Dell discontinued the XPS brand, naming it “Pro” and “Pro Max” like Apple
The tech industry is constantly moving toward labeling everything “plus,” “pro,” and “max,” and Dell is now taking the naming scheme to confusing new levels. The PC maker announced at CES 2025 that it will cut names like XPS, Inspiron, Latitude, Precision and OptiPlex from its new laptop, desktop and monitor lines and replace them with three product lines. main: Dell (yes, just Dell), Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max.
If you think that sounds a bit Apple-like and bland, you’re right. But Dell is going further by adding a bit of auto industry jargon to the three segments: Base, Plus, and Premium.
That creates new products like the newly announced Dell Plus 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor and the Dell Pro Premium laptop. In the future, we may also see product names like Dell Pro Max Plus. Since a laptop like the Dell Pro Premium comes in two sizes, 13 inches and 14 inches, their full names are Dell Pro 13 Premium and Dell Pro 14 Premium. They are the spiritual successors of the outgoing Dell Latitude laptops.
Dell’s XPS line, which has been a prominent name among high-end laptops for many years, is being replaced by new Dell Premium models. So they are part of the basic Dell line, at the high end.
While this is a significant rebranding for one of the world’s largest PC manufacturers, Dell isn’t getting rid of all the old names at once. Existing products launched under the names XPS, Precision and other discontinued brands will continue as they are.
One of the current versions of the Dell XPS 13. The successor models will be called Dell 13 Premium.
Until Dell’s product lines are fully transitioned, there will likely be further confusion when, for example, customers are cross-shopping their current XPS laptops with Dell and Dell Premium laptops. or when businesses must consider a fleet of leftover Dell Precision laptops or newer Dell Pro Max / Dell Pro Max Plus / Dell Pro Max Premium models.
When Dell was asked to confirm that the new branding means the names of popular product lines like the XPS will be dropped, Frank Cestone, public relations for consumer and gaming at Dell, said, ” It’s going to be a journey, but we’re taking the necessary steps to make this as easy as possible for customers from day one, and we know it will only get easier as the process progresses. The conversion is completely complete.”
Simple names are great, but the words plus, premium, pro and max are so common these days that it’s like they’re being stripped of all meaning. And Dell — a company named after a real person — is stripping itself of some of its identity.
#CES2025
Post Comment