Dell slims down business laptops, fattens up cooling and battery life

Summary

Dell's upcoming 2026 commercial laptops won't leave recent buyers kicking themselves - but they do bring meaningful upgrades, including a thinner Pro 7, larger batteries, and improved thermals. The laptop line is changing its branding slightly this year and that's probably a good thing because the 2025 naming scheme had you choosing between a Dell Pro, a Dell Pro Plus, or a Dell Pro Essential. Now the brand decoder ring is a little bit easier to figure out. Dell Pro 14 Premium The Dell Pro 14 Premium is the best for execs because it's a lot like the company's XPS line, but with business in mind. The 2026 Dell Pro 14 Premium's all-magnesium chassis tips the scales at 2.54 pounds (1.15 kg) and is 7 percent thinner than last year's equivalent, with a maximum thickness of just 0.66 inches (16.78 mm). The 2026 model is powered by Intel Series 3 Core Ultra CPUs with up to 64 GB of LPDDR5X and up to 2TB of SSD storage. Dell Pro 7 13 After the Dell Pro Premium, the Pro line is divided into Dell Pro 7, 5, and 3 series with higher numbers signifying better build quality and higher prices. The Dell Pro 7 is, we're told, the most premium of these and is 18 percent thinner than the Dell Pro Plus from last year, the direct predecessor to both the Pro 7 and Pro 5. That makes it just 0.64 inches (16.35 mm) thick. Available in 13 and 14-inch models in both clamshell and 2-in-1 form factors, the Dell Pro 7 starts at 2.62 pounds (1.19 kg) and is all-aluminum. One way it achieves this thinness is by using thinner fans and higher-capacity batteries that are the same thickness as those used in last year's units. It's powered by Intel Series 3 Core Ultra processors or AMD Ryzen Series 400 chips. Dell Pro 5 14 The Dell Pro 5 is the "workhorse" series of the line because it's supposed to offer the best balance between price and performance, along with the most options for panels, processors, and other components. In an upgrade over last year's Dell Pro Plus line, the Pro 5 now has an all-al...