Customers consistently note the Premium 16" 120Hz Touch-Screen Laptop's excellent build quality and gorgeous OLED display, praising its vibrant, crisp, and responsive screen. However, some users express concerns regarding the limited port selection and heat generated during intensive use. The weight of the laptop is also mentioned as a potential drawback by some customers.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Neurodivergent sensory heaven. I've read quite a few reviews on various sites/platforms touting that the keyboard is difficult to adapt to, but I found quite the opposite. The end-user UI is fantastic, the design aesthetic is flawless. First Windows laptop I've been excited about in a long time. The Dell Premium 16 is on-par with my 2022 16 in MacBook Pro both under the hood and design/quality-wise.
Came with minimal bloatware to remove. Looking very forward to more protective accessories (cases/screen protector) becoming available because I plan on having this for a long time.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Noise level, Oled quality
Cons mentioned:
Heat dissipation, Weight
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Solid work and mid gaming laptop
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Dell Premium 16 laptop is very versatile and can be good for work or gaming. It comes with a great looking OLED UHD 3820x2400 16” touch screen at 120Hz. It comes with 32GB of RAM, and 1 TB M.2 for storage. The Intel Ultra 7-255H and Nvidia 5050 discrete GPU make it powerful enough for whatever you want to do. You can do work and mid-level graphics when gaming. It is USB-C only with 3 ports (3x Thunderbolt Display Port), a 3.5mm headphone jack, and Micro SD reader. The screen is a good size since it’s UHD overall, the laptop is not too heavy at around 5 pounds. At the top of the bezel is a 1080p camera. You have Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth for connectivity.
It looks like any standard Dell laptop with a platinum-ish color, and plastic bottom. I went to open the underside, and two of the screws stripped and I couldn’t get them out. With 32GB RAM and 1 TB of storage you have enough for most computing you want to do. The Keyboard is towards the top of the base with a large area left for the mousepad. There is no marking of the mousepad, but it is from the bottom of the case to the bottom of the keys and left to right from the Windows key to the Co-Pilot key. The BIOS is standard and easy to get around and make changes as needed.
Boot up times are quick, and the laptop is quiet by default. The keys are backlit and large. There is no Numpad. The F series and command keys are built into the shell and are not keys across the top, but touch. You can change what is display with the Function key. The power button in the upper right also acts as a fingerprint reader. The only bloatware was McAffee, easily removed, and the other programs included were Dell support and upgrade programs. Whether using an USB-C Ethernet adapter or Wi-Fi 7, connections were seamless and full speed. The included 130w USB-C charger charges the battery quickly. For work you can get 2.5-3 hours, and gaming can cut that in half easily. You can optimize for more time depending on your settings. The laptop is quiet in regular or eco modes. Even in performance it’s not a whirlwind. In heavy gaming the keyboard gets hot as the air comes out, but not so much you can’t keep playing.
Upgrading to Windows Pro and installing programs was easy. For gaming performance, it will do okay. You won’t get all the graphic features, but enough for it to play well and look decent. Scores from 3D Mark: Steel Nomad – 1819, Speedway -1989, and Steel Nomad Light – 7848. For a smaller package, it does decent in its category. Good for on the go gaming without being too heavy or large. For work, the processor is powerful enough for video calls, Office, and with being able to add multiple screens, have them all running simultaneously. The camera is 1080p and works well. Using an adapter for USB-C to DisplayPort had no issues. Make sure you fully update using the Windows and Dell upgrade programs.
Overall, this laptop fills an area of balance for work and play nicely. Enough to do either on the go. At 5 pounds it’s not the lightest, but it provides more power and options than a really thin laptop. Just take your charger with you, and you’re set for computing on the road.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Oled quality, Processor speed
Cons mentioned:
Heat dissipation
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Top end laptop from Dell, but can run HOT
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The worst part about the Dell Premium 16” DA16250 is the fact that Dell got rid of the XPS naming convention. Otherwise, you will have a tough time finding a premium Windows laptop that rivals this “not XPS” 16" Dell Premium laptop.
Con’s - The battery life isn’t stellar, think 6ish hours of normal use at medium high brightness, but the tradeoff is a gorgeous 16” over 4K 120hz OLED display (3840x2400 vs 3840x2160 for normal 4K). While the Core Ultra 7 255H is a very speedy chip. For some reason, running the “ultra performance” mode, the CPU is hitting 107c package (according to HWinfo), or 109c during a few benchmark runs of Cyberpunk 2077!
Pro’s - Pretty much everything else! You unpack this thing, and the second you grab it, it strikes you with heft and such a crazy solid feel. (The keyboard is great, good travel feels premium, just not bright enough) I’ve tested and used TONS of laptops in the last 10 or so years (worked at a small University for 6 of those years in the IT department) and I have not handled a laptop that felt this solid and high end! I’ve set up and tested $4,000+ fruit devices, and other premium Windows machines, and nothing has this premium feel. When you turn it on, it shows that it's even more “premium”. This 4K 120hz OLED is gorgeous, and the HDR in games is so crazy bright that I actually have to drop the brightness a bit. Overall performance is great, considering the hardware, just be wary of CPU temps. The RTX 5050 performs well for being limited to 45w according to Dell.
