The new Dell XPS15 9510 is a laptop that improved what it already had without compromising function. With an incredible new optional OLED display, colours and shades burst with range.
Design
The Dell XPS15 9510 does not differ greatly from the previous model, which is no surprise considering how well it was received. The sleek and sturdy aluminium exterior is available in a Platinum silver with a black interior, or with a Frost exterior and Arctic white interior. My review unit came in the Platinum Silver, which was elegant and exuded a sense of quality. The starting weight is just over 2kg for the OLED screen and slightly lighter without it. It may not be the lightest, but the build quality is immaculate.
The InfinityEdge display is as impressive as ever with its small bezels on all edges. This really creates an immersive experience and means the laptop is no bigger than it needs to be. The full-size keyboard is made of a soft carbon fiber weave that feels soft to the touch and easy on the wrists. It’s easy to use and has a great 1.4mm of key travel, making typing a breeze. The trackpad is enormous and highly responsive to commands. After using it, you will never want to return to anything smaller.
As with the previous XPS15, there are limited ports available. On the left side are two Thunderbolt 4 slots and a lock slot. On the right side is a USB Type-C port, SD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Charging can be done through either of the Thunderbolt ports or the USB Type-C port. Although this isn’t the greatest selection, Dell provides a dongle that converts USB-C to USB-A and HDMI. I found that for daily use it is plenty, as I barely use ports anymore.
Features
The display itself has the biggest change from the previous model, with the option for a 3.5K touchscreen OLED display. My review unit had the OLED display and it put my older version MacBook Pro to shame. The colours are deep and rich, making any video look fresh and clear. Even the lock screen background will leave you in a trance. The only downside of the OLED screen is that it uses more battery, leaving you with a seven hour battery life. This means you will be charging slightly more frequently so if you care about portability, go for the FHD+ display instead.
If you don’t have headphones to watch your favourite show, the speakers will absolutely blow you away. The clarity and depth are impressive, to say the least. At full volume, the XPS15 would easily satisfy any sort of house party without compromising any sound quality.
The Webcam, on the other hand, could be improved. Because of the thin Bezels, the 720p lens lacks the quality and exposure seen on other laptops. It works fine for a zoom call but the colour balance blows out if it’s exposed to too much light. It is still an upgrade from the previous webcam, which sat at the bottom of the screen and provided a very awkward angle. The XPS15 also comes with facial recognition and a fingerprint scanner, which makes logging in quick and easy.
Configurations
With the most basic configurations, the XPS15 9510 starts at just under $3000. This base model has an FHD+ display along with a Core i5-11400H CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and UHD graphics. The review model I was running had all the bells and whistles. With the 3.5K OLED touchscreen, a Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics. At the time of writing, it comes in at $4299.
With these specs, I had no issue with any of the work I was doing. At one point I had 40 tabs open in Google Chrome, many of which were playing Youtube or streaming Netflix, all without any lag. Although it’s possible to drive the price even higher, many of the configurations are not necessary. I would, however, highly recommend the OLED display as it really does enhance the experience.
Bottom Line
The Dell XPS15 9510 is a great computer for anyone who wants a serious workhorse with great design and reliability. There are few other laptops that compete with its power and portability. Apart from the new OLED screen, there are no serious changes from the previous model but this makes sense as there were no real previous flaws. For more information click here.
