Alienware’s laptops have, for a long time, been a bit on the big side. That’s especially true in one particular dimension we’ll be gentle and refer to as the M-series laptop brand’s “posterior.” Alienware returned to the drawing board and redesigned the m16 so it’s smaller thanks to its contracted rear and makes some use of all the extra space.
The m16 R2 removes the thermal shelf of the R1 and relocates its heat pipes and fans to maximize heat dissipation. Alienware said this version is 43% more cooling efficient than previous generations. The shrunken derriere means the screen can now go 180 degrees, the keys can be spaced out more, and the touchpad can be expanded by a fair bit.
Alienware’s thin-profile laptops, like 2022’s x14, had been sticking with the rear thermal shelf behind the display. It certainly made the laptop unique-looking—especially with all that bedunkadunk in the laptop’s proverbial trunk—but it also shifted all the weight to the back end and made it annoying to use the laptop on your lap.
The redesign has a touted 15% smaller footprint overall, though it still maintains a few of the m-series design aesthetics, like the hexagonal beehive motif around the top vents. The R2 has lights around the keys and trackpad, but you can now press the F2 key to activate “stealth mode,” which turns off the LEDs on the back panel and touchpad while lowering the fan speed.
Now, Alienware is still selling other versions of the m-series laptops, including an “ultra-premium” x16 R2 and an 18-inch m18 R2. But the m16 R2 may be the most dramatic of the bunch simply because it now has a much more standardized laptop design. Inside, it’s still packing a 240Hz QHD display alongside an Intel Core Ultra 7 or 8 CPU and an Nvidia Geforce RTX 40-series GPU up to a 4070.
Alienware has been on a kick in redesigning its products. Last year, Dell subsidiary showed off its Aurora desktop PC redesign that forsook the leaning, mothership look in favour of a much more traditional tower, though with a bit of extra LED flare thrown in. Is this a shift in the company’s design philosophy? No, the company told Gizmodo, absolutely not.
This redesigned m16 is meant to emphasize portability while still preserving a fair bit of performance. It’s still full of enough multi-colour LEDs to fuel a rave. Alienware is still there to make gaming tech look as nerdy as possible; honestly, it would be a shame to see them turn to create products that look like everyone else. Knowing these folks, we probably don’t have to worry about that too much.