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Leaked XPS 15 9500 listing confirms it to be a step up from the XPS 15 7590 and a step down from the XPS 17 9700

The XPS 15 9500, a step up from the XPS 15 7590 but a step down from the XPS 17 9700 (Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
The XPS 15 9500, a step up from the XPS 15 7590 but a step down from the XPS 17 9700 (Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
Leaked by Dell France alongside the XPS 17 9700 today, the XPS 15 9500 will be a significant upgrade over the XPS 15 7590, for the most part. The reduction in maximum battery capacity to an 86 Wh battery does not feel like an upgrade though, nor does the absence of all the innovations that Dell has seemingly reserved for the XPS 17 9700.

It looks like the XPS 15 2020 refresh is almost upon us, complete with a new XPS 17. As we covered separately, the XPS 17 9700 will be a new form factor for Dell and the XPS series, with up to an RTX 2060, 64 GB of RAM and dual M.2-2280 drive bays. Dell has included vapor chamber cooling too, another first for the XPS series. Sadly, it does not seem that the XPS 15 9500 has received quite the star treatment that the XPS 17 9700 has.

While we were unable to view the XPS 15 9500 listing on Dell France  some clever folk on r/Dell have given us a look at what it contained. We want to thank u/stblr for uploading multiple images on Imgur, which we have included below. The same goes for u/DerRoedie, who exported the HTML and re-uploaded it.

Thanks to u/stblr and u/DerRoedie  we can confirm several aspects about the XPS 15 9500. Firstly, Dell will offer it with the same four Comet Lake-H processors that we saw with the XPS 17 9700  64 GB of RAM will be offered too, as will a 4K touchscreen. Likewise, the GTX 1650 Ti will be featuring, too.

However, the XPS 15 9500 misses out on multiple innovations that the XPS 17 9700 has, and one that previous XPS 15 machines had. Dealing with the latter first, Dell will only offer the XPS 15 with up to an 86 Wh battery this year, no doubt a disappointment for some XPS fans. Additionally, it will not be coming with an RTX 2060 GPU, as the XPS 17 will. Moreover, the spec sheet suggests that the XPS 15 will only have one M.2 2280 drive bay, compared to the two in the XPS 17 9700  Furthermore, the XPS 15 will not include the Windows Hello IR camera that Dell has included in the XPS 17. The XPS 15 also has one fewer Thunderbolt 3 port than the XPS 17 does, for some reason.

The final differences we have noticed relate to cooling, a bugbear of the XPS 15 for several generations. Nowhere in the spec sheet does Dell refer to the XPS 15 having its "Dual Opposite Outlet fan", a fan system for which it boasted that it had filed several patents. The same applies to vapor chamber cooling. Comparing the disassembled images of the XPS 15 and XPS 17 confirms that the latter has a large element below the fan assembly that the former lacks. Presumably, this is the vapor chamber cooling system.

All in all, the XPS 15 9500 seems like it will be a step up from the XPS 15 7590 in many ways. The 16:10 display, more powerful chipsets and the inclusion of more modern ports all suggest so anyway, even if the reduction in battery capacity will draw some complaints. However, we cannot help but feel that the XPS 15 9500 is a step down from the XPS 17 9700, and an unnecessarily steep one at that. It almost seems like Dell has reserved its best innovations for its flagship XPS model, with the XPS 15 now the forgotten middle child.

Buy Dell XPS 15 7590 now on Amazon

 

 

XPS 15 9500
Display 15.6-inch, FHD+, 1920 x 1200, 60 Hz, anti-glare, non-touch, InfinityEdge, sRGB 100% min, 500 nits, wide-viewing angle
15.6-inch UHD+, 3840 x 2400, 60 Hz, anti-reflective, touch, InfinityEdge, 100% AdobeRGB, 500 nits, wide-viewing angle
Processor Core i5-10300H, 8 MB Cache, 4 Core, 2.50 GHz to 4.50 GHz
Core i7-10750H, 12 MB Cache, 6 Core, 2.60 GHz to 5 GHz
Core i7-10875H, 16 MB Cache, 8 Core, 2.30 GHz to 5.10 GHz
Core i9-10885H, 16 MB Cache, 8 Core, 2.40 GHz to 5.30 GHz (available post launch)
RAM 8 GB DDR4-2933 dual-channel
16 GB DDR4-2933 dual-channel
32 GB DDR4-2933 dual-channel
64 GB DDR4-2933 dual-channel
Storage 256 GB PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 SSD
512 GB PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 SSD
1 TB PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 SSD
1 TB PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 SSD
2 TB PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 SSD
GPU Intel UHD Graphics 630
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti - 4 GB GDDR6
Ports 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Thunderbolt™ 3 with DisplayPort ports
1 USB 3.1 Type-C with USB PD & DisplayPort
1 Headset (headphone and microphone combo) port
1 Power-adapter port
1 SD-card slot
1 wedge-shaped lock slot
Wi-Fi Killer™ AX1650w, 2x2 MIMO, 2.4/5 GHz, Wi-Fi 6 (WiFi 802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.1
Killer™ AX500-DBS, 2x2 MIMO, 2.4/5 GHz, Wi-Fi 6 (WiFi 802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.1 (available post launch)
Battery 3-cell, 56 WHr "smart" lithium-ion, ExpressCharge
5-cell(?) 86 WHr "smart" lithium-ion, ExpressCharge
Dimensions & weight Height (rear): 18 mm (0.71 in.)
Width: 344.72 mm (13.57 in.)
Depth: 230.14 mm (9.06 in.)
Starting weight: 1.83 kg (4 lb)
Weight (maximum): 2.05 kg (4.5 lb)
Miscellaneous Dual-array microphones
Stereo woofer 2.5 W x 2 and stereo tweeter 1.5 W x 2 = 8 W total peak
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
(Image source: Dell France via u/stblr)
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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 04 > Leaked XPS 15 9500 listing confirms it to be a step up from the XPS 15 7590 and a step down from the XPS 17 9700
Alex Alderson, 2020-04-28 (Update: 2020-04-29)