Dell's 2025 flagship consumer laptops have landed, boasting the divisive XPS design we've become familiar with over the last several years. While Dell did revamp the design of many of its laptops this generation, the Dell 16 Premium still looks like last year's Dell XPS 16. The sleek, minimalist design with the seamless touchpad and sleek keyboard deck is back despite the name change.

So it's hard to go wrong with the Dell Premium lineup, whether that's the Dell Pro 14 Premium business laptop or the consumer-focused Dell Premium. Especially with the sheer number of configuration options available with the Dell Premium lineup, from multiple screen sizes to discrete GPUs and an optional OLED display.

About this review: Dell sent us the Dell 16 Premium for review. It had no input on the contents of this article.

Dell 16 Premium pricing and availability

Where to get your hands on the hottest Dell

The Dell 16 Premium has multiple configuration options, ranging from $1,799 to $3,199 from Dell directly. The Premium laptops are not currently available from other retailers.

The entry configuration of the Dell 16 Premium gets you an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H processor with integrated Intel Arc 140T graphics, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and a 16-inch, 2K IPS display. Our review laptop is the top-of-the-line pre-configured model, featuring an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H processor, Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch, 4K OLED display panel.

You can upgrade your CPU to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H processor, but that does lock you out of the discrete Nvidia GPU options. Other options include a 64GB RAM or 4TB SSD upgrade, which you can get by customizing your Dell 16 Premium build.

Currently, Dell Premium laptops, available in both 16-inch and 14-inch variations, are on sale, with the entry-level price reduced to $1,549 and the top-end price lowered to $2,799. While this isn't a huge discount, it does make the Dell Premium flagship a more affordable option.

The Dell Premium earns its name

Luxury design and high-end features

While Dell has rebranded all of its laptops, the Dell Premium models are perhaps the most difficult to distinguish from the old branding. Dell has kept the same minimalist, futuristic design from the final XPS models, and kept just about everything that made the Dell XPS lineup a favorite among critics and laptop users.

Much like the previous models, the Dell 16 Premium has a gorgeous, glossy OLED display panel option. While not the brightest of displays, it is fully capable of cutting through interior light glare and still has that high-contrast, colorful OLED viewing experience.

Between the vivid OLED display panel, powerful audio, and a solid webcam, there really isn't a lot not to love about the new Dell Premium laptops. It's even got enough ports to handle most of your accessories and a monitor or two, though the three USB Type-C port array may not be robust enough for some.

The Dell 16 Premium has a full-HD RGB-IR webcam, so it's ideal for Windows Hello secure sign-in, but you can also use it for video calls, which are pretty much an essential feature of a laptop these days. While the feed isn't the clearest, it is certainly enough to get through the occasional Zoom call.

The keyboard and touchpad aren't worth it

It's still the XPS, for better or worse

Because Dell kept the same aluminum XPS chassis for the Premium laptops, they've also got the same weaknesses as the older XPS models. Which is to say, the keyboards feel a bit cramped and have a rough feel due to minimal key travel. The invisible edge touchpad and lack of physical buttons for the function row are another holdover weakness from the XPS line.

While these choices don't bother me on an aesthetic level, and I can certainly still use the laptop regardless, the lack of physical boundaries for the touchpad and lack of discrete function-row keys does make the Dell 16 Premium a poor match for those with disabilities.

The Dell 16 Premium, when fully loaded, also suffers from a battery life issue. The laptop's discrete Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU may give it a solid boost in power for video editing, casual gaming, and AI workloads, but it comes at the expense of some battery life. While I was able to get through a decent chunk of my workday with the Dell 16 Premium, I wasn't able to ditch the charger for a full eight hours.

Computing power is no joke

Intel and Nvidia are still a powerful combo

The Dell 16 Premium certainly lives up to its name, offering fast and reliable performance from both the powerful Intel Core Ultra 200H series CPU and the Nvidia RTX 50-series GPU. There's also not much you can throw at the Dell 16 Premium that it can't handle. If you need a laptop that can seamlessly transition between work, play, and basic content creation, the Dell 16 Premium is a fantastic option.

The Dell 16 Premium may not be the Dell XPS 16 anymore, but it's kept the level of performance we expect from Dell's flagship consumer laptops. Just take a look at the benchmarks if you don't believe me. The Dell 16 Premium is a solid improvement over last year's XPS 16, and we threw in Lenovo's flagship ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition as a counter-point.

Should you buy the Dell 16 Premium?

You should buy the Dell 16 Premium if:

• You need a combination of a powerful CPU and GPU to flex between work and play.
• You want a laptop with a stunning OLED display panel.
• You want the top-shelf Dell laptop.
• You don't need to stay on a tight budget.

You should not buy the Dell 16 Premium if:

• You've got to stick to a limited budget for your next laptop.
• You need physical function keys and a touchpad with obvious boundaries.
• You want a laptop that will get over 12 hours of battery life on a single charge.

The Dell 16 Premium is a fantastic laptop. It builds on the successes of last year's XPS 16 model with a newer chipset and GPU option. For the most part, this is the ideal upgrade for the old XPS. However, it does have the same drawbacks as last year's model, right down to the battery life reduction with its discrete Nvidia GPU.