Dell 14 Plus Review: A fresh start or the same old review?
Dell is in In the middle of the transition. There are new logos and new simplified approaches to branding. The Dell 14 Plus is one of the first laptops to launch to test water in this new era. This era is seeing the end of sub-brands like XPS and Inspiron. While more exciting XPS alternatives are still coming, the Dell 14 Plus arrived to step into the old Inspiron and laptop shoes.
That’s far from The most exciting laptop The world offers a strong balance of quality and value. Cheap laptop.
Dell on the Shell
Photo: Luke Larsen
The Dell 14 Plus is not what I would call a clean laptop. But I don’t think it’s trying to do that. Instead, it’s about to get uncomfortable. In the past, it may have meant a black shell of plastic. These days it means a silver chassis with fewer distractions and ornaments. The Dell 14 Plus makes it a success.
More importantly, the laptop feels rather sturdy in your hands. The lid has an absolute zero give, due to how well the hinge is wrapped. However, it cannot be opened with just one finger. In fact, there are no fingers, no lids, and no lips. The device is only 0.67 inches thick, but the lid is also thicker than usual. It’s not thinner than a MacBook Airno, but it’s thin enough to feel modern for a laptop at this price. It also has enough space to narrow down some legacy ports, including USB-A and HDMI. This is added to two USB-C ports and a headphone jack. My only complaint is that both USB-C ports are on the left side. That is, you are the only one who can claim it.
One thing that will keep the Dell 14 Plus from feeling like a more premium laptop is the screen. It has a thick plastic bezel and uses a heavy matte finish. It helps to deflect the glare, but it makes the display look cheaper, making it more dimmable and more saturated. That’s a shame, as the screen itself is solid. This is an incredibly well-tuned IPS panel with decent color coverage. According to my tests, it closes with a brightness of 332 nits.
It should be noted that Dell offers better display options on the 2-in-1 model. It’s a glossy mini-driven display, but is currently not available from anything I can see.
The Dell 14 Plus has a serviceable keyboard and touchpad. When I received the unit, I was worried about the quality of the touchpad. That’s as the side of the middle tier laptop that tends to compromise on. The touchpad is not perfect. The surface is not as smooth as I would like. However, this touchpad is responsive and I’m happy to report that the click mechanism is not very large.
Limited options
Photo: Luke Larsen
The Dell 14 Plus comes with a single processor option, the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V. It is Intel’s modern and efficient CPU, which ensures battery life jumps over the previous generation. I’ve already tested this chip many times and the Dell 14 Plus handles it well. The Dell 14 Plus even has a relatively cool and quiet job to stay. This isn’t like the laptop you buy to run heavy applications or games, but for school, office work, or creating light content, the Dell 14 Plus has a lot of muscle.