Sorry, we just need to make sure you're not a robot. For best results, please make sure your browser is accepting cookies. Show Type the characters you see in this image: Try different image Conditions of Use Privacy Policy © 1996-2014, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates Dell will update most of their lineups with Skylake hardware in the next few weeks and all the new models will be available in stores in October/November 2015. Unlike a few other OEMs though, Dell chose not to just to put new processors inside the old form-factors, but actually revamped many of their lines, adding new features and improving certain aspects that were lacking in the past. They also seem to build on the design lines of the XPS 13, one of the best ultraportable of 2013, launching new products with slim bezels around the displays, thus more compact than the competition. We’ll talk about the updates in the XPS, Inspiron and Precision series in this post, with more details to follow later. Use the quick links below to jump to the device that caught your interest:
For a more detailed selection of Skylake ultraportables, you should also check out this other post. These are some of the Dell Skylake laptops available these days Dell XPS 13 9350I’ve bought the Broadwell XPS 13 9343 just weeks after it was launched, attracted by the compact form factor and solid features. I’ve used it for nearly 10-months now (at the time of this post) and it’s a good device, as you can tell from my detailed review, but my experience with it has seen quite a few bumps. The Skylake model, called the XPS 13 9350, is on a first look identical to its predecessor. It’s still compact, it’s still made of a mix of thick metal on the exterior and rubbery carbon-fiber on the palm-rest and still packs a chiclet backlit keyboard. The trackpad has been supposedly revamped and that means it will hopefully perform better, since this was one of the major complains buyers had on the XPS 13 9343. Update: Our full review of the Dell XPS 9350 is available here, my personal opinion on the 9350 models is available in this article, and if you’re interested in how you can tweak the performance and temperatures on this series, you must read this post. Some sources report the new XPS 13 is taller than the previous version, but judging by the available pictures, that’s not true. We’ll see. On the other hand, the new model is marginally heavier, with the non-touch version weighing 1.2 kilos (2.64 lbs) and the touch variant weighing 1.29 kilos (2.84 lbs). Screen 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 px IPS matte or 3200 x 1800 px IPS IGZO touch Processor Intel Skylake Core i3-6100U, Core i5-6200U, Core i7-6500U CPUs Video integrated Intel HD 520 Memory up to 16 GB (soldered) Storage M.2 PCIe, up to 1 TB Connectivity Wireless AC, Bluetooth 4.1 Ports 2xUSB 3.0, 1xUSB 3.1 gen2, card-reader, headphone/mic, Noble Lock Battery 4Cell 56 Wh Operating system Windows 10 Size 11.98″ or 304 mm, 7.88″ or 200 mm, 0.6″ or 15 mm Weight 1.21 kg (2.7 lbs) – non-touch model 1.29 kg (2.9 lbs) – touch model Extras backlit keyboard, 720p webcam Of course, the major change here is the new hardware, which has been bumped to Core i3-6100U, Core i5-6200U and Core i7-6500 U Skylake platforms. CPU performance is not going to be significantly better over the Broadwell models, but graphics performance with the Intel HD 520 embedded chip will improve by double digit numbers, which means that the XPS 13 9350 will handle light-gaming more smoothly, video editing and also video playing, as the Skylake chips include an embedded video decoder, thus can easily run 4K content now and support the HEVC codec. You’ll find more about the Skylake platform from this article. These aside, the XPS 13 9350 will include up to 16 GB of RAM (still embedded and non-upgradeable), M.2 PCIe storage with up to 1 TB of space, dual-band WiFi AC and a slightly larger 56 Wh battery, as opposed to the 52 Wh one of the 9343. Incremental upgrades, but they all add up. Another major novelty is the addition of a Thunderbolt 3 port, the USB 3.1 gen2 connector on the left edge, which replaces the miniDP port found on the previous model. Some reports mention that an USB 3.1 to VGA, HMDI and LAN dongle we’ll be included in the pack, but that’s yet to be confirmed. Dell still plan to offer the new XPS 13 with two screen options, the matte non-touch IPS 1920 x 1080 px panel reserved for the lower-end models and the IGZO IPS 3200 x 1800 px touchscreen for the higher-end versions. From what we know right now, the 16 GB of RAM and the 1 TB of storage space will only be available on the top-configurations, bundled with the IGZO panel. Those who opt for the matte screen will have to settle for only 8 GB of RAM and up to 512 GBs of storage. On the other hand, the official prices for the XPS 13 9450 are yet to be unveiled. We do