Overall, while having a premium price, you will not be disappointed in the experience with this 16” beauty. (Just keep an eye on your temps)
Performance numbers:
Cinebench R23 10 minute loop Multi Core - 19446
Geekbench 6 Multi - 17183 Single - 2831
CrystalDiskMark 9.0.1 peak read - 6572MB/s peak write - 5832MB/s
Cyberpunk 2077
1200p High preset with DLSS Quality - 69.8fps
2400p High preset no scaling - 17.56fps
Forza Horizon 5
2400p Extreme preset 2xMSAA - 32fps
2400p High preset no AA no scaling - 66fps
3DMark Timespy 8246
GPU - 7728
CPU - 13313
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Noise level, Processor speed
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Sleek power packed gaming laptop.
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Dell - Premium 16" 120Hz Touch-Screen Laptop 4K - Intel Core Ultra 7-255H with 32GB 1TB SSD
Summary: Sleek power packed gaming laptop.
Use:
I am using this laptop as a replacement for an older gaming laptop that no longer works reliably. While looking for replacements I had a few specific criteria I had that would make my current setup work better. The older laptop worked, but not without a few minor inconveniences. My primary requirement is that I want to use a USB-C dock to connect peripherals and a large widescreen curved display using the discreet GPU as the driver for that monitor (this is referred to as alt-mode). Additionally, PD port capability is helpful. This unit has 3 USB-C ports that offer the complete set of functionality I've been seeking.
This unit is used for two purposes: work and mobile gaming. The USB-C ports allow me to connect my 32" curved display and drive it at maximum resolution without having to use HDMI or DP cables. This provides me with the effective screen real estate of two displays without a seam. I do mostly programming, but also build proof-of-concept systems so having the extra RAM is fantastic for this. The hard disk is a bit on the small side at 1TB, but I can easily upgrade the storage if needed. Most of the capacity will go towards games. That brings me to the second use case: mobile gaming. I play a variety of games while on-the-go or not at my desk. I play Destiny 2, Doom, World of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls Online, City Skylines, Overwatch, and Hogwarts Legacy among others. I'm able to run most of the games at maximum settings thanks to the GPU and CPU and RAM of this unit - its a surprisingly performance beast - and barely hums when the older laptop would be roaring.
Ah, yes, specs.
The GPU is RTX 5070, a step up from my older GPU. Most of my primary games frame rates exceed 125 FPS for medium to max settings - which is definitely appreciated. But I did do a 3D Mark bench mark to share output.
The Wi-Fi supports the latest WiFi7 technology and even told me that my wireless network is not up to par and offering the best performance this laptop could deliver. The good thing is that I do have a newer mesh system, I just haven't set it all up.
The storage is a bit lackluster. 1TB isn't a lot in a day when games approach 100 GB in size. I did look up the service manual, though, and upgrading the nvme storage shouldn't be much of an issue when the time comes. 32 GB RAM will run anything I'm throwing at this unit with ease, same goes for the intel 7 processor.
This unit is very thoughtfully designed, too. The mouse pad and the function keys are concealed behind the frame/palm rest of the laptop. The mouse pad is sensitive and tracks well. The function keys light up when used or when keyboard backlight is turned on. The backlight itself is soft and subtle for the function keys, though I do wish the keyboard was brighter.
The sound. Well, laptop generally are terrible for audio. Another surprise! I forgot about integrated speakers and when a game was finished downloading/installed, the intro cinematic started. The sound was pretty darned good for a laptop. Listening to Spotify on this laptop won't beat a home theatre or desktop speaker setup, but I think the sound is full and satisfying.
The 4K display is sharp and crisp. It looks amazing. The touch screen is responsive and an appreciated feature (even if not strictly required). The display is almost borderless, too - so you're getting the maximum display surface area available. The size is great as a primary (or only) display as a result. Tweak the scale of Windows for what work's best for your eyes.
Windows Hello works very well. There are ton of customizable settings. The camera can detect when you leave and lock your computer or dim the display, etc. It detects when you return or are paying attention. It does all of this seamlessly and FAST. The finger print biometric feature of the power button is just as fast and works really well. Setup for both are a breeze.
One of favorite things about this laptop is the ventilation. I've owned a number of systems that all placed venting and exhaust on the bottom of laptops. This makes placing on a lap or even a flat surface someone problematic when operating heavy workloads such as games. This unit is smart - it has intake vents flanking the keyboard along the side (not the bottom). The exhaust is along the rear hidden behind the ridge of the screen's hinge. This allows for great air flow and removes the very real danger of blocking critical flow.
