A lovely laptop computer that excels at nearly every little thing… besides typing

There may be a lot to like about Dell’s new XPS 14, it is exhausting for me to debate it with out sounding like a complete fanboy. Its new design makes it extremely skinny and light-weight. And Intel’s Panther Lake chips give it a ton of energy, even with regards to video games. After reviving the XPS model from final 12 months’s ignominious rebranding, it is as if Dell was laser-focused on fixing all the problems we have had with the XPS 14 to date.

Sadly, a shallow, unresponsive and hilariously error-prone keyboard stored me from actually loving the XPS 14. Merely put, it has hassle recognizing keys for those who press them too rapidly in succession. And for quick and demanding typists like myself, that results in numerous errors that disrupt your stream. Within the final sentence alone, I counted ten instances the place I had to return and ensure commas appeared earlier than an area, or tweak easy spelling errors. What good is a quick, mild and exquisite machine if I can not sort a sentence in peace?

It is common for laptop computer keyboards to require a little bit of person coaching. However my points with the XPS 14 aren’t from a scarcity of follow — it merely would not acknowledge key presses as rapidly as each different laptop computer I’ve examined. As you’ll be able to see within the video beneath, fast key presses are nearly at all times acknowledged in reverse, or typically aren’t acknowledged in any respect. These points principally go away for those who sort extra slowly and intentionally, however that looks as if a ridiculous compromise for a premium machine in 2026.

Dell engineers are at the moment testing one of many two evaluate samples I obtained, each of which exhibited the very same keyboard subject. Different reviewers have additionally famous that they should sort extra slowly for the keyboard to work greatest. Gizmodo’s Kyle Barr appears to be just as frustrated with the keyboard as I’m, however he thinks it is because of Dell’s seamless key design, which does not have any areas between keys. My brother, who’s an IT skilled, additionally observed the enter points when he typed on the XPS 14.

I am not loopy, I swear!

In response to Dell, its engineers consider a firmware repair may remedy my points, however it’s unclear when that may truly arrive. On condition that these laptops have been out within the wild for weeks, I made a decision to evaluate the XPS 14 as is. TL;DR, it is the prettiest machine I’ve ever used that I hate to sort on.

Critically, this factor is beautiful. Dell’s designers outdid themselves with the machine’s easy metallic case, which is extra MacBook-like than its boxy predecessors. It is astonishing this method weighs simply three kilos, placing it proper between the three.4-pound 14-inch MacBook Professional and the two.7-pound 13.6-inch MacBook Air. It is also only a third of a pound heavier than the MacBook Neo, Apple’s try at an underpowered entry-level laptop computer.

I am additionally glad to see that Dell has heard my complaints about how over-designed the final XPS line was. For instance, the corporate has caught with its “invisible” trackpad, which sits flush with the laptop computer’s wrist relaxation. However now there are two faint strains that designate the place, precisely, the trackpad begins and ends. It is a answer harking back to Apple’s MacBooks, which all characteristic massive glass trackpads separated by a lightweight border from their metallic circumstances. Thanks to those two small strains, which do not detract from XPS 14’s minimalist aesthetic, I really feel extra assured swiping round.

Dell additionally reversed course on the wonky capacitive operate row from the earlier fashions — which once more, appeared cool, however had some severe usability points. It was powerful to the touch sort with them, since they did not really feel as tactile as regular keys. And most crucially, the capacitive operate row utterly disappeared in direct daylight. God forbid you had been outdoors and needed to alter the amount stage! This XPS 14 brings again a traditional keyed operate row, which is simpler to the touch sort on and really works in direct daylight. (I typically surprise if Dell’s designers ever went outdoors with the final XPS 14.)

Our evaluate mannequin’s 2.8K 14-inch OLED touchscreen appeared spectacular, with daring colours and splendidly deep black ranges. However that is just about what I’ve come to anticipate from OLED by this level. I can not get sufficient of the additional eye sweet OLED provides to pictures and movies, and it makes an enormous distinction with video games as effectively. However take word that OLED is just obtainable for the priciest XPS 14, all different fashions get a typical non-touch 2K LCD.

In relation to connectivity, three USB-C ports and a headphone jack are all you get with the brand new XPS 14. The microSD card slot from the earlier mannequin is gone, and there is additionally no HDMI or USB Kind A connections such as you’d discover on related programs from ASUS and Acer. Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Professional, notably, options three USB-C ports, a full-sized HDMI slot, a big SD card reader and a headphone jack.

Past Dell’s redesign, the principle star of the XPS 14 is Intel’s new Panther Lake Core Extremely X7 358H chip, which presents some severe graphics upgrades during the last era. Our evaluate unit, which featured 32GB of RAM and Intel’s built-in Arc B390 GPU, was capable of attain 130fps in Arc Raiders whereas enjoying in 1080p with medium graphics settings, in addition to XeSS upscaling and body era. I used to be capable of play by means of a couple of rounds with no lag — my solely distraction was the lingering realization I used to be enjoying so easily on an ultraportable’s built-in graphics.

I definitely would not suggest the XPS 14 for heavy avid gamers. However for those who’re compelled to decide on a brand new non-gaming system for work or faculty, it is definitely good that it may play some fashionable titles effectively. I additionally noticed 63fps whereas enjoying Cyberpunk 2077 in 1080p with medium graphics settings and XeSS tech lively. Not dangerous for some of the demanding PC video games in current reminiscence!

Benchmarks additionally level to loads of energy beneath the hood: The XPS 14 scored equally to the MSI Status 14 AI+, which additionally has the Extremely X7 358H chip, in PCMark 10 and Geekbench 6. I used to be additionally shocked to see that its single-core Geekbench 6 rating was greater than ASUS’s ProArt PX13 GoPro Version, a beastly machine with 128GB of RAM and a strong AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip. The XPS 14 additionally scored 3,000 factors greater than the Acer Predator Triton 14 AI gaming laptop computer (powered by a last-gen Core Extremely 9 288V chip) in Geekbench’s multi-threaded CPU check.

Clearly, this was a progress 12 months for Intel’s {hardware}. Simply remember that all of our figures come from Dell’s highest-end XPS 14 configuration, which at the moment begins at $2,250 with 64GB of RAM on the corporate’s website. The bottom-end configuration, which begins at $1,450, comes with an Intel Core Extremely 7 355 chip, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. After I briefly examined that system (it needed to be despatched again to Dell for that keyboard subject), it scored 2,000 factors decrease than the Extremely X7 mannequin in PCMark 10. I did not get to recreation on the entry-level XPS 14, however I would not anticipate a lot, since Intel’s beefy Arc graphics are reserved for its pricier X7 and X9 CPUs.

I used to be additionally shocked to see that the XPS 14 lasted simply 10 hours and 21 minutes in PCMark 10’s Fashionable workplace battery check. The MSI Status 14 went for a whopping 22 hours and quarter-hour — that’s way more in keeping with Intel’s effectivity claims for Panther Lake programs. I examined each the XPS 14 and MSI Status 14 in Window’s “balanced” battery profile, so that you might be able to eke out extra life with extra battery saving options turned on.

If I had been to evaluate the XPS 14 based mostly purely on its specs and design alone, it could be my favourite Home windows laptop computer obtainable immediately. However I swear, I can not stay with its keyboard points. I needed to significantly decelerate my typing simply to get this evaluate written, and even then I nonetheless needed to again up and make extra corrections than typical. Dell is so shut to creating a PC that’s a real MacBook Professional competitor, it is a disgrace a easy keyboard subject holds the XPS 14 again from true greatness.