Dell XPS brand is now dead, long live the Pro & Pro Max

Computer makers usually have several product tiers in their lineup. It can be confusing to some, especially if you don’t follow the news or you’re unfamiliar with the company. What differentiates one brand from another, and how do you tell which is the higher-end tier? That’s something Dell is trying to eliminate by announcing that its XPS brand is now dead.

Goodbye XPS

The company made the announcement at CES 2025. The company has opted to kill off the XPS brand in favor of something simpler, although from what we can tell, it might still be particularly confusing.

The XPS brand isn’t alone on the chopping block. Other laptop models under Dell like the Inspiron, Latitude, Precision, and OptiPlex are facing similar cuts. We have to say that it’s quite a huge shakeup considering that these brands and models have been part of the company’s portfolio for as long as we can remember.

Dell will continue using the brands while those products exist. However, once those products have been discontinued, the company will switch over to its new branding scheme. The change will instead apply to the newer models that the company launched at CES.

Going Pro

So, what will Dell call its computing products? It looks like Dell is taking a page out of Apple’s book. The company will now go with just “Dell” for its more entry-level devices. Then there is the “Pro” for higher-end models, and last but not least, there is the “Pro Max”. This represents the best computers that Dell has to offer.

It sounds simple enough, right? But Dell seems to be making things a bit more convoluted. Under each of these brandings, there will be three sub-brandings of Base, Plus, and Premium. This means you can buy a Dell Pro Max computer categorized further into Base, Plus, and Premium versions.

To be fair, Apple kind of already does this. The company isn’t so explicit with its branding, but it is obvious that not all MacBook Pros are equal. Some are powered by the base M-series chipset, and some are powered by the Pro version, and then you have some models that use the Max chipset.

In a way it makes sense for Dell to simplify its lineup. It’s definitely offers a clearer picture as to what kind of computer you’ll be getting for your money, but it does feel like it loses a bit of its soul in the process.