In a bit of irony, Dell confirmed that it will turn its popular XPS laptops icy this summer with a refresh to its 10th-generation Ice Lake processors. The timeline was confirmed by Dell Vice President of Consumer Design Justin Lyles following Dell’s tease of a mystery Ice Lake-powered laptop during Intel’s CES 2019 keynote.
During Intel’s keynote, President of Dell Client Solutions Group Sam Burd teased that an Ice Lake-powered XPS laptop will be available by the holiday season. While that timeline means that consumers will be able to buy the laptop within the next 12 months, we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out more details about Dell’s next-generation XPS laptop. Lyle confirmed in an interview with Trusted Review that Dell will likely begin showcasing the Ice Lake-powered XPS by mid-year, which means more details will begin emerging around summer or fall.
“That was a very, very secretive kind of pre-release,” Lyle admitted during his interview. “You will hear more about that in the next couple of quarters. I can probably safely say that it will be mid-year.” The Ice Lake refresh, which will bring Intel’s 10nm chip design, could mean that this new XPS laptop will benefit from longer battery life, an even thinner and lighter form factor, and more powerful performance under the hood. Dell, unfortunately, was not ready to provide additional details about the laptop and its specifications at the time.
If Dell wants the announcement to coincide with a major trade show, the timeline suggests that the official unveiling of this laptop — along with its specifications — could happen as early as May 28 at the Computex show in Taipei, Taiwan or at the Berlin-based IFA show on September 6, the publication noted. Earlier this month at CES 2019, Dell addressed a major consumer pain point with its XPS 13 by introducing a model where the webcam is moved back to the top of the screen. In the past, Dell had placed the webcam below the display to give the laptop its sleek bezel-free aesthetics, but that placement made for awkward camera angles during video calls.
Furthermore, unlike previous XPS refreshes in years past, Lyle also hinted that this Ice Lake device may be an entirely new model in the lineup. “That is a new XPS product,” he said. “I’m afraid I can’t go much further than that.” Given that the XPS 13 and XPS 15 are among the most popular Windows Ultrabook machines on the market today, Dell’s new Ice Lake-powered XPS could appeal to a lot of consumers if Dell hits the right specifications and price point.
