The Dell XPS 16 (9640) is one of our favorite AI PCs on the market today. We’ve tested and reviewed this laptop firsthand, and editor Rebecca Spear liked it enough to give it a Windows Central Best Award, along with a near-perfect score.
The XPS 16 is the successor to the discontinued XPS 17 model, and despite the redesign, it remains Dell’s flagship laptop for demanding users who need elite performance and a large OLED display.
Prices for the XPS 16 usually start at about 1700 dollars before any discounts, which climb to more than $4,000 on the most powerful configurations. Even mid-range models like the one featured here normally cost more than $3,000, but that’s what makes this discount so impressive.
XPS 16 with Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor (CPU), Windows 11 Pro, NVIDIA RTX 4060 discrete notebook graphics card (GPU), 32 GB LPDDR5x RAM, 1 TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD (SSD), and 16.3-in. The UHD+ OLED touchscreen is currently $645 off the regular price. This brings up the sum up to $2,500.
That’s roughly the equivalent of a model with an FHD+ IPS display, half the storage, and a Core Ultra 7 processor. Speaking of other configurations, Dell has smaller discounts on almost all hardware combinations. These are the best prices we’ve seen in the lifetime of the XPS 16.
Why we love the Dell XPS 16 (9640): See the best
The entire XPS line took on a more futuristic look in 2024, absorbing the design first seen in the experimental XPS 13 Plus. The changes make the XPS 16 stand out in a sea of 16-inch laptops.
It’s a stellar alternative to the MacBook Pro, but like Apple’s laptop, it doesn’t usually come cheap. At least that is solved with this discount. The only other downsides editor Rebecca Spear noted in her review of the XPS 16 (9640) were the lack of privacy protection for the webcam, no HDMI or USB-A ports, and the fact that the redesign can be divisive.
The keys are minimally spaced, but the keys are larger for easier pressing. The touchpad, which now uses haptic feedback instead of moving parts, blends into the glass palm rests for a seamless look. And above the keyboard are capacitive touch buttons instead of physical keys. It might take some time to get used to the changes, but Dell has finally created a premium setup that’s different from other high-end Windows laptops.
The XPS 16’s OLED display is undoubtedly one of its best features, and it’s included in this mega deal. Spear tested the OLED display and saw 100% sRGB and DCI-P3 color reproduction and more than 400 nits of brightness. It has a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, an anti-glare finish to reduce glare without a matte look, and touch functionality for extra versatility. Here’s what Spear had to say about the OLED display:
“I was also not surprised when testing the brightness and contrast to find that the OLED display offers fantastic contrast. This result is due to the fact that OLED screens produce true blacks by turning off the pixels when they should be darkest, so that the colors around them are more serious. ” As you can imagine, it makes for a beautiful viewing experience when playing games, watching shows or working with creative software.”
The XPS 16 featured here has an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), making it an AI computer. The inclusion of the laptop’s NVIDIA RTX 4060 GPU, 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD means you’ll be able to crush design, development and modification work, and gaming. If you’re primarily looking to have fun, I’d still recommend looking at a proper gaming laptop, but the XPS 16 can handle many titles on its own.
The Dell is currently running a $645 discount brings the top-of-the-line model to the best price we’ve ever seen, but it looks like all configurations are on sale. Prices start at $1,400, so there’s plenty of room for experimentation.