After more than six years in the market, the original Alienware 15 and Alienware 17 lineup will go the way of the dodo. Users should not expect an “Alienware 15 R6” or “Alienware 17 R6” anytime soon nor will there any Nvidia Turing updates for existing models.
The news comes on the week of CES 2019 where Dell unveiled its ultrathin Alienware m17 and an updated Alienware m15. The m17 and m15 have effectively replaced the Alienware 17 and Alienware 15, respectively, with graphics options ranging up to the GTX 2080 Max-Q each. These redesigned models are significantly lighter and smaller than their respective counterparts to better compete against the growing range of ultrathin gaming competitors like the Gigabyte Aero 15, Asus ROG Zephyrus GX531, Lenovo Legion Y730, Razer Blade 15 and Blade Pro, Acer Predator Triton 700, and the MSI GS65.
When the original Alienware m15 was announced back in October of 2018, Dell had informed us that the new design would not be replacing the Alienware 15 and that both models would continue to sell concurrently. Unfortunately, we’re only learning now that Dell was referring to just the 2018 calendar year; the m15 series was designed to directly succeed the 15 series all along. Of course, sneaky Dell didn't want to make that info public too early as they would have risked lower sales of the Alienware 15 series throughout the rest of 2018.
Veteran Alienware fans who aren't drawn in by the thinner Alienware m17 can still choose the Alienware Area-51m desktop replacement. This latter design maximizes performance and serviceability much like on the original Alienware 17 series that it is set to replace.
Source(s)
Dell