Dell 14S overview: 36 hours of battery life, with compromises

Greatest Costs In the present day: Dell 14S

The Dell 14S is a brand new, understated productiveness laptop computer from the producer. It skips the ostentation of the XPS line and has a bit extra in widespread with older Inspiron fashions, however it’s nonetheless constructed with premium supplies and a clear aesthetic. It additionally goals for a extra modest value level whereas nonetheless offering the {hardware} specs mandatory for common workplace use, although the present market doesn’t fairly enable the value to get very low.

In the end, it’s a effective machine with typically respectable qualities, although a number of of these stand out past its distinctive battery life. All of this makes it extra of a middle-of-the-road choice whereas extra thrilling {hardware}, just like the MSI Status Flip 14 AI+ or Acer Swift Edge 14 AI, can nonetheless stand out. 

Dell 14S: Specs and options

• CPU: Intel Core Extremely 7 355
• Reminiscence: 16GB LPDDR5x-7467
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Graphics
• Show: 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen
• Storage: 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD – Kioxia EG7
• Webcam: 2MP + IR
• Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with Energy Supply and DisplayPort 2.1, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6.0
• Biometrics: Home windows Whats up facial recognition
• Battery capability: 69 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 12.35 x 8.82 x 0.61 inches
• Weight: 3.28 kilos
• MSRP: $1,469 as-tested ($1,269 base)

The Dell 14S comes with a number of totally different configuration choices. It begins at $1,269 with an Intel Core Extremely 5 322 processor, Intel Graphics, 16GB of reminiscence, 512GB of storage, and a fundamental 1920×1200 LCD show. Our take a look at unit upgrades the CPU to the Intel Core Extremely 7 355 and the show to an OLED touchscreen, elevating the value to $1,469, although it was discounted to $1,199 throughout testing.

Dell additionally presents upgrades to the Intel Core Extremely X7 358H, Core Extremely 9 386H, 32GB of reminiscence, Intel Arc graphics, and as much as 1TB of storage. Solely the Core Extremely X7 configuration will get Arc graphics, and it bumps the storage and reminiscence up as nicely, elevating the value significantly. Dell’s specs additionally point out a 2560×1600 non-touch WVA panel with a 48-120Hz refresh charge, however it was not obtainable on the time of this writing. The Dell 14S additionally is available in two colours: a darkish Celestial Blue and a light-weight Frost Blue.

Dell 14S: Design and construct high quality

Foundry / Mark Knapp

The Dell 14S presents a modern and easy design. Its exterior is all aluminum with clean edges, clear seams, and nice rigidity to each the show and keyboard deck. It’s a stable machine, accurately. At 3.28 kilos and 0.61 inches thick (plus a little bit additional peak from its rubber toes), it’s not threatening the extra excessive thin-and-light methods on the market. Nonetheless, it’s readily transportable at this dimension and weight.

The design retains issues fairly plain. You gained’t discover false speaker grilles across the keyboard anyplace. The show hinge is a single bar that holds the display screen firmly in place with minimal wiggle and adaptability to 180 levels. The lid has no jutting bits for simpler opening, however it’s straightforward to open all the identical and the hinge is simply free sufficient that it doesn’t elevate the bottom whilst you open the lid. The lid lacks a webcam shutter and there’s no toggle elsewhere on the system, so privacy-minded people could also be in search of a special answer. 

The system sits on two rubber toes within the entrance and a large one within the again. These maintain it fairly regular on desks and tables. A big grille beneath handles air consumption, and scorching air exhausts close to the hinge. This method doesn’t have a number of room for critical airflow or highly effective cooling, although. 

Dell 14S: Keyboard, trackpad

Foundry / Mark Knapp

The keyboard on the Dell 14S continues to maintain issues pretty plain. It options largely sq. keycaps with nearly no contour and easy however efficient white backlighting. Fortunately, there’s a little bit of a niche between the keys. They’re nicely stabilized and so they have a agency press, so that they’re a little bit extra predictable and straightforward to sort on than earlier XPS laptops. I used to be capable of get round 115 phrases per minute in Monkeytype with 97 p.c accuracy. I discovered the dearth of a dish and agency press stored me from my finest speeds at excessive accuracy.

The trackpad is modest in dimension and has a clean glass floor that’s pleasing to swipe round on. It has a mellow however distinct bodily click on that’s been dependable in testing. Throughout testing, I didn’t run into any points with palm rejection and the trackpad confines right-clicks to a small part within the backside proper of its floor, so unintended right-clicks have been additionally uncommon for me. 

Dell 14S: Show, audio

Foundry / Mark Knapp

The show on the Dell 14S is respectable. The OLED panel on our take a look at unit is miles higher than the bottom configuration would have supplied. It achieves 100% protection of the sRGB and DCI-P3 shade areas for vivid visuals whereas the bottom show was solely providing 45 p.c of NTSC (dramatically much less). The show achieves infinite distinction and has a max dE1976 of 1.15 for merely gorgeous shade accuracy. That’s the place the gorgeous ends, although, because the display screen solely reaches a peak of 289 nits and is shiny, so it may possibly wrestle with glare.

The show additionally tops out at simply 60Hz. Contemplating many methods, much more reasonably priced ones, have supplied 90 and even 120Hz shows for some time, the sluggish 60Hz panel feels a little bit dated. The 1920×1200 decision is okay and fairly crisp at this dimension at the least. 

The Dell 14S’s show is a touchscreen. This presents an efficient and intuitive approach to navigate. I discovered it fast and responsive. However the contact layer provides a gritty look to the show when trying carefully. 

