Dell made a misstep in ending its XPS laptop line in favor of a lineup with models labeled Plus, Premium and Pro. It has admitted as much and announced last month that it was making the XPS’s absence a short one. Only a year after killing them off, Dell pulled an about-face and resurrected its most well-known laptop brand.
Dell was so excited about the return of the XPS that it sent me not one but two XPS 14 models to review. And I’m excited to dig into these machines, but I didn’t want to wait until they were fully tested to share my thoughts. So, here are my initial observations as I get this pair of Dell XPS 14 laptops set up for testing.
XPS returns after a year away
The XPS line returns with the XPS 14 and XPS 16 (with an XPS 13 to follow later this year). Dell sent me a pair of XPS 14 laptops. Each is based on Intel Panther Lake processors, with the biggest differences being the CPUs (the integrated GPU on each, in particular) and displays (IPS LCD on one, touchscreen OLED on the other).
Here’s what I got:
Dell XPS 14 model No. 1
- CPU: 8-core Intel Core Ultra 7-355
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5-7467
- Graphics: Intel Arc with 4 Xe cores
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Display: IPS LCD with 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution
- Price: $1,700 (starting Feb. 19)
Dell XPS 14 model No. 2
- CPU: 16-core Intel Ultra X7-358H
- RAM: 32GB LPDDR5-9600
- Graphics: Intel Arc B390 with 12 Xe3 cores
- Storage: 1TB SSD
- Display: tandem touchscreen OLED with 2,880×1,800-pixel resolution
- Price: $2,200
The Dell XPS 14 starts at $1,600 with a Core Ultra 5-325 CPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD and an IPS LCD. Dell told me that the Core Ultra 7-355 offering is expected to hit next Thursday, Feb. 19.
Look at that! A Function row made up of physical keys.
The XPS 14 slides in at closer to 3 pounds, which is a more typical weight for a 14-inch laptop. Each model weighs just under 3.2 pounds. (The lower-end model with the IPS display weighs 3.18 pounds, and the touchscreen OLED model is slightly lighter at 3.15 pounds.) Dell made the XPS 14 lighter without sacrificing the build quality, too. It feels just as solid as the Dell 14 Premium.
The XPS 14 is made from CNC-machined aluminum that is practically flex-free. The laptop pulls off the neat trick of actually looking more solid than the 14 Premium while being thinner and lighter. The XPS 14 loses the tapered design of the 14 Premium for a more steady, slab-like appearance, and looks even more like a MacBook Pro now. It’s slightly thinner and a few ounces lighter than the 14-inch, 3.5-pound MacBook Pro.
The haptic touchpad now has etched lines on each side so you can see and feel its borders.
The latticeless keyboard also returns, but the keys feel a bit firmer than before with snappier feedback. The port selection is the same, with a trio of Thunderbolt 4 ports and an audio jack, but the microSD card slot from the 14 Premium is missing here.
And there you have it, the XPS 14 is back and better than, well, the 14 Premium before it. It’s slightly smaller but significantly lighter while correcting the error of the touch-sensitive strip of Function row icons. So far, it’s made a good first impression. Check back soon for my full review with performance and battery testing. And for the OLED model with the Intel Core Ultra X7-358H chip and Arc B390 graphics, I’ll run our gaming benchmarks to see how it handles AAA titles.