The price point for this laptop is great. My previous laptops were all Alienware or ASUS ROG. But Dell really has outdone itself with this unit. It is sexy and unassuming. The form factor, the feel and weight and the looks are on point. If you need a laptop that can do every day stuff, school, work and some gaming, but don't want to spend a small fortune (in today's economy) - you should consider this unit.
Pros:
* Performant - this unit is loaded with high-end specifications for the price point. Work and have fun while mobile (or docked to a larger desktop display).
* Aesthetics - sexy, svelte, and thoughtful design.
* Construction - this unit feels nice and substantial. No unnecessary seams and screw holes, etc.
* Power - the power brick isn't a BRICK. It is a reasonably sized USB-C corded power supply and I love it.
* Ports - gone are the unnecessary and antiquated ports of yesterday. If you need a bunch of stuff plugged in, get a dock and plug into a USB-C port. You can still plug in old headphones and even use microSD cards.
* Packaging - a trivial detail, but an appreciated one: no unnecessary packaging. Just as much as is need to protect the unit during shipping. Nothing more.
Cons:
* Keyboard - there is nothing wrong with the keyboard. It took some adjustment for me since I'm used to different scale and positioning. BUT if I had to nit-pick I would say that the backlight could be brighter, and also spacing is a little strange. Some of the seams detract from the otherwise splendidly svelte design (too much spacing along edges).
* Status LED - I would have appreciated a dedicated LED for status of laptop, on, powered, sleep, etc. The power button is nicely hidden and doubles up as the finger print sensor for Windows Hello. It works well, but I miss those LEDs.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Noise level
Cons mentioned:
Keyboard design
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
A Great All Purpose Premium Laptop
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
First Impressions
The first thing I noticed about the Dell 16 Premium laptop is how premium it feels and looks. It has a sleek metal body which also feels very sturdy. It was also a little bit heavier than I expected, which adds to the impression of how well built this laptop is. I like the minimalist aesthetic and think it’s a very good looking laptop. I noticed that there were no physical function keys (instead there is a lighted capacitive function bar at the top) and no visible track pad.
When I first plugged the laptop in using the included small 130W USB-C power adapter, there was no light indicating that the laptop was charging. Was it working? I wasn’t sure how to turn it on as I couldn’t see where the power button was located. How do I turn it on? Is the power button located on the keyless function bar? I tried touching this area, hoping that it would detect my finger and turn on. But nothing happened.
I finally noticed an unmarked inconspicuous space to the right of the backspace key and this was indeed the power button and I was able to turn on the laptop and set things up.
Packaging
The Dell 16 Premium laptop came with the following items in the box:
The Dell 16 Premium laptop
130W USB-C Power Adapter with AC power cable
Quick Setup Guide
Specification Highlights
My laptop came with the following specification
Intel Core Ultra 7 255H with integrated Intel Arc 140T
nVidia GeForce RTX 5050 Laptop GPU with 8GB
32 Gbyte of LPDDR5 memory at 7467 MT/s
1TB PVC10 SK Hynix NVMe Gen 4 SSD
Intel BE201 Wi-Fi 7 adapter with Bluetooth 5.4
16.3 inch OLED 3840 x 2400 120Hz touchscreen display with 400 nits
3x USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort™ 2.1 and Power Delivery
1x microSDXC v7.1 UHS-I/UHS-II card reader
1x Audio/Headphone jack
Upgradability
The only internal component that is upgradable is the SSD which is typical of many slim laptops.
External expandability is excellent with 3 modern Thunderbolt 4 connectors. The micro SD card reader is supposedly very fast although I did not test this out. This feature would be very useful for someone who regularly needs to transfer high resolution video and RAW photos for editing.
User Experience
The Dell 16 Premium has a fantastic OLED display. As is typical with OLED displays, the image is sharp and the colors are rich and vibrant making this laptop an excellent choice for media consumption such as watching NetFlix movies and YouTube videos. Web browsing and software development are also excellent with super sharp and easily readable text.
The up-firing speakers are some of the best that I have ever experienced in a laptop. It can get pretty loud and the sound is very clear with good midrange and a nice enveloping soundstage if you are sitting in the center position.
The built-in 1080p webcam is also one of the better ones I have used on a laptop which makes the Dell 16 Premium good for WFH scenarios with video conferencing and meetings.
Background blurring and other AI camera effects (such as automatic framing and eye contact) seem to work really well. It doesn’t seem to have the full AI effects (such as putting a beard on you or turning you into a cartoon) that I’ve seen from other AI enhanced laptops but those features are kind of gimmicky and I never really have a real use for them so I didn’t really miss them.
The only improvement for the webcam that I would like is for a manual privacy shutter. In this day and age, all webcams should have this feature.
The laptop felt extremely zippy while performing my normal tasks such as reconciling my accounts in Quicken, surfing the web, watching videos, and coding in Visual Studio.
