The new Dell XPS 14 keeps much of the more adventurous and sleek design elements, but dials back the ones that created the most uproar. The laptop now has a standard row of function keys (yay!), as well as subtle divider lines for the trackpad. These lines are a particularly smart inclusion, as your finger will bump up against them but they don’t detract from the overall look. It still uses a haptic feedback mechanism to artificially generate the feeling of a click through vibration, which gives you the most consistent and customizable trackpad experience. I did experience a few mis-clicks from time to time, but overall, it’s very smooth and enjoyable to use.
Important to this new generation is the size. The Dell XPS 14 is now just 0.58 inch thick (or 0.60 in the LCD model). That’s a tenth of an inch thinner than the previous generation (the Dell 14 Premium), and just so happens to be slightly thinner than the 14-inch MacBook Pro. It also weighs just 3 pounds, around a half-pound lighter than the MacBook Pro. This is a pretty huge achievement in its own right, as many of the would-be contenders to the MacBook Pro in terms of performance end up being thicker and heavier laptops.
Photograph: Luke Larsen
The keyboard still uses the same low-key-travel switches that some will hate and some will love. For me, it’s fun to type on, but I did find it produced a lot more errors in my typing. That lessened over time as I refamiliarized myself with how the switches feel, but be forewarned: There’s a learning curve. On the plus side, I’ve always liked the zero-lattice keyboard, which gives it larger keycaps and less wasted space on the keyboard deck.
One other change is in the ports. You still get three Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack, but gone is the microSD card slot. As someone who regularly needs one, I really wish Dell could have squeezed a full-size SD card slot in here, especially since these laptops are targeted toward creators.