From time to time firms make really boneheaded selections, which is strictly what occurred when Dell killed off the title of its most iconic PC line and changed it with one thing generic. It's like if Ford determined to rebrand Mustang and name it The Prime Sportscar as a substitute. It doesn't make sense. However now that XPS has change into Premium, it's time to see if Dell's newest flagship 14-inch ultraportable — the Dell 14 Premium (you see how dumb that sounds?) — nonetheless has the DNA that made its predecessors among the best pocket book households for greater than a decade.
Design and show: How Dell places the P in Premium
As a substitute of doing a full redesign to match its up to date title, for 2025 Dell saved the identical chassis it used on final 12 months's XPS 14. And I'm not mad in any respect as a result of it's nonetheless some of the stunning and chic notebooks in the marketplace at present. Its aluminum chassis has clear traces, a Gorilla Glass 3 floor and simply the correct quantity of ports for a laptop computer this dimension: three USB-C slots with Thunderbolt 4, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD slot. That's necessary, as a result of the 14 Premium's smaller sibling — the XPS 13 (which isn’t being renamed but as a result of it isn't getting up to date this 12 months) — doesn't have a headphone jack or a built-in card reader. That stated, at between 3.66 and three.79 kilos relying on which show you decide, the 14 Premium is a contact heavier than a few of its similarly-sized rivals like a 14-inch MacBook Professional (3.4 kilos). The distinction is sufficiently small that I'm not bothered, although.
There's additionally a glass wrist relaxation with a touchpad that blends invisibly into the deck, which could make it appear probably laborious to make use of. Nonetheless, as a result of the monitoring space is completely huge (it spans all the space under the spacebar plus the appropriate ALT and Copilot keys), I by no means felt cramped or like I wanted to actively seek for my cursor. I additionally respect how Dell discovered room for audio system on both aspect of the keyboard.
However, Dell's contact buttons above the quantity row could also be a bit extra contentious. I don't thoughts those for adjusting quantity and show brightness, however changing the bodily keys for Escape and Delete with the touchscreen choices simply feels a bit bizarre. Particularly for those who ever want to make use of the basic Home windows CTRL + ALT + DEL shortcut and must press common keys and contact controls in a single movement. The contact keys additionally don't flip off if you disable the keyboard's backlight, however a minimum of they're dim sufficient that they're not distracting.
As for its show, by default the 14 Premium comes with a 14.5-inch 2K 120Hz non-touch IPS show. Nonetheless, on our evaluation unit, I've been utilizing Dell's non-compulsory 3.2K 120Hz contact OLED panel and I have to say, it's undoubtedly definitely worth the $200 upcharge. That's as a result of whereas the OLED display screen has barely decrease max brightness (400 nits versus 500 nits for the IPS), its wider shade gamut and improved distinction ratio greater than make up for that shortcoming.
Efficiency: Not probably the most up-to-date, however nonetheless very versatile
A base Dell 14 Premium comes with an Intel Core Extremely 7 255H CPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of M.2 storage. Nonetheless, our evaluation unit consists of additional reminiscence (32GB), an even bigger SSD (1TB) and maybe most significantly, an non-compulsory NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU.
All instructed, that's a fairly well-rounded bundle, as Dell's default config has greater than sufficient efficiency to deal with just about any degree of normal productiveness. And by including in assist for discrete graphics, out of the blue you’ve gotten a machine that's considerably higher geared up to maintain extra demanding duties like video modifying and even gaming in your off hours. Granted, the 14 Premium's RTX 4050 card is an entry-level part that just lately turned a era previous, however it was robust sufficient to hit 60 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p on excessive settings (with DLSS set to balanced), which ain't too shabby contemplating its portability.
Battery life: Ok
The Dell 14 Premium packs good however not excellent battery life because of its 69.5WHr energy pack. On PCMark10's Fashionable Workplace rundown check, it lasted 8 hours and half-hour on the dot That’s considerably longer than ASUS' ROG Z Move 13 (6:54) and final 12 months's Razer Blade 14 (6:46), however nonetheless a far cry from true power-sipping programs just like the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (12:43) and even Dell's personal XPS 13 (13:15).
Wrap-up
Even with a brand new and somewhat uninspired title, it most likely shouldn't come as a shock that the Dell 14 Premium stays among the best Home windows laptops in the marketplace. It has the identical glossy design from again when it was nonetheless known as the XPS 14 however with some refreshed specs and elements for 2025. Its chassis strikes an excellent stability between fashionable minimalism and value, whereas upgrades like its OLED show and discrete graphics provide the potential to construct out a flexible however nonetheless very transportable gadget.
Now I admit that our absolutely loaded evaluation unit is a bit dear with a retail worth of $2,450, although I'd be remiss to say that Dell is at the moment working a sale that knocks $200 off that value. Regardless, with the bottom mannequin beginning at $1,650 (earlier than reductions) or $1,850 when paired with Dell's non-compulsory OLED panel (which everybody ought to a minimum of take into account), the 14 Premium nonetheless seems like a terrific deal. And when you think about that the XPS 13 isn't getting any updates this 12 months on high of getting fewer ports, the selection turns into even clearer. If I have been going to spend my very own cash on a standard Home windows ultraportable laptop computer, that is the laptop computer I'd get.
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