It’s been a long time since we’ve had a 17-inch laptop in the XPS family. The last time the 17-inch version was released, its design was far from what we consider to be modern today, and if you’re anything like me, you’d probably pass on it for something else.
But 17-inch laptops are a size that we’re predicting comes back in style for several reasons, and we’ve been advocating them for a while now. The main reason for a 17-inch laptop is that you may have tasks you want to do that feel cramped on a 15-inch device. I know as a website owner who is trying to compete with some of the best websites in the world, that is undoubtedly the case. I have several jobs that I tuck away my XPS 15 for and pull out the 17-inch Razer Blade Pro—I don’t game, but it was the only good 17-inch laptop I could find at the time I was shopping around for one that I thought looked the part. By buying the larger laptop, you don’t have the worry about it ever being too big to use; it can only be too big for carrying around, say if you need to fit it in a certain size backpack.
Leaked XPS roadmap that shows Dell may be planning a 17 inch laptop for 2020
Another reason for choosing a 17-inch laptop is if you’re using it around the home and have no intentions of taking it on road trips with you. I know with my 17 inch Razer Blade Pro, the idea was always to use it at home, behind the desk only; it is, in essence, my desktop replacement, even though I get in front of the desktop sometimes to do some tasks that I still prefer doing it in front of the much larger screen. But the important thing to note is that while I still get in front of the desktop PC, it isn’t necessary to move away from the 17-inch laptop—it is large enough to do everything I want to do. With the 15 inch laptops, though, that is not the case. Some jobs seem too painful even to try, and you’re left wondering how things would appear from a different screen.
It’s rare to see a laptop review mention anything about how the Web looks from them, but it does vary. Most 17-inch laptops make websites look the same way as desktops whereas 15-inch laptops give the appearance of the Web being zoomed in. Both instances are by design, but you might want to have the option of looking at both, especially if you’re someone who works from behind the computer or has a business website where keeping an eye on its design is crucial. And if you can’t afford both and need to choose one, it would be wise to go with the desktop standard if you don’t have a desktop already because that’s more likely to be considered a truer representation of the Web. Should you feel the need, you can also use your browser settings to zoom in closer.
17-inch laptops have the chance to be game changers for many homes in the future. Up until recently, they haven’t been ergonomic enough to enjoy sitting behind (even the typing experience has generally been lacking because your palms have had to sit so high off the desk when you arch your fingers to type). But we’re now seeing 17-inch laptops in the chassis of 15-inch laptops, and even gaming laptops aren’t too far off from fitting into the same 15-inch chassis either. The result could be many people choosing to ditch their desktop computers and replacing it with a 17-inch laptop that allows for more compact living. You don’t need to have as large of a desk when you’re using a 17-inch laptop compared with a desktop, and you might appreciate less far noise from the laptop, too.