The Dell XPS 14 is sort of a MacBook killer, however its keyboard and worth depart you wanting extra

Dell revived the XPS model with the latest XPS 14, and the laptop computer is extra premium than ever earlier than. There’s an aluminum chassis, Gorilla Glass coverings, and a classy “XPS” emblem on the lid. Crucially, Dell additionally added a bodily operate row again to the XPS line, changing the capacitive one. The futuristic look of the XPS 14 continues to be intact, however it’s extra useful and highly effective now. I have been utilizing the Intel Core Extremely Sequence 3 laptop computer for a few month, and I want each Home windows machine put the identical emphasis on construct high quality because the XPS 14.

There are nonetheless points, although, with probably the most unforgivable one being the value. Laptops with comparable efficiency because the XPS 14 value a lot much less, whereas laptops priced in the identical sphere because the XPS 14 ship extra energy. You are paying a premium for the design and supplies, however this turns into a more durable promote because of the uncommon lattice-free keyboard format and unconventional edgeless touchpad. Whereas the XPS 14 has room for enchancment, it units the usual for the construct high quality of a Home windows laptop computer whereas providing quick efficiency and respectable battery life.

Dell loaned us the XPS 14 for this evaluation, however the firm had no enter on this article and didn’t see it earlier than publishing.

7.5/10

CPU

Sequence 3 Intel Core Extremely X7 Processor 358H (16 cores, 18MB Cache, as much as 4.8 GHz)

GPU

Intel Arc Graphics

RAM

32GB LPDDR5x Twin Channel at 9600 MT/s

The Dell XPS 14 is a premium Home windows 11 productiveness laptop computer with respectable efficiency in a modest type issue. At simply over half an inch thick and weighing solely three kilos, its aluminum chassis is each modern and simple to hold. The Intel Core Extremely Sequence 3 chip inside is strong, and you must get all-day battery life, even when there are a couple of energy and charging quirks to be cautious of. The lattice-free keyboard now has a bodily operate row, however it’s nonetheless error-prone.

Execs & Cons

• Glossy and trendy design with impeccable construct high quality
• Beautiful 14-inch touchscreen OLED show with 2.8K decision
• Three Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack

• All-day battery life, however Intel energy and charging woes stay
• Configuration as reviewed feels overpriced for what you get
• Keyboard and trackpad design continues to be extra type than operate

Dell XPS 14 pricing and availability

The Dell XPS 14 is available in a wide range of configurations, all accessible for buy on Dell’s web site. You might discover XPS laptops at third-party retailers, however the XPS 14 is not accessible at Finest Purchase or Amazon presently. The baseline Dell XPS 14 begins at $1,989.99 and options an Intel Core Extremely Sequence 3 355 processor, built-in Intel graphics, 16GB of LPDDR5X reminiscence, 512GB of SSD storage, and a 14-inch non-touch 2K LCD panel. Notice that the efficiency and show high quality of this mannequin will differ from the upgraded one examined right here.

The configuration I reviewed retails for $2,879.99 and consists of an Intel Core Extremely Sequence 3 X7 358H processor, built-in Intel Arc graphics, 32GB of LPDDR5X reminiscence, and 1TB of SSD storage. It additionally sports activities a 2.8K touchscreen OLED show with a variable refresh charge between 20Hz and 120Hz. Within the field is a 100W energy adapter with a USB-C connector for charging.

For those who want further energy, the XPS 14 could be configured with as much as an Intel Core Extremely Sequence 3 X9 388H processor with a discrete Intel Arc graphics card at a further value.

Each Home windows laptop computer needs to be constructed this effectively — however what is going on on with the keyboard?

The design and construct of the Dell XPS 14 is actually its robust swimsuit. The XPS line has lengthy featured Home windows laptops with futuristic appearances, and the most recent XPS 14 strikes a greater stability between type and performance. The sloping form of outdated XPS 14 fashions is gone, and the capacitive operate row has lastly been changed with bodily keys. The design, effectively, seems to be like a MacBook. That is not a knock on the XPS 14, it is a praise.

There may be one factor the XPS 14 affords {that a} MacBook Professional does not, and it has to do with the glass. Laptop computer shows are sometimes lined with a matte plastic layer or commonplace glass. You may not often discover laptops with the superior glass coverings you’d see on a smartphone, however that is what you get with the XPS 14. This laptop computer has Gorilla Glass Victus shielding the OLED touchscreen and Gorilla Glass 3 on the palm relaxation and touchpad, and these are neat inclusions for long-term sturdiness. It matches proper in with the aluminum chassis that makes up the XPS 14, which is presently accessible in a “Graphite” end.

