Dell XPS 15 9510 OLED Review: The Best Keeps Getting Better

You can configure the XPS 15 with a range of Intel 11th-gen H-series processors, from the Core i5-11400H to the Core i9-11900H. My review unit was equipped with the Core i7-11800H, a fast 8-core, 16-thread CPU that has performed well in other machines, along with 16GB of RAM (up to a whopping 64GB can be configured) and a 512GB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD and up to 4TB can be ordered). Two SSD slots mean that you could install dual 4TB SSDs for a total of 8TB of storage.

You’ll also find an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti discrete GPU inside, which lives near the bottom of the RTX line but still beats integrated graphics by a country mile. You’d expect this combination to perform well in demanding tasks like video editing and others that appeal to both creators and productivity power users.

In our benchmarks, the XPS 15 was an admirable performer. We didn’t run all the same tests on the 2020 XPS 15, but where we have overlap, the new model is faster. That’s to be expected. The new XPS 15 doesn’t dominate our comparison group, but it’s right there in the running. It does particularly well against the XPS 17 that benefits from a larger chassis and even better thermals than the very well-designed XPS 15.

Looking at the CPU-intensive benchmarks, our Handbrake test that encodes a 420MB video to H.265 and Cinebench R23, the XPS 15 competes strongly against the XPS 17 and the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro running the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H. The Ryzen chips are speedy at CPU-intensive tasks, and so the XPS 15’s score here is impressive. If you bump up to the Core i9 model, you’ll probably exceed the Ryzen 7’s performance. The XPS 15 also did well in the PCMark 10 Complete benchmark, scoring in the upper echelon of the laptops we’ve tested and doing particularly well in the Content Creation portion of the test.

On the Pugetbench test, which uses Adobe Premiere Pro to perform several brutal tasks, the XPS 15 scored 507. Dell has equipped the XPS 15 with its power utility to tune the CPU for lower heat and fan noise while limiting performance or running flat-out in performance mode. In all our other tests, the utility made no difference in performance, but in Pugetbench, performance mode boosted the score to 590. That’s well under the XPS 17’s 692 (with the faster RTX 3060) but closer to the Legion 5 Pro’s 622. That makes the XPS 15, which benefits from both a fast CPU and a discrete GPU that can speed up some tasks in Adobe apps, a strong performer for Adobe creators — although not the strongest we’ve seen.

Overall, the XPS 15’s refresh has increased its performance enough to make it worth the effort, and it’s one of the faster 15-inch laptops you’ll find — especially for such a thin and light machine. Of course, it flies through productivity tasks and won’t slow down no matter what you throw at it. As alluded to earlier, it works for both mobile creators and productivity power users.

The RTX 3050 Ti that Dell installed in the XPS 15 is limited to 45 watts, despite technically being rated to run up to 80 watts. Therefore, it’s not the fastest iteration of the chip you’ll find. Theoretically, that limits its performance, particularly in gaming. In our testing, though, the XPS 15 was a good performer, scoring 4540 in the 3DMark Time Spy test. That’s a solid result for laptops running the RTX 3050 Ti.

Dell offers several 15.6-inch 16:10 displays for the XPS 15. You can choose a Full HD+ (1,920 x 1,200) non-touch display, a 3.5K (3,456 x 2,160) OLED touch display, and a UHD+ (3,840 x 2,400) IPS touch display. The latter two support Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) for excellent Netflix binging (although, read on). My review unit was equipped with the 3.5K OLED display, and it’s drop-dead gorgeous. Colors pop, blacks are inky, and it’s bright enough to use outside (although maybe not in direct Southern California sunlight). I’m not sure why Dell opted for the 3.5K resolution versus true 4K, given how awesome the latter would be for watching 4K HDR media, but the display is sharp enough for anything else you’ll want to use it for. Subjectively, this is one awesome display.

My colorimeter agreed with me. Colors were extensive, at 99% of AdobeRGB and 100% of sRGB, and they were also spectacularly accurate with a DeltaE of 0.49 (1.0 or less is considered excellent). Brightness wasn’t as high as some OLED displays at 381, but that’s nothing to complain about. Contrast came in at a gaudy 381,130:1, which accounts for the inky blacks. Compare this with the AMOLED display on the HP Spectre x360 15, and you’ll find similarly wide colors and high contrast, although the Spectre was slightly brighter at 405 nits and not as accurate at 1.29.

The 2020 XPS 15’s 4K IPS display was just as colorful and almost as accurate at 0.65 and much brighter at 442 nits. Its contrast was 1480:1, high for an IPS display but not as otherworldly as the XPS 15’s OLED panel.

Subjectively or objectively, this is an excellent display that matches up well for creators with the XPS 15’s performance. It’s also a lovely display for productivity workers who will appreciate the luscious colors and the black text that leaps off white backgrounds.

