Dell's Spring Range: New 8th Gen Alienware, Laptops, and Monitors

Dell’s XPS 15 2-in-1

Earlier this year Dell introduced its first 15.6-inch 2-in-1 convertible PC targeting people who need a relatively big screen in a relatively unorthodox form-factor. The XPS 15 2-in-1 (9575) runs Intel’s 8^th Generation Core i5/i7 processors with Radeon RX Vega M GL GPU, thus offering a combination of rather interesting features and uses cases. As a part of its Spring 2018 Update, the company announced availability of the products as well as their final specs and prices.

Just like its non-convertible XPS 15 brother, the XPS 15 2-in-1 comes in 16 mm thick CNC-machined aluminum chassis featuring a carbon fiber composite palm rest. The systems also happen to use similar 15.6-inch 400-nits anti-glare InfinityEdge display panels: an FHD IPS supporting 100% of the sRGB color gamut as well as a 4K UHD IPS panel covering 100% of the sRGB color gamut. Obviously, in case of the convertible, both panels support 10-point multi touch technology and are compatible with Dell’s Active Pen using Wacom AES2.0 technology. Similarities between the two products that formally belong to the same family end here.

The XPS 15 2-in-1 model 9575 is based on quad-core Intel Core i5/i7 CPUs featuring on-package Radeon RX Vega M GL GPUs with 4 GB of HBM2 memory. These graphics processors are supposed to deliver noticeably more graphics oomph than the GeForce GTX 1050/1050 Ti used inside the XPS 15 (more on that one in a bit), thus clearly separating positioning of the systems, making the convertible more suitable for gamers and somewhat entering the Alienware territory. By contrast, the new XPS 15 can be equipped with a six-core Core i7/i9 CPU as well as 32 GB of faster DDR4-2666 memory (the convertible comes with up to 16 GB of DDR4-2400), delivering higher performance in professional non-GPU-accelerated applications. Storage sub-system of the XPS 15 2-in-1 model 9575 only uses M.2 SSDs featuring a PCIe x4 3.0 interface and 256 GB – 1 TB capacity (the cheapest model with a SATA drive was listed originally, but it is not sold), no hybrid storage options are offered.

Since the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is a convertible PC, it has sensors commonly found inside tablets, including gyroscope, magnetometer, and an accelerometer. Meanwhile, physical connectivity of the system resembles that of regular laptops: it has two Thunderbolt 3 ports (so, if everything is implemented properly, they carry four DP 1.2 streams), two USB 3.1 Type-C headers, a micro-SD card reader, and a TRRS audio jack. It is noteworthy that the XPS 15 2-in-1 has exactly the same set of ports as a modern MacBook Pro 13” (keep in mind that its right-side TB3 ports don’t have enough PCIe bandwidth and while they support feature set of TB3, performance-vise they are USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C headers). When it comes to wireless I/O, the XPS 15 2-in-1 features two options: Rivet’s Killer 1435 2×2 802.11ac  WiFi + Bluetooth 4.1 controller, or Intel’s Wirless-AC 8265 device, also 2×2 with vPro.

Dell’s XPS 15 2-in-1 systems in grey and brushed onyx colors are now available from Dell.com at $1500 - $2200 price-points.