CheckMag | Dell is back in the laptop game: 2026 Dell Pro laptops hands on
Sometimes, you make a wrong decision. Being able to see the error and walk back a wrong decision is an important skill. Dell seems to possess that skill: Not only did Dell bring back the well-known XPS brand, the American manufacturer also completely revamped their commercial lineup. We had a chance to take a look at the lot during an event in New York, where we also looked at the new business laptops from HP.
Dell Pro 2026 laptops: More choice, new designs and features
While Dell does not bring back the classic Dell Latitude name, the lineup of business laptops that is still named Dell Pro receives some very necessary changes. Dell drops the naming scheme of last year (Dell Pro, Dell Pro Plus, Dell Pro Premium) in favor of an easier to understand return to numbers (Dell Pro 3, Dell Pro 5, Dell Pro 7, Dell Pro Premium).
This is more than a simple renaming: Dell expands the line by adding the Dell Pro 7 - or rather, by adding at back, as Dell used to have this product line under the name Dell Latitude 7000. This is a mid-range to premium business laptop, aimed at workers who travel a lot, but want a more conventional design instead of the more expensive Dell Pro Premium.
Among the Dell Pro laptops, the Dell Pro 7 is the thinnest, with an all Aluminum chassis, and it is available in 13.3-inch and 14-inch versions - differentiating it from the Dell Pro 3 and Dell Pro 5, which are sold with 14-inch and 16-inch screens, and the Dell Pro Premium, which is only available with a 14-inch screen in 2026.
While the Dell Pro 5 is the successor of the Dell Pro Plus, it is anything but a simple refresh. The new Dell Pro 5 switches from silver to dark grey for its color, and the new chassis is much thinner. Also, Dell is increasing the amount of hardware options, which now include OLED WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) screens, as well as LPCAMM2 memory and Intel Panther Lake CPUs with the ARC B390 GPU.
Overall, Dell also did something interesting by adopting a unified mainboard design for the Dell Pro series. Basically, all Dell Pro laptops use the same motherboard, which has different layouts depending on if customers want soldered RAM, LPCAMM2 or SO-DIMM options. This lowers costs for Dell and increases flexibility in terms of options. By the way: Dell continues to provide AMD options on all Dell Pro laptops, with the expection of the Dell Pro Premium.
Dell mobile workstations: Dell Pro Max is now Dell Pro Precision
In the workstation world, an old name returns: Precision. The new mobile workstation from Dell are named Dell Pro Precision, replacing the 2025 "Dell Pro Max" branding. Likewise, the Dell Pro Precision 5 replaces the Dell Pro Max, and the Dell Pro Max Premium becomes the Dell Pro Precision 7 - which leaves the Dell Pro Max Plus, of which Dell says it will be replaced by the Dell Pro Precision 9 in 2027.
Overall, the 2026 Dell Pro Precision laptops are just a small refresh, since there are no new mobile GPUs from Nvidia. However, Dell does introduce a new variant, called the Dell Pro Precision 14s and Dell Pro Precision 16s, which is thinner and lighter, but does not come with a dGPU at all, instead relying on the stronger Intel Panther Lake ARC B390 iGPU.
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