The system combines two down-firing, two-watt audio system for good quantity output and respectable frequency vary. The audio system don’t sound too skinny thanks to simply sufficient bass depth. At full quantity, the audio system can distort a little bit, so finest to run them a little bit beneath most for music. However for spoken content material, the audio system work nice. The position of the audio system can intervene with sound output when utilizing the laptop computer in your lap, although.

Dell 14S: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The webcam on the Dell 14S is respectable. It captures a reasonably crisp 1080p with good, pure publicity. It may look a little bit grainy in something however shiny lighting circumstances. I’ve seen far worse, although. The digital camera helps Home windows Whats up facial recognition as nicely, and it has been immediate to activate at startup and login shortly. 

The mic array on the Dell 14S proves itself fairly succesful. Even with some close by fan noise, the mics focus in on my voice alone and seize it with spectacular fullness and minimal compression. The mics even maintain up in a busy café surroundings, cancelling out the hubbub whereas nonetheless selecting my voice up intelligibly. The mics work to isolate my voice so totally that I may even snap my fingers in entrance of my face whereas speaking into them, and so they’d nonetheless solely seize my voice. 

Dell 14S: Connectivity

Foundry / Mark Knapp

The Dell 14S helps a good vary of connection choices. You’ll discover two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left edge to deal with heavy information switch, energy enter, and show output. There’s additionally an HDMI 2.1 port close by. Each side get USB-A ports, however they prime out at 5Gbps. Lastly, the precise edge features a 3.5mm jack. That is about as strong as you’ll discover from 14-inch laptops, with lots choosing fewer ports. 

The wi-fi connections are additionally stable with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0. I used to be capable of get pleasure from steady Wi-Fi whereas utilizing the Dell 14S, and audio to Bluetooth headsets was clear and constant. Even strolling away from the laptop computer round a co-working house with loads of RF interference, I used to be capable of proceed listening to music at a long way with just some crackle when too many partitions stood in the best way. 

Dell 14S: Efficiency

The Dell 14S isn’t geared as much as be a high-performance machine, it doesn’t matter what the “Extremely” within the processor identify suggests. It has an eight-core CPU and 4 of these cores are Low Energy Environment friendly-cores. That is nonetheless sufficient to see it sustain with on a regular basis computing, although.

The Dell 14S earns a modest rating in PCMark 10’s holistic system benchmark, which evaluates efficiency throughout a variety of workplace duties from searching and video conferencing to picture and video enhancing. The Dell 14S performs fairly respectably in fundamental workplace duties, however its inclusion of simply fundamental Intel Graphics holds it again significantly within the digital content material creation portion of the take a look at, which sees its total rating sag. 

The CPU is respectable, however not a powerhouse. It get pleasure from quick single-core efficiency because of its newer Intel structure, serving to it sustain with the opposite methods right here and stay snappy on the whole use. However when hit with a heavy multi-core workload, it gained’t dazzle. It falls behind the competitors right here, even towards some prior-gen chips. 

Although Dell has gone for a skinny system, it appears to have finished a superb job with the cooling. In lengthy, sustained workloads like our HandBrake take a look at, which encodes a big video file right into a decrease decision, the Dell 14S carried out nicely subsequent to its competitors. Regardless of shedding to the MSI Status Flip 14 AI+ in Cinebench, the Dell 14S pulled again forward on this encoding take a look at. It additionally got here loads nearer to the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Version. After all, this take a look at once more reveals some great benefits of an AMD-powered system for CPU horsepower. 

Shamefully, when turning again to 3D efficiency, the Dell 14S cedes all floor. In 3DMark graphical assessments, the Dell 14S’s CPU efficiency stays modest and a prepared rival to those different methods, however its GPU efficiency is a fraction of those different methods. The GPU persistently fails to even hit half the efficiency. 

Dell 14S: Battery life

The Dell 14S could have made some concessions with the decision and refresh charge of its show and its total efficiency, however it makes up for these a superb bit when taking a look at its battery life. In our offline 4K video playback take a look at, which runs a neighborhood copy of Tears of Metal on loop with the show brightness set to 250 nits, the Dell 14S lasted almost 36 hours, letting it leap previous by the latest record-setting MSI Status Flip 14 AI+ by over an hour even whereas wielding a smaller battery. In an area the place breaking 20 hours remains to be a uncommon feat, breaking 35 is wild. 

Precise runtime utilizing the laptop computer for work will range significantly from that take a look at, although. In my common workplace use with Chrome and at the least a dozen tabs open, a Bluetooth headset related, and music streaming, I tended to be on observe for about 10 hours of runtime.

The system additionally ran PCMark 10’s built-in battery benchmark with the identical 250-nit whitepoint and Wi-Fi on for 21:59, once more beating the class-leading MSI Status Flip 14 AI+’s 18:14, although when battery saver engages for the final 30 p.c of its cost, the Dell 14S show’s brightness drops to 67 p.c, which is just 117 nits.

Dell 14S: Conclusion

The Dell 14S is a good, middle-of-the-pack machine. It doesn’t provide distinctive efficiency or an eye catching design, however its modesty doesn’t damage it a lot both. It nonetheless packs a beautiful show, even when it may stand to be brighter. The efficiency could possibly be sooner, however typically retains up with on a regular basis workplace duties and searching. And the design is lots transportable whereas nonetheless providing ample cooling to the {hardware}.

Most impressively, the Dell 14S runs effectively, providing the longest battery life I’ve seen in offline video playback, even when precise workplace runtimes fall again into the realm of cause with nearer to 10 hours of uptime. If all you’re after is straightforward high quality, the Dell 14S suits the invoice, however I’d be way more inclined to get the equally priced MSI Status Flip 14 AI+ because of its additional reminiscence, storage, graphics efficiency, flexibility, and lighter design or the Acer Swift Edge 14 AI for its show alone.