Dell brings back XPS with thin new laptops at CES

Dell has relaunched its XPS laptop series, unveiling its thinnest XPS laptops yet, the XPS 14 and XPS 16, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 5.

The new models feature Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors and mark a return to the XPS brand, which Dell had discontinued last year in favor of other product names.

Dell will also introduce an even lighter XPS 13 later in 2026.

Limited configurations of the XPS 14 and XPS 16 will be available in the US and Canada starting January 6, priced from US$2,049.99 and US$2,199.99, respectively.

The company is shifting away from naming laptops by tiers, instead offering mainstream and entry-level products under the Dell brand, premium models under XPS, and gaming devices under Alienware.

Dell offered little detail on how it will address rising memory costs and said AI has not generated as much demand as the company expected last year.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Copilot+ claims on Intel Core Ultra 3 face NPU gaps

Dell’s new XPS 14 and 16 use Intel Core Ultra Series 3. The company says these chips power Copilot+ PC experiences 1. It has not shared Neural Processing Unit (NPU) performance in Trillions of Operations Per Second (TOPS). That class of PCs has been described as needing around 40+ TOPS 2.
Windows Studio Effects are NPU‑accelerated features on supported devices 3. The XPS line includes 8‑megapixel 4K cameras for those effects 1. Copilot+ branding is one path, though certification is not required for those effects.
Dell said AI demand fell short of its hopes last year.

Developers can drive AI PC demand with NPU apps

Software scarcity holds back AI PC adoption 4. Independent software vendors can ship NPU‑accelerated Windows apps with gains, such as Luminar Neo’s AI enhancements or DaVinci Resolve’s editing boosts 4.
Available tools cover document analysis, security, and accessibility 4. Generate by Iterate.ai costs $20 per user per month, while McAfee Deepfake Detector and Cephable’s controls fill those areas 4. Gaps remain in spreadsheets, presentation design, or coding.
Windows developers can use Microsoft Foundry Local and the AI Toolkit for Visual Studio Code to run small language models on NPUs 2. Programs can work offline and avoid cloud API costs while targeting the 40+ TOPS in Copilot+ devices 2. Early movers can team with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to bundle apps, as with McAfee on select Lenovo AI PCs 4.