Dell just pulled the curtain back on a fresh batch of laptops that aim to handle almost any daily task you throw at them. These new machines, called the Dell 14S and the Dell 16S, officially replace the company’s old Plus line. This launch marks a more stable path for Dell after a wild year of branding changes. The company clearly wants to win back users who were confused by its recent flip-flopping on product names.
If you follow tech news, you probably remember the branding drama from 2025. Dell made the shocking choice to kill off the famous XPS name and cut a bunch of its cheaper models. It was a risky move that confused a lot of loyal fans. Luckily, Dell realized the mistake quite fast. At the start of 2026, the company resurrected the XPS brand during the CES trade show. These new S-series laptops sit right under the XPS in the current lineup, offering high performance without the absolute top-tier price tag.
To make these machines move fast, Dell spent over $1 billion on research and development this year. They stuffed the new 14S and 16S with the latest Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors. If you want the most power possible, you can go all the way up to the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H. Dell claims that these new chips make the laptops nearly twice as fast at multitasking compared to the older versions. For someone who keeps fifty browser tabs open while running video calls, that extra speed makes a huge difference in their workday.
Artificial intelligence is the biggest buzzword in 2026, and Dell is leaning into it with full force. These machines are officially Copilot+ PCs, meaning they have a dedicated key on the keyboard just for Microsoft’s AI tools. Instead of sending all your private data to a server in the cloud, these laptops process many AI tasks right on the hardware. This keeps your information more private and makes the tools respond much faster than an internet-based assistant.
Dell knows that not everyone wants an Intel chip. Because of that, they are also offering versions with AMD Ryzen AI 400 Series processors. This competition between Intel and AMD helps keep prices stable for the average buyer. However, if you want the AMD version, you will have to wait just a little longer. While the Intel models are hitting shelves now, the AMD versions won’t arrive until later this month.
A fast laptop is useless if the screen looks bad. The base models come with a solid display that reaches 400 nits of brightness. For those who want a better view, you can upgrade to a sharper QHD+ display. This upgrade gives you a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes scrolling through websites look as smooth as silk. It also hits 500 nits of brightness and supports Dolby Vision. If you really want the best experience for movies or design work, you can even choose an OLED screen to get perfect contrast and deep blacks.
Battery life is often the biggest lie in the tech world, but Dell is making some bold promises here. The 14S model can apparently survive for 24 hours of general work or 18 hours of video streaming. Its larger brother, the 16S, is even more impressive for movie marathons, lasting up to 26 hours. Even if these numbers drop by 1.5% in real-world testing, they still represent a massive leap forward for laptop longevity. You could fly across the ocean twice and still have enough juice left to finish a report at your hotel.
Both models look very sleek and come in two professional colors: Celestial Blue and Frost Blue. The company kept them light so they won’t kill your shoulder when you carry them in a backpack. The Dell 14S weighs only 3.2 pounds, while the bigger 16S comes in at 3.9 pounds. Even with the slim design, they still offer 16GB or 32GB of memory. You can also pick storage options that start at 512GB and go all the way up to a massive 2TB drive.
Buying a high-quality laptop in 2026 isn’t cheap, but Dell is keeping these mid-range prices somewhat fair. In the United States, you can pick up the basic Dell 14S starting at $1,270. If you need the bigger screen of the 16S, the price starts at $1,320 for the entry configuration. These prices put them right in the middle of the market. They cost more than a budget Chromebook but significantly less than a top-of-the-line MacBook Pro.
With these new releases, Dell is trying to prove it still understands what the average office worker or student needs. They moved past the branding confusion of last year and focused on battery life and raw speed. If these laptops perform as well as the brochures say, they could help Dell regain the market share they lost during their recent restructuring. For now, they seem like a solid choice for anyone who needs a reliable machine that won’t die halfway through a long flight or a busy afternoon.