The thickness and weight of the XPS 14 are additionally price mentioning. This is not an ultrabook, however the OLED mannequin I reviewed begins at three kilos and measures 0.58 inches thick. For reference, the bottom 14-inch M5 MacBook Professional is barely thicker and heavier, at 0.61 inches and three.4 kilos. These are miniscule variations within the grand scheme of issues, however it provides to the XPS 14’s premium and refined design.

Credit score: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

The fashionable nature of the XPS 14 extends to the keyboard and touchpad, which seems to be higher than it feels. The edgeless palm relaxation and touchpad look distinctive, and Dell added delicate strains that present the place the touchpad space begins and ends. Nevertheless, the trackpad might be outsized on the XPS 14, as there is not sufficient room on the palm rests left to your wrists to sit down. This will result in monitoring points when the laptop computer by accident detects your palms touching the world as an enter.

The keyboard nonetheless makes use of a lattice-free design, and in different phrases, does not have gaps between the person keys. This arguably is extra visually interesting and makes for a keyboard that is simpler to maintain clear. The flip aspect is that, for a lot of, it is tougher to kind on. Contact typists normally account for the gaps between the keys of their finger actions, and the XPS 14 can journey up even seasoned typists. I discovered myself making extra errors on the XPS 14 than the common laptop computer, and the mere 0.8mm of key journey did not assist.

Credit score: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

The port choice on the XPS 14 is minimal, however simply sufficient for a productiveness laptop computer. You get two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left, and another on the precise. There’s additionally a 3.5mm audio jack on the precise. That is lots for most individuals, and fortunately, you’ll be able to cost the XPS 14 on both aspect. Thunderbolt 5 would’ve been good contemplating the XPS 14’s worth level, however Thunderbolt 4 must do.

The beautiful OLED touchscreen is a pleasure to make use of

It is a responsive show with wealthy colours and a variable refresh charge

The XPS 14 is available in two show configurations, a non-touch LCD and a touchscreen OLED. I examined the touchscreen OLED mannequin, full with a 2.8K decision and a variable refresh charge between 20Hz and 120Hz. It was as crisp and vibrant as you’d count on, with the OLED panel reproducing deep blacks and wealthy colours. The touchscreen was responsive too, even when I not often use my fingers to function laptops.

This display screen affords full protection of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and 400 nits of typical brightness, with the XPS 14 in a position to crank as much as 500 nits of peak brightness. It helps show requirements like Dolby Imaginative and prescient and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500. In different phrases, that is as high-quality of a show as you will discover on the XPS 14’s worth level. The non-touch model has a better typical brightness score and may go as little as 1Hz, so think about these variations when selecting between XPS 14 configurations.

Intel’s Core Extremely Sequence 3 is quick, however is that sufficient?

The Dell XPS 14 prices greater than different laptops in its efficiency class

Credit score: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

The Dell XPS 14 is powered by Intel’s latest “Panther Lake” platform, additionally branded as Core Extremely Sequence 3. The platform replace is one more push by Intel to enhance cell processing energy whereas prioritizing effectivity. The Intel Core Extremely X7 358H achieves at the very least half of that objective, delivering robust efficiency in alternate for modest energy consumption. In comparison with equal cell processors within the last-generation Core Extremely Sequence 2 household, the XPS 14 is considerably higher in each single-core and multi-core efficiency. It even beats higher-tier, last-generation chips just like the Intel Core Extremely 9 285H.

I ran a collection of productiveness and graphics benchmarks on the Dell XPS 14 and comparable laptops in its class, with every laptop computer working on battery energy and set to the “Balanced” mode. The XPS 14 got here out on prime in almost each take a look at, outperforming its bigger sibling, the XPS 16. The Samsung Galaxy E-book 6 Professional makes use of the identical Core Extremely X7 358H chip, and it scored about the identical because the XPS 14, posting a worse single-core Geekbench 6 rating however a greater multi-core rating. In PCMark 10, a basic workplace productiveness take a look at, the XPS outscored each different laptop computer examined.

It additionally carried out effectively in 3DMark’s Wild Life Excessive graphics take a look at, handily outperforming last-generation Intel Core Extremely Sequence 2 techniques. The XPS 14’s built-in graphics will not match as much as laptops with discrete GPUs, as evidenced by the Acer Swift X14’s Wild Life Excessive rating, which is to be anticipated.

What’s fascinating right here is how the XPS 14 carried out towards the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, which is an Arm-based thin-and-light laptop computer working a Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite chip. Intel chips are regularly in comparison with Arm processors, and this comparability explains why.

