Dell XPS 16 9640 16.3″ Touchscreen Notebook Review

The Dell XPS 16: A Bold, Flawed Vision of the Future

For years, the Dell XPS 15 has been the undisputed benchmark for a Windows-based powerhouse notebook—a perfect blend of performance, portability, and premium design that rivals Apple’s MacBook Pro. Now, Dell has retired the icon, replacing it with the all-new XPS 16. This isn’t just an update; it’s a complete redesign, adopting a stark, minimalist aesthetic first seen on the smaller XPS 13 Plus. It’s a bold gamble, one that trades proven usability for a futuristic vision. The question is, does this gamble pay off?

A Design That Divides

Pulled from the box, the XPS 16 is a monolithic slab of CNC-milled aluminum and Gorilla Glass 3. Available in Platinum or Graphite, its build quality is utterly impeccable, with zero flex in the chassis or lid. It feels dense, solid, and every bit as premium as its price tag suggests. Dell has shaved down the bezels to near non-existence, creating an immersive “InfinityEdge” display that remains a class leader.

The controversy begins when you open the lid. The palm rest is a single, unbroken piece of glass, housing a seamless haptic touchpad with no visible borders. Above the keyboard, the traditional function row is gone, replaced by a capacitive touch bar for media controls and system functions. This creates an undeniably clean, futuristic look. However, it’s a classic case of form clashing with function. Finding the edges of the trackpad is a guessing game at first, and the lack of tactile feedback on the function row can be frustrating for power users who rely on muscle memory for shortcuts.

Performance That Delivers, With a Caveat

Under the hood, our review unit packs an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, making it a formidable creative workstation. In benchmarks and real-world use, the XPS 16 chews through demanding tasks like 4K video rendering in Adobe Premiere Pro and complex compilations in Visual Studio. The new NPU (Neural Processing Unit) on the Core Ultra chip also provides a boost for AI-accelerated tasks, future-proofing the machine for a new wave of software.

The performance is undeniable, but it comes at a thermal cost. Dell’s vapor chamber cooling system works hard to keep temperatures in check, but under sustained, heavy loads, the chassis can become uncomfortably warm, and some performance throttling is inevitable. This is the classic trade-off in any thin-and-light powerhouse. For bursty workloads, it’s a beast; for hours-long rendering sessions, you’ll hear the fans and feel the heat. Port selection is also decidedly minimalist, with just three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a microSD card reader, and a headphone jack. Be prepared to live the dongle life.

A World-Class Display and Keyboard

Where the XPS 16 truly shines is its display. The 16.3-inch, 4K+ OLED touch panel is breathtaking. With inky blacks, vibrant, punchy colors, and perfect DCI-P3 coverage, it’s a dream for photo and video editors. It gets plenty bright for use in well-lit rooms and supports Dolby Vision for stunning HDR content. This screen is, without question, one of the best you can get on any laptop today.

The typing experience is also a highlight. The keyboard features large, comfortable keys with satisfying travel and a quiet, responsive feel. The “zero-lattice” design, with no space between the keys, maximizes the surface area of each keycap, making it easy to type on for hours. Paired with the large and surprisingly effective haptic touchpad, the core input experience—once you adapt to its quirks—is excellent.

The Verdict: A Glimpse of the Future, For a Price

The Dell XPS 16 9640 is an ambitious, powerful, and beautifully crafted machine. It’s also a polarizing one. Dell has made brave design choices that push the laptop aesthetic forward, but some of those choices compromise practicality for the sake of minimalism. The capacitive function row and invisible trackpad are solutions in search of a problem that traditional designs had already solved perfectly.

This laptop is for the creative professional or tech enthusiast who prioritizes a cutting-edge aesthetic and top-tier performance above all else. If you live in creative applications, appreciate a world-class OLED display, and are willing to adapt to a new way of interacting with your machine (and carry a few dongles), the XPS 16 is a compelling, albeit expensive, proposition. However, those who value tactile feedback and a no-fuss, practical approach may find its futuristic ambitions a step too far.

Where to Buy:

Check it out on Amazon