I have mixed feelings about the keyless function bar. I use the F10 and F11 keys a lot when coding in Visual Studio. With the keyless function bar, I now have to press the fn key to have the F10 and F11 buttons be available in the function bar. So, I have to do a little more work to debug my code. Not a big deal since when I’m working at home, I usually am using a USB keyboard and mouse. It’s only when I travel do I use the laptop’s keyboard and trackpad.
Speaking of the borderless trackpad, it was great! I had no trouble using it. I expected to have trouble knowing where to put my fingers, but I never experienced any problems.
The keyboard itself is good. It’s a little bit different from other keyboards I’ve used in the past, but I got used to it pretty quickly. The keyboard has the special “Copilot” key so this is an AI enabled laptop.
Gaming
While the Dell 16 Premium is not considered a top end gaming laptop, with its nVidia RTX 5050 laptop discrete graphics, it can game surprisingly well. The built-in integrated Intel Arc 140T is no slouch either. I’m a huge fan of Intel Arc graphic cards so I am super happy to have both to play around with.
When playing Civilization VI at 4K resolution the nVidia RTX 5050 delivered a solid 70 to 90 fps while the integrated Intel Arc 140T delivered similar framerates but seem to go up and down more. I also experienced some instabilities in Civilization with the Intel Arc 140T so the drivers might still need some work.
When playing Black Myth Wukong, I was able to get about 40 fps using 50% super resolution and DLSS. I thought the image quality was excellent and it was very playable.
During normal use, the laptop was relatively quiet and didn’t really get too warm. You can hear the fan if you bring your ear close to the laptop. When gaming, I do hear the fan coming on but it never gets so loud to be annoying.
Summary
Overall the Dell 16 Premium is a great laptop. For me, while it has a slim and sleek design, it might be a little heavy to be a primary portable travel laptop and would be better used as a desktop replacement with occasional travel use.
With its powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 255H and an ample 32GB of memory, it will handle pretty much any task you need. And with its nVidia RTX 5050, it should satisfy most people’s gaming needs.
My workplace uses Dell laptops and I have found them to be workhorses and very reliable and I expect the Dell 16 Premium to continue with this tradition. I can easily recommend the Dell 16 Premium for anyone looking for a good all-purpose daily driver laptop.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Noise level, Oled quality
Cons mentioned:
Port selection
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Sleek Looks and Great Performance
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Dell's new laptop not only looks beautiful being super minimalistic, under the hood hides excellent productivity and gaming performance. I use Dell laptops for my WFH set up and this one replaced my previous daily driver.
In the box is the laptop itself and a 130W power brick. You get Windows 11 Home installed on a 1TB NVMe drive. While doing setup for the 1st time, I do want to applaud Dell for not using a ton of bloatware to start. The only thing I made sure to delete was McAfee as it is the most pointless app to have installed. Get that extra free space and thank me later.
For ports, you get 1 universal audio jack, Micro SDXC card reader and just THREE (3), yes 3 Thunderbolt 4 Type C ports. No USB A, no ethernet, no HDMI....nada. This is 0 issue for me as I use docking stations to connect my monitors and KB, mouse and ethernet to.
Under the hood is an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H, 32GB of DDR5 RAM and an RTX 5050 laptop GPU all paired with an absolute gorgeous 16.3 3840x2400 OLED.
It should go without saying that performance for productivity is no issue at all and content consumption is a treat. Perfect blacks and excellent colors make all streaming look soooo good.
When I am not working, gaming performance was great too. Not excellent, but great. You can see with cranked up all max settings running at 3840x2400 only gives around 40 FPS is is pretty respectable for using a RTX 5050 laptop GPU. When I toned down the settings to 1440P and 1080P, performance went to a better experience at 100+FPS depending on title. Now AAA titles will be lower unless you are playing at medium or low settings but this Dell can handle it.
Noise and heat is good. When I was running benchmarks or demanding titles the fans do crank up to max but they are not unbearable like some gaming laptops. They make noise but are not so loud to annoy you, especially if you are wearing headphones.
Keyboard is great and feel good when placing both hands on the palm rests. Does not interfere with the hidden trackpad.
Speakers are surprising great being upward firing from the sides on the KB itself. No, you won't get deep bass obviously, but everything else also doesn't get distorted. Passes the Crab Rave test for me personally.
If you need a work laptop or something to do hybrid tasks, don't pass up this Dell. I love it and it has become my new daily WFH driver.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Oled quality
Cons mentioned:
Weight
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great Display & Design, Costly, Power & WFH Users
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is my review of the Dell 16" Premium DA16250 - 120Hz Touch-Screen Laptop 4K - Intel Core Ultra 7-255H with 32GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 - 1TB SSD laptop upon which I rate at 4 out of 5 stars! In 2025, Dell has had a complete rebranding of their computers so to equate this Dell 16" Premium laptop to their previous line-up this would be considered in alignment with their XPS series of computers, i.e., a Dell 16" XPS laptop.
