Dell Brings out the Best in Its Bigger XPS 15 9550 Series


DellXps15-9550Sure, laptop sizes seem to be getting thinner and sleeker, we even saw a phase of very small-screened devices for a while. Turns out, not everyone liked typing on an itty bitty 10.5-inch device, and trying to have multiple windows open without squinting is no fun. As of late, and depending on the part of the world you are in, the most widely used laptop screen size is around 14 or 15 inches. The Chromebook I am typing on at this very moment is 14 inches, and that seems to be the perfect size for me. Anything larger could tip into the burdening department, and anything smaller could make it hard to enjoy yourself. Why am I bringing this up? Because, since Dell released its XPS 13 last year, consumer reaction has been wonderful. It has been considered one of the best 13-inch PC laptops in a very long time. So, just to add to the praise, Dell decided to release a 15-inch variant in order to reach those who prefer larger screens.

DellXps15-9550-1Even if 15 inches might seem almost too big for you, you might change your mind once getting your hands on the new XPS 15 9550 laptops, Touch and Non-Touch variants. The new 15-inch frame sports the same 4K (3840 x 2160) InfinityEdge display (with a lovely thin bezel worthy of dropping your jaw), and anodised aluminum finish as its smaller counterpart. By the way, that ridiculous pixel count could win the heart of any MacBook Pro Retina buyer. In fact, Scot Finnie of Computer World says, “Dell hit its mark” with this one. Of course, the keyboard and trackpad have grown alongside the display. The keyboard has “top-notch” feedback for its slim chiclet design, with the trackpad performing better with added scroll room, comparable to a MacBook’s. Using a spec sheet from the higher end of the 9550 line, we’ve got a Precision Touchpad iteration, running a 6th gen Skylake Intel Core i7 6700HQ CPU, Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 960M GPU with 2GB GDDR5, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB Samsung PCIe NVMe SSD. It might just have every single port you were looking for- HDMI, 2 USBs, USB Type-C (doubling as Thunderbolt 3), and SD card slot (Computer World).

DellXps15-9550-2At first glance, an upgrade from 13 to 15 inches may seem like a minor refreshment, but nearly every detail about this new model makes it better than the last. The added inches give more heft, and multiple sources argue that this bigger model is more powerful in general. It may not be the lightest laptop on the block, but remember the kind of processor and graphics card it’s hiding in there. Finally, battery life is worth talking about, as Dell claims a good 17 hours of battery with the screen turned off in idling mode. However, with normal PC use, reviewers have gotten about 5.5 hours out of a single charge. See how it’s worth talking about? Even the low battery is still understandable if you remember the power this thing is running (Pocket Lint says because the 15 uses an ‘HQ’ series CPU rather than a U one, it draws more juice). All-in-all, if you’re a fan of the XPS 13, there’s no possible way you won’t enjoy the bigger and better version. It’s ridiculously fast, and retains all the features that have made the XPS 13 one of the most popular Dell laptops to date.

Topics: Technology News Dell Laptops & Ultrathin Ultrabooks Tech Reviews

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