Intel and LG Display may have beaten Apple and Qualcomm with the best laptop battery life ever | The VergeSkip to main contentThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.The VergeThe Verge logo.TechReviewsScienceEntertainmentAIPolicyHamburger Navigation ButtonThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.Hamburger Navigation ButtonNavigation DrawerThe VergeThe Verge logo.Login / Sign UpcloseCloseSearchTechExpandAmazonAppleFacebookGoogleMicrosoftSamsungBusinessSee all techReviewsExpandSmart Home ReviewsPhone ReviewsTablet ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsSee all reviewsScienceExpandSpaceEnergyEnvironmentHealthSee all scienceEntertainmentExpandTV ShowsMoviesAudioSee all entertainmentAIExpandOpenAIAnthropicSee all AIPolicyExpandAntitrustPoliticsLawSecuritySee all policyGadgetsExpandLaptopsPhonesTVsHeadphonesSpeakersWearablesSee all gadgetsVerge ShoppingExpandBuying GuidesDealsGift GuidesSee all shoppingGamingExpandXboxPlayStationNintendoSee all gamingStreamingExpandDisneyHBONetflixYouTubeCreatorsSee all streamingTransportationExpandElectric CarsAutonomous CarsRide-sharingScootersSee all transportationFeaturesVerge VideoExpandTikTokYouTubeInstagramPodcastsExpandDecoderThe VergecastVersion HistoryNewslettersArchivesStoreVerge Product UpdatesSubscribeFacebookThreadsInstagramYoutubeRSSThe VergeThe Verge logo.Intel and LG Display may have beaten Apple and Qualcomm with the best laptop battery life everComments DrawerCommentsLoading commentsGetting the conversation ready...TechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechGadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsIntel and LG Display may have beaten Apple and Qualcomm with the best laptop battery life everThe Dell XPS 16 keeps on going.The Dell XPS 16 keeps on going.by Sean HollisterCloseSean HollisterSenior EditorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Sean HollisterMar 26, 2026, 12:33 AM UTCLinkShareGiftPhoto: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The VergeSean HollisterCloseSean HollisterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Sean Hollister is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.One of the coolest laptops we saw at CES in January was the new Dell XPS 16, with a unique 1–120Hz variable refresh rate display that can sip power when you don’t need the screen to stay speedy.Just how little power might it consume? Notebookcheck has tested a version of the laptop with that LG Display screen and a new Intel Panther Lake chip — and it appears to be the most efficient laptop that’s ever gone through its Wi-Fi web browsing test. At idle, the Core Ultra 325 laptop drew as little as 1.5 watts, and lasted nearly 27 hours of web browsing despite only housing a 70 watt-hour pack. That’s well shy of the 99.5Wh Dell has sometimes crammed into its 16-inch models.That’s more battery life than Notebookcheck has gotten out of any MacBook or MacBook Pro, and apparently more than all but two other laptops since it started running this test in 2014. And of those two laptops, one relied on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chip, a larger 84Wh battery, and a mere 60Hz screen — while the other had two batteries for a total of 149Wh and a 60Hz screen as well.RelatedDell is eating humble pie and bringing back the XPS brandIntel Panther Lake laptop CPU review: call it a comebackIntel’s Panther Lake is finally here: These are the Core Ultra 3 chipsDell made its new Pro laptops thinner and tweaked their naming scheme, againI should caution you that we typically see much less battery life in an actual workday than we do in fixed battery life tests. But compared to other laptops, this Dell + Intel + LG Display combo seems like the new battery life champ. Note that Dell also sells it with a higher-res tandem OLED screen, though. To get the best battery life, you’ll need to settle for 1920 x 1200, no OLED, and no touchscreen.While Dell may deserve a lot of credit as the system integrator, this tech may not be exclusive to Dell for long. LG Display announced that it’s become the first in the world to mass-produce a 1–120Hz laptop LCD panel (which it’s branding as Oxide 1Hz), and plans to mass-produce an OLED version in 2027. Intel, too, isn’t just working with one display vendor: last October, it announced it was working with Chinese panel maker BOE on 1Hz refresh rate computers too.Similar display tech has been in our smartwatches and smartphones for a while, by the way: 2019’s Apple Watch Series 5 introduced a 1-60Hz screen to use less power, I believe 2021’s Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra was the first with a 10-120Hz screen (though I’ve seen reports it only went down to 48Hz in practice) and that year’s OnePlus 9 Pro went down to 1Hz, and Apple added 1-120Hz to pro iPhones in 2022.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Sean HollisterCloseSean HollisterSenior EditorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Sean HollisterGadgetsCloseGadgetsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GadgetsIntelCloseIntelPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All IntelLaptopsCloseLaptopsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All LaptopsNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechMost PopularMost PopularThe United States router ban, explainedSony and Honda ain’t feelin’ the Afeela anymoreNvidia CEO Jensen Huang says ‘I think we’ve achieved AGI’Donut Lab’s solid-state battery could barely hold a charge after getting damagedWelp, I bought an iPhone againThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. 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The Dell XPS 16 has emerged as a significant development in the laptop industry, potentially surpassing existing benchmarks for battery life, according to a recent report by Notebookcheck. Senior Editor Sean Hollister highlighted the laptop’s innovative combination of technology, specifically a 1-120Hz variable refresh rate display produced by LG Display and an Intel Panther Lake processor. The core of the report centers around Notebookcheck’s testing methodology, which evaluated the laptop’s energy consumption during a standard Wi-Fi web browsing test. The results demonstrated an exceptional level of efficiency, with the laptop drawing as little as 1.5 watts at idle and achieving a remarkable 27 hours of web browsing on a single 70-watt-hour battery pack. This performance significantly surpasses the battery capacity previously seen in Dell’s 16-inch models, which often utilized 99.5Wh packs.

Notably, these results place the Dell XPS 16 ahead of other prominent laptops, including Apple MacBooks and MacBook Pros, marking it as the most efficient laptop tracked by Notebookcheck’s testing process since 2014. The report acknowledges the inclusion of two other laptop configurations that achieved similarly impressive results: one utilizing a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chip, an 84Wh battery, and a 60Hz screen, and the other with dual batteries totaling 149Wh and a 60Hz screen. These figures underscore the potential of this particular technology combination.

It’s crucial to acknowledge the limitations of real-world usage compared to controlled battery life tests. However, the Dell XPS 16’s performance relative to other laptops suggests a substantial leap in battery efficiency. LG Display is at the forefront of this advancement, having recently announced its mass production of the 1-120Hz laptop LCD panel, branded as Oxide 1Hz. Furthermore, Intel’s collaboration with BOE on 1Hz refresh rate computers signifies a broader industry trend. The technology underpinning these advancements is not exclusive to Dell; similar display tech, such as the 1-60Hz screen introduced in Apple’s Series 5 Watch and subsequent variations in Samsung’s Galaxy line, has become increasingly common. Notably, Apple’s 2022 iPhones incorporating a 1-120Hz display further demonstrates the growing adoption of this technology in premium devices.

The Dell XPS 16’s success highlights the convergence of several technological advancements, including efficient processors, low-power display technologies, and optimized system integration. While Dell deserves recognition as the system integrator, the underlying technology—particularly the combination of Intel Panther Lake and the LG Display’s Oxide 1Hz panel—is poised to be adopted by other manufacturers. The reported results create an important benchmark for future laptop designs, setting a new standard for battery life performance.