Dell revives XPS brand with new laptops to boost PC market share

Dell DELL.N has brought back its popular XPS laptop lineup a year after retiring the premium brand, as it looks to drum up demand in a sagging personal computer market.

The company on Monday unveiled its thinnest laptops yet, XPS 14 and XPS 16, with plans to launch an even lighter XPS 13 later this year.

The announcement at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas marks a U-turn for Dell following "very broad" feedback from its partners.

"I owe you an apology today. We didn't listen to you. You were right on branding," Dell Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said in a media briefing.

Launched in the 1990s, XPS helped Dell carve a share of the consumer market after years of targeting businesses. But the company shifted its strategy last year to sell models under "Dell," "Dell Pro," and "Dell Pro Max" names.

With the revival, Dell aims to boost its position in the premium segment amid rising competition from rivals such as HP Inc HPQ.N and Lenovo 0992.HK.

Limited configurations of the first two models will go on sale in the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday, with the XPS 14 starting at $2,049.99 and the XPS 16 at $2,199.99.

The two models will use Intel's INTC.O Core Ultra Series 3 processors with built-in Arc graphics, which Dell says deliver up to 57% and 78% faster AI performance, respectively, and more than 50% faster graphics performance than previous models.

Clarke offered little detail on how Dell will navigate the surge in memory prices that analysts say will force industry-wide price hikes, while adding AI has not generated the kind of demand the company expected a year ago.

Dell is moving away from tier names like "base, plus and premium" to simplify choices for consumers, Kevin Terwilliger, head of product for Dell's PC business line, told Reuters.

Instead, the company will have mainstream and entry-level laptops under the "Dell" brand, premium products under XPS and Alienware for full gameplay, Terwilliger said.

Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo/Reuters