The Yoga Slim 7x tramples the XPS 14 in most productiveness duties, demolishing the Extremely X7 358H in Geekbench 6’s single- and multi-core checks. It is slightly nearer in Crossmark’s productiveness gauntlet, however the Snapdragon X2 Elite nonetheless comes out on prime. Naturally, the XPS 14 beats the Yoga Slim 7x in graphics-based workflows, and app compatibility continues to be one thing to remember when contemplating Home windows on Arm.

This is the actual kicker — the Yoga Slim 7x examined right here retails for $1,839.99 at full worth, and it is discounted additional. That places it at $1,000 cheaper, or extra, than the Dell XPS 14, whereas providing extra efficiency for fundamental workplace duties. This sums up the problem with the XPS 14’s efficiency: it is good, however not for the value. Yow will discover laptops that run as quick or quicker than the XPS 14 and doubtless spend much less cash. You are paying for the premium construct high quality and fancy show if you purchase an XPS 14. If efficiency and worth are your solely concerns, this is not the laptop computer for you.

Dell’s XPS 14 pairs the Extremely X7 358H processor with 32GB of reminiscence and 1TB of SSD storage. It additionally has a 70Whr battery that ought to provide you with all-day use, relying in your workflows. Use a bunch of power-hungry apps or change on the “Finest efficiency” mode, and issues can get tight.

Intel’s energy and charging woes have not been solved, although. I attempted utilizing a 65W USB-C energy adapter to cost the XPS 14 in a single day, and woke as much as an error message, an overheating laptop computer, and an almost useless battery. No, I wasn’t utilizing the official charger, however this nonetheless should not be a problem plaguing Intel laptops in 2026. With three Thunderbolt 4 ports onboard, I ought to be capable of plug a USB PD charger into any one among them and let the XPS 14 negotiate the facility supply profile.

Credit score: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

Be cautious of Dell’s default battery presets, too. The XPS 14 ships with an “Adaptive mode” for battery and energy administration which will restrict charging to 80% when the laptop computer is related to energy for greater than 12 hours. To repair this, that you must dig by means of the BIOS and alter the battery mode to “Commonplace mode.” I do not thoughts seeing this characteristic on the XPS 14 — it’s higher for long-term battery well being — however it should not be enabled routinely, and you must be capable of change this with out coming into the BIOS.

Do you have to purchase the Dell XPS 14?

You should purchase the Dell XPS 14 if:

• You need a Home windows laptop computer with a premium construct and are not afraid to pay further for it
• You do not thoughts Dell’s lattice-free keyboard design and outsized trackpad
• You need a stunning14-inch OLED touchscreen with variable refresh charge assist

You need to NOT purchase the Dell XPS 14 if:

• You want one of the best battery life and a dependable charging expertise
• You are a worth shopper in search of the proper price-to-performance ratio
• You want quicker efficiency or fashionable facilities, like Thunderbolt 5 assist

I can safely say that the Dell XPS 14 affords one of the best construct high quality of any Home windows laptop computer I’ve personally examined — and I’ve used many which are costlier than this one. The XPS 14 feels premium and durable whereas conserving thickness and weight to a minimal. The worth tag is excessive for the efficiency you get from this machine, so bear in mind that you just’re paying a premium for the aluminum chassis and Gorilla Glass on the show and palm relaxation. For some, that will not be a problem, as a result of Home windows laptop computer producers dismiss the significance of construct high quality all too usually.

I’ve to cease in need of giving the XPS 14 a decisive suggestion for many who need a premium Home windows laptop computer, and the keyboard and trackpad are the 2 the explanation why. Individuals who care about refined construct high quality almost definitely additionally worth a satisfying, error-free keyboard and touchpad expertise. The gapless keyboard format and the outsized touchpad merely do not provide that have, and it weakens the worth proposition of what would in any other case be a standout machine.

Nonetheless, the XPS 14 actually has a market. There’s an viewers that may fortunately pay a markup for elegant design, even when that futuristic look comes on the expense of keyboard and touchpad usability. That is who the XPS 14 is for. If Dell additional refines the keyboard in a successor, the XPS 14 might be a greater match for much more individuals.

Working System

Home windows 11

CPU

Sequence 3 Intel Core Extremely X7 Processor 358H (16 cores, 18MB Cache, as much as 4.8 GHz)

GPU

Intel Arc Graphics

RAM

32GB LPDDR5x Twin Channel at 9600 MT/s

Storage

1 TB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD

Battery

3Cell, 70Whr

Dell introduced again the XPS model, and the return is best than the unique. The Dell XPS 14 addresses one of many greatest complaints with prior fashions by including a bodily operate key row. The aluminum chassis is premium, and the OLED touchscreen is unimaginable. The worth, although? It isn’t as aggressive as different laptops in its efficiency class.