know that the base model with the Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB SSD and the FHD screen will start at around 1150 EUR in Germany (source), which is only about 50 EUR more expensive than the current Broadwell version right now. So I’d expect the Skylake XPS to match or only be narrowly more expensive than the previous model in the US. Dell XPS 15 9550Update: Our full review of the XPS 15 9550 is available here, check it out, it includes details about all the bugs and potential issues you should be aware of if you decide to get this computer. The XPS 15 9550 is basically a larger version of the 13-inch model, with a similar compact design and narrow bezels around the 15-inch display. Dell kept the design-lines pioneered with the XPS 13 for this laptop, with an aluminum outershell and a carbon-fiber smooth interior. The laptop is going to be 0.67-inch thick and only weigh 3.9 lbs (1.78 kg), which makes it one of the lightest 15-inchers out there. The touchscreen version weighs 4.4 lbs though, but also includes a larger battery. More about these in a bit. Dell plans to bundle the XPS 15 with a 4K (3840 x 2160 px) IPS IGZO touchscreen, but a matte non-touch 1920 x 1080 px option is also available for the lower-end configurations. A 720p webcam is placed under the screen, just like on the XPS 13. Screen 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 px IPS matte or 3840 x 2160 px IPS IGZO touch Processor Intel Skylake Core i3-6100H, i5-6300HQ or Core i7-6700HQ CPUs Video integrated Intel HD 530 + Nvidia GTX 960M 2 GB Memory up to 16 GB ( 2xDIMMs) Storage M.2 PCIe Connectivity Wireless AC, Bluetooth 4.1 Ports 2xUSB 3.0, 1xUSB 3.1 gen2, HDMI, card-reader, headphone/mic, Noble Lock Battery 56 Wh (non-touch model) or 84 Wh (touch model) Operating system Windows 10 Size 14.06″ or 357 mm, 9.27″ or 235 mm, 0.67″ or 17 mm Weight 1.78 kg (3.9 lbs) – non-touch model 2.00 kg (4.4 lbs) – touch model Extras backlit keyboard, 720p webcam The keyboard is identical to the one on the 13-inch XPS as well. I was hoping for deeper travel and superior feedback, but accordin to the specs that’s not the case. Still, I’ll hold my final judgement until I get to actually test it. On the sides there are two USB 3.0 slots, a full-size HDMI connector, a card-reader and a Thunderbolt 3 port on the XPS 15 9550. More USB slots would have been nice though, considering this is a 15-incher with plenty of space on those edges, but Dell will supposedly offer an USB 3.1 docking-station that could go well with this laptop, for those of you that need extra connectivity. Last but not least, the XPS 15 gets Skylake hardware. The base model bundles an Intel Core i3-6100H dual-core processor and only relies on the Intel HD 530 graphics. The higher end version get Nvidia 960M graphics, up to 16 GB of RAM (2xDIMMs) and either SATA (2.5″ bay) or M.2 PCIe storage, paired with Intel Skylake H Core i5-6300HQ and Core i7-6700HQ processors. You should also be aware Dell offers two battery options for this XPS. The configurations paired with a 2.5″ HDD get a 56 Wh battery, hence they are also lighter, while the configurations with an M.2 SSD get a larger 84 Wh battery, since the space needed for the 2.5″ bay is filled with extra cells. Dell claims up to 17h of use on a charge for the XPS 15, but personally I would expect around 5 for those models with the 56 Wh battery (based on my experience with my XPS 13, that’s features a 52 Wh battery and low-power hardware) and around 7-8 for those with the larger one. We’ll see. Performance wise the XPS 15 should be a worthy all-round multimedia notebook. My only concerns regard the temperatures and noise, as cramming such powerful hardware inside a thin body could spell trouble. Hopefully Dell took good care of these aspects. I wasn’t expecting the XPS 15 9550 to be affordable, but Dell took an interesting approach here. The base non-touch model starts at only $999 with the Core i3-6100H processor, 8 GB of RAM and a 500 GB HDD (which I’d upgrade immediately, if I were you). A similar configuration is not offered with the 84 Wh battery, since the HDD options only get the 56 Wh battery, as I mentioned above. The touch version starts at $1749, with a Core i5 quad-core processor, Nvidia 960M graphics, 8 GB of RAM, a 256 GB SSD and the 84 Wh battery, while the Core i7 model sells for around $2000. Dell XPS 12 9250The 2015 Dell XPS 12 9250 is a 12-inch detachable built on Skylake Core M hardware. In other words this is primarily a Windows tablet, with the hardware and the battery tucked behind the screen. Dell went for a 12.5-inch display on this unit and chose what looks like a splendid panel: IGZO IPS with 3840 x 2160 px resolution and 400-nits brightness. A digitizer is included as well and some sources claim it’s made by Wacom, which would make it a perfect match for Dell’s Active Pens. As a 12-incher, this