Backwards step: Dell is bringing back the XPS notebook brand
Dell is revising its notebook naming scheme, which was changed just a year ago, and is bringing back the XPS brand name.
Dell's XPS 13 Plus from 2023.
(Image: Dell)
At CES 2025, Dell garnered attention less with new products and more with their marketing: The manufacturer said goodbye to established brand names like Inspiron, Latitude, and XPS. However, as Dell's Jeff Clarke self-critically admitted at a press conference ahead of CES 2026, the company has significantly missed its goals: The new scheme, which emphasized the Dell name and introduced suffixes like Plus, Pro, and Max, as well as combinations like Pro Premium for differentiation, confused customers. Consequently, sales figures dropped massively.
The solution became apparent the moment Clarke took the stage: He was wearing a T-shirt with the XPS brand name. This was not nostalgia, but a preview: XPS notebooks will return in 2026, proudly bearing the name on their lids. The first to arrive will be an XPS 14 and an XPS 16 with correspondingly large screens and Intel's brand-new Core Ultra 300, also known as Panther Lake. More important for users than the name change: Dell is no longer sticking to its impractical row of sensor keys above the letter keys, but is finally equipping the keyboard with a line of physical F-keys again. The two new XPS models are expected to be available for pre-order in January and will be shipped from the end of the month; Dell has not yet announced prices for Germany.
Later in the year, an XPS 13 is planned to follow, which is intended to be not only smaller but also cheaper. Clarke did not yet want to disclose concrete prices or information about the internal components; therefore, we would not expect three-digit prices. Speaking of which, below the 1000 mark (whether in US dollars or euros), customers would buy purely based on price-performance and not brand, according to Clarke. Therefore, the Dell branding will remain for these models; Inspiron will not return.
(Image:Â Florian MĂĽssig / heise medien)
More Alienware and a bit of Precision
It's different for gaming notebooks. Neither Inspiron Gaming is returning, nor is there a secondary brand for the mid-range like with other manufacturers: Dell notebooks for gamers will now be called Alienware across the board.
Dell is adjusting its business notebooks: The Dell Pro name has been well-received by customers, so the Latitude brand will remain. Only at the high end was there confusion, so the former workstation brand Precision is returning as a suffix (Dell Pro Precision) for particularly powerful devices.
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And for monitors, everything remains the same: up to the mid-range, there are cryptic abbreviations, while top models are called UltraSharp as always.
Heise Medien is an official media partner of CES 2026.
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