The XPS 15’s audio is also impressive. Four speakers — two upward-firing flanking the keyboard and two firing down and to the sides — pump out tons of volume with zero distortion. There’s more bass than usual, and mids and highs are clear and pleasant. This is the best set of Windows 10 laptop speakers I’ve personally tested, with only the MacBook Pro’s speakers being better. You don’t need to worry about carrying around a set of headphones unless you want your privacy — this audio system will more than suffice for your Netflix binging and music listening needs.

The XPS 15’s keyboard is spacious with large keycaps and light gray lettering. There’s plenty of travel and a light touch that’s consistent across the keyboard, although I found the bottoming action to be less snappy than I remember on the last XPS laptop I used, the XPS 13. There’s a reason for that — the XPS 13 keyboard has less travel, so Dell tuned the mechanism with more of a snap.

The XPS 15 has a comfortable feel that would support long typing sessions without fatigue, but I did miss the precise response provided by the XPS 13. I like the keyboard on HP’s Spectre line quite a bit more — it, too, has plenty of travel, but it’s also snappier and provides more feedback for each keystroke. Many people will love the XPS 15’s keyboard, so I won’t fault it, but it’s not my personal favorite.

The XPS 15’s touchpad is huge by Windows 10 standards, thanks to the copious amount of palm rest afforded by the taller display and Dell’s decision to fill most of it with touchable surface area. It’s a joy to use, with soft-click buttons and a smooth glass surface that feels incredibly expansive. Of course, the touchpad supports Microsoft’s Precision drivers, so Windows 10’s multitouch gestures are reliable and responsive. It’s the best touchpad you’ll find on a Windows 10 laptop (next to the XPS 17). In addition, the OLED display is touch-enabled, and I appreciated that as I tapped on-screen buttons and scrolled long web pages with my thumb.

Windows 10 Hello password-less login support is provided by a fingerprint reader embedded in the power button and an infrared camera for facial recognition. Both worked perfectly, logging me in the minute I pressed the power button if I went that route or immediately on waking up the laptop if I enabled facial recognition.

Dell doesn’t provide any webcam privacy option. That’s a shame because the feature has become a standard on premium laptops.

Dell knocked maximum battery capacity from 97 watt-hours down to 86 watt-hours on the new XPS 15 design, but usable battery life actually improved in some areas. In our web browsing test, the XPS 15 managed over nine hours, while the 2020 XPS 15 achieved just seven hours in this test, and it was equipped with a 4K IPS display. The Spectre x360 15, with its 4K OLED display and 82 watt-hours of battery, hit just six hours. Yes, the XPS 15’s display isn’t quite 4K, but it’s close enough that we shouldn’t expect to see 50% more battery life. In the video test that loops a local Full HD Avengers trailer, the XPS 15 hit 11.15 hours. Many laptops exceed 14 hours on this test, but they don’t have power-hungry high-resolution OLED displays. And the 2020 XPS 15 managed just seven hours on the test, making the new version’s results significantly better by comparison.

I also tested using the PCMark 10 Applications battery benchmark, the best test of typical productivity battery life. The XPS 15 endured just eight hours of this test, less than I expected given the web browsing results. We didn’t test the 2020 XPS 15 with the benchmark, and the Spectre x360 15 came in at 6.5 hours. We don’t have many other relevant comparisons, that is, 15-inch laptops with H-series CPUs and OLED displays, but to get an idea of what’s possible, the LG Gram 16 with a Core i7-1165G7 and WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) IPS display lasted for a spectacular 17.8 hours in the test. In the PCMark 10 Gaming battery test, which pushes the CPU and GPU, the XPS 15 made it to about 1.5 hours. That’s typical for the more powerful laptops we’ve tested and demonstrated that the XPS 15 keeps up the speed while on battery.

Overall, these results are quite good for a machine of the XPS 15’s caliber. It’s entirely possible to make it through an entire workday on a single charge, not something I would have expected. Of course, you’ll need to keep your charger handy if you’re doing anything intensive, but for general productivity work, the XPS 15 is a surprisingly long-lasting laptop.

The Dell XPS 15 is the best 15-inch laptop you can buy. Even more than that, it’s one of the best laptops available today, period. It’s beautiful, evokes an immediate sense of quality the minute you touch it, and performs extremely well. You’ll probably love the keyboard, you’ll definitely love the touchpad, and the 3.5K OLED display is awesome.

You could complain about the price if you want, but that would be silly. Yes, the XPS 15 is expensive, but Dell obviously put a ton of engineering into crafting this luxurious and powerful laptop — and that’s worth the money.

Are there any alternatives?

Frankly, there aren’t many 15-inch laptops that I would recommend as serious alternatives. The HP Spectre x360 15 offers good performance and its own gorgeous OLED display if you want the flexibility of a convertible 2-in-1, and it’s less expensive. So there’s one option.

You could jump up to the XPS 17 and get even better performance, the same build quality, and a display that — while not OLED — provides excellent colors, brightness, and contrast. It, too, is expensive, so keep that in mind when choosing.