Dell XPS 15 2019: what we want to see

Back when the Dell XPS 15 2018 launched, it was packed to the brim with 8th-generation H-series processors, fast SSDs and some gorgeous displays. And, it is still one of the best laptops in 2019.

However, we now know that the Dell XPS 15 will be featuring 9th-generation Intel Coffee Lake Refresh processors and Nvidia Turing 16-series GPUs. So, the Dell XPS 15 2019 will be much faster than the current offerings. Hopefully, Dell will combine this raw power with some of the improvements we saw in the Dell XPS 13 earlier this year.

We’re sure that certain aspects of the Dell XPS will carry over – namely the much-improved webcam. But, beyond that and internal improvements, we don’t have all the details. However, we can do some Dell XPS 15 2019 speculation, crafting a sort of wishlist of what we’d like to see. And, be sure to keep this page bookmarked, as we’ll update it with all the latest information.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The 2019 version of the Dell XPS 15
• When is it out? June 2019
• What will it cost? Probably starting around $1,059 (£1,179 AU$1,699)

Dell XPS 15 release date

While we don’t know the exact date the Dell XPS 15 will launch, we do know that its coming in June, which lines up with previous releases. As for when we’ll see the exact date, we will probably be waiting until Computex 2019.

The Dell XPS 15 2019 is coming out a bit later than the Dell XPS 15 2018, which launched back in May 2018, but it’s likely that it came down to the new hardware on offer. And, who knows, this delay might mean that we might actually see that webcam moved up to the top bezel.

Dell XPS 15 price

The current XPS 15 starts out at $1,059 (£1,179, AU$1,699) for a quad-core, 8th-generation Intel Core i5 chip, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB 5,400 RPM hard drive. However, you can spec it out for up to $2,959 (£2,279, AU$3,999) for a Core i9, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

Dell will probably follow the same pricing trend as the current model for the XPS 15 2019 – bring out an entry-level notebook for about $1,050 and let users configure it however they want. However, we could see Dell raising the price a bit for the entry model, as it has for the last few years – plus, computer hardware keeps getting more expensive.

Again, we won’t know what the pricing is going to be until we get closer to launch, so stay tuned.

What want to see from Dell XPS 15 2019

The Dell XPS 15 is already one of the best Ultrabooks you can buy today, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have room to improve. So, we went ahead and created a wishlist of things we want to see from the Dell XPS 15 2019, to really elevate it into the laptop stratosphere.

Better cooling
The biggest drawback that the Dell XPS 15 has faced for the last few years is the thermal limitations introduced from its increasingly thinner designs. Don’t get us wrong, we love having such a portable notebook with this much horsepower behind it, but if you’re doing a lot of video editing or other workstation-class tasks, the Dell XPS 15 2018 likely won’t last very long.

Because the Dell XPS 15 is packing updated Nvidia Turing graphics and Intel 9th-generation processors, we need a cooling design that keeps all of that high-power hardware cool. Honestly, if it means that the Dell XPS 15 2019 is a bit thicker than last year’s model, we’d be ok with that – it’s already easy to carry around, we just want it to last a couple of years.

More ports
For a 15-inch laptop, the 2018 Dell XPS 15 is a little light on port selection. It’s more robust than the MacBook Pro, as it actually features USB Type-A and an SD card reader. But, for a laptop with this spec and size, we’d love to see some Ethernet and maybe even a DisplayPort. We know, we’re entering the age of the dongle – we would just like to see a bit more flexibility out of such a premium device.

Move that webcam
At this point, it kind of feels like we’re beating a dead horse, but that webcam has got to move. Nobody who uses their webcam on a regular basis for video conferencing, or even the occasional hangout with friends, is going to appreciate a webcam that perpetually gazes up their noses.

It’s not an ideal situation for either end of the conversation, and it even makes Windows Hello kind of a pain. Luckily, it looks like Dell may have figured it out – the new Dell XPS 13 has moved the chin-cam up into the top bezel thanks to some kind of shrinking magic. Hopefully, this tiny little camera finds its way into the Dell XPS 15 2019.

Unlimited power
We know that we just talked about Dell’s thermal solution, but we still want more power. Luckily, it looks like we’re getting exactly that. Back in April 2019, when Dell revealed its next-generation gaming laptops, it also revealed that the Dell XPS 15 2019 would be packing the latest Intel processors and Nvidia Turing graphics. This is definitely more powerful hardware than is on offer in the current model, so we just hope there is some more robust cooling this time around.

And, those Nvidia Turing GPUs should massively boost graphics performance. It still won’t be the best gaming laptop, but it should be more than enough to play your favorite games in 1080p without suffering through a slideshow.

• Check out our list of the best Ultrabooks.