Sponsor Content Created With
XPS: the story of the three letters that redefined laptop codes
In the early '90s, GPUs were not yet heralded as something that could make a PC manufacturer stand out from the competition. However, when the first Dell XPS PC arrived on the market in 1993 ('XPS' for 'Xtreme Performance System'), the message in the media was crystal clear: "The fastest PC graphics accelerator board on planet Earth", "designed for the high performance user", "faster access", "doubled transfer rate"…
At the time, XPS was a new model in the Dell Dimension family but not yet a brand in its own right. Dell's goal was to attract "Power Users" and tech enthusiasts, with a level of performance that could meet both professional and personal needs so you could "listen to Mozart as you crunch numbers" or "view photographs on your PC screen".
It was a philosophy that immediately gave rise to two technological breakthroughs: multimedia features like a CD-ROM drive and sound cards were systematically built in, and users were able to choose which applications would be factory-installed when ordering, so their computer was ready to use right out of the box.
One technical detail of note was that the Dell Dimension XPS also included the VESA local bus (VL-Bus) that had launched a few months earlier, and which directly connected the processor to its graphics card (Diamond Viper VL, for those who remember). It was a revolution that happened as the 'text' interface of MS-DOS was replaced by the graphical interface of Windows 3.1, with its windows, colours and icons.
The transition to mobile performance
The 2000s marked a major turning point in the market: the laptop gradually established itself as a credible alternative to the desktop, as it was now able to run content creation software and spreadsheet and engineering applications. The Dell Dimension XPS desktop therefore welcomed its portable alter-ego into the lineup: the Dell Inspiron XPS.
In 2004, the first Dell Inspiron XPS Gen1 laid the foundation for a portable workstation by integrating a desktop processor, the Intel Pentium 4 (or its 'Extreme Edition' version), combined with an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics card. The computer was heavy (nearly 4.5kg) and needed powerful ventilation, but it showed that a laptop could match the computing power of a tower.
Power and mobility were at the core of the brand's DNA. The XPS was ready to start refining its design.
The tipping point was reached the following year with the Inspiron XPS Gen2. This had an Intel Centrino platform with much better energy and heat dissipation, enabling the chassis to be slimmed down and fitted out with a high-end dedicated graphics card. It was just what was needed to make the XPS the primary tool of choice for image-editing professionals.
This range ramp-up peaked at the end of 2005 with the arrival of the Dell XPS M170. It was the first laptop to officially display the XPS logo, and pushed the boundaries of mobile graphics processing. Power and mobility were at the core of the brand's DNA. The XPS was ready to start refining its design.
The quest for the perfect design
The brand continued to add award-winning innovations through the 2010s. Dell introduced innovative composite materials in its new designs. The use of woven carbon fibre combined with CNC-machined (numerical control) aluminium for the outer structures satisfied a specific technical requirement: making the computers as robust as possible while reducing their weight.
The InfinityEdge screen on the Dell XPS 13 took the market by storm in 2015. By reducing the screen edges to a few millimetres, Dell set a new standard: from that point on it was possible to fit a 13.3-inch display panel into a chassis that previously could only take 11-inch screens. This innovation marked a real turning point, with competitors scrambling to catch up.
The following versions took the search for the perfect design even further, introducing a seamless keyboard with no spaces between the keys, capacitive touch function keys and even a completely invisible glass touchpad. The Dell XPS 13 Plus would be the culmination of this vision, and its aesthetic and ergonomic codes would later be applied across the range.
It was just a (brief) farewell
XPS's more recent history is a testament to the range's popularity and how important it is within its segment. In early 2025, Dell announced its intention to streamline its catalogue by putting the XPS name on hold, in favour of its new 'Dell Premium' range. Dell rapidly backtracked on this decision and the XPS made a noticeable comeback at CES 2026 with 14-inch and 16-inch models that were well received by the trade press.
And to top it all, the new Dell XPS 13 2026 was launched at the recent Computex exhibition in Taiwan. This model features a chassis measuring just 12.7mm thick, and weighs in at just 1kg. It follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, but introduces a breakthrough in another area: a particularly attractive price-to-performance ratio. At a time when the PC market is facing a significant rise in costs, the new Dell XPS, Powered by Series 3 Intel® Core™ Processor, positions itself as an affordable premium option. An unbeatable advantage, especially for students. XPS continues to shake up the market, 33 years after it first started to do so.