Alienware Redesigns m16 R2 with Stealth Mode – Supercharges x16 R2, m18 R2
By Matt McGowan, Alienware General Manager
Alienware is entering new arenas at CES 2024 with the debut of notebooks, peripherals and monitors that were inspired by our community and developed to appeal to all gamers. Whether you play to compete, play to get immersed in the game or play to socialize, Alienware can outfit your gaming needs. From the beginning, Alienware has offered high-performance hardware and software to the most demanding gamers. And here’s what I can tell you: our focus on the enthusiast gamer hasn’t changed. At the same time, the gaming landscape has evolved and is becoming more diverse than ever.
That’s why we’re eager to introduce products designed for wider audiences, from students who play dorm room sessions with friends, to working professionals who wind down the evening with a relaxing indie title, and pro athletes who game for a living. While these products reach new audiences, their DNA remains distinctly Alien, meaning they deliver the latest innovations in technology, performance and design. Meet Alienware's latest product portfolio:
- Three new gaming notebooks debut — the redesigned Alienware m16 R2, the ultra-premium x16 R2, and our performance juggernaut, the m18 R2.
- We’ve doubled our QD-OLED family by adding the Alienware AW3225QF and AW2725DF – two first of their kind QD-OLED monitors. Learn more about these groundbreaking monitors here.
- Built in collaboration with 100+ esports athletes, our new Alienware Pro Wireless Keyboard and Pro Wireless Mouse mark our breakthrough into the pro gaming peripherals space. Learn more about the Pro Line peripherals here.
Alienware m16 R2 – performance to adapt to wherever life takes you
Our product launches last year were met with overwhelming praise but also suggestions from our community of how to make the m16 even better. At their core, the requests were to create a powerful notebook that could run the most demanding games yet be portable and discreet enough to take from destination to destination with ease.
Our engineers and designers challenged themselves to craft a product that fulfills those requirements and introduces new features to the market. Meet the m16 R2, a redesigned gaming laptop that prioritizes performance, flexibility and portability, while preserving the Alienware advantages our customers have come to love.
Striking this balance required us to make bold changes. Let’s start with the most visible update. We knew to make our notebook more travel friendly that we needed to bid adieu to the thermal shelf. But doing so was no simple task — after all, it housed the components that kept the previous model running cool.
Our engineers were up for the challenge — they completely redesigned and optimized a new thermal solution for the m16 R2 by adapting our Cryo-tech cooling to be more efficient in a smaller package[i]. This ultimately resulted in 43% more efficient airflow compared to the previous model[ii], and though we can’t divulge all the alien technology behind these thermal gains, you can rest assured the m16 R2 won’t break a sweat when playing the latest games.
Then there is the size benefit. Removing the thermal shelf reduced the depth of the laptop, resulting in a 15% smaller overall footprint[iii] compared to the previous generation. With a 14% smaller Y dimension, the new 16” notebook easily fits into a small backpack and saves precious desk space for your gaming mouse, keyboard and monitor.
Not only is the m16 R2 more compact, but it also has a larger palm rest and touchpad[iv]. How did we pull this off? By designing a slim yet sturdy 180-degree hinge and positioning it on the back edge of the notebook. Placing the hinge where the thermal shelf once resided gave us space to push up the keyboard and expand both the palm rest and touchpad. We know people rarely – and, if we’re being honest, shouldn’t – use a touchpad when gaming, but a larger surface for controlling your cursor is a luxury when navigating Discord chats or browsing the web. You’ll notice something else about the touchpad: it’s bordered by our RGB stadium loop lighting which was moved from the rear to a more visible area. Now you can easily identify the touchpad’s boundaries in dark environments.
Lighting is a core element of our design language, but our community requested the option to tone things down when appropriate. That’s why we added a hotkey that cloaks the m16 R2, allowing it to blend into its surroundings. Let me introduce you to Stealth Mode. This handy new feature was inspired by customers who found lighting effects to be distracting in certain spaces, like a library, café or classroom. Now a quick tap of the F2 shortcut key turns the keyboard backlighting white, switches off all other AlienFX lighting zones, and shifts performance mode to Quiet to reduce fan noise.
Tap the key again to disable Stealth Mode when it’s time to game and get the full force of the m16 R2’s Intel® Core™ Ultra H Series processors and NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 40 Series mobile graphics (up-to an RTX 4070) which pack enough power to run the latest titles at high frame rates. Need every possible frame for competitive gaming? NVIDIA's DLSS 3.5 AI upscaling technology and NVIDIA Reflex latency reduction gives you faster frame rates, better image quality and the lowest latency without demanding more power.
Dolby Atmos support adds another layer of immersion — the m16 R2’s upgraded dual speakers envelop you in spatial sound so you can hear every footstep, explosion, or whisper with depth and realism.
Silky gameplay is showcased on a QHD+, 240Hz display with a 16:10 aspect ratio that delivers gorgeous visuals with sharp detail and rich, accurate colors. Competitive gamers will benefit from the high refresh rate that ensures smooth, tear-free gameplay. To summarize, these are some of the key upgrades we brought to the m16 R2:
- Redesigned with Smaller Footprint by ditching the thermal shelf on the back, ensuring the m16 R2 slips effortlessly into your backpack for on-the-go travel.
- Equipped with Stealth Mode Hotkey so users can quickly go dark without the distraction of RGB lighting.
