Dell XPS 15 9520 (2022)

pros and cons

• Great 3.5K OLED touch screen
• Solid build
• Superb speakers
• Plenty of configuration options

• Heavy
• 720p webcam
• Limited on-board ports
• Premium pricing

Dell's premium XPS range regularly features in lists of best laptops, and every year sees updates to key models. There are three screen sizes to select from, with the XPS 15 (2022) sitting in between 13-inch and 17-inch devices. It would appear, at first glance, to be the Goldilocks of the XPS world -- not too small, not too large, not too light, not too heavy. But is it really 'just right'? 

The XPS design standards are absolutely top-notch. The chassis is made from brushed aluminium, its magnesium silver outer cladding being bright and distinctive, while inside the palm rest is made from carbon fibre and has a smooth, cool finish embodied in the XPS range's distinctive two-tone black styling. The chassis is very tough, and I couldn't bend or twist the lid in my hands at all. That said, the specifications make no mention of military-standard ruggedness testing.

Dell XPS 15 9520 (2022): 15.6-inch IPS (FHD+ non-touch, UHD+ touch) or OLED (3.5K touch) screen, 12th-generation Intel Core i5, i7 or i9 processors, integrated Intel or discrete Nvidia graphics, up to 64GB RAM and 4TB SSD storage.

The trade-off for this solid build quality is that the XPS 15 (2022) is heavy. There are four weight configurations:  1.84kg with a non-touch FHD+ screen and a 56Wh battery, 1.92kg for the non-touch screen with an 86Wh battery, 1.96kg for a 3.5K OLED touch screen and a 86Wh battery and 2.10kg a for 4K+ touch screen with a 86Wh battery. Even in its lightest 1.84kg guise, this is a lot of laptop to carry around.

It's not small either. Even with the thin bezels on offer here, the Dell XPS 15 (2022) occupies desktop space measuring 344.40mm wide by 230.10mm deep. While it tapers towards the front, at its thickest this laptop is 18.54mm high.  

The 15.6-inch screen is a real highlight. My OLED touch screen had a 3.5K resolution of 3,456 by 2,160 pixels (261ppi) and displayed on-screen content in a most pleasing manner, with vibrant colour (100% DCI-P3) and high contrast (80,000:1 SDR, 124,000:1 HDR). The 16:10 aspect ratio means that the full height of the screen is used, and the bezels are small all around. Dell quotes a 92.9% screen to body ratio. All of the screen options -- FHD+ IPS, 3.5K OLED, UHD+ IPS -- have 60Hz refresh rates; we'd prefer to see 90Hz on a premium laptop.

The upper bezel just about has room for the webcam, which is a 720p model. With some laptop cameras now reaching 1080p and video calling very much part of users' workflows, Dell has missed a trick here, especially as there's no privacy cover for the webcam. You might want to factor in an external camera if 720p doesn't do you justice. On the plus side, Dell's webcam is equipped with IR, so you can use Windows Hello face authentication for secure login.

The OLED screen is complemented by an excellent speaker system. Two downward-firing speakers are joined by two upward-firing ones, the latter pair outputting through grilles flanking the keyboard. According to Dell, the XPS 15 (2022) is the first laptop to feature Waves Nx 3D Audio for Speakers, and if my experience is anything to go buy this sets the new standard: sound quality was deep and rich, with good stereo separation, delivering a very satisfactory audio experience.  

The keyboard is backlit and quiet in operation. There's no separate number pad, as space flanking the keyboard is occupied by speaker grilles. The power button in the top right corner integrates a fingerprint reader. Note the very large touchpad.

The keyboard is nice and roomy, with large, well-spaced keys, and relatively big Fn keys. The Enter key is double-height and extra wide, and all the arrow keys are a bit wider than the QWERTY keys. The action is positive, with a little resistance on the down- stroke and mild bounce-back. There's very little keyboard noise -- in fact, as a light-touch typist, I generated only the slightest 'click-clack'. If you'd rather not use face authentication, there's a fingerprint reader integrated into the on/off button that sits on the right end of the Fn key row.  

The touchpad is enormous. Dell has used almost the full height available to it, and the result is a touchpad that's extremely comfortable to use. I have no complaints at all.  

There are plenty of configuration options available, all based on 12th-generation Intel Core processors. In the US, the entry-level specification has a Core i5-12500H processor, integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, 8GB of RAM, Windows 11 Home, a 512GB SSD and an FHD+ (1,920 x 1,200) non-touch screen. This costs$1,449. Dell doesn't offer an 8GB model in the UK, but the same spec with 16GB costs