The new Alienware 16 Area-51 has the one thing I wanted — here’s my hands-on preview

The Alienware 16 Area-51 has returned to invade Earth in 2026. Unlike the new Dell XPS laptops, Dell’s main gaming division isn’t messing with success, as the new Alienware laptop is a whole lot like the previous model I reviewed. While the Alienware 16 Area-51 might not be an astronomical upgrade, it has something many have asked for — an OLED display!

During a CES 2026 preview event where I also saw the brand-new Dell XPS 14, I briefly went hands-on with this year’s Alienware 16 Area-51. This laptop didn’t have to do much to win me over since the original Alienware 16 Area-51 was my favorite gaming laptop of 2025. However, with the inclusion of a 240Hz OLED panel, lower latency, and improved cooling, it has a strong shot at being one of the best gaming laptops full stop.

Here’s everything we know about the new Alienware 16 Area-51, along with my hands-on impressions of the Alienware 16 Area-51.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026) hands-on review: Specs

Alienware 16 Area-51 hands-on review: Price & availability

We don’t yet have a concrete release date for the Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026), but expect it sometime in the first quarter of this year.

Alienware says it will share pricing for this upcoming gaming laptop close to launch.

Alienware 16 Area-51 hands-on review: Display

The biggest upgrade for the Alienware 16 Area-51 is its new OLED panel. Though I didn’t get to test any games, I was impressed by how the desktop background image appeared. There’s a deep contrast between dark and light elements, which serves to make colors appear bolder.

Performance-wise, we get the same fast 240Hz refresh rate as before. However, the response time has gone from 3ms all the way down to 0.2ms. You and I probably won’t feel the difference there, but I’m sure a professional gamer will. Regardless, games should run as smoothly as possible on this display.

We’ll have a better sense of the display once we’ve tested it, but I expect said results to floor me.

Alienware 16 Area-51 hands-on review: Specs and performance

The Alienware 16 Area-51 will pack up to an RTX 5090 laptop GPU, up to an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPU, up to 64GB of RAM and up to 12TB of storage. In other words, there’s not much new on the component front.

That said, we could see better benchmark results since Alienware says it has upgraded the laptop’s Cryo-Chamber cooling tech, which reportedly results in up to 35% improved airflow and 15% lower acoustics (i.e. less noise).

As with the display, we’ll see what the new Alienware 16 Area-51 can do when we put it through our benchmark tests.

Alienware 16 Area-51 hands-on review: Design

I’m a fan of the Alienware 16 Area-51’s otherworldly design, so I’m glad the team decided not to mess with this aspect. The Liquid Teal finish and curved edges provide a distinct look that’s unlike other gaming laptops. The chassis’ color shifts under different lighting conditions, and the RGB lighting on the back mimics the motions of the aurora borealis.

Like with the unit I reviewed, you can equip this laptop with a Cherry MX ultra-low-profile mechanical keyboard. If you’re a mechanical keyboard fan like me, then you’ll love the clicky keys and short travel distance. The touchpad still isn’t all that large, but it has RGB lighting, which kind of makes up for that.

One of my complaints with the original was that it was very heavy, and the same is true since the new Alienware 16 Area-51 also weighs 7.49 pounds. You might want to mostly use this laptop at home since traveling with it could be a pain.

Alienware 16 Area-51 hands-on review: Outlook

While the Alienware 16 Area-51 isn’t receiving a major overhaul, the inclusion of an OLED panel could be enough to win people over.

We’ll have to see if this otherworldly gaming laptop has what it takes when it releases later this year.