Out of the box, this laptop comes with a quick start guide/QR code providing you information about the laptop's device details/specifications, set-up, and registration. The laptop also comes with a 130-watt power adapter utilizing a USB-C connector. As for its weight, it comes in at 5.1-lbs due to its glass OLED UHD 3820x2400 16-inch touch screen and glass keyboard surround with a stealthy/borderless touchpad. As for its connectivity, is has 3 x Thunderbolt 4 display connectors, 1 x headphone jack, microphone input, Wi-Fi 7 supported, and a microSD media card slot.
The touch-screen display on this laptop is amazing with its 16.3-inch, OLED, 4K (3840 x 2400), at 120Hz refresh rate, and 400-nits of brightness. This laptop is great for power users with its Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 CPU, but not so much for advanced gamers as it only has an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 GPU making this more of a business or studio graphics laptop. A NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 GPU would have been a better selection having a faster framerate without much of a price increase yielding a 1-star deduction in my rating.
The 2-megapixel front-facing camera will aid in video conferencing along with its 1 TB SSD drive to store all your work and multi-media, having 32-gigabytes of RAM to keep things moving along. Finally, the Microsoft AI-Powered by Copilot+ PC running on Windows 11 Home will yield more than 40-trillion operations per second on the device versus relying upon cloud-based computing.
I do recommend this laptop with a steep price that missed with the inclusion of a better GPU. I hope you enjoyed reading my review and it aided in your purchasing decision.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Quality Powerhouse
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Dell 16 Premium DA16250 – My Hands-On Review
I ran the Dell 16 Premium DA16250 through UserBenchmark to get a clearer sense of its real-world performance, and the numbers backed up what I’ve seen in daily use. This laptop is built for productivity, with a few standout features that make it genuinely enjoyable to work on.
Performance Breakdown
The Intel Core Ultra 7 255H is fast and responsive. It handled everything I threw at it—from browser tabs and spreadsheets to light editing—without breaking a sweat. The SK hynix 1TB NVMe SSD is blazing fast, with near-instant boot times and snappy app launches. And with 32GB of RAM, multitasking is smooth and effortless.
The RTX 5050 Laptop GPU is decent for mid-level gaming. I’ve had no trouble running titles like Destiny 2, Overwatch, and City Skylines at playable settings. But if you’re into AAA gaming and want higher frame rates or maxed-out visuals, you might want to consider upgrading to the RTX 5070 model. That version also includes Thunderbolt 5 ports for even faster data transfer and expanded connectivity.
Display & Sound
The 120Hz refresh rate makes everything feel smoother—scrolling, video playback, even dragging windows around. And the 4K resolution is razor-sharp. Colors are vibrant, text is crisp, and it’s genuinely enjoyable to work on.
Sound quality was a pleasant surprise. For a laptop, the speakers are full and clear—great for music, streaming, and even light editing without needing headphones.
Connectivity & Ports
This model includes three Thunderbolt 4 ports, which offer plenty of flexibility. I’ve used them for fast external SSDs, a 4K monitor, and charging—no hiccups. If you need even more bandwidth or future-proofing, the RTX 5070 variant with Thunderbolt 5 might be worth a look.
Security & Convenience
Biometrics are well-implemented. The face camera works seamlessly with Windows Hello—fast and accurate. The fingerprint reader, built into the power button, is just as reliable and makes secure access effortless.
Keyboard & Design Notes
There’s no numeric keypad on this model, which might be a drawback for spreadsheet-heavy users. Also worth noting: the top row of function keys are not physical—they’re backlit touch buttons. They look sleek and respond well, but they do take a little getting used to if you’re coming from a traditional keyboard.
Portability
The laptop weighs about 6 lbs with the 130W power cord included. It’s not ultra-light, but it’s manageable for travel or commuting, especially considering the performance it packs.
What I Liked
• Fast, responsive performance across the board
• Excellent display with 120Hz and 4K clarity
• Surprisingly good built-in speakers
• Three Thunderbolt 4 ports for serious flexibility
• Reliable Windows Hello and fingerprint login
• Sleek design and premium feel
•
What Could Be Better
• GPU limits AAA gaming and creative potential
• No numeric keypad
• Touch-based function keys may not suit everyone
• Limited upgrade flexibility (typical for OEM builds)
• Slightly heavy with power brick included
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a laptop that excels at productivity, multitasking, and media consumption, the Dell 16 Premium DA16250 delivers. It’s fast, fluid, and enjoyable to use. For mid-level gaming, it holds up well—but if you’re chasing AAA performance, the RTX 5070 model with Thunderbolt 5 might be the better fit.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Dell Never Fails to Impress
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Dell 16 Premium Laptop (model DA16250) resides very near the top of Dell’s lineup, and at full MSRP can a pricey machine based on the build. But what a machine it is, with this particular model being comprised of hardware choices at the upper end of the spectrum for the various components
My everyday computer has a 14 inch display, and what a difference a 16 inch makes! The keyboard of this Dell is slightly wider which makes it more spacious without having long reaches for certain keys, the trackpad is bigger, and there is room for larger top-firing speaker arrays, which consist of two woofers and two tweeters, powered by a 10-watt amplifier. And the gorgeous OLED touchscreen is fantastic to look at.
