Dell has unfurled a series of pre-CES 2020 product announcements; however I'm sure we will see more as the show proper starts next week. Two particular highlights that are already in focus are the new XPS 13 and the new Alienware 25 Gaming Monitor.
XPS 13 refreshed again
A year ago we saw Dell launch the "perfected" XPS 13 laptop, but the new version is a complete redesign worthy of your attention. It uses a premium build and materials as you would expect of any XPS system but the new XPS 13 9300, to give it its full title, delivers some significant tweaks to the form.
The most obvious difference with the new laptop is a move from the 13.3-inch screen of old to a new 13.4-incher. That doesn't sound obvious but the new screen offers a 16:10 ratio for better productivity, and you will be able to choose from 1,920 x 1,200 WUXGA or 3,840 x 2,400 QWUXGA Dolby Vision panels (rather than 1920 x 1080 or 3,840 x 2,160 of the predecessor).
Making the screen ratio and size difference more stark is the new four-sided InfintyEdge tech from Dell (see the change in the image above). This makes the screen more immersive, with 91.5 per cent screen to body ratio, and Dell's latest XPS 13 screens are 25 per cent brighter too.
The width reduction delivered by the new screen and XPS 13 redesign allows Dell to make this laptop in "an 11-inch form factor — fitting neatly on an airplane tray," according to Dell's own tests. On the topic of its width, it is 7mm less wide than its predecessor. Overall this XPS 13 is 2 per cent smaller than the model it replaces and weighs in at 1.20kg (1.27kg for touch models).
Elsewhere in the design the touchpad size has been increased and the backlit keyboard is an edge to edge design. For convenience it has been designed to open up with one hand too.
Dell's new XPS 13 is Intel Project Athena-certified and powered by a 10th Generation Intel Core 10nm mobile processor for good balanced performance with long battery life. Users can spec the LPDDR4X Ram up to 32GB and storage up to 2TB PCIe SSD.
Click to zoom new Dell XPS 13 specs
The new XPS 13, starting at US$999.99, will be available in the U.S., Canada, Sweden, U.K., Germany and France from 7th Jan and globally from 4th Feb.
Alienware 25 Gaming Monitor upgraded
Dell is introducing the new Alienware 25 Gaming Monitor at CES 2020. This monitor utilises a 25-inch IPS screen with 99 per cent sRGB colour coverage. Key attractions of this stylish mid-sized display are its 240Hz refresh rate and a fast 1 millisecond grey-to-grey response time.
Alienware says that this new FHD gaming monitor is both AMD Radeon FreeSync technology and is Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. The updated Alienware 25 Gaming Monitor isn't listed online at the time of writing, I could only find only the old TN panel versions so please be aware if you are shopping for this monitor later in the year that there will be similarly named older separate models for AMD and Nvidia.
The new Alienware 25 Gaming Monitor will hit retail globally starting 11th March but product pages should be updated well before then. Pricing is set at US$499.
