The XPS 14 is a brand-new entry in Dell's flagship lineup, sitting alongside the XPS 13 and XPS 16, and it seems to hit the sweet spot. 13-inch laptops feel small in the age of tiny bezels, and the larger XPS 14 even gets you a dedicated graphics boost.

The whole lineup borrows the design of the XPS 13 Plus, so that means it has square keys, capacitive function buttons, and a borderless haptic touchpad. It's all really cool and futuristic, even though we're technically on the third generation of this design. It's also got a 1080p webcam, a welcome change for XPS.

The biggest issue is that it's just heavy for a 14-inch laptop. This unit weighs in at 3.8 pounds, but to be fair, it packs the punch you'd want.

Ultimately, the Dell XPS 14 is a fantastic lineup. I feel like I sound like a broken record when I say that about a Dell XPS laptop, but it's always true.

Dell sent us the XPS 14 for review. It had no input on the content of this article.

Dell XPS 14 (2024) pricing and availability

Announced earlier this year at CES, the Dell XPS 14 is available now, along with the new XPS 13 and XPS 16. It starts at $1,699, which is a bit pricey, although that model does come configured with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

The model that Dell sent me for review comes in at $2,699, tacking on $400 for an RTX 4050, $200 to boost the RAM to 32GB, $100 to boost the SSD to 1TB, and $300 for the OLED display.

Design

The Dell XPS 14 is a totally new product

A year ago, the Dell XPS lineup was pretty diverse. There was the XPS 15 and XPS 17, which followed the lineup's traditional design language, while the XPS 13 was split into a super thin and light laptop and the futuristic XPS 13 Plus. There was even an XPS 13 2-in-1 tablet.

That's all now been condensed into the XPS 13, 14, and 16, which borrow the same design elements as what was previously known as the XPS 13 Plus. While the XPS 16 feels like it replaces the XPS 15 and 17, the Dell XPS 14 feels entirely new. If anything, it feels like it should have replaced the XPS 13.

Like the whole lineup, it comes in Platinum and Graphite. I asked for a Graphite unit because I've reviewed Platinum models with the last three XPS machines I've used. I think I might actually like it better. It's a dark gray color, but it doesn't feel dull like most black-ish laptops.

Here's the bad news though. The Dell XPS 14 weighs in at 3.8 pounds, which is super-heavy for a 14-inch laptop. If you get the FHD display, it weighs 3.7 pounds, but that's still not enough. For reference, Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro weighs in at between 3.4 and 3.6 pounds, depending on how much power you want (interestingly, the XPS 14's weight doesn't change based on if you get dedicated graphics or not). Lenovo's Yoga 9i 14 weighs between 3.09 and 3.3 pounds.

And you can feel it when you carry the XPS 14. You pick it up and it feels heavier than it should be. However, I suppose that's why this machine hasn't replaced the XPS 13, which is still as compact as it gets and weighs in at just 2.6 pounds. If we're still comparing to Apple, that's lighter than a MacBook Air. I have the XPS 13, and I'll be reviewing that next.

It just wouldn't be an XPS without CNC-machined aluminum.

It's made out of CNC-machined aluminum; honestly, it just wouldn't be an XPS if it wasn't. It gives you that premium, solid feel that the brand is known for.

As far as ports go, Dell abandoned USB Type-A in its XPS laptops long ago. This guy comes with three USB Type-C ports (two on the left, one on the right), all of which support Thunderbolt 4. On top of that, there's a microSD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the right. This is another thing that differentiates the XPS 14 from its smaller sibling, which only includes a pair of Thunderbolt ports.

Display

OLED all the things

The Dell XPS 14 comes with a 14.5-inch display, which is offered with a 3200x2000 OLED panel, although FHD is available if you're trying to save on costs or battery life. Personally, I always believe in OLED. It's a better experience all-around; you get true blacks and more vibrant colors.

On top of that, you get a 120Hz refresh rate, which can be set to dynamic, switching between 60Hz and 120Hz as needed. A higher refresh rate means that everything is smoother, and yes, this display is a delight to use.

From my testing, it supported 100% sRGB, 87% NTSC, 89% Adobe RGB, and 99% P3.

Brightness maxed out at 333.1 nits, while the black level stayed mostly consistent throughout, as expected for an OLED panel.

And then there's the webcam, which sits in a thin bezel above the screen. All you really need to know is that Dell finally gave us 1080p webcams with this generation. XPS was among the last after OEMs started using 1080p webcams when the work from home boom started.

The bad news is that companies like HP and Lenovo have continued to advance their webcams. HP uses a 5MP sensor on some pretty entry-level machines under its Pavilion brand, while its flagship Spectre x360 has a 9MP camera. That extra resolution comes in handy for things like reframing video, which is when the camera can follow you around.

And yes, the Dell XPS 14 supports the full suite of Windows Studio Effects, thanks to the NPU included in Intel Core Ultra processors. Aside from reframing your video, you can also use it to do things like adjust your gaze so it looks like you're looking at the camera, and blur your background.

