligence performance by up to 57% and 78% respectively, Clarke said. They also deliver a 50% improvement in graphics performance, compared to earlier XPS models.

Other features include easy-to-replace keyboards, modular USB-C ports, large fans to keep them cool, an extra-small 8-megapixel 4K camera, and 900ED batteries. They also feature recycled steel in their hinges and recycled cobalt copper in the batteries, Clarke said.

The two new laptops are extremely lightweight, with the XPS 14 weighing around 3.0 pounds and the XPS 16 about 3.6 pounds, Clarke added. They also sport a physical function key row, scrapping the controversial LED lights that appeared on earlier models. Customers will be able to choose from various configurations, including premium 4K resolution OLED displays or 2K resolution LCD panels.

Clarke said the revival of XPS will help Dell to boost its position in the premium laptop segment, where it’s facing rising competition from brands such as HP Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd. The XPS laptops represent Dell’s higher-end PC lineup, while mainstream and entry-level models will fall under the old “Dell” brand. Gaming PCs will continue to fall under the “Alienware” banner.

Dell Client Solutions Group Marketing Director Michelle Gillespie spoke with Savannah Peterson, host of News Media’s mobile livestreaming studio theCUBE, where she expanded on the company’s reasons for reviving the XPS brand: “The XPS brand has a lot of history, it’s a great brand, and frankly, people know it,” she said. “So it was a no-brainer to bring that back.”

One thing Clarke did not talk about was how Dell intends to deal with the fast-growing cost of memory chips that has led many analysts to predict industry-wide price hikes in the coming months. The reluctance to discuss the issue suggests that Dell’s PCs likely will become more expensive, though the company is unlikely to be alone in that regard.

Clarke promised Dell will enhance the XPS lineup with even more devices launching later this year. The company wants to offer a range of XPS laptops across different price points and form-factors, he said. One of the first will be the new XPS 13, which is set to become the “thinnest and lightest” XPS laptop ever, and it will also be more affordable.

Photos: Dell