I’ve been testing Linux operating systems on the Dell XPS 16 (9640) launched in 2024, and this is my informal review.

Using Ubuntu 24.04 (kernel 6.8), I couldn’t get the camera and sound to work on the computer. I found a few guides online explaining how to load the Intel drivers for this laptop, but they didn’t work for me. I probably made a mistake because the instructions weren’t clear. However, I found many other people reporting similar problems, so I’m not the only one.

Still, there’s good news. I recently installed Ubuntu 25.04, which includes kernel 6.14. I’m currently running the 25.04 development version because it hasn’t been released as stable yet. So far, the sound works great. I like the sound quality of the integrated speakers. On my previous laptop, the sound quality comparison between Windows and Linux was significantly worse for Linux. In this case, the quality seems to be working at its full capacity.

I was able to install the NVIDIA proprietary graphics drivers during the OS installation, and it seems to be running smoothly. Up to this point, I haven’t done anything too demanding in terms of graphics processing, even though I’m using an external 4k monitor as an extended laptop screen, and the performance is good.

A weak point is the integrated webcam; it didn’t work with any of the GNU/Linux flavors I tested: Ubuntu 22.04.05, 24.04, 24.10, 25.04, KDE Neon, and MX Linux. I’m not overly concerned about this because I have an external USB webcam for video calls, as integrated webcams are usually very poor in terms of image quality. That Logitech external USB camera works out of the box simply by connecting it to the USB port.

Apart from the integrated camera everything else I tried seems to be working as expected. I hope the camera issue is solved in the next versions of the Kernel which is central in terms of hardware support in Linux.

Are you considering getting this new generation of Dell XPS Laptops? Do you have a question or want I try something on the PC? If that’s true, please drop a comment below.