It takes courage for a major corporation to admit a mistake. At CES 2026, Dell did exactly that—announcing the revival of its iconic XPS laptop brand just twelve months after killing it. The reversal comes after a year of customer complaints, persistent search interest in the defunct brand, and, by Dell's own admission, underperformance.

"We underperformed. We didn't listen," Dell Vice Chairman Jeff Clarke told reporters. "We're getting back to our roots."

The admission is remarkable in an industry where companies typically double down on unpopular decisions rather than acknowledge errors. For Dell, the XPS resurrection is both a mea culpa and an attempt to reclaim its position in the premium laptop market.

What Happened: The 2025 Rebrand That Failed

At CES 2025, Dell announced it was retiring the XPS name—along with Inspiron, Latitude, and other familiar brands—in favor of a simplified naming scheme. The new approach used tiered labels: "Dell," "Dell Pro," and "Dell Pro Max" for different product categories.

The reaction was swift and negative:

  • Customer confusion: The new naming convention made it difficult for buyers to understand what they were getting
  • Apple comparisons: Critics accused Dell of copying Apple's "Pro" and "Max" naming without the brand equity to support it
  • Lost brand equity: XPS had 15+ years of recognition as Dell's premium consumer line
  • Reviewer backlash: Tech journalists and YouTube reviewers consistently mentioned the "death of XPS" in coverage

Perhaps most telling: Google search data showed persistent interest in "Dell XPS" throughout 2025, even as the company tried to redirect attention to its new naming scheme. Customers were looking for a product that no longer officially existed.

"I hope it demonstrates our ability to course-correct, to be humble," Clarke said during Dell's media presentation. The company noticed that search interest in XPS never faded, even after the brand was retired.

The New XPS Lineup: What's Coming

Dell is launching three new XPS models, though not all will be immediately available:

XPS 14 (Available January 6):

  • 14.6mm thick, approximately 3 pounds
  • Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) processors
  • Up to 27 hours of battery life (claimed)
  • Traditional function row (restored after complaints)
  • XPS logo on the front cover (a first)
  • Starting price: $1,649.99

XPS 16 (Available January 6):

  • 14.6mm thick, approximately 3.6 pounds
  • Same Intel Panther Lake processors
  • Larger display for content creation
  • Starting price: $1,849.99

XPS 13 (Coming Later in 2026):

  • Dell's thinnest and lightest XPS ever
  • Details and pricing not yet announced
  • Expected to target ultraportable market

Design Changes: Listening to Feedback

The new XPS models incorporate several changes that directly address customer and reviewer complaints from recent generations:

Function row restored: Previous XPS models replaced traditional function keys with a capacitive touch bar. Users hated it. The new models bring back physical keys with tactile feedback.

XPS branding on the lid: For years, reviewers and XPS fans requested external branding to identify the laptop. Dell finally complied—the XPS logo now appears prominently on the front cover.

Improved thermals: The thin chassis includes enhanced cooling to prevent the performance throttling that plagued some predecessors.

Port selection: While details are still emerging, Dell emphasized responding to connectivity complaints from earlier models.

The Intel Panther Lake Advantage

The new XPS models are among the first laptops to feature Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 processors, codenamed Panther Lake. These chips are significant because they're the first to use Intel's 18A manufacturing process—a crucial milestone in the company's turnaround effort.

Key benefits include:

  • Improved efficiency: The 18A process delivers more performance per watt, enabling Dell's ambitious battery life claims
  • Enhanced AI capabilities: Integrated neural processing units (NPUs) accelerate AI workloads locally
  • Better graphics: Improved integrated graphics reduce the need for discrete GPUs in many use cases
  • Manufacturing confidence: Panther Lake validates Intel's ability to execute on advanced manufacturing

For Intel, the Panther Lake launch in premium Dell laptops is a statement of renewed competitiveness against AMD and Apple's ARM-based processors.

Battery Life Claims: Too Good to Be True?

Dell claims up to 27 hours of use, or more than 40 hours of local video playback, on a single charge. If accurate, this would exceed even the best ARM-based laptops from Apple and Qualcomm.

Some context:

  • Apple's M3 MacBook Air achieves approximately 18 hours of video playback
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon X laptops typically claim 20-24 hours
  • Previous XPS laptops achieved 10-15 hours in real-world use

Dell's numbers are likely based on optimistic testing conditions. Real-world battery life will probably fall short. However, if the XPS achieves even 15-20 hours in normal use, it would be competitive with the best in the industry.

Competitive Positioning

The revived XPS enters a competitive premium laptop market:

Apple MacBook Pro/Air: The benchmark for premium laptops, particularly among creative professionals. Apple's ARM-based M-series chips set the standard for efficiency.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon: The business laptop gold standard, known for keyboards, build quality, and reliability.

Microsoft Surface Laptop: Microsoft's clean Windows experience and sleek design appeal to many consumers.

HP Spectre: HP's premium line competes directly with XPS for the same buyers.

Dell's advantage has historically been value—offering near-MacBook quality at lower prices. Whether the new XPS can maintain that positioning while competing with ARM-based efficiency remains to be seen.

What This Means for Dell

The XPS revival is about more than one product line. It signals a broader shift in Dell's approach:

Willingness to admit mistakes: Corporate culture that can acknowledge errors and course-correct is rare and valuable.

Brand equity matters: The rebrand experiment proved that years of brand building can't be discarded lightly.

Customer feedback integration: The restored function row and external branding show Dell is listening.

Execution pressure: After the rebrand embarrassment, the new XPS must deliver. Failure to meet expectations would compound the damage.

The Bottom Line

Dell's XPS revival at CES 2026 is a rare case of a major corporation publicly acknowledging a strategic error and reversing course. The new XPS 14 and XPS 16, starting at $1,649.99, represent Dell's attempt to reclaim its position in the premium laptop market with Intel's latest Panther Lake chips, claimed best-in-class battery life, and design improvements that directly address customer feedback. Whether the execution matches the ambition will determine if this course correction truly succeeds—but the willingness to admit "we made a mistake" is itself noteworthy in an industry that rarely says those words out loud.