Dell Inspiron 7000 (2018) Delivers XPS Features for Less

The current incarnation of Dell XPS laptops are generally regarded as being among the best Windows laptops, dollar for dollar, available today. The XPS 13 is particularly well-received, but the beauty and power of the XPS 15 shouldn’t be ignored either. I liked my time with the XPS 13 2-in-1 last year as well. But not everyone has an XPS-sized budget, so now the refreshed Dell Inspiron 7000 series is here to deliver for a few bucks less.

Announced at IFA 2018 in Berlin, the newly updated Inspiron 7000 series of laptops will borrow some inspiration from the more expensive XPS models and filter them down to an even more mainstream audience. And it’ll even improve upon the XPS 13 in many ways by finally moving the webcam back above the display rather than the “up the nose” view you get from under the screen.

Dell says that this is thanks to a new part that’s debuting on the Inspiron 7000 lineup. There’s no notch (it’s only a matter of time, right?) and Dell has managed to keep the bezels really thin on these new laptops, which will come in 13-ich, 15-inch, and 17-inch variations. They’re all 2-in-1s with the flip-around touchscreen.

You can expect the new Intel Whiskey Lake 8th generation processors, optional UHD displays on the 13-inch and 15-inch models, and your choice of 8GB or 16GB of RAM. A new machined aluminum chassis replaces the old plastic one to deliver a more premium feel. And the USB-C port can be used both for power delivery and as a DisplayPort. Amazon Alexa comes baked in too.

You can expect the newly refreshed Dell Inspiron 7000 series to start shipping on October 2nd. The exact SKUs and configurations have not yet been fully finalized, but you can expect the base 13-inch model to start at $879.99 US.