Dell Unveils New XPS 15 And 17 Laptops: How Do They Compare To The Apple Macbook Pro?

Tech giant Dell on Wednesday officially confirmed two major additions to its flagship line of laptops: a refreshed XPS 15 and the reintroduction of the XPS 17. Both are designed to hit the “ultrabook” market, with considerable horsepower in a smaller form, but how do they compare to the ever-popular Apple Macbook Pro?

The new XPS 15 features the 15-inch model's first aesthetic redesign since 2015 and has done away with standard USB-A ports in favor of two USB-C ports for charging and accessories. The screen, available in standard HD and 4k-touch, has smaller edges than past models and now sports a 16:10 aspect ratio. Inside, the base model will feature 10th Generation Intel Core i7 CPUs and Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q graphics cards, with options going up to Core i9 CPU ships, 64GB of RAM, and 2 terabytes of SSD storage.

The new XPS 17 is the line’s first 17-inch device in a decade and, the company claims, is the smallest device of that screen size on the market. It will offer the same screen, CPU, and RAM options at the XPS 15. However, the larger XPS will sport four USB-C ports, vapor-chamber cooling, and the option for a more powerful Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card.

Overall, the new XPS models could be a significant threat to the Macbook Pro, with comparable horsepower at a fraction of the price. A 16-inch Macbook Pro with similar specs to the highest-end XPS 15 would cost $4,300, with the option to go up to 8 terabytes of SSD storage for $6,100, versus just under $3,000. Pricing is not currently available for the highest-end XPS 17.

The new XPS 15 is available now starting at $1,300 for the base model, while the XPS 17 will launch later in the summer starting at $1,500.