Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. When we reviewed the Dell 14 Plus earlier this year, we praised its fantastic value, reliability, and solid build. Now, Dell has marked down the laptop's already low price to $649, staying competitive to the online retailer's Big Prime Deal Days event. Also: Best Amazon Prime Day deals 2025: Our 90+ favorite sales this October If you're looking for a high-performing 14-inch laptop with the latest hardware, Dell's 14 Plus is a great choice for students, professionals, or creatives. The best thing about this laptop is its versatility; with an Intel Core Ultra 7 or 9 processor, 16GB or 32GB of RAM, and a good selection of ports, this is a laptop that's suited to a variety of modern workloads. Let's take a closer look at what we liked about it, and highlight what might not be for you. As we mentioned, Dell's Plus new lineup includes laptops that are versatile and high-performing relative to cost, with some of the best consumer-facing hardware of the year. The Dell 14 Plus was released earlier in 2025 and is the successor to other similarly-priced laptops in Dell's midrange lineup like the Inspiron 14 Plus. The laptop comes with one USB-A port, two USB-Cs (one of which is a Thunderbolt 4), an HDMI 2.1 port, and an audio jack. It also supports Wi-Fi 7, giving it top-tier connectivity, something you'll appreciate if you're a remote or hybrid worker. Review: This Dell laptop is my top pick for both work and travel - especially at this price The 64WHr battery performed about as expected in our testing, running for about 11 hours and 40 minutes under Best Power Efficiency before draining completely. In practical terms, this is a laptop that will likely last a full workday on one charge under normal load, but will see much better longevity in battery saver mode. The Dell 14 Plus with Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD is the starting configuration for $649, but there are two additional models with 32GB of RAM and an Intel Core Ultra 9 288V processor -- one of the most high-performing on the market right now. So let's consider the traits that might not be for everyone. First off, the display on the Dell 14 Plus is a 2.5K non-touchscreen IPS, maxing out at 300 nits of brightness. It's not a bad display, but it won't look as vibrant as some of the other flashy OLED screens out there. If you're just going to hook up your laptop to an external monitor anyway, this won't be of much concern. Also: Best Amazon Prime Day laptop deals 2025: My 30 favorites sales live now Secondly, the Dell 14 Plus is certainly portable, but compared to some of the razor-thin laptops on the market right now, its 3.4-pound weight places it on the chunkier end. Just keep in mind that it's a trade-off, and the Dell 14 Plus is going to have more powerful hardware (and run faster) than competing ultralight laptops. Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends. How I rated this deal We praised the Dell 14 Plus' bang-for-buck when it first released, so when we saw the sale price of $649, we jumped on board. This is a great price for a laptop in general, not to mention one with the latest hardware in 2025 from a solid, jack-of-all-trades lineup that we awarded our Editor's Choice to. When will this deal expire? Deals are subject to sell out or expire anytime, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We're sorry if you've missed out on this deal, but don't fret -- we're constantly finding new chances to save and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com. Show more How do we rate deals at ZDNET? We aim to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. ZDNET offers 33 years of experience, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 square feet of lab space to ensure we bring you the best of tech. In 2025, we refined our approach to deals, developing a measurable system for sharing savings with readers like you. Our editor's deal rating badges are affixed to most of our deal content, making it easy to interpret our expertise to help you make the best purchase decision. At the core of this approach is a percentage-off-based system to classify savings offered on top-tech products, combined with a sliding-scale system based on our team members' expertise and several factors like frequency, brand or product recognition, and more. The result? Hand-crafted deals chosen specifically for ZDNET readers like you, fully backed by our experts. Also: How we rate deals at ZDNET in 2025 Show more