Skip to main content

Alienware teases a monster new 18-inch laptop ahead of CES

Alienware just dropped a short trailer teasing a new 18-inch gaming laptop. While this is very exciting news indeed, the video creates more questions than it leaves answers.

Alienware is trying to create a splash before CES 2023 in Las Vegas. Not since the original Alienware 18 (technically 17.3-inch) have we seen the company try to play up this 18-inch laptop with terms like “unmatched performance” and “performance juggernaut.”

Recommended Videos

The signs are all around you, something big is coming soon. pic.twitter.com/EyU8BvdYIF

— ALIENWARE (@Alienware) December 5, 2022

If this new machine is as powerful and all-out as the outrageous original, which had two GPUs under the hood and a top-of-the-line CPU with multiple cooling fans to keep it all in check, then we could be in for a treat. More recently, Alienware had the Area-51m, a chunky 17-inch laptop with a desktop-class processor inside that was fully upgradeable.

The trailer for this new 18-inch laptop, unfortunately, doesn’t yet reveal the design or any pertinent specs that could help whet our appetites. The video begins with a bunch of people doing various activities in a park. The video cuts to, “When something this big and powerful arrives.” Suddenly the sky becomes overcast and people begin staring up as something vaguely rectangular flies over, its flight path creating an imprint in the field below.

The screen flashes a message, “It leaves a mark.” And then we get a drone view where the number “18” has formed on the field. Cue more people ooh-ing and aah-ing.

While Alienware currently makes some of the best gaming laptops available, such as its M- and X-series, these machines show the mature and refined side of the company. We think it’s about time the company shows us that it still can have fun creating crazy and bonkers machines just like it did years ago. Could this 18-inch laptop be it? Could we get two RTX 40-series GPUs? Or twin CPUs? Maybe a 600Hz display? We’ll have to wait and find out.

Aaron Leong
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Aaron enjoys all manner of tech - from mobile (phones/smartwear), audio (headphones/earbuds), computing (gaming/Chromebooks)…
This is a first for Alienware gaming laptops
The back of the Alienware m16 R2 on a table.

The Alienware m16 is only on its second generation, but the company is already hitting the reset button on the design. The m16 R2, announced at CES 2024, has both a redesigned chassis and reengineered thermals, plus one very notable feature never seen in an Alienware gaming laptop.

Most Alienware laptops have proudly featured a "thermal shelf" on the back, which purportedly helped with air ventilation and positioned the ports out of the way. The problem with the thermal shelf is the extra size it adds to the footprint of the laptop. It also adds a rather large bottom chin and hinge under the screen -- and sometimes results in a small palm rest and touchpad.

Read more
Lenovo just made my favorite gaming laptop even better
The lid of the Lenovo Legion 9i.

I've only given one gaming laptop a perfect score -- the Lenovo Legion 9i. And at CES 2024, Lenovo is making that laptop even better.

There are a few big upgrades here. First, Lenovo is switching the processor to Intel's new Core i9-14900HX and, in the process, introducing the Raptor Lake refresh chip to mobile. I suspect it won't offer a huge performance improvement over the previous version -- read our review of the desktop Core i9-14900K to learn why -- but it's still the latest and greatest.

Read more
I tried the world’s lightest 14-inch gaming laptop — here’s what surprised me
HP Omen Transcend 14 sitting next to a window.

I've been on the hunt for a gaming laptop that doesn't feel like one. Something thin, highly portable, but still plenty powerful. HP says it has the laptop I've been looking for: the Omen Transcend 14, which it says is the "world's lightest 14-inch gaming laptop." And yes, that's a quote.

It is, indeed, super thin and light, which was immediately noticeable when I had a chance to try out the laptop ahead of CES 2024. HP has a lot of competition to get through, but the Omen Transcend 14 looks like it's up for the fight.

Read more