CES 2026: Dell brings back XPS, exactly a year after it 'killed' it

Dell is bringing back XPS. The iconic laptop brand that the company inexplicably killed off last year at CES is making its comeback at CES this year, complete with a mea culpa from one of Dell's top executives.COO Jeff Clarke didn't mince words, admitting Dell had gotten "off-course" with its PC business. He showed up wearing an XPS t-shirt—a not-so-subtle signal that the company regretted ditching a brand name that had dominated best-of lists for years. In its place, Dell had introduced forgettable labels like "Dell Premium" and "Dell Pro Max" that confused customers and earned mockery for mimicking Apple's naming scheme.The rebrand failed spectacularly. Dell's PC market share fell throughout 2025, and the replacement laptops—like the Dell 14 Premium and 16 Premium—never captured the enthusiasm that XPS once commanded.

The new XPS 14 and XPS 16 makes some ammends

The revived lineup starts with the XPS 14 and XPS 16, priced at $2,050 and $2,200 respectively. Dell made both significantly lighter—the 14-inch model drops to 3 pounds from 3.8, while the 16-inch version sheds a full pound.

At 14.6mm thick, they're Dell's thinnest XPS laptops yet.The company says it's also addressing years of user complaints. Physical function keys replace the touch-sensitive buttons that people didn't accept well, as they apparently disappeared in sunlight. The flush trackpad now has etched borders so you can actually tell where it begins. And the XPS logo finally sits on the laptop lid instead of Dell's generic branding.

A thinner and lighter XPS coming later this year

Dell teased an XPS 13 arriving later in 2026 that will be even thinner and lighter while hitting a more accessible price point. Both current models run Intel's new Panther Lake chips and offer variable refresh displays that drop to 1Hz when viewing static content, delivering up to 40 hours of battery life.After a humbling year, Dell is betting that XPS still means something to laptop buyers.