The 16 inch Premium in this particular build weighs in at just ever so slightly over five pounds, so while being portable, it is probably not something the student in your family will want to tote around campus all day. The machined aluminum chassis has a light gray top case / keyboard area and while the keys are backlit, the slim font used for the characters does not have quite the contrast and easy legibility of other designs. There is no distinct delineation of the track pad area, and at first this seemed odd to me, but in practice it made no difference in use and creates a clean-looking palm rest. The top row of “keys” is a capacitive-touch panel that Dell refers to as “touch function” and they are not physical keys, but backlit icons along the top of the keyboard that change between media and function keys, which again contributes to the sleek minimalist design of the machine.
In the ever evolving world of technology, the supplied ports on the Premium’s chassis are basic and consist of three USB-C Thunderbolt-4 ports (two on the left and one on the right), a 3.5mm audio jack for a headphone and / or microphone (on the right side), and a slot for a microSD card. The microSD card will extend just a minimal amount once inserted decreasing the possibility of physical damage if left in the laptop. This means if you use the Dell 16 Premium with older peripherals, you might have to obtain some adapters to allow them to plug into USB-C ports.
The included AC power adapter supplies 130 watts and consists of a small form factor (5” x 2.25” x 1”) with a total cord length of 9 feet. If you are using a third party power adapter, Dell recommends one that supplies at least 45 watts.
If I am looking for nits to pick, I find the screen hinges are quite stiff and there is no thumb detent to help in opening the screen. I find I have to use both hands to open the laptop which is slightly annoying. Also with the screen being billed as “anti-reflective”, it is still quite glossy in my opinion and reflections can be distracting in some lighting situations.
Log-in security is three-fold with facial recognition, a fingerprint reader incorporated in the power button, and the old standby PIN entry. This is much preferred over lesser options that may or may not work based on circumstances such as damaged or distorted skin that is not recognized by the fingerprint reader, or a major change in appearance.
Dell continues to impress me ever since my first desktop purchase from them back in 1997. For a machine released in 2025, you can expect nothing but the latest tech with Wi-Fi 7, a dedicated Copilot key for web-based artificial intelligence access, 4K resolution on a touchscreen, Bluetooth 5.4, 32GB of RAM (expandable to 64GB), a 1TB solid-state drive, an NVIDIA GeForce graphics card with 8GB of memory, and Eyesafe® technology that reduces blue light that contributes to eye strain, without compromising color accuracy.
Being retired has not lessened the amount of time I spend in front of a computer, and with the changes in entertainment and media consumption, I might now spend more time with my laptop than I did while employed. For a device that is nowadays such an integral part of our existence, I feel we owe it to ourselves to not skimp on the hardware that comprises so much of our day and is so intertwined with our lives. In my opinion Dell hits it out of the park with the Premium line and the 16 inch version is a big sweet spot in usability for the price.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
High quality and a joy to use!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
From the minute you start unboxing this laptop you can feel how high end it is, and the presentation is next level. The all white/silver keyboard area gives it a high level of sophistication. While it is somewhat heavy, it feels and appears built to last, which would be expected at this price point.
As I opened the box, I noticed there was very little contents; only the laptop, charger, and one small pamphlet that simply shows a diagram of how to connect the charger. There is a QR code that you can scan for further information and instructions, however. Additionally, there is a thin paper layer attached to the keyboard that labels where the power button is, the ends of the mouse area, and a few other important bits of information, however, once that paper is gone, the power button has no label, it is just a plain while box on the keyboard that look like a blank key. The touchpad area is quite large, approximately a 4x4 inch square space, however there are not any edges or lines that show where it starts and ends once the paper is removed. While It has sleek and clean edges as well as a keyboard that sits flush with the laptop edges,the keys also do not have noticeable edges. This can make it very easy to click multiple keys or letters at once by mistake. In general though, these are minor things connected to personal preference. The aesthetic in general is again very classy and sophisticated making it worth the purchase.
The speakers are beside the keyboard which provides optimal listening experiences, especially compared to laptops where the speaker is underneath and often covered. The volume has quite a range from soft to powerful, and you can tell that there are high quality audio components within the laptop. However, because the speakers are on the left and right of the keyboard, it eliminates that secondary number box typically found on the right hand side of a keyboard of a 16 inch laptop. This is not make or break unless you consistently use this feature of a keyboard for your day to day routines.
The speed of the computer is absolutely incredible. The internet and wifi package at my house is standard and nothing out of the ordinary, but the abilities of this laptop make it extremely fast and efficient.
