This Dell laptop is my top pick for both work and travel - especially at this price

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Dell 14 Plus is presently connected sale, starting astatine $649 for the 16GB version.
• During a clip of economical turmoil, this laptop is simply a lifeline, providing next-gen show astatine an affordable price.
• However, don't expect excessively overmuch from its display, arsenic it's nary OLED oregon 4K panel.

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Back successful aboriginal 2025, Dell made a bold move. The institution announced that it was going to rebrand its full portfolio. Classic names similar "XPS" and "Inspiron" were thrown retired to beryllium replaced with much generic-sounding titles. 

These see "Dell," "Dell Pro," and "Dell Premium." I've been anxious to effort retired this procreation to spot if it introduces a caller epoch for Dell oregon if it's much of the same. I precocious had that accidental with the Dell 14 Plus.

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This is the company's latest midrange laptop and 1 of the successors to the Inspiron series. It adjacent looks similar an Inspiron, sporting the acquainted operation of gray, rubber keys connected an all-silver body. Although the plan isn't revolutionary, I inactive had a fantastic clip with the Dell 14 Plus. 

It's this substance of tried-and-true tech with next-gen advancements. To repetition what I said successful my old Inspiron 14 Plus review, "the instrumentality has galore of the hallmark features I bask successful a laptop."

If it ain't broke, don't hole it

The comfy keyboard from the Inspiron 14 has returned. Its chiclet-shaped keys stay gentle yet responsive to the touch. They beryllium wrong a chassis chiefly made retired of aluminum, giving Dell's instrumentality a nice, sturdy feel. Like before, the edges connected the bottommost fractional are rounded for comfort.

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I besides similar to deliberation that Dell work my past reappraisal due to the fact that I recommended that the marque proceed utilizing the aforesaid anti-fingerprint manufacturing method for aboriginal products. Sure enough, the Dell 14 Plus did not person a azygous fingerprint smudge connected it successful each my clip handling it.

Solid performance

Inside my reappraisal was an Intel Core Ultra 256V processor, an integrated Intel Arc graphics card, and 16GB of memory. Below is simply a array highlighting the Dell 14 Plus' show results crossed aggregate benchmark tests. I besides included different laptops with akin hardware for comparison.

Looking astatine the numbers, you'll announcement that Dell's machine did rather good successful the 3 tests. It outperformed the Lenovo Yoga 9i Aura Edition successful each metric and is precise adjacent to outdoing the HP EliteBook. 

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This tells maine the 14 Plus renders high-resolution images rapidly and tackles demanding workloads with comparative ease. It's not a high-end model, but the configuration tin present a akin experience.

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

This acquisition was reflected by my different show test, successful which I ran 50 antithetic tabs connected Google Chrome. My enactment included respective YouTube unrecorded streams (some successful 4K resolution), 10 ZDNET articles, 5 Amazon merchandise listings, and a bid of randomly chosen GIFs.

Unsurprisingly, the Dell 14 Plus did great. It handled each of the unfastened windows with conscionable a interaction of slowdown; thing excessively debilitating. The 1 large downside of the dense workload was overheating -- the keyboard became a small lukewarm aft respective minutes.

Let's speech astir that display

So, the laptop delivers a top-notch show successful summation to having a coagulated design. You whitethorn beryllium wondering, "Are determination immoderate issues with the Dell 14 Plus?" Yes, I wasn't a large instrumentality of the display. It isn't atrocious per se; the surface conscionable didn't stroke maine away. Perhaps I've been spoiled by different laptops that excel successful these areas.

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My reappraisal portion had a 14-inch 2.5K (2,540 x 1,600) show that delivered awesome representation detail. The display's anti-glare coating helps support clarity nether agleam conditions. However, compared to the Lenovo Yoga 9i mentioned earlier, the Dell 14 Plus has a noticeably dull screen. 

And it's not without support. Dolby Vision is present, allowing the show to enactment a wide scope of colors, but it's inactive not great.

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

Also wrong the chassis are a brace of 2.5W speakers supported by Waves MaxxAudio Pro and Dolby Atmos Cores. Together, they alteration immersive dependable output. However, the drivers are located astatine the bottommost of the laptop, pointing down. I've ne'er been a instrumentality of this placement arsenic it muffles the sound.

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Fortunately, the aforementioned audio bundle pairing allows the Dell 14 Plus to circumvent this regulation somewhat. Music and dialog dependable good coming retired of the speakers. That said, I can't assistance but wonderment however amended the dependable output would beryllium if the drivers were connected top.

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

In presumption of artillery life, the Dell 14 Plus ran for astir 11 hours and 40 minutes nether Best Power Efficiency earlier draining completely. For the involvement of comparison, the Lenovo Yoga 9i Aura Edition tin deed a coagulated 12 hours with the close optimization. I extremity up liking Dell's instrumentality much due to the fact that it offers a comparable acquisition astatine a little price.

ZDNET's buying advice

At the clip of publishing, the Dell 14 Plus starts astatine conscionable $649. My reappraisal unit's configuration is somewhat much costly astatine $1,250. The astir almighty enactment comes with an Intel Core Ultra 9 288V chipset and 32GB of RAM. It is presently connected merchantability astatine a discounted $1,060. All 3 travel with a 1 TB SSD.

Dell's latest instrumentality stands gangly arsenic a large affordable enactment that performs precise good amongst a oversea of costly computers. It was specified a bully acquisition that I americium overlooking the fewer issues I had with it. I highly urge it to anyone looking for a next-gen laptop that won't marque your wallet cringe astatine the terms tag. For me, it is decidedly a item of 2025.

That said, if you are looking for thing else, I urge the Lenovo Yoga 9i Aura Edition. It has a importantly amended show and robust AI features, though it is much expensive. 

This nonfiction was primitively published connected May 15, 2025, and was updated connected August 29, 2025 to bespeak the updated price, which makes the Dell laptop an adjacent much formiddable pickup for students and bureau workers.