Dell’s 2026 XPS 16 is more efficient, but loses discrete GeForce graphics
Notebookcheck says Dell’s 2026 XPS 16 is one of the most power-efficient 16-inch Windows laptops it has tested so far. In a two-minute desktop idle test at the lowest brightness with VRR enabled, the reviewed IPS configuration averaged 1.5 W. That is well below the 3 W to 5 W range Notebookcheck cites for systems such as the Asus ZenBook S16 and MSI Prestige 16 under similar conditions.
The same report says raising brightness from minimum to maximum increased idle draw from 1.5 W to 4.5 W. In its full review, Notebookcheck also logged 1.3 W minimum idle and 4.5 W average idle in its standard power table. Those numbers came from the Core Ultra 5 325 model with Intel’s Xe3 iGPU and a 1920×1200 panel.
Source: NotebookCheck
Notebookcheck measured 26 hours and 38 minutes in its WLAN web browsing test at 150 nits on the Balanced profile with VRR enabled. That result is longer than earlier XPS 16 models, despite this generation shipping with a smaller 70 Wh battery. Dell also advertises up to 31 hours in its own internal testing.
Source: NotebookCheck
For this generation of XPS laptops (which, by the way, were reintroduced under this brand only this year), Dell dropped GeForce options from the 2026 XPS 16 lineup and moved to Panther Lake-only configurations with integrated graphics. Notebookcheck says that helped Dell make the system lighter and thinner, but it also reduced graphics performance compared with last year’s XPS 16 and Dell 16 Premium models that offered RTX 4070 and RTX 5070 Laptop GPUs.
Source: NotebookCheck