A feature that I have quickly grown to appreciate is the ability to connect to my Samsung phone and provide the messages and notifications on the screen. It provides the experiences of having the apple/mac products without being basic with every other feature. Another nice feature is the lighted ‘bar’ of options above the keyboard that contains the esc, volume, brightness, play/pause, duplicate screen, home, end, insert and delete. When not in use, the lights under the ‘buttons’ turn off leaving just the keyboard visible.
Battery life has also been very impressive. Without any energy or battery saving modes on, it is very easy to use this on and off for days without needing to grab the charger. While various factors impact battery life for different people, this is easily the best battery life I have experienced within a laptop. This is especially important to note due to the size and power that this laptop is able to provide.
If you are an individual who needs to use zoom, google meets, or other video meeting platforms, you will appreciate the clarity and lighting abilities of this camera. Even in a very dim room with the brightness turned down, this still provides a view that makes you appear very well lit and clear.
All in all, I would highly recommend this laptop to anyone whether your needs are very basic or whether you need a very high tech laptop with extensive features.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Sleek, Fast, Premium
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Everybody knows Dell and that they are a very reputable company when it comes to making quality laptops, Desktops etc. I believe they have a very capable high-quality product on their hands. For my review, I wanted to explain things in a way that a more casual person would understand and hopefully I’ll be able to help somebody in making a decision on their purchase.
Screen:
16.3 inches, 4K (3840x2400) 120Hz, OLED Touchscreen. Super nice and big for a laptop, 4K resolution makes it crystal clear, OLED makes the colors pop. One of the nicest screens on the market.
GPU:
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050. A very capable and high end Graphics Card. More than capable of handling 4K pictures, 4K video and audio editing. You can pretty much do it all when it comes to a work laptop. In terms of gaming, this laptop is not marketed towards that, but you can definitely do some high-end gaming on this.
RAM:
32GB SSD. More than enough RAM to handle multiple programs at the same time, heavy apps, AAA games. 32GB is more than enough for years to come.
Processor:
Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2
A very capable high end Processor. It will run anything you can throw at it. You can handle multiple. You can run various apps, have multiple tabs open and everything will run smooth without a hitch. It can also handle some high-end video games.
Misc:
Features Windows 11 home, Full aluminum chassis that has a nice weight to it, not super heavy but not light either. Its also not slim, its kind of thick but in a good way, you have to see it in real life to know what i mean it comes with speakers, a WebCam, a simple design featuring 3x Thunderbolt 4 and nothing else (no HDMI or USB-A or Ethernet) of course you would need the appropriate dongle for those things. Dell kept it sleek and minimal.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Primo Laptop
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The out of the box experience was relatively uneventful. There were two PITAs at the onset. One was opening the box, when the ends of the pull tabs that opens the tape (supposedly) broke off about 2” into the pull. My handy dandy boxcutter to the rescue! The second was getting the protective material off the keyboard. A simple task turned into a “where’s the lift point” exercise for this piece of material. 30 seconds into it, I found that it was on the right-hand side of the keyboard. Another crisis averted.
Once I got the laptop connected to power and turned it on, the bring-up process is very a very familiar one. The Windows 11 Home installation will be very familiar to anyone who has installed Windows in the past year or two.
The specs are important for this laptop, as it’s a screamer. The engine that powers this beast of a laptop is an Intel Core Ultra 7-255H which has a base performance of 2 GHz and a peak of 5.1 GHz. This configuration has 32 GB of DDR5 memory, and a 1TB SSD running on a PCI Express Gen4 x4 interconnect. For graphics, this configuration sports an nVidia GeForce RTX 5050 GPU solution for outstanding graphics performance. At the system level, the laptop has a beautiful, bright (400 nits) organic LED (OLED) display with a resolution of 3840 x 2400 pixels. You won’t be lacking for USB expansion. The laptop has three Thunderbolt 4 (which is compatible with USB Type C) ports, any of which may be used to charge the laptop. WiFi connectivity is outstanding with WiFi 7 support (yay – my fifth WiFi 7 device on the network!). There’s also a universal audio jack and a MicroSDXC v7.1 UHS-I/UHS-II card reader on the right side of the laptop to round out the I/O capabilities of this beautiful laptop.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great Performance and Sleek!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
When first opening the Dell Premium 16”, the laptop is covered with a black sleeve and includes its charger right underneath. The product took my breath away! It is not an inexpensive laptop, and the quality of the product is exceptional. The setup took a while which is understandable but was fairly easy to follow the instructions before using the laptop. The Dell Premium 16” is lightweight and has a sleek design, which is why I would recommend this product to anyone attending school. The laptop has a remarkably good screen size with it being 16 inches, and the graphics are exactly what you expect for the price! The keyboard is slim, and buttons such as volume, brightness, etc can be found to be touched screen right above the keyboard. I will say the Dell laptop does tend to heat up after some time which can be a turn off for many consumers especially for its value/price. My favorite part of this product is its size. As someone who loves to keep tabs open and uses the double screen, it allows me to use both to their fullest potential (the touchscreen is a plus as well!).The speakers are pretty cool since they are located on both sides of the keyboard and the sound is absolutely amazing!The storage and memory are not bad at all for the price range, and I do think that it is worth your money.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
A wonderful computer, but the price is steep.
