8
Verge Score
Even the base XPS 13 is an excellent laptop. But you’re still gonna want the 16GB model.
The XPS 13 now costs $699 for a base configuration with just 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That price used to get you a configuration with 512GB of storage, but Dell’s now charging $799 for that one. It matches the pricing for Apple’s MacBook Neo, which also got a price hike earlier this year.
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Alienware has been on a tear with its recent OLEDs. Now, its next big monitor is the AW3226Q, a 4K 32-inch tandem OLED with 165Hz refresh and RGB stripe subpixels for clearer text — expected this fall for $699.99.
Alienware is also teasing the AW2527HX, a 25-inch QD-OLED with 560Hz refresh, co-created with Team Liquid and designed for esports. Pricing is TBD until its Q1 2027 launch.
The golden age of OLEDs continues.
Alienware announced its fancy AW3926QW monitor back at Computex, and it’s now up for sale with an actual price. The 39-inch tandem OLED with a 165Hz refresh rate and 1500R curve uses an LG panel with RGB stripe subpixels for sharper text display. And it’s loaded with extras, like a KVM and a USB-C port with 90W passthrough power. All for a cool $1,099.
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$799.99 is how much Alienware’s AW3426DW costs at Dell’s site. It’s the successor to its original 34-inch curved 1440p QD-OLED gaming monitor from 2022 that debuted at $1,299.99. The new model has a Penta Tandem QD-OLED panel to make text look sharper and less aliased, plus other improvements (but the same 110 pixels per inch).
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7
Verge Score
Except in price. The prices suck.
Nvidia’s RTX Spark ‘superchip’ shows promise for Windows laptops. But it also comes at the worst time.
Both the Dell Pro P USB-C Webcam Monitor (P3426WEV) and Pro P USB-C Conferencing Monitor (P3426WEB) are curved 34-inch ultrawides with 3440 x 1440 resolution, 100Hz refresh, KVM, and 5-megapixel Sony Starvis sensors with auto framing.
But the Conferencing model has integrated speakers and microphones, costing $779.99. The Webcam model omits those (for quieter offices) and costs $729.99.
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Thanks to supercapacitors both accessories will be ready for a full day’s work faster than it takes you to yawn, while a full 5-minute charge will power the Dell Pro 7 keyboard for three months and the mouse for up to 1.5. Pricing isn’t known, but both are expected to ship on April 16th.
Now that Dell has brought back XPS, it’s Precision’s turn. Dell is announcing new Pro Precision 5 and Pro Precision 7 laptops to replace the iPhone-sounding Dell Pro Max. They’ll come in 14- and 16-inch sizes with Intel Panther Lake CPUs and optional Nvidia Pro Blackwell GPUs. Most models are expected in May, though pricing is TBD.
Apple’s new affordable MacBook should have the Windows world rethinking things.
The president applauded Michael and Susan Dell for their $6.25 billion contribution that the White House says will help fund tax-advantaged savings accounts for children. The contribution is set to fund an extra $250 in the first 25 million accounts for children in ZIP codes with median incomes under $150,000.
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Dell reversed course on its confusing naming scheme from 2025, but some of it’s intact — with new tweaks. The returning XPS laptops are still joined by entry-level vanilla “Dell” models. Enterprise-focused Dell Pro laptops are now topped by Dell Pro Precision models instead of the Apple-y sounding Pro Max.
Perfect? No. Better? Much.
Remember when Dell made the baffling decision last January to ditch its awesome XPS brand for the utterly milquetoast “Dell Pro” and “Dell Pro Max” instead? After just one year, VideoCardz’ sources report, XPS laptops are coming back. Dell will reportedly announce them at CES 2026 next week.
I asked Jeff Clarke how Dell is navigating the ongoing memory shortage and he said the company is, “Advocating that we should get the parts we asked for.”
Sure.
What if the three companies that make RAM don’t play ball, or alter their deals? Micron is already abandoning consumers and SK Hynix is sold out into the new year.
Along with pro-AI, pro-pollution, and pro-surveillance plans, the spending bill signed in July introduced investment accounts for children with $1,000 contributed for US citizens born from 2025 through 2028. Today, Michael and Susan Dell announced they would also contribute:
Through our charitable funds, we are thrilled to be contributing $6.25 billion to seed 25 million additional accounts with $250 each. These deposits will reach the accounts of most children age 10 and under who were born prior to the qualifying date for the federal newborn contribution. Children older than 10 may benefit, too, if funds remain available after initial sign-ups.
There was some concern that Trump’s tariffs would impact the attractive price that Dell announced for its Alienware 27 280Hz QD-OLED gaming monitor earlier this year, but it’s now launched unscathed. A smaller 25-inch 320Hz monitor is also available for $249 if you don’t mind switching the OLED panel for an IPS display.
Dell is putting Qualcomm Cloud AI 100 chips into its high-end Pro Max Plus laptops, capable of up to 350 TOPS. That’s about nine times more TOPS than a consumer-grade Copilot Plus PC, reserved for professionals who need to run hefty AI models locally.
There’s no pricing, availability, or full configuration specs yet, but they’ll have Intel Arrow Lake CPUs, up to 256GB of RAM, and likely very lofty prices.