- Large 90Whr battery with NVIDIA Advanced Optimus for intelligent powershifting to optimize power balance between CPU and GPU, so you don’t have to worry about finding the nearest outlet. When it’s time to plug in, the m16 R2 can charge to 80% in just 35 minutes via Express Charge 2.0[v].
- Intel® Core™ Ultra H Series processors provide efficient power while NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 40 Series mobile GPUs enable ample performance to run both modern games at fast frame rates and demanding AI workloads.
Alienware m16 R2 Fact Sheet & Spec Sheet
Alienware’s most premium gaming laptop, made superior – The Alienware x16 R2
Last year, we released Alienware’s most advanced gaming laptop featuring a slim all-metal chassis, six-speaker setup, a 100 micro-LED rear stadium lighting, and RGB-illuminated touchpad. The refined Alienware x16 R2 fortifies this status with faster performance, improved cooling and greater future readiness. At face value, the new model has the same striking design, but what’s inside hides some welcome upgrades.
Engineered for premium performance, the x16 R2 can devote up to 175W of dedicated graphics power with 12-phase voltage regulation stacked on top of brand-new Intel® Core™ Ultra processor technology. Combined with up-to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4090 Laptop GPUs, it achieves a total package power of 220W, enabling the most demanding games while giving users peace of mind knowing they have the latest and greatest technology.
To round it out, here’s a glance at other upgrades made to the x16 R2:
- Most advanced Alienware Cryo-tech cooling solution ever, complete with Vapor Chamber technology[vi] and our Element 31 thermal interface on the CPU and GPU[vii].
- Faster visuals for all with a 240Hz display offered by default. Also outfitted with premium features including ultra-vivid picture with Dolby Vision, ComfortView Plus blue light filtering, and a 3ms response time to keep all in-game motion fluid.
- Highest memory speeds of any Alienware system with LP-DDR5X memory up to 7467 MT/s.
- Bigger storage to save more of what you love with options up to 8TB.
Alienware x16 R2 Fact Sheet & Spec Sheet
Alienware’s most powerful laptop just got stronger...again
Packed with up-to the latest 14th Gen Intel Core i9-14900HX processor along with up-to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4090 Laptop GPUs, the juggernaut Alienware m18 R2 promises superior performance, overclocking capabilities, and significant efficiency improvements to thermal capacity. All of this is made possible by Alienware’s Cryo-tech cooling solution with Element 31 applied to both the CPU and GPU[viii] and an updated vapor chamber that more efficiently pushes out air.
Supporting the most performance and storage capacity (up to 10TB) of any Alienware laptop ever, the Alienware m18 R2 is made for those who value superior performance without being confined to a traditional battle station.
Alienware m18 R2 Fact Sheet & Spec Sheet
Upgrades coming to Alienware’s entire notebook portfolio
As part of the Alienware experience, these key features are found throughout the entire notebook portfolio.
- NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 AI upscaling technology powered by Tensor Cores gives you faster frame rates and better image quality without demanding more power.
- AWCC 6.1 is a new version of Alienware Command Center that adds a host of features inspired by customer feedback (More on this below)
- Upgraded FHD webcam now with HDR support to improve dynamic range and preserve details by combatting strong background lighting and ensuring subjects are properly exposed. And our AI-powered far-field microphones enhance vocals by removing ambient sounds, so your voice sounds crisp and clear.
- Next-gen connectivity up to Wi-Fi 7 capabilities and up to 2X Ethernet speeds with 5GHz ethernet connections that reduces lag and increases connection stability.
- All panels feature ComfortView Plus, our hardware-based technology meant to reduce blue light emissions without impacting performance or picture quality.
- Windows 11 Home and access to hundreds of high-quality games with the included one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate[ix].
A user interface that reigns supreme – take full control with Alienware Command Center
Last year, we launched a new version of Alienware Command Center (AWCC 6.0), a centralized software hub that gives you control over your laptop’s lighting, macros, acoustic profiles, and much more. We’ve made considerable upgrades and improvements over the past year, and our latest version directly addresses customer feedback. Along with enabling Stealth Mode, AWCC 6.1 gives users the ability to turn on/off automatic features, adds a built-in graphics MUX switch, and integrates EA Play and Xbox Game Pass.
AWCC 6.1 is available on our latest generation systems[x] and third-party products running Windows 10 and Windows 11. See our AWCC 6.1 FAQ (coming soon) for full system compatibility and to read answers to common questions.
Alienware Command Center Fact Sheet & Spec Sheet
For More Information
To learn more about Alienware’s latest gaming laptop upgrades, check out the complete press kit here and find all of our CES 2024 Innovation Award Honorees here.
Target Pricing & Availability
**Select configurations will be available at launch, with additional configurations becoming available at a later date(s). For more specific details, check out our target pricing and availability guide here.
- Alienware m16 R2** will first launch on January 11, 2024 with select configs starting ~$1,649.99 (US) / ~$2,249.99 (CA); additional configs will arrive later with the entry model starting at ~$1,499 (US) / ~$2,099.99 (CA)
- Alienware x16 R2 coming soon starting at ~$2,099.99 (US) / ~$2,899.99
- Alienware m18 R2** will launch on January 11, 2024, starting ~$1,899.99 (US) / ~$2,599.99 (CA); 4080 and 4090 configs coming soon