New Dell and Alienware at CES 2020: a brief about the main announcements
Dell XPS 13 9300: compact flagship ultrabook with Ice Lake
Of course, the Dell booth at CES 2020 could not have been latest version our flagship ultrabook XPS 13. The current 2020 model received the index 9300 and is notable for a rather impressive list of differences from the XPS 13 7390 presented in 2019, which we talked about recently. A short list of key changes looks like this:
• Screen with an aspect ratio of 16:10 (it used to be 16: 9)
• The frames are practically absent, not only on the left and on the right, but also on the bottom. The logo also disappeared from there.
• The size of the touchpad has increased
• The power button, as before, is combined with the fingerprint scanner, but now it is built into a number of F-keys
• The number of Thunderbolt 3 (Type-C) connectors decreased from three to two
Plus, there are some differences in size in a smaller direction in favor of the new product, and, of course, now inside are the latest Intel processors of the Ice Lake family (i3-1005G1, i5-1035G1 and i7-1065G7), made according to the 10-nm process technology and equipped with much more powerful integrated graphics than 14-nanometer U-series chips. The volume of the SSD can be 256, 512 GB, as well as 1 or 2 TB. The amount of RAM will be 4 (we usually do not ship such versions of XPS to Russia), 8, 16 or 32 GB.
The choice of displays will remain the same as before: Full HD with or without touch input support, or a 4K touch panel. As for color reproduction, everything will be at least no worse than before: that is, laptops are suitable for quite serious work with graphics. And, yes, the Developer Edition of the new XPS 13 will also be, with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS preinstalled.
Dell Latitude 9510: Smart Transformer Notebook
Corporate users at CES 2020, our developers decided to please the model Latitude 9510. This is a very compact transformer: with an impressive screen diagonal of 15.6 inches, it weighs only 1.45 kilograms, and the thickness of the case is 1.8 centimeters. We hope that users regularly speaking at events, employees who often travel on business or just have a lot of negotiations “in the field” will appreciate such a PC.
In this context, by the way, battery life is very important. According to our internal measurements, a computer can work without connecting to an outlet for up to 30 hours. How can this be achieved? Not only through optimization (and 88 W * h batteries in the “top” version, in the base version it will be 52 W * h), but also with the help of intelligent algorithms that control power consumption depending on the user’s work scenarios.
The fingerprint scanner in the Latitude 9510 is also integrated into the power button in the F-key row. There is also NFC, support for Wi-Fi 6 and other important optional things: an LTE modem (a modification with 5G support will be released in summer), a smart card reader with serious security standards, and TPM 2.0 crypto chip.
The resolution of the display in all versions will be 1920 × 1080 pixels, based on a good IPS-matrix with a brightness of 400 nits and a coverage of 100% sRGB. As a hardware basis, 14-nanometer Intel Comet Lake U-series chips were chosen, the base model will be equipped with i5-10210U. And, yes, this is also important: the Dell Latitude 9510 will not only be available in a convertible version. A variant of the classic ultrabook with a similar design and features also exists.
Dell G5 15 SE: powerful gaming laptop with AMD Ryzen
The line of cost-effective Dell G-Series gaming laptops continues to evolve. AMD’s excellent developments did not go unnoticed, so the new G5 15 Special Edition received a processor and discrete graphics from this manufacturer. The main will be a bunch of Ryzen 4800H (8 cores, 16 threads, frequency 2.9-4.2 GHz) and Radeon RX5600M with 6 GB of memory. The proprietary AMD SmartShift technology will help not only save battery power, but also “squeeze” more FPS in games, distributing energy between the CPU and GPU depending on the tasks performed.
In a word, such “hardware” for comfortable gaming at “high” and “ultra” in Full HD resolution should be enough even with some margin. That is why the 15.6-inch panels of the laptop will be not only with a standard refresh rate of 60 Hz, but also with increased to 144 Hz. Regarding the amount of RAM and data storage, we will offer several options at once, including bundles from SSD and HDD.
Portable devices for the near future: Concept UFO, Concept Duet, and Concept Ori
But CES is not the only device ready for release. In addition to them, manufacturers bring to the show the development of future devices. We did not stand aside from this important trend, and showed in Las Vegas three interesting concepts at once. The first one is called Alienware Concept UFO. This is a project of a modular console consisting of three elements: the main part with an 8-inch display, a battery and all electronic “stuffing”, as well as two magnetic controllers that are mounted on the left and right sides.
At the same time, the main part of the gadget can be put on the table on a folding stand, and the controllers can be connected together using the same mounts (and a kind of “bridge” with the battery between them), having received an independent gamepad. We don’t disclose details about the hardware yet, except that the AMD Ryzen solution is also used inside the prototype. As for games, here the focus is on projects from a wide variety of gaming stores like Steam, Epic Games, Origin, and so on.
