Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 unboxing and first impressions: A beast of a convertible

At CES this year, Dell unveiled its first XPS 15 2-in-1. Previously, the PC was only available as a clamshell laptop, packing a powerful H-series CPU and dedicated Nvidia GTX graphics. But also at CES, Intel launched its eighth-generation G-series processors, which offer an H-series CPU and a dedicated AMD Radeon GPU on the die.

The codename for the chip is Kaby Lake G, so it's pretty much the same CPU architecture as the seventh-gen H-series, but with the added GPU. This means that more powerful hardware can fit into a slimmer form factor, like a convertible. Dell was among the first to announce a PC including a Kaby Lake G chip, as was HP with its new Spectre 15 x360.

It also includes all of the bells and whistles that we've come to expect from the XPS 15, such as an InfinityEdge 15.6-inch 4K display with Dell Cinema, which means that the webcam is still placed beneath it. One thing that's new though is that there's now an IR camera, so it finally supports facial recognition for Windows Hello.

The keyboard takes some getting used to. The keys are very shallow, with Dell using a new magnetic system to save space. While it's OK after some getting used to, it might end up causing some trouble if you switch between devices a lot.

And of course, this convertible has pen support, with the Dell Premium Active Pen included in the box that supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. It attaches magnetically to the side, although the magnet seems fairly weak. Luckily, there's also a loop that attaches to the pen.