Dell XPS 15 2016 Laptop Review

Dell XPS 15 2016 Laptop Review

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The market for premium 15-inch laptops designed to be “desktop replacements must be alive and well because the Dell XPS 15 2016 model fills exactly that role. Many of our readers fall into one of two categories. They either want thin-and-light laptops like the Apple MacBook or Samsung Galaxy TabPro S, or they’re shopping for notebooks that fit a very specific niche; a gaming notebook like the Aorus x3 Plus V5 or a rugged business laptop like the Panasonic ToughBook 54.

The Dell XPS 15 laptop is none of those things. In fact, the concept of a high-performance 15-inch notebook with battery such as DELL Y9N00 Battery, DELL PKH18 Battery, DELL WV7G0 Battery, DELL 489XN Battery, DELL XPS L321X Battery, DELL XPS 13-L322X Battery, DELL 75WY2 Battery, DELL NMV5C Battery, DELL XPS L511X Battery, DELL XPS 15Z Battery, DELL XPS L511Z Battery, DELL XPS 15Z-7777 Battery that competes directly with the Apple Macbook Pro is downright “old fashioned” when you consider how many consumers now use their smartphones as their main “compute device” whenever they need to access the Internet. Nevertheless, what the Dell XPS 15 2016 model lacks in originality it makes up for with high-quality construction, high-performance components, and a premium appearance. Are those qualities enough to offset the high price tag and mediocre battery life? Let’s take a closer look to find out.

The Dell XPS 15 2016 model upholds that legacy thanks to its aluminum screen lid and base plate combined with a carbon fiber chassis and rubberized palm rests to improve your comfort while typing. Dell’s design team once again used smooth, rounded corners and soft-touch textures at every opportunity.

One glance at this notebook and you’ll immediately recognize it’s a massive 15-inch laptop. Despite that imposing footprint, the XPS weighs in at just 3.92 pounds (1.78kg) without the power adapter. That might still seem heavy compared to the latest generation of ultraportable notebooks and 2-in-1 devices, but until last year almost every premium 15-inch notebook weighed 4.4 pounds (a full 2.0kg) or more. While the XPS 15 isn’t exactly “thin and light” it is impressively thin for a notebook with a 15.6-inch screen; just 0.67 of an inch (17mm) thick when closed.

Let’s come right out and say it: The battery life from our review unit of the Dell XPS 15 laptop is mediocre at best. Before we get into the specific numbers about battery life we should mention that the 4K display consumes significantly more wattage than the standard Full HD (FHD) display panel. Each and every one of those extra pixels requires power … and that means the battery drains faster than it would when running a lower-resolution panel. Likewise, Nvidia dedicated graphics are an inherent disadvantage when it comes to our battery life test because Futuremark’s PowerMark benchmark utilizes the notebook’s discrete GPU during the battery life test. If you simply browse the Internet using the Intel integrated graphics and never do anything that demands the graphics performance of the Nvidia GPU then the battery would last longer.

The battery inside our review unit of the XPS 15 lasted less than 3 and a half hours using the PowerMark benchmark. This is closer to what we expect from a gaming notebook than an ultraportable … but that makes sense given that the specs of the XPS 15 are closer to a 15-inch gaming laptop than a MacBook.

After everything is said and done, the Dell XPS 15 2016 model is one of the best notebooks you’ll find in the 15-inch premium laptop category. The XPS 15 easily rivals the 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro and delivers various cutting-edge features on par with the ASUS ZenBook Pro. Unfortunately, the mediocre battery life and expensive price tag (relative to the previously mentioned MacBook Pro and ZenBook Pro) prevent us from giving this Dell our Editor’s Choice Award.

Nevertheless, the XPS 15 is an impressive notebook even if it doesn’t “quite” deliver the absolute best value in its class.