Testing shows Dell XPS 16 just hit 27 hours of battery life meaning it's the longest-lasting laptop ever

Date:
Fri, 27 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Description:
If independent testing is on the money, this is effectively the most battery stamina ever seen with a laptop, pound-for-pound.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Dell's XPS 16 has almost 27 hours of battery life for web browsing on Wi-Fi That's going by independent testing from Notebookcheck.net Only two other laptops have ever outdone that result, and both of those had beefier battery capacity than the XPS 16 We all want more battery life from our laptop it's universally regarded as one of the most important features of a portable and Dell 's new XPS 16 has been shown to really deliver on this front.

We haven't tested the XPS 16 ourselves yet (or its smaller sibling, the XPS 14), having only gone hands-on with these laptops so far (back at CES). However, Notebookcheck.net has completed a full suite of testing on the
larger model (with the LCD screen option, not OLED , and I'll come back to
why that's important), with results that look very promising. Dell claims up to 31 hours of battery life, and based on Notebookcheck.net's testing of web browsing on Wi-Fi, the XPS 16 achieved 26.6 hours of longevity pretty close to the laptop maker's boast. Article continues below You may like Apples M5 Pro MacBook Pro offers strong battery life, our tests confirm MSI's newest laptop beats Apple's MacBook Pro on an all-important metric Prestige 16
lasts 30+ hours on video playback and weighs only 1.59kg The best Dell laptop 2026

The site noted: "We're able to record a runtime of almost 27 hours which is still insanely impressive given that the 70Wh battery capacity is actually on the small side for a 16-inch form factor."

As noted by The Verge , which flagged up the review, Notebookcheck.net has only ever had two laptops outdo this result.

One of those laptops was very different in that it had two batteries (adding up to 149Wh, so it's hardly a fair comparison to a single battery device with 70Wh), and the other was a Qualcomm-powered notebook with a Snapdragon X Plus chip a Lenovo ThinkBook that barely lasted any longer than the Dell
notebook.

That Arm silicon is known for its battery life chops, but the ThinkBook in question also had a larger 84Wh battery it was 20% bigger in capacity than the Dell's, and yet it actually offered only 1% more longevity. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Apple's MacBooks were left choking on Dell's dust here, as were other Arm laptops for that matter, which is seriously impressive.

Of course, battery longevity will vary widely by situation, and you won't necessarily get 20+ hours of life on the move in real-world usage it depends heavily on what you're doing. Analysis: CPU, VRR trickery, and energy density
a winning combo (Image credit: Future / John Loeffler) As already noted, we really need to test the Dell XPS 16 for ourselves, but this is a remarkable achievement based on this round of independent testing. What to read next
LG's world-first LCD laptop display has a battery-saving superpower Dell XPS 14 2026 and XPS 16 2026 hands-on review Dell Pro Max 16 Plus mobile workstation review

What has Dell done to realize this? Firstly, Intel Panther Lake CPUs are a
new height in power efficiency for Team Blue, and that'll definitely help a great deal. On top of that, a neat trick with LG 's display in the XPS 16
(and 14) means that, for the LCD, the variable refresh rate (VRR) can drop to 1Hz with static on-screen content, saving an appreciable amount of power.

Dell's new XPS 16 with the LCD idles at the Windows 11 desktop, sipping just 1.5W based on Notebookcheck.net's measurements. (The OLED can only drop to 20Hz with VRR, and isn't as power-efficient, it should be noted but a 1Hz variant is coming from LG Display next year ).

Thirdly, Dell has used new battery technology, achieving a new high in energy density (ED) with 900ED cells, which means more power can be packed into a smaller battery. Advances in cooling and overall thermals inside the laptop chassis also help.

It's a potent combination of factors, by all accounts, and hopefully we'll be able to put the new Dell XPS models through our own tests, including battery life, soon enough. The best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best laptops 1. Best overall: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4 2. Best budget: Asus Chromebook CM14 3. Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch 4. Best gaming: Razer Blade 16 5. Best for pros MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro) Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/laptops/testing-shows-dell-xps-16-just-hit -27-hours-of-battery-life-meaning-its-the-longest-lasting-laptop-ever


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