In this new generation, size matters. The Dell XPS 14 It is now only 0.58 inches thick. It’s a tenth of an inch thinner than the previous generation (the Dell 14 Premium), and it just so happens to be slightly thinner than the 14-inch MacBook Pro. It also weighs just 1.5 kg, about half a kilogram less than the MacBook Pro. That’s a big achievement, as many of the MacBook Pro’s competition in terms of performance end up being laptops thicker and heavier.
Photography: Luke Larsen
The keyboard still uses the same small-travel switches that some will hate and others will love. It’s fun to type for me, but I’ve found that it creates a lot more typos. This lessened over time as I reacquainted myself with the feel of the switches, but be aware: there is a learning curve. On the plus side, I’ve always liked the zero-lattice keyboard, which gives it bigger keys and less wasted keyboard space.
Another change is the ports. It still has three Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone port, but the microSD card slot is gone. As someone who needs one regularly, I wish Dell had included a full-sized SD card slot, especially after these laptops They are aimed at creators.
Build quality is exceptional, as you’d expect, with a touch of flex in the lid and keyboard. Even now, you can open the device with one finger, something XPS of the past always had trouble with.
Get OLED
There is a small problem with the configuration of the screens XPS 14 from Dell. The base configuration comes with a standard 1920 x 1200 LCD screen, despite being priced at $1,699. This is a big drawback of the mini LED display of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which is sharper, more colorful and much brighter. The MBP is even $100 cheaper and comes with an extra 8GB of RAM.
The most expensive OLED model comes standard with the Core Ultra X7 configuration, with the option of upgrading to X9. But it’s not a standard OLED, but rather a tandem OLED, which the company used for the first time in the XPS 13. The result is not more brightness, but more efficiency for longer battery life.