The next gadget that we want to talk about is called the Dell Concept Duet, and this is a laptop with two touch displays. Similar solutions were on the market before, but they did not take root due to the fact that users could not type on such PCs blindly and did not feel tactile feedback from pressing virtual buttons. Our developers solved this problem with the help of a special thin keyboard with magnets, which is mounted directly on top of the Concept Duet touch screen on the bottom (that is, the working) panel. The remaining space under the keyboard is divided into three fields: a large touchpad and space for the hands to the left and right of it. You can also slide the keyboard down: then there will be no touchpad, but there will be a “window” on top to display additional information from different programs.
Our third concept is called Concept Ori, and it is a folding tablet with a flexible screen. It is built on the basis of an OLED matrix with a diagonal of 13.3 inches and a resolution of 3200×1800 pixels. The expanded aspect ratio is 4: 3.
At the end of this block, you need a small disclaimer. All three devices are at the stage of active development, but we are not giving a 100% guarantee that they will reach the stage of release on the market. But we would really like that, why hide it. So the developers make every effort.
Alienware SecondScreen: PC performance statistics on a smartphone screen
Among the software announcements, we want to separately highlight Alienware Second Screen. In fact, this is also, in a sense, a concept. The main idea here is that a user who wants to monitor the statistics of his system during games has no time to switch to special utilities. Covering precious screen space with unnecessary mini-windows is also not very convenient. At the same time, each of us has a smartphone at hand. And if so, why not use it for this purpose?
Of course, the idea to some extent lies on the surface and similar developments were before us. Only a truly mass solution of such a plan with a link specifically to a smartphone has not yet appeared, so the questions of convenience and functionality are primary. This is what we plan to strive for in the course of further refinement of the program. So far, everything is limited to data on the frequencies of the CPU, GPU and RAM, as well as the temperature display, but only a “demo”. Further – more: you can add power management, backlighting, tools for streamers and so on. By the way, ideas from the gaming and user community are accepted with joy and interest, including in the comments right here on Habré.
A lot of monitors, good and different
In addition to computers during CES, we announced about half a dozen different monitors. Among business solutions, the most interesting was Dell UltraSharp U4320Q with a diagonal of 42.5 inches and a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels. The model is noteworthy in that, despite the solid dimensions and heavy weight, the special design of the legs allows for height adjustment. But the main thing, of course, is not this, but the ability to connect four computers to the display at once in order to work behind them simultaneously and also simultaneously see four images from each of them on the U4320. It is clear that the scenario is not widespread, but in some industries this is very relevant. At the heart of the monitor is an IPS panel with a brightness of 350 nits, a contrast ratio of 1000: 1, viewing angles of 178 degrees and coverage of 96% of the sRGB color space.
Another notable niche solution is the 86-inch Dell C8621QT. In fact, this is not just a monitor, but an interactive touch panel with a resolution of 4K UHD, capable of recognizing 20 simultaneous touches.
Here, the point is not in color accuracy, but in the fact that several users can work on the same display approximately as, for example, with a school board. To connect computers, the device is equipped with a DisplayPort interface, four HDMI ports and a Type-C connector.
Especially for people who find it difficult to reach the upper parts of the screen, the Screen Drop function is implemented here. Here’s how it works:
Next, a few words about solutions for demanding color rendering for home and office users: the 25-inch Dell UltraSharp U2520D and the 27-inch U2720Q. The difference is reduced mainly to resolution only – 2560×1440 pixels in the first, and 3840×2160 pixels in the second case. So, both devices are equipped with USB Type-C connectors with support for Power Delivery (90W), HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4 and USB hubs. The sRGB color space coverage is 99%, DCI-P3 coverage is 95%. Maximum brightness – 400 nits, response time – up to 5 ms. Well, another 27-inch model has a higher contrast ratio: 1300: 1 versus 1000: 1 for a 25-inch one.
Without gaming displays, of course, the matter also could not have done. Alienware 25 (AW2521HF) debuted at CES 2020 – a bright representative of the class of “high-speed” gaming monitors. Its main feature is that the developers managed to overclock the IPS panel to an update frequency of 240 Hz. At the same time, both AMD FreeSync synchronization technology and NVIDIA G-Sync are supported. The resolution of the matrix is 1920 × 1080 pixels, the color gamut is good: 99% sRGB. You won’t be surprised at such designers, of course, but for a fast gaming monitor this is very unusual.
This is where the list of major Dell and Alienware innovations at CES 2020 ends. We understand that, first of all, those they are interested in are interested in the release dates of devices on the Russian market and their prices. Right now, we are not ready to give accurate data, since the products have just been announced, and we ourselves know far from everything about the plans of colleagues from the global office on this subject. But as fresh information becomes available, we will definitely update this material.
Thanks for attention! We will be glad to see your opinion on the news in the comments. And here is another short video in which almost all the announced devices, including concepts, are shown live:
