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Dell's refreshed Inspiron line includes a 16-inch laptop

The Inspiron series now looks almost as pretty as the flagship XPS line.

Dell

Dell's releasing a new generation of its mid-range Inspiron laptops and this year it's got a few tricks up its sleeve. In addition to the typical performance upgrades we see every year, the company is also unveiling the Inspiron 16 Plus, along with updated versions of the Inspiron 13, 14, 15 and the Inspiron 14 2-in-1.

The Inspiron 16 Plus brings back a 16-inch screen to the series, with a 3K display and a 16:10 aspect ratio. Compared to the 15.6-inch screen on last year's Inspiron 15, which has a 16:9 aspect ratio, this is an 11 percent increase. The touchpad's also 30 percent larger than the last generation and thanks to narrow bezels the device has an 89 percent screen-to-body ratio. Despite all this extra screen and trackpad space, the machine itself is just 5 percent bigger than the last-gen model. Like most larger laptops, the Inspiron 16 Plus is designed to handle heavy-duty tasks capably. In addition to having 11th-generation Intel H-series processors, they can also be equipped with NVIDIA GTX or RTX graphics cards.

While you won't get processors as beefy as those in the Inspiron 14 2-in-1, it does offer the option of 11th-gen Intel mobile CPUs or AMD's Ryzen 5000 U-series chips. It's a convertible, as its name makes clear, so you can use it in four modes (laptop, tablet, tent and stand) and Dell says the Full HD 14-inch touchscreen has wide viewing angles.

If you don't need your laptop to also double as a tablet or fold all the way around, you could consider the Inspiron 13, 14 or 15. These clamshell notebooks come with sensors that detect when their lids are open to speed up the wake-up and unlock process. They also feature the adaptive thermals in last year's models that manage power consumption to keep your notebook from scorching your lap. This trio also offers Dell's "Express charge" to get your battery up to 80 percent in 60 minutes, and you can choose from Intel's 11th-gen processors or AMD's chips in the 14 and 15. The Inspiron 13 can only be configured with Intel's CPUs.

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Across the entire series, too, Dell says it's cleaned up its naming convention, doing away with model numbers altogether. It's also made some changes in the name of sustainability, using low volatile organic compound (VOC) waterborne paint for all Inspiron laptops' painted parts. The packaging trays are completely made from recycled paper, while the series' colors are "inspired by nature," according to the company's press release. The new hues, including "Platinum Silver," "Peach Dust," "Mist Blue" and "Pebble Green" make the Inspiron devices look a lot more similar to the company's premium XPS series, too.

The Inspiron 14, 14 2-in-1 and 15 are all available from May 4th in the US from $550, $729 and $550 respectively. You can already buy the Inspiron 13 in retail stores from $599, while the Inspiron 16 Plus will start at $950 from June 3rd.

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