Dell’s XPS wasn’t the most exciting nameplate in the world, but it had brand recognition. Having been introduced in 1993, it was a steady lineage in a world in which computer models came and went and most didn’t even notice, if they could even pronounce them.
While several nameplates grew into well nurtured staples of the market, such as MacBook, Zenbook, and ThinkPad, they were few and far between. Dell’s XPS was one such model. But Dell is killing it off for… some reason. I don’t really know.
In a decision that’s been described as “an unforced error” (for those of you who are sports fans) and “shooting itself in the foot” (for those of you who are fans of stupid injuries), they’re replacing the XPS name with—get this—Premium.
Not Premium this or Premium that. Just Premium. Yeah, I know. At least, with the introduction of the first Dell Premiums to go on sale on June 26, we know that functionally and aesthetically they fit right in with the XPSes they’re replacing.
same look, new name
For all the hooah about the name change, the new Premium laptops that Dell launched this week look a lot like a continuation of the XPS line. The Dell Premium 14 starts at $1,650, and its spec sheet reads:
- 16-core Intel Core Ultra 7 255H
- 16GB LPDDR5X RAM
- 512GB solid state drive
- 14.5″ non-touchscreen 2K display
The Dell Premium 16—it sounds like the name of a brand of vacuum cleaner—starts at $2,700, and it packs:
- 16-core Intel Core Ultra 7 255H
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card
- 32GB LPDDR5X RAM
- 1TB solid state drive
- 16.3″ non-touchscreen 2K display
That’s a hell of a, uh, premium to pay for two extra inches of screen real estate, especially considering that you’re getting the same processor and you don’t get a 4K touchscreen unless you pay an extra $350.
Maybe that’s what Dell was angling at with the name change to Premium all along?
The post Dell Just Launched the Most Boring Name Change to Its Now-Dead XPS Laptop appeared first on VICE.
