Skip to content
vsMars
Head-to-head

Lenovo - ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 vs Dell - XPS 16 (9650)

Last updated · How Mars Score works
ThinkPad P1 Gen 7LENOVORENDER
Probe A
Lenovo
ThinkPad P1 Gen 7
73.9/ 100B
Performance65· 35%
Battery & Ports88· 27%
Design· 20%
Display70· 18%
XPS 16 (9650)DELLRENDER
Probe B
Dell
XPS 16 (9650)
76.7/ 100B
Performance65· 35%
Battery & Ports95· 27%
Design· 20%
Display71· 18%
Quick verdict

Between the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 and XPS 16 (9650), the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 comes out ahead in weight, while the XPS 16 (9650) wins on battery and claimed battery life. Overall, the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 scores 73.9 and the XPS 16 (9650) scores 76.7 on our Mars Score.

Buying advice

Which should you buy?

These two are nearly even on the Mars Score (73.9 vs 76.7). The decision isn't about overall quality — both clear the bar — it's about which specific trade-offs fit your use.

Pick the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 if you carry the device everywhere and weight or thickness has been the deciding factor before. The biggest gaps in its favor are weight.

Pick the XPS 16 (9650) if your top frustration with your current device is running out of charge before the day ends — endurance is the lead spec here. Its strongest claims are battery, claimed battery life, screen size, among others.

Both ship with comparable ram, storage, refresh rate, so those specs don't separate the two — focus on the differences below.

Bottom line: there is no wrong answer here — match the spec advantages to how you actually use the product. The Mars Score parity tells you both are well-rounded; the differences are about trade-offs, not quality.

Why Lenovo - ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 wins

  • Weight — 0.27 kg less. 1.86 vs 2.13.

Why Dell - XPS 16 (9650) wins

  • Battery — 10.56% more. 99.5 Wh vs 90 Wh.
  • Claimed battery life — 8.33% more. 13 h vs 12 h.
  • Screen size — 1.88% more. 16.3 " vs 16 ".
  • Thunderbolt ports — 1.00 more. 3 vs 2.
Full readout

Spec comparison

Design

SpecLenovo - ThinkPad P1 Gen 7Dell - XPS 16 (9650)
Weight1.86 kglead2.13 kg
Thickness17.7 mmlead18.7 mm
Build materialcarbon-fiberaluminum
Backlit keyboardtruetrue
Fingerprint readertruetrue

Display

SpecLenovo - ThinkPad P1 Gen 7Dell - XPS 16 (9650)
Screen size16 "16.3 "lead
Refresh rate120 Hz120 Hz
Panel typeOLEDOLED

Performance

SpecLenovo - ThinkPad P1 Gen 7Dell - XPS 16 (9650)
CPUIntel Core Ultra 9 185HIntel Core Ultra 9 285H
CPU cores1616
GPUNVIDIA RTX 4070 LaptopNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop
RAM32 GB32 GB
Storage1024 GB1024 GB
Storage typeSSDSSD

Battery & Ports

SpecLenovo - ThinkPad P1 Gen 7Dell - XPS 16 (9650)
Battery90 Wh99.5 Whlead
Claimed battery life12 h13 hlead
USB-C ports23lead
Thunderbolt ports23lead
HDMItrueleadfalse
Reader questions

Frequently asked

Which has better battery life, ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 or XPS 16 (9650)?+

XPS 16 (9650) claims up to 13 hours — 12h vs 13h.

Which is lighter, ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 or XPS 16 (9650)?+

ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 is lighter at 1.86 kg vs 2.13 kg.

Which has an OLED display, ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 or XPS 16 (9650)?+

Both have OLED displays.

Drill down

Spec-level deep dives

By manufacturer

More from the same brands

vsMars is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.