Dell XPS 16 (2026) review: The signature XPS is back but the maker wants more (HT Tech)

And after using this laptop for some time, I can say with confidence that it is one of the best premium 16-inch Windows laptops available right now.

The unit I tested came in a graphite finish and it looks absolutely stunning in person. Pricing starts around ₹₹2,78,000 which is obviously expensive, but the XPS lineup has always been positioned as a premium series. And to be honest, the laptops it competes with also sit around the same price bracket or sometimes even higher.

What’s more important is whether this laptop really justifies that premium pricing and thankfully, for the most part, it really does.

The overall design still follows the same minimalist approach, but everything feels more refined this time. The CNC machined aluminum chassis feels incredibly sturdy and premium. Despite being a large 16-inch laptop, there are no flexes anywhere on the machine. The hinge also feels solid and stable when using the touchscreen, and the lid feels easy to open with one hand.

A very welcome change this year is the removal of the capacitive function row. I never liked that design in the previous generation because physical keys work better, especially on manufacturer-focused laptops. Dell finally brought back proper function keys and the experience instantly feels more natural.

The fingerprint sensor is missing this time, but honestly, I didn’t miss it at all, as Windows Hello face unlock is very fast and reliable thanks to the 8MP webcam setup here.

The keyboard still uses Dell’s signature Zero Lattice design and I love typing on it. This time the keys feel more clicky, the feedback is much better, and overall typing feels more satisfying. The spacing between the keys is also excellent which makes long typing sessions very comfortable.

Dell also improved the trackpad experience this year. The seamless glass wrist rest design is still here and the trackpad is still hidden beneath the surface, but this time Dell has added subtle carved borders around the active area. They are not immediately visible, but you can feel them when using the trackpad which helps a lot with usability. I criticized this heavily in previous XPS because there was no clear indication of where the trackpad area ended, so it’s good to see Dell actually listening.

This time the haptics are also much better. Click feedback feels natural, precision is excellent, and overall it’s one of the best haptic touchpads on a Windows laptop right now.

Another unusual thing about the XPS 16 is the speaker setup. There are no speaker grills visible anywhere on the deck which gives the laptop an incredibly clean look. Dell calls them invisible speakers and honestly, they sound great. You get a quad speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support and a total output of 10 watts. The sound is loud, clear, and surprisingly heavy for such a thin laptop. XPS laptops have always had a good reputation for audio quality and the XPS 16 continues that tradition.

My only complaint with the design is the port selection. You only get three Thunderbolt 4 Type C ports and a headphone jack. Now yes, the Thunderbolt ports are versatile, but on a premium creator-focused laptop, I expected slightly better connectivity options. Especially when creators regularly work with cameras and external storage devices. An SD card slot or even an HDMI port would make this setup more practical.

The OLED panel itself looks gorgeous. Colors are rich, blacks are deep, and contrast levels are exactly what you’d expect from a premium OLED display. Dell has also added Dolby Vision and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification support which makes content consumption an absolute pleasure.

This really is one of those laptop displays that immediately grabs your attention. The display covers 100 percent DCI P3 color gamut making it excellent for creators working with photo editing or video editing workloads. Watching movies, editing videos, browsing photos, everything looks simply beautiful on this panel.

Touchscreen support is also good and viewing angles are excellent as expected from OLED.

Brightness is one area where I expect more from Dell. The display offers around 400 nits of standard brightness and peaks at 500 nits in HDR content. Indoors, the experience is absolutely fine, but the glossy coating outside can cause a bit of distracting reflection. Thankfully, the overall display quality is so good that it never became a major issue during my usage.

I’ve tested this processor in a few laptops recently, but this is the first time I’ve tested it inside a larger 16-inch chassis and honestly the difference is noticeable. The processor performs better when it gets more thermal headroom.

Daily use feels easy on this laptop. Multitasking, browser based work, editing, media consumption, everything runs smoothly without any issues. But to be honest, almost every Panther Lake laptop performs similarly under light workloads. The real difference becomes visible during heavy workloads.

I tried editing videos, running multiple apps simultaneously, exporting projects, and the XPS 16 handled everything with ease. The laptop maintains its performance better because the larger chassis allows the cooling system to work more effectively.

Dell also redesigned the cooling setup this year with larger fans and better airflow. And surprisingly, the laptop remains relatively quiet even under load.

Gaming performance is also quite good thanks to the integrated graphics. Intel Arc has improved massively over the past few generations and casual gaming feels entirely possible here. This is clearly not a gaming laptop, but for creators who game occasionally, it’s quite capable.

Dell also gives you multiple thermal modes like Optimized, Performance, Quiet and Cool modes through its software. For the most part I kept the laptop on optimized mode and never felt the need to switch modes during my testing period.

But thanks to Intel’s efficient Panther Lake processors and Dell’s optimization work, battery life is actually pretty solid.

Runtime obviously depends heavily on your workload, but overall this laptop intelligently offers maximum battery life for the type of work you’re doing. During light workloads like browsing, writing, streaming content and regular productivity use, the battery backup seems comfortably reliable for an entire day.

Dell has also included a 100W Type C charger in the box and the charging speed is also quite fast.

Yes, port selection still seems limited. And yes, I think the OLED display could have been brighter. But other than those complaints, there’s honestly nothing to dislike here. This is easily one of the best premium Windows laptops you can buy right now if you want a machine with a large display that still feels slim, elegant, and easy to carry.