Between the Galaxy Book 5 Pro and XPS 16 (9650), the Galaxy Book 5 Pro comes out ahead in claimed battery life / weight, while the XPS 16 (9650) wins on ram / storage. Overall, the Galaxy Book 5 Pro scores 58.3 and the XPS 16 (9650) scores 76.7 on our Mars Score.
Which should you buy?
The XPS 16 (9650) is the clear pick on raw spec strength, leading by 18.4 points on the Mars Score. The margin is wide enough that the underdog only makes sense if its individual strengths line up with what you specifically need.
Pick the Galaxy Book 5 Pro if your top frustration with your current device is running out of charge before the day ends — endurance is the lead spec here. The biggest gaps in its favor are claimed battery life, weight.
Pick the XPS 16 (9650) if you push the hardware — gaming, on-device AI, heavy multitasking — and the extra compute headroom is worth the trade-offs. Its strongest claims are ram, storage, cpu cores, among others.
Both ship with comparable refresh rate, panel type, backlit keyboard, so those specs do not separate the two — focus on the differences below.
Bottom line: the XPS 16 (9650) is the safer default. The other model is the right choice only when its specific advantages line up with your priorities.
Why Samsung - Galaxy Book 5 Pro wins
- ▲Claimed battery life — 61.54% more. 21 h vs 13 h.
- ▲Weight — 0.90 kg less. 1.23 vs 2.13.
Why Dell - XPS 16 (9650) wins
- ▲RAM — 100.00% more. 32 GB vs 16 GB.
- ▲Storage — 100.00% more. 1024 GB vs 512 GB.
- ▲CPU cores — 100.00% more. 16 vs 8.
- ▲Battery — 57.94% more. 99.5 Wh vs 63 Wh.
- ▲Screen size — 16.43% more. 16.3 " vs 14 ".
- ▲Thunderbolt ports — 1.00 more. 3 vs 2.
Spec comparison
Design
| Spec | Samsung - Galaxy Book 5 Pro | Dell - XPS 16 (9650) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 1.23 kglead | 2.13 kg |
| Thickness | 11.6 mmlead | 18.7 mm |
| Build material | aluminum | aluminum |
| Backlit keyboard | true | true |
| Fingerprint reader | true | true |
Display
| Spec | Samsung - Galaxy Book 5 Pro | Dell - XPS 16 (9650) |
|---|---|---|
| Screen sizeⓘ | 14 " | 16.3 "lead |
| Refresh rateⓘ | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Panel typeⓘ | OLED | OLED |
Performance
| Spec | Samsung - Galaxy Book 5 Pro | Dell - XPS 16 (9650) |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core Ultra 7 256V | Intel Core Ultra 9 285H |
| CPU cores | 8 | 16lead |
| GPUⓘ | Intel Arc 140V | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop |
| RAMⓘ | 16 GB | 32 GBlead |
| Storageⓘ | 512 GB | 1024 GBlead |
| Storage typeⓘ | SSD | SSD |
Battery & Ports
| Spec | Samsung - Galaxy Book 5 Pro | Dell - XPS 16 (9650) |
|---|---|---|
| Batteryⓘ | 63 Wh | 99.5 Whlead |
| Claimed battery life | 21 hlead | 13 h |
| USB-C ports | 1 | 3lead |
| Thunderbolt portsⓘ | 2 | 3lead |
| HDMI | truelead | false |
Frequently asked
Which has better battery life, Galaxy Book 5 Pro or XPS 16 (9650)?+
Galaxy Book 5 Pro claims up to 21 hours — 21h vs 13h.
Which is lighter, Galaxy Book 5 Pro or XPS 16 (9650)?+
Galaxy Book 5 Pro is lighter at 1.23 kg vs 2.13 kg.
Which has more RAM, Galaxy Book 5 Pro or XPS 16 (9650)?+
XPS 16 (9650) offers 32GB of RAM.
Which has an OLED display, Galaxy Book 5 Pro or XPS 16 (9650)?+
Both have OLED displays.
Spec-level deep dives
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