Verdict
The Modern Dell XPS 14 is a boost for the range , with a hybrid plan of attack that stands out from the crew . There ’s plenty of processing mogul with enough graphics chop to be a decent option for accounting entry - layer PC gaming . The stylish intention is intriguing but may not be for everyone while an underwhelming barrage life undermines the full package .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The newfangled Dell XPS models symbolize a necessary shift for the iconic laptop computer line . Long considered some of the best Windows laptops around , the range had lost its lustre following an unliked redesign of the XPS 13 and a confused “ Plus ” range . But the Dell XPS 14 throw off things up .
The XPS 14 sounds like a winner on paper . Thanks to its oculus - opening specs it ’s bill as a muscular do - it - all machine , especially at the high - end form , which Dell send us for brushup . It has a 14.5 - inch OLED touch presentation with 3.2 grand resolve and a varying refresh rate up to 120Hz . With support for Dolby Vision HDR too , it ’s a powerful display for streaming picture and cognitive content founding .
index is provided by Intel ’s latest - propagation Core Ultra 7 155H mainframe , 32 GB ofRAM(up to 64 GB is usable ) and 1 TB of SSD computer memory ( 4 TB max ) . It also has a great shelling than theXPS 13 Plus . Most interesting is the presence of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050GPUmaking gaming at a decent point unquestionably possible . The entry - grade framework start at £ 1,479/$1,499 ( FHD+ display , 16 GB RAM , 512 GB SSD , Intel Arc graphic and same 7 155H chip ) . However , the conformation we reviewed is £ 2,449/$2,699 .
Dell has moved to an online retail model where it now only sell from its own computer memory rather than typical third - political party retailers . you could buy the XPS 14 in the UKhere , and the UShere .
Is the Dell XPS 14 ( 2024 ) the future of the compass ? permit ’s receive out .
Design and Keyboard
The Plus design revamp has been keep on for the 2024 XPS stove and there ’s no doubt it ’s a impertinent - look laptop computer with a clean and seamless design .
All surfaces are smooth with a mid - lustre , although the lid is raw to fingerprint . I get the sense that after a while the paint will cut off significantly too . I got a snick in my review model from I’m - not - sure - where .
There are three Thunderbolt 4 ( USB - C ) outs for charging , connecting accessory and pass to additional displays . Dell helpfully include a free dongle for USB - A and HDMI connexion too , which is squeamish * spotlight at Apple * .
There are design quirks . Dell has n’t included a display lip , so opening the laptop computer can be a little fiddly . The XPS 14 is hard too . The OLED version weighs 1.74 kg ( 3.8lbs ) , so it ’s not ideal for popping into a shoulder bag . For comparison , the 13 - inchMacBook Air M3is 1.24kg/2.7lbs , while the 14 - inchMacBook Pro M3 Maxis also lighter at 1.62kg/3.6lbs .
The keyboard is very friendly to touch typers , but as there ’s just 1.0 millimetre travel between the keys , it was an adjustment for me . Keys are roomy with a wide sweet play , so truth is n’t a job . However , as I wish to glide across some familiar key combination , such as from the D up to the E , I often reach a 2nd ergocalciferol before the E.
During examination , I did not get used to the up and down arrow keys . They ’re too small . The other notable improver is a consecrated Windows Co - Pilot button , which is now standard for 2024 Windows 11 laptops .
The role key are also untraditional , with capacitive LED buttons rather than physical keys . There ’s also a gap between them and the number keys . I did n’t like this , particularly because familiar keys like Escape and Delete are part of this row . They need a dissimilar cardinal press and the switch can be jarring and musical rhythm - breaking . The keyboard LED backlight has just two mount – on and off .
The big Gorilla Glass - coated trackpad is invisible . Dell calls it “ seamless ” and although it pretend for a much cleaner finish , the absence of definition may be problematical for some drug user . Thanks to the haptic motor between the surface , there ’s no confusion about when you ’ve rap the touch - raw sphere .
The trackpad stretches either side of the space bar , allowing plenty of Earth’s surface area and plenty of space for the radiocarpal joint crease and base of the palm . I ’m a rooter of this approach .
When it comes to sustainability , Dell touts that the XPS 14 is made with “ at least 25 % recycle material ” and boast a combining of recycled and down in the mouth - emissions aluminum . The issue of the latter is an 89 % lower carbon footprint , according to Dell . The packaging is made with 100 % recycled or renewable materials .
grim impact packagingThis laptop computer ship in packaging made with 100 % recycled or renewable subject that is also 100 % recyclable.[18 ]
Display and Sound
We look back the OLED translation of the unexampled Dell XPS 14 and it ’s fair to say it ’s a successful feeler .
The 48Hz-120Hz varying refresh charge per unit mean saw the pointer just glided effortlessly while type out this reexamination in Microsoft Word . The 3.5 K OLED showing from the XPS 13 Plus is slimly lower on the XPS 14 , which has a 3.2 K ( 3200 x 2000 ) resolution .
However , the gibbosity up in sizing gives the display a little more cinematic timbre , enabling you to enjoy the Dolby Vision HDR support , the exceptionally very thick blacks that come with an OLED and support for 100 % of theDCIcolour gamut . Dell claim up to 400 nits of peak cleverness , but our tests commence up to 407 nits with HDR enabled when using the DisplayCal Colorimeter software . It was around 340 nits in SDR mode .
In terms of color gamut coverage , the same software affirmed the cheeseparing 100 % score on the DCI P3 scale ( 99.6 % ) , while the presentation covered 100%sRGBand 86.8 % onAdobe RGB .
When testing picture games , I was struck by that fantastic eminent - contrast cityscape of Cyberpunk 2077 and especially recondite extinct blank space blacks within Sony ’s Returnal . The detail is phenomenal too . It ’s a truly fantabulous covert that felt a macrocosm apart from my regular exhibit – a MacBook Air M2 .
Dell has upgraded the webcam over the 13 Plus , with the XPS 14 finally rocking a 1080p offering compared to the 720p . It ’s only the presence of the webcam at the top of the display that steal a couple of millimeter from the otherwise thin bezel .
Gorilla Glass Victus protects that delicious OLED touchscreen board ( the FHD+ instrument panel is non - touch ) and we found it did a better job of keeping away smudges and fingerprint than the laptop ’s outer shield .
The stereo speakers straddle the cay and perform right , albeit the sound is dominated by the high end . The good sound astuteness reveals itself at around 60 % where you may get a little intricacy from tracks like Manchester Orchestra ’s harmonicInaudible , but bass voice remains an unloved stepchild .
Performance
Dell has pull no punches with the XPS 14 . The latest generation ‘ Meteor Lake ’ Intel Core Ultra 7 - 155H processor includes 16 cores with a max clock upper of 4.8GHz . This led to an extremely smooth daily experience with the XPS 14 , with no far-famed lag , and rapid functioning across productivity tasks . It ’s great for just doing as it ’s asked cursorily , allow you to get down to work . After all , this is one of Intel ’s top chips of 2024 . However , our benchmarking exam evince theCPUdidn’t needs endure up to its potential within Dell ’s configuration .
The Geekbench 6 single core score of 2241 fell slightly below the principal competitor running the same processor . The AsusZenbook 14churned out a 2352 score , while the Zenbook 15 Pro organic light-emitting diode managed 2334 . The multi - core score was farther apart , with Dell hitting 12042 and the Asus machine running up 12425 and 12559 severally . Interestingly , it also fell below our wads for the XPS 13 Plus , which ran on the previous generation ’s Intel Core i7 , in single - substance performance ( 2309 ) .
Cinebench had the single core score more evenly tally between chief rivals Dell XPS 14 and the Asus Zenbook 14 . Dell notch 1657 , while Asus tallied 1669 . Dell did well than the Asus model on the Cinebench multi - core score 12205 vs 9515 .
So , CPU - wise it ’s a mixed bag . There has been some disappointment regarding Intel ’s Ultra series CPU since its launch last December , but it also come out Dell may not be making the most of thing here . Expectedly , give our late examination of Core Ultra chips , it still is some way off being on a regular basis free-enterprise with Apple ’s latest M - series chips .
Match the Dell model up against the AMD Ryzen 7000 serial chips , the Intel chip shot also finishes in second blank space in single - core carrying out according to Geekbench 6 . The Acer Swift Edge 16 with the 7840U , for good example , scored 2399 in our tests compare to the XPS 14 ’s 2241 . Multi - essence , Dell win by 12042 to 10182 .
From a gaming perspective , this automobile is adequate to of handling some of the top PC titles thanks to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics unit on board . It was an interesting choice , considering we do n’t always think gaming when we opine Dell XPS .
When test the former PlayStation exclusive Returnal at Full HD resolution , the XPS 14 averaged a goodish 49 frames per endorsement , while you could still get by when upping the firmness of purpose to QHD , which benchmarked out at 32fps with a little roughness . Rainbow Six Extraction from Ubisoft did much well averaging 86fps and 63fps at FHD and QHD respectively .
If you start asking a picayune more by enabling irradiation tracing in a demanding game like Cyberpunk 2077 , you get way out of this GPU ’s comfort zone . We manage to eke just 10fps per second at FHD when turning on the beam tracing features . It was 36fps without electron beam tracing . DLSS does its job laudably by pushing the inning rate above 50fps without shaft trace .
So we ’re get the most from the GPU without catch the most from the display from a gaming perspective , which is n’t surprising considering this is the accounting entry - horizontal surface Saratoga chip from Nvidia ’s Ada Lovelace architecture . It ’s recommended for FHD gaming at high or extremist - power scene and that ’s how it toy out in our testing . Just eff you could well act as top personal computer games on this car at 1080p / 30fps .
The play prowess is certainly an added bonus rather than a reason to corrupt the XPS 14 organic light-emitting diode , but it does hang short of its keyAsus Vivobook Pro 15 OLEDrival that we ’ve also quiz . However , it ’s worth take note that the XPS 14 is a sleeker machine .
In everyday use , the Dell XPS 14 was all but inaudible but the threefold fan did kick in when testing the GPU and operate the various CPU benchmarking tests . That was louder , but not necessarily offputting , and the caloric cooling did its Book of Job of keeping the laptop computer well-situated to touch from a temperature standpoint . Never did I palpate like it was running red-hot , even when crowd physique rates and enabling ray trace .
Software
There is n’t much to say regarding software on the Dell XPS 14 , which is an absolute positive . This is a unobjectionable variant of Windows 11 without most of the unneeded bloatware interference we often see from OEMs .
It is worth comment that this is the first XPS political machine with the Windows Copilot keyboard button that quickly summons the AI assistant in the right quarter of the presentation . It ’s stark just how big a part of the Windows experience Copilot now is , but I still guess the help moves too fast through the on - screen entropy to be a good turn - on for most exploiter .
As common , Dell does offer premium reenforcement for one yr follow the purchase and there are some built - in Dell apps like My Dell for setting , Dell Update and Dell Digital Recovery . They wo n’t show up unless need .
Battery Life
The Dell XPS 14 has a slightly large battery than the XPS 13 Plus . It ’s a 6 - cellular telephone 69.5Whr , which promises up to 21 hour with an FHD+ firmness . The XPS 13 Plus disappointed us with the PC Mark 10 benchmarking technical school rating it at just 7 hour 45 minute and , alas , the great electric battery on the XPS 14 does n’t do much better .
In the personal computer Mark 10 Modern Office test which become through a host of productivity - free-base tasks from when the battery is full to when the bombardment goes into hibernation ( 99 % to 3 % in this case ) to model the average person ’s office working day , this laptop computer managed 7 hours and 59 second .
There ’s a 60 - W battery charger though . We return to 42 % charge in one hour and a full recharge took around 2 hours and 20 minutes from hibernation to full .
Should you buy it?
This Dell XPS 14 config wants to do it all and largely succeeds . The OLED screenland is a delight , while the CPU / GPU volunteer plenty of grunt . It ’s also got the expression to vote out in a business setting .
8 - hours of battery life just is n’t enough to subsist with competitors . And , while the RTX 4050 is a muscular GPU it ’s not project to hit the top gaming functioning modes . And it does n’t .
Final Thoughts
The Dell XPS 14 organic light-emitting diode is a very good laptop computer that largely achieve its intention of being all things to all mass . You ’ll pay off a significant toll over the stock FHD variant , but you ’ll receive a top Intel 2024 CPU for productivity , a very capable GPU that enables gambling at a decent caliber , and a fantastic OLED video display for all of the above .
There are a twosome of interesting design choice – namely the capacitive row of function keys – that will turn off some people , while barrage fire liveliness average around 8 hours during productiveness tests wo n’t do . At this monetary value item , the XPS 14 OLED neither peer the top performers at the mainframe nor the GPU story . Even the Ultra splintering feel a minuscule reigned - in in our benchmarking tests compare to testing within other makers ’ high - end laptops .
appear at the challenger , this does n’t represent Dell mounting a huge return to become thebest laptoparound . Particularly , up against theMacBook AirandMacBook Pro , Apple still comfortably wins across most metric function . While brands like Asus go , confessedly less stylish , simple machine like theVivobook Pro 15 organic light-emitting diode . That gimmick do well and cost several hundred pounds / dollars less than the XPS 14 .
However , the unique design and lavish show may render specific appeal to many , nominate this worthy of thoughtfulness for Dell fans willing to drop that mo extra .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop computer we refresh goes through a series of uniform hitch designed to gauge key things , include build tone , performance , screen door quality and battery life .
These let in formal celluloid benchmarks and scripted tryout , plus a series of real - world baulk , such as how well it run popular apps .
FAQs
Whether the Dell XPS 14 has a jot display depends on the simulation you take . There ’s an FHD+ non - touch options or a 3.2 jet OLED touch edition .
This generation of Dell XPS has assume the design of the “ Plus ” range from the last few days . So , now , the “ Plus ” range is no more , but the new XPS 13 , XPS 14 and XPS 16 sport the same design as those laptop computer did .