Dell rivals the Microsoft Surface Pro, the Lenovo Miix 700 or the Toshiba Portege Z20t, but the high-end screen actually places it in a league of its own. Of course, such a screen is not going to be affordable, that’s why Dell reserves it for the premium configurations and will also offer a FHD IPS touchscreen for the lower-level configurations. Screen 12.5-inch, 1920 x 1080 px IPS or 3840 x 2160 px IPS IGZO touch with digitizer Processor Intel Skylake Corem3, m5, m7 Video integrated Intel HD 515 Memory up to 8 GB (soldered) Storage M.2 SATA Connectivity Wireless AC, Bluetooth 4.1 Ports Tablet: 2xUSB 3.1, SD card-reader, headphone/mic, Noble Lock Dock: 2xUSB 3.0, 1xUSB 3.1, HDMI Battery 30 Wh Operating system Windows 10 Size 390 mm or 15.35” (w) x 266 mm or 10.47” (d) x 19.9 mm or .78” (h) Weight ? Extras 8 and 5 MPx shooters, Hardware wise the XPS 12 9250 is powered by Skylake Core M hardware, with options for Core m3, m5 and m7 processors. These are paired with up to 8 GB of RAM and M.2 SATA SSD storage. The specs sheet also mention two USB 3.1/Thunderbolt 3 slots, plus a card-reader, microphone jack and two cameras, a 5MPx webcam on the front and an 8 MPx shooter on the back. We can’t tell what to expect from the Skylake Core M platform just yet, but Intel promises increased performance over the previous Core M generation and improved efficiency. In other words, the XPS 12 could offer a buttery experience in everyday activities and good battery life. Unfortunately, there’s only a 30 Wh battery inside this tablet, and I doubt that could offer more than 5-6 hours on a charge, but take this with a grain of salt for now. The tablet is definitely going to charge via USB 3.1 though and that should speed up the charging times by a fair amount. As a detachable, the XPS 12 9250 can be paired with a dock. In fact, Dell will offer two of them, a slim Folio with just a keyboard and a trackpad (similar to the Surface’s Type Cover), and a thicker Keyboard Dock that also includes two full-size USB slots, an HDMI connector and an extra USB 3.1 port. The keyboard keyboard is backlit, but We don’t know whether an extra battery or a storage slot are also included in the keyboard dock or not. We don’t have any details on how much the XPS 12 or the dock are going to weigh either, but I’d expect around 800 grams for the tablet, at least 350 g for the Folio and probably around 700-800 as well for the Keyboard Dock. There are also no details on prices, but we should know more by the beginning of November, when the XPS 12 9250 is expected to hit the stores. I’ll update this section when possible. Dell Inspiron SeriesDell updated the entire Inspiron line to Skylake hardware. There are tens of different SKUs in this family and we wouldn’t be able to address them all in this post, and on top of that most Skylake models are identical to their predecessors in terms of aspect and features, just bundle the new hardware. Among the popular options, we have the Inspiron 11 3000 (3153) series , which is a compact 11-inch convertible that can be equipped with a Core i3-6100U processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD and this configuration sells for under $600. The Inspiron 13 7000 (7359) is a slightly larger 13-inch convertible with a FullHD IPS display and the base Skylake model, with a Core i3 processor, 4 GB of RAM and only a 500 GB SSD, sells for around $550 . And those of you in need of a large hybrid with a 15-inch display can get the Inspiron 15 7000 (7568), which has a similar starting price. You should see this post for more details on the Inspiron convertibles and other great 2-in-1 ultraportables. The standard Inspiron 15 3000 , 5000 and 7000 lines are also well appreciated, with the 15 5000 Skylake models starting at under $400 and the 15 7000 selling for $700 and up with a premium design, great screen, backlit keyboards and a large battery. You’ll find more about them and other full-size ultrabooks in this post. The entire line of Dell Inspiron laptops is available with 6th gen Skylake hardware Long story short, the entire line of Inspiron laptops is now available with Skylake hardware, but except for the hardware bump, they are identical to the Haswell and Broadwell versions, that’s why our reviews of various Dell laptops will still come in handy if you’re looking at one of these devices. Dell Precision SeriesThe Fall of 2015 brings a major revamping of the Precision line of workstations as well. The overhaul improves both performance and aesthetics, with the new devices being smaller, lighter and more powerful than their predecessors. Dell did that by getting rid of aged features like optical drives and using new materials like aluminum, magnesium and fiber carbon for the case and chassis. The new Precision laptops are also based on Intel’s Skylake chips, support DDR4 RAM and bundle faster AMD FirePro or Nvidia Quadro