Keyboard

The future is now

One of the reasons that I chose to review the XPS 13, 14, and 16 myself for XDA was because I want to spend as much time with these machines as possible. I keep telling you guys that the new keyboard and touchpad take some getting used to, and it's up to you how well you'll adapt. I really wanted to live inside these products for longer than the traditional couple-week review period.

If you're unfamiliar with what I'm talking about, both the keyboard and touchpad are radically different from anything else you'll find on the market. The keys are square, and they're not islanded, meaning there's no space between them.

The more I use the keyboard and haptic touchpad, the more I love it.

The haptic touchpad is borderless, so there's no physical barrier that tells you where your finger should stop trying to drag something. And frankly, if you're spending a couple grand on a laptop, you should be pretty sure that you'll be happy using it for a long time.

And the more I use it, the more I love it. The key depth is 1mm, which is incredibly shallow, but the strange thing is that I'd never have guessed it. It feels really comfortable, which means that the XPS team put a lot of care into compensating the shallow depth with the proper amount of force.

Unlike previous reviews with the form factor (the XPS 13 Plus 2022, XPS 13 Plus 2023, and this year's XPS 16), I really just felt at home using it. When you first start using a borderless touchpad, you'll definitely find it works about 98% of the time. That other 2% is really frustrating. For the most part, it's muscle memory. This time around, it worked 100% of the time, proving that it's fairly easy to adapt to the product after a brief period of time.

Other companies use haptic touchpads, like Lenovo with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon or Microsoft with the Surface Laptop Studio 2, but those have borders around them. LG's Gram Style doesn't have any kind of physical barrier, but a border lights up around the touchpad while you use it. I've criticized Dell in the past for not including something similar, but this time around, I'm convinced that it's not necessary.

So yes, I've finally fallen in love with the square keys and the borderless touchpad. Moreover, I've already been in love with the capacitive function buttons. I barely use F-keys anymore, and I appreciate that the text on the keys changes when you press the Fn keys.

I review a lot of laptops. If I get a new laptop and press F1, it might work as F1 by default, or it might mute the sound. Dell just telling you what the key is going to do when you press it is the innovation I didn't know I needed.

Performance

An XPS 13 and an XPS 15 get married

The whole Dell XPS lineup has Intel Core Ultra H-series processors, which means more powerful graphics, a NPU for on-device AI tasks, and more. For comparison, the last generation of XPS devices had Intel U9 chips in the XPS 13, 28W P-series chips in the XPS 13 Plus, and H-series CPUs in the XPS 15 and 17. The XPS 15 was offered with up to an RTX 4070, so the XPS 14 isn't quite as powerful with its RTX 4050. The internals are right in-between what you'd expect from an XPS 13 Plus and an XPS 15.

The Dell XPS 14 is the perfect laptop for editing photos.

The XPS 14 is wonderful for editing photos, handling powerful tasks like a champ in Adobe Lightroom Classic. Combine that with the colorful OLED display and you can't beat it. It can handle video editing too, but if you're editing 4K, you'll probably want the additional power that comes from the XPS 16.

You can see that the score that really sets the XPS 14 apart from the XPS 13 and the Spectre x360 is Time Spy. That's the one that has the most to gain from GPU performance, so while Intel is definitely promising a big boost from its integrated Arc graphics, you still get more from the RTX 4050.

As far as battery life goes, I found that it could get up to eight hours, and it was able to do it fairly consistently. Of course, with Intel-powered laptops, there's only so consistent that it can get. Under heavy load (this includes anything from using Adobe apps to Google Meet calls), I got as little as 195 minutes. Of course, to perform those tasks, I also boosted the power slider up to best performance. Like I said, with regular usage, you can expect about eight hours. Just don't leave without a charger.

Should you buy the Dell XPS 14 (2024)?

You should buy the Dell XPS 14 (2024) if:

• You want a product that stands out from the rest
• You're open to adapting to new features
• You want a 14-inch laptop that has a bit more power than a more traditional one, so if you're going heavy on things like photo editing

You should NOT buy the Dell XPS 14 (2024) if:

• The heavy weight of the product is too much for you
• You're on a budget

The Dell XPS 14 (2024) is pretty close to perfect. It really seems to hit that sweet spot that combines power, modern features, and hitting the fundamentals. You have to need the power though, because if this isn't the perfect laptop for you, then the 3.8-pound weight is way too much to carry. I'd say to turn your eyes to the 2.6-pound XPS 13 in that case, and I do stand by that, but the screen is notably smaller. You might want to take a look at something like a Lenovo Yoga 9i or a Dell Inspiron 14 Plus. The latter is especially true if you're on a budget, as the XPS 14 is pricey.

But it's also awesome. I love the Dell XPS 14, and I hope it keeps the product around when it inevitably consolidates its lineup.