Dell XPS 14 (9440) Review: The Most Attractive Intel Evo Laptop Out There

Dell’s XPS 14 (9440) is a laptop that’s held its own despite the flurry of launches (brand-new chips and exciting new models) in the ensuing months. Intel, AMD and even Qualcomm have launched new chips that provide for better efficiency and in turn, an improved battery life.  

Nonetheless, it has a great-looking design (which debuted with the XPS 13 Plus two years ago), a minimalist notebook, capacitive LED-lit function row keys, no visible touchpad and a sturdy build. This design language has been applied to the 14-inch and 16-inch models (replacing the XPS 15 and 17) in the premium XPS series. It’s not a cheap proposition, by any means, but it’s a great laptop. 

Besides the design, the XPS 14 has included the Meteor Lake CPU (Intel’s first CPU that offers a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for all that AI work) that has proven to hold its own over the many months since the launch. There’s also Microsoft’s dedicated Windows Copilot (AI-enhanced) key. But the less said about that the better. All the AI features haven’t been launched as of yet, so to say that the Copilot key is useful would be premature. 

The icing on the cake is that despite the thin-and-light design, there is the option for a discrete GPU (my review unit is outfitted with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050. Speaking of which, I tried a few games such as Football Manager, Sid Meier's Civilization VI, Counter-Strike 2, and even Halo Infinite. They all ran smoothly except for Halo Infinite which had a slight drop-off in FPS when playing on high settings. Using a DLL upscaler from Nvidia can boost the frame rates, but you won’t notice a big difference in day-to-day gameplay. 

What configurations are available? 

Looking at the Dell website you’ll notice slim picking when it comes to configuring the Dell XPS 14 (9440) laptop. The only processor available is the Core Ultra 7 155H (capable in its own right) from Intel. You can pick between Intel Arc graphics or the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 I mentioned above. You must go for the dedicated graphics card as that enables you to perform many high-end tasks with this laptop. You get either 16GB or 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. There’s also no choice for choosing a different display. This is a good thing, as the 14.5-inch touchscreen 3.2K OLED display, is fantastic. 

There’s also just the platinum colour way and the backlit keyboard with a fingerprint reader. 

 What’s good 

Let’s rundown what I liked with the Dell XPS 14 laptop over my one month of usage: 

- Design: Like I said above, this is one of the most beautiful looking consumer-grade laptop on the market. The icing on the cake is that there is absolutely no flex and the hinge is solid. 

- Display: OLED displays are fantastic. The 14.5-inch OLED InfiniteEdge display on my review unit is brimming with vibrant colours, deep blacks, good brightness. The 3.2K resolution shines through when consuming media. With a 120Hz refresh rate, doomscrolling has never been better. Just turn on the trailer for Godzilla Minus One and you’ll be bedazzled. The multitude of colours, combined with some fast-moving action, make for a treat. 

- The invisible trackpad: Some may like it, and some may dislike it. When it first debuted, I was very torn. Whilst it added to the laptop’s appeal, ‘finding’ the trackpad was quite a task. This time around, I fall in the category of those who like and appreciate it. I had no issues finding the spot for clicks, multi-finger gestures and navigation. 

- Keyboard: Thanks to the flat edges and rounded corners, the device feels comfortable to type on. There’s ample amount of key travel and good feedback from the keys.  

- No smudges: There’s only one colourway, Platinum, but it does a good job of keeping fingerprints and scratches away. Yes, the lid of the laptop can pick up some,m but the inside will not. 

- Great performance: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with an Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU perform admirably on a daily basis. For most tasks, you’ll notice little to no lag. Whether you’re running Adoe Photoshop, or playing some older AAA titles, you’ll be a happy camper. The laptop isn’t meant for the latest games at their highest settings and that’s fine as this isn’t a gaming laptop. Intel has done a good job of optimising the chip and it shines when you’re multitasking. 

- Quad speakers: Yes, the quad speakers are fuller, and come with a thumping output. It’s better than most stereo laptop speakers (unless you have one of those that are tuned by Bang & Olufsen. 

- Webcam: Hallelujah! The webcam on the XPS 14 has been upgraded to a 1080p resolution. This means that you can get a sharper and more crispr image than before. The webcam also doubles up as an IR sensor for Windows Hello. 

Also Read: https://www.outlookbusiness.com/technology/vivo-v40-pro-review-the-best-mid-range-smartphone-for-its-camera-chops

What I didn’t like 

Yes, the Dell XPS 14 isn’t perfect and let me tell you why. 

- Battery life: Each new chip this year, from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X series to Intel’s Lunar Lake, and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 all tout massive battery life gains. With the Dell XPS 9440 running on Meteor Lake (Intel Core Ultra), the same can’t be said. Despite not even being over a year old, the chipset lags in the battery life department. It used to be the case where 8-9 hours of battery life was considered good. Nowadays, anything under 12 hours is poor. And the XPS 14, sadly, falls into that category. 

- Port selection: Yes, thanks to the thin chassis, the XPS 14 has a minimal selection of ports. There’s the three Thunderbolt 4 ports (two on the left, and one of the right), a microSD card slot and a headphone jack. That’s it. To be fair, Dell does include an adapter for USB-A and HDMI connectivity, but who’ll remember to pack it every time. 

- Capacitive function row: I do like the touch-sensitive function row that lies above the keyboard but I’d have preferred physical Function keys. What if, in the off chance, there is some issue and the Function row is disabled. How am I supposed to key in the all-important Ctrl-Alt-Del command?! One other thing is that the Function row features always-on LEDs, which I wish could be turned off at times. 

 Verdict: An expensive proposition 

While I have mostly praised the XPS 14, I haven’t even gotten to the pricing yet. Maxed out, the laptop comes to a whopