Now and again corporations make in reality boneheaded choices, which is strictly and changed it with one thing generic. It is like if Ford determined to rebrand Mustang and contact it The High Sportscar as an alternative. It does not make sense. However now that XPS has transform Top class, it is time to see if Dell’s newest flagship 14-inch ultraportable — the Dell 14 Top class (you notice how dumb that sounds?) — nonetheless has the DNA that made its predecessors probably the most very best pocket book households for greater than a decade.
Design and show: How Dell places the P in Top class
As a substitute of doing a complete redesign to check its up to date title, for 2025 Dell saved the similar chassis it used on final 12 months’s XPS 14. And I am not mad in any respect as a result of it is nonetheless one of the stunning and sublime notebooks in the marketplace nowadays. Its aluminum chassis has blank strains, a Gorilla Glass 3 floor and simply the correct amount of ports for a pc this measurement: 3 USB-C slots with Thunderbolt 4, a three.5mm audio jack and a microSD slot. That is vital, since the 14 Top class’s smaller sibling — the XPS 13 (which isn’t being renamed but as a result of it is not getting up to date this 12 months) — does not have a headphone jack or a integrated card reader. That stated, at between 3.66 and three.79 kilos relying on which show you select, the 14 Top class is a marginally heavier than a few of its similarly-sized opponents like a 14-inch MacBook Professional (3.4 kilos). The variation is sufficiently small that I am not , regardless that.
Dell / Engadget
Whilst Dell rebranded the XPS 14 with a brand new and albeit worse title, it is nonetheless each bit the world-class Home windows pc that its predecessors have been.
- Graceful design
- Bright not obligatory OLED show
- Forged efficiency
- Massive touchpad
- Divisive capacitive contact buttons
- Non-compulsory discrete GPU is one technology outdated
There is additionally a tumbler wrist relaxation with a touchpad that blends invisibly into the deck, which may make it appear doubtlessly exhausting to make use of. Alternatively, since the monitoring space is basically huge (it spans all of the space beneath the spacebar plus the proper ALT and Copilot keys), I by no means felt cramped or like I had to actively seek for my cursor. I additionally recognize how Dell discovered room for audio system on both sides of the keyboard.
Then again, Dell’s contact buttons above the quantity row could also be just a little extra contentious. I do not thoughts those for adjusting quantity and show brightness, however changing the bodily keys for Get away and Delete with the touchscreen choices simply feels just a little bizarre. Particularly if you happen to ever want to use the vintage Home windows CTRL + ALT + DEL shortcut and must press common keys and contact controls in one movement. The contact keys additionally do not flip off whilst you disable the keyboard’s backlight, however no less than they are dim sufficient that they are now not distracting.
The Dell 14 Top class will also be provided with an not obligatory OLED show for $200, which is definitely worth the added price in our opinion.
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
As for its show, through default the 14 Top class comes with a 14.5-inch 2K 120Hz non-touch IPS show. Alternatively, on our evaluation unit, I have been the use of Dell’s not obligatory 3.2K 120Hz contact OLED panel and I will have to say, it is unquestionably definitely worth the $200 upcharge. That is as a result of whilst the OLED display screen has reasonably decrease max brightness (400 nits as opposed to 500 nits for the IPS), its wider colour gamut and progressed distinction ratio greater than make up for that shortcoming.
Efficiency: No longer essentially the most up-to-date, however nonetheless very flexible
A base Dell 14 Top class comes with an Intel Core Extremely 7 255H CPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of M.2 garage. Alternatively, our evaluation unit comprises further reminiscence (32GB), a larger SSD (1TB) and in all probability most significantly, an not obligatory NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU.
The Dell 14 Top class’s invisible touchpad may appear tough to find, however it is so massive that it by no means turns into a subject.
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
All instructed, that is a horny well-rounded package deal, as Dell’s default config has greater than sufficient efficiency to take care of just about any point of normal productiveness. And through including in make stronger for discrete graphics, abruptly you’ve got a device that is much better provided to deal with extra tough duties like video enhancing and even gaming for your off hours. Granted, the 14 Top class’s RTX 4050 card is an entry-level element that just lately was a technology outdated, but it surely was once robust sufficient to hit 60 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p on prime settings (with DLSS set to balanced), which ain’t too shabby making an allowance for its portability.
Battery existence: Excellent sufficient
Not like the Dell’s smaller XPS 13 (which is not getting an replace for 2025), the 14 Top class options each a three.5mm audio jack and a microSD card slot.
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
The Dell 14 Top class packs excellent however now not exceptional battery existence because of its 69.5WHr persistent pack. On PCMark10’s Fashionable Place of work rundown check, it lasted 8 hours and half-hour at the dot That’s considerably longer than and final 12 months’s , however nonetheless a a ways cry from true power-sipping programs just like the (12:43) and even .
Wrap-up
Even with a brand new and fairly uninspired title, it almost definitely should not come as a marvel that the Dell 14 Top class stays probably the most very best Home windows laptops in the marketplace. It has the similar graceful design from again when it was once nonetheless referred to as the XPS 14 however with some refreshed specifications and elements for 2025. Its chassis moves an excellent steadiness between trendy minimalism and usefulness, whilst upgrades like its OLED show and discrete graphics provide the talent to construct out a flexible however nonetheless very transportable instrument.
The Dell 14 Top class is created from aluminum and Gorilla Glass 3 and is to be had in two colours: platinum and graphite.
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
Now I admit that our totally loaded evaluation unit is just a little dear with a retail value of $2,450, regardless that I might be remiss to say that Dell is recently working a sale that knocks $200 off that price. Regardless, with the bottom fashion beginning at $1,650 (prior to reductions) or $1,850 when paired with Dell’s not obligatory OLED panel (which everybody will have to no less than believe), the 14 Top class nonetheless appears like a super deal. And whilst you believe that the XPS 13 is not getting any updates this 12 months on best of getting fewer ports, the selection turns into even clearer. If I have been going to spend my very own cash on a conventional Home windows ultraportable pc, that is the pc I might get.