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
To be blunt, I feel like I don't understand the purpose of this computer.
Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely computer. The chassis is pretty much entirely made of metal, as far as I could feel. It's got speakers beside the keyboard, so it sounds fantastic. The screen is absolutely gorgeous. The specs on this thing are excellent for productivity on demanding programs like Blender or FL Studio or Unity. This is a high quality machine.
As I said, I just don't think I understand the point. Here's what I mean - at the time of writing, this computer is going for about $2700. For half the price, you could buy a gaming laptop that has all the same specs, except the screen wouldn't be OLED, and it would have only 16 instead of 32 gigabytes of RAM. But you could upgrade the RAM quite easily, and while the OLED display is genuinely one of the best I've ever seen, it's not necessary for most applications.
Now, a gaming laptop might not have the premium metal chassis, and perhaps would have a more garish design, but even so, it would be significantly more cost effective than this is. Heck, you could get a MacBook Pro with the same storage, more RAM, a similarly beautiful screen (albeit smaller), and their latest M4 Pro chip in it, and it would still cost less than what this does.
For productivity, there's better, less expensive options. For gaming, there's better, less expensive options. I can't see a good reason to drop almost 3 grand on this computer when there's so many other choices that are more cost efficient for similar, if not better, performance, even if you have to make a couple sacrifices for things like the screen.
I recognize this isn't a very fair review. There's almost certainly people who would absolutely pay the price for this computer and believe it was a good investment. I'm a bit of a pragmatist in some ways, however, so I simply don't understand it.
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
This Dell “Premium” Lives Up to its “Premium” Name
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Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
If you’re in the market for a workhorse laptop with powerful performance and a gorgeous display, this Dell Premium is for you.
I have a specced up M4 Max MacBook Pro at the office. But I needed a high-performance Windows laptop for home use tasks. This new Dell Premium 16 is the closest a Windows machine has come to the MBP in my experience. In fact, in a few areas, this laptop is even better.
First, the performance. The Intel Ultra 7 Series 2 Arrow Lake processor is fast, the computer equivalent of a Ferrari, or at least how I imagine one. It seems as quick as the MBP, and some of the benchmarks confirm that. It easily handles multiple tasks and lots of open Chrome tabs.
Second, the OLED display on this machine is just eye-popping. Text is sharp, and the color gamut on visuals is rich with deep blacks and vivid colors. This screen is as good or better than the MBP.
I love the sleek look and the sturdy chassis. The display bezels are thin and the image is edge-to-edge. The invisible, haptic trackpad gives this Dell a distinctive, minimalistic look. The trackpad itself is responsive, and I’ve had no trouble using it even without visible borders.
Here are my nitpicks of an otherwise superb laptop:
* The battery life is on the low end of a machine at this price point. You’ll need to pack your charger on the go. I get between 6 - 8 hours of normal use on battery, way below the MBP and my ultraportable travel laptop.
* Speaking of packing things, this laptop is heavy, weighing more than 5 pounds. If you’ll primarily use this on your desk, it’s no big deal. But if you’re lugging this around as a business traveler, it will be a workout.
* I’m still adjusting to the flat keys on the keyboard. I actually like typing on this keyboard, although I know others have dissed it. I just find myself occasionally mishitting keys. By the way, I don’t mind the capacitive function row at all. It works fine for what I need.
* This laptop is expensive, although less so than a MacBook Pro. Fortunately, I was able to grab one that was deeply discounted. At the sale price, this was a great value — a lot of performance for the money.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Oled quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Best OLED
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Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Dell always know how to do laptops! OLED screen and banging sound. This was the best laptop I’ve ever owned.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Amazing design!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The 4K OLED display delivers excellent image quality. Keyboard, touch function row and force touch trackpad have a unique design and easy to use. It provides enough performance for photo editing, video production and gaming. The fan noise and surface temperature are well controlled and operation quietly. I highly recommend this computer.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Great portable workhorse!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
It was almost what I was looking for…I wanted an i9 processor and a nvidia 5060 graphics card, but for the price, I couldn’t beat it even by going directly to dell. Only thing I really wanted was a numeric keypad, but I usually use an external keyboard anyway.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Better than I thought
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Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I was expecting a little less, once I turn it on a find out I had more than I need. I only need it to great program on fusion 360, having able to use it for games is wonderful!
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Excellent Laptop
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
My old windows 10 desktop needed to be replaced. This laptop was exactly what I needed. I should be set for the next 10 years!