Dell XPS 16 review: If you could put a price on performance...

Dell XPS 16 review: The latest Dell XPS 16 9640 is the latest and largest XPS laptop that Dell makes. TL;DR, this laptop is worthy of the “eXtreme Performance System” or XPS badge. But before you make a buying decision, here’s a five-pointer so you know what you’re getting for the “eXtreme” asking price, which is north of 3.5 lakh rupees. Also Read: Best 8 Laptops Under Rs 35,000 For Creators, Students, And Office Workers: Check Lightweight And HD Display Laptops

But before that, here’s a quick look at the Dell XPS 16 spec sheet to give you an idea of what it packs on paper. Also Read: Dell Alienware Area-51 And Aurora Gaming Desktops With Up To RTX 5090 GPUs Launched In India: Check Specs And Price

Dell XPS 16: Specifications

Dell XPS 16 review: Design

As promised, this will be a short and quick review. The XPS 16 has a clean design inside out. The keyboard looks slick, there’s no way to tell the trackpad’s location unless you touch that section, and the touch function row has a satisfying feel.

There’s no USB-A port or HDMI port, but Dell gives a USB-C to USB-A converter to fit your pen drives. Moreover, there’s a microSD card reader, but no slot for a proper SD card that many professionals use. This clean design is also affected by the weight of this thing. It is over 2 KG heavy, and if you decide to carry it in a backpack, you’ll feel the weight.

Dell XPS 16 review: Display

The Dell XPS 16 display has its merits and limitations. Here are 3 good things, and 2 things that could be better on this laptop’s screen.

1. You’ll love the 16.3-inch OLED 4K touchscreen panel. It has punchy colours, yet enough depth to make it look lively and not overly sharp.
2. It has razor-thin bezels, and the immersive screen ensures you don’t notice them.
3. The screen has a 120hz refresh rate with a snappy response time, so gaming and social media browsing are good to go.
4. No complaints in the speaker department. These are loud, clear, punchy speakers that sound good for a laptop. Of course, there’s a clear lack of bass, but nothing that’ll hamper your binge-watching experience.
5. The screen could’ve been dimmer. If you’re using it in a low-lit room or late at night, then the screen might be a little be too bright.

Keyboard and trackpad

As I mentioned in the design, the keyboard is one of the best-looking parts on the Dell XPS 16. So here’s a 4-pointer with 3 good points, and 1 thing that could be better with this keyboard combo:

1. This is one of the prettiest-looking keyboards I’ve seen. The clean lines, the touch controls, and the neat white light, all make it look as professional as it gets.
2. It has a 0.3mm key travel with a completely flat keyboard. Once you get used to it, the form serves a function, and you can type blazing fast without lifting your fingers by gliding over the keyboard.
3. Dell has given this laptop a large glass trackpad, which is fairly snappy, responsive, and useful.
4. I think the touch panel is a weak spot on the keyboard. There can be accidental taps, and the presence of a touch panel slows down the user’s approach sometimes, but again, get used to it and you’re good to go.

Dell XPS 16 review: Performance

Well, I mentioned that it proudly wears the “eXtreme Performance Series” badge. And here’s why this matters so much, in 5 points:

1. The boot speed is blazing fast, and you have Windows Hello facial recognition and fingerprint sensor options to log in.
2. With multiple Chrome tabs, MS Office workflows, music playing, and benchmarks running side-by-side, the XPS 16 doesn’t even break a sweat.
3. This is an ideal machine for advanced video editors as the Ultra 9 chip, paired with RTX4060 give it a lot of horsepower.
4. Casual gamers can also consider this laptop, but the XPS 16 is not designed for gaming, so the 4060 will reach its limit sooner than you finish a couple of rounds in Forza.
5. Lastly, the Ultra 9 chip is overkill for casual office work, just the right chip for video editors, but underpowered for heavy gamers.

Dell XPS 16 review: Battery and charging

Here are some quick points on the Dell XPS 16 battery and then we’ll wrap up this review with a conclusion:

1. The 99.5 W/hr battery gives roughly 7-8 hours of battery backup to the XPS 16.
2. This massive cell also has 130-watt USB-C fast charging, Which can juice up the laptop in around 1.5 hours.
3. At maxed-out settings, you’ll get roughly 6 hours of battery, which is a solid backup.

Dell XPS 16 review: Verdict

Let me let go of the bullet points and put this in a TL;DR manner. The Dell XPS 16 is a powerful laptop for creators, video editors, and casual gamers. The form factor gives you a large screen, a large battery, and a generous keyboard and keyboard combination. The Intel Ultra series chips, along with generous RAM and storage options make this AI-ready and future-proof.

However, even the highest-spec variant gets only the RTX4060, which is a letdown if you want a capable daily driver that can easily handle triple-A titles. That said, the Dell XPS 16 9640 isn’t for hardcore gamers anyway, so if you have 3.5 lakh rupees, and want a clean, minimal, powerful laptop, the XPS 16 sits right in the sweet spot.