graphics. The Precision 15 5510 is perhaps the most interesting device in this new generation, as it replaces the popular Precision M3800 and is both thinner and smaller than its predecessor. It weighs 1.8 kilos, is about 0.7-inches thick and looks a lot like the XPS 15 line, with a thin bezel around the screen, a metallic outer-shell and a fiber carbon interior. The laptop can be configured with Skylake Core HQ or Xeon processors, up to 32 GB of RAM, dual storage options (one M.2 PCIe slot and one 2.5″ bay), an Nvidia Quadro M1000M graphics chip. It also includes either a FHD or an UHD display that supports over 100% of the Adobe RGB color space, making it an ideal pick for photographers, video editors and other professionals that require a color-accurate panel in their line of work. Dell also promises to have addressed the battery life, which was the M3800’s major drawback, but we’ll have to test that before drawing any conclusions. The base configuration starts at $1399 (for a Core i5 processors and a FHD display) and will be available in stores in November. There are two more entries in the Precision 15 series, a lower-end Precision 15 3510 and a more premium Precision 15 7510. They are all 15-inchers, but bigger and heavier than the 5510. The 3510 is a more affordable solution that starts at $999 and offers solid specs for the money. The Precision 15 7510 (replaces the Precision M4800) is an even thicker machine (1.1-inches) that weighs 2.8 kg, but packs significantly more punch than the slim 5510 model. It can be equipped with more screens and processors, can take up to 64 GB of RAM (4 DIMMs), fits an additional 2.5″ storage bay (for a total of two, plus an M.2 PCIe slot) and is bundled with AMD’s FirePro W5170M or Nvidia’s Quadro M1000M/M2000M graphics chips. The base configuration starts at $1199. The Precision 15 7510 is thicker and heavier, but more powerful as well Last but not least, Dell also has a beastly 17-inch Precision 17 7710 in stores, which replaces the Precision M6800. It’s a massive computer and can be configured with different screens (including a 4K wide-gamut panel), a multitude of different Intel processors, can take up to 64 GB of RAM (4 DIMMs) and can be paired with AMD’s FirePro W7170M chip or Nvidia’s Quadro M3000M, M4000M or M5000M graphics chips. The base configuration starts at $1699. Wrap-upThese are some of the latest Dell laptops built on Skylake hardware. The offer is vast, spanning from compact 12-inch convertibles to powerful 17-inch workstations, and many of these devices are worth more than a look. I have to admit, Dell did a great job with this generation and I’m impressed. They haven’t just updated the hardware into their old form-factors, like some of the other manufacturers, they actually completely revamped many of their previous lines, both aesthetically and functionally. Except for most of the Inspirons, as mentioned above. So not only the Skylake versions are faster and more efficient, many of them are also smaller and pack improved displays, trackpads and the Thunderbolt 3 port, among other features. Anyway, that’s about it for now. I’ll update the post with new entries when they become available, and if you’re interested in other modern notebooks, you should also check out this complete list of Skylake portable laptops , this technical article that explains what to expect from Skylake devices and my selection of the best ultraportables available in stores these days. And of course, if you need any help in your search for the perfect laptop, don’t hesitate to get in touch in the comments section, I’m around to help you out. Disclaimer: Our content is reader-supported. If you buy through some of the links on our site, we may earn a commission. . Are Dell XPS laptops any good?The series often appears on many best-of lists and for good reason. These devices offer top-tier performance due to a combination of great design, a variety of features, long battery life, and ease of use. Between the two, the XPS 13 Plus is the lesser of the pair, but it's still a powerful laptop. Does Dell XPS have issues?Problems with the new design aren't limited to the screen. YouTube tech reviewer Just Josh called the XPS 13 Plus “a quality control disaster” in a long-term follow-up review, reporting performance and throttling issues, popping speakers, and occasional loss of sound altogether. What is the battery life of XPS 12?The previous XPS 12 wasn't too shabby with five hours of battery life (5:09), however the new model lasts hours longer, making it to eight hours, 22 minutes. Is Dell XPS 12 good for gaming?Featuring integrated Intel HD Graphics 515, the XPS 12 is a decent platform for playing casual games. In Hearthstone, attacks and spell animations looked fluid, and I rarely encountered any lag or stuttering. On the 3DMarkFire Strike graphics test, the XPS 12 posted a score of 598. |
