technology news: Dell makes a laptop splash in India: New XPS, Inspiron, and Alienware machines

Dell Inspiron 7000 5000 2019 series

Dell has just unveiled its top-of-the-line XPS range, refreshed with up to 10th Gen intel CPUs and 4K panels, in India. These include the 2019 XPS 13 and the charged up XPS 15 with a Dell-first 4K OLED display. The company also revealed a range of Inspiron 7000 and 5000 series laptops for the working class, including the flexible Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 ultra-thin notebook. Not leaving the gamers behind, Dell also launched the new Alienware M15 and Dell G3 machines in India.

Here's what you get in the all new, refreshed Dell laptop lineup in India.

Dell XPS 13 (2019)

A Dell XPS 13 2019 edition sitting open on a desk with a mountain landscape photo as the background.

Dell refreshed its XPS 13 (2019) with the 10th Gen Intel Comet Lake-U processor ahead of IFA 2019. The same has now been launched in India.

Keeping with the thin and light XPS design philosophy, the new XPS 13 comes with Dell's InfinityEdge display, which basically means super thin borders. The 13.3-inch 4K UHD LCD display rests within an 11-inch aluminium chassis.

The palm rest on the rose gold XPS 13 adorns a slick new woven glass fiber finish which feels ultra premium. Yes, the camera is now placed on the top bezel as opposed to that awkward bottom bezel placement in last year's XPS 13. It has also become considerably smaller at just 2.25mm and features four element lens with noise reduction capabilities.

With a weight of 1.16 kg, the new XPS 13 laptops are the thinnest and lightest in that size category.

In terms of hardware, you can choose between 10th Gen Intel Core i5 (6MB cache, up to 4.2 GHz, four cores) and Core i7 (8MB cache, up to 4.9 GHz, four cores) processors. Both models in the XPS 13 range include LPDDR3 Dual Channel SDRAM, with an option to choose between 8GB and 16GB memory. You get 512GB PCIe 3 x4 SSD storage on board, too. Other 1TB and 2TB models are not yet available in India.

The XPS 13 comes in two models: one with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and the other with a higher 3,840 x 2,160 resolution. Both support Dolby Vision, come with 400 nits of brightness, and a 1,500:1 contrast ratio.

There's a 52WHr battery powering the system, and Dell says that it can last up to 19 hours on a single charge.

The port setup on the new XPS 13 includes two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a microSD card reader, a wedge-shaped lock slot and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone jack. The laptop also features Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity.

Dell XPS 15 (2019)

Dell XPS 15 2019 OLED - at angle

The XPS 15 carries forward the same borderless InfinityEdge display as its smaller counterpart. But instead on an LCD screen, the XPS 15 uses a 4K OLED panel which is a first for any Dell laptop. The display resolution is set at 3,840 x 2,160, with 400 nits of brightness and a 100,000:1 contrast ratio.

The machine features aluminum, carbon fiber, woven glass fiber and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for a premium, durable finish.

Unlike the XPS 13, the XPS 15 gets the 9th Gen Intel processor with up to eight cores and 16 threads. You get to choose between Core i7 and Core i9 variants, with clock speeds up to 4.5GHz and 5GHz, respectively. You also get 16GB and 32GB Dual Channel DDR4 RAM depending on the model you choose. Storage options include 512GB PCIe 3×4 SSD and 1TB PCIe SSD 3×4. For graphics, you get the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU.

There are enough connectivity options on the XPS 15 with one Thunderbolt 3 port, two USB 3.1 ports, one HDMI 2.0 port, one SD card reader, one 3.5mm headphone/microphone combination jack and a wedge-shaped lock slot. The laptop also features Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity.

There's a 97WHr battery on board which Dell claims can last up to 20 hours. However, with a power hungry 4K OLED display, real-world battery life may vary.

Inspiron 7000 and Inspiron 5000

Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2019 - at angle

Dell also unveiled a refreshed range of Inspiron 7000 and 5000 laptops. These are cheaper than the XPS series, but carry forward Intel's 10th Gen CPUs.

The Inspiron 5000 14 and 15 models both come with Full HD displays at 14 inches and 15.5 inches, respectively. Hardware on the two laptops includes up to Core i7 10th gen Intel processors, up to 8GB DDR4 RAM, and up to 512GB PCIe NVMe solid-state drive. The graphics are handled by Nvidia's GeForce MX230 or MX250 discrete GPUs with 2GB DDR5 graphics memory.

The Inspiron 7490 features a new hinge design and is made of Magnesium alloy. Weighing in at 1.095 kg, the laptop has a 14-inch Full HD IPS panel with support for Dolby Vision.

It also gets the 10th Gen treatment from Intel with up to Core i7 configuration. There are 8GB and 16GB LPDDR3 RAM options paired with a 512GB PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive. For graphical output, the laptop uses Nvidia's GeForce MX250 GPU with 2GB GDDR5 graphics memory.

The most exciting of the Inspiron lot is the Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 laptop, which is an ultra-thin flexible notebook competing with the likes of the HP Spectre x360.

The 13-inch laptop features a new Dell Active Pen housed in a magnetic garage in the hinge. The pen does not get displaced if you put the laptop in tent mode, close the lid, or make it completely flat in tablet mode.

Tech specs of the new Inspiron convertible include 10th Gen Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, 8GB/16GB LPDDR3 RAM, 512GB PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive, and Intel UHD graphics.

Alienware M15

Dell Alienware m15 2019 - at angle

For its gaming lineup, Dell unveiled the swanky-looking Alienware M15 as well as the Dell G3 in India. Of the two, the Alienware was obviously the show stopper.

The redesigned Alienware M15 was launched in May this year and is only now making its way to India. It carries up to 15.6-inch OLED UHD (3,840 x 2,160) display with a 60Hz refresh rate and 1ms response rate. The display also features Tobii eye tracking technology.

It comes with Intel's 9th Gen processors in Core i7 and i9 configurations. For its gaming prowess, the laptop makes use of Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2060, 2070, and 2080 GPU configurations. There's up to 16GB DDR4 RAM onboard paired with up to 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD.

Since this is a true gaming machine, you get features like per-key RGB LED lighting, anti-ghosting, and N-key rollover with 1.7mm key travel.

Pricing and availability

Inspiron 14 5000 (5490) will be available from September 24 at a starting price of Rs 57,990
Inspiron 14 5000 (5590) will be available from September 24 at a starting price of Rs 41,990
XPS 15 (7590) will be available from September 24 at a starting price of Rs 166,990
Dell G3 (3590) will be available from September 24 at starting price of Rs 70,990
Alienware m15 will be available from September 24 at starting price of Rs 188,490
Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 (7391) will be available from October 2 at a starting price of Rs 90,290
Inspiron 14 7000 (7490) will be available from October 2 at a starting price of Rs 86,890
XPS 13 (7390) will be available from October 2 at a starting price of Rs 113,990
Inspiron 14 5000 2-in-1 (5491) will be available from October 2 at a starting price of Rs 68,990
Inspiron 15 5000 (5593) will be available from October 11 at a starting price of Rs 42,990

Thoughts on these machines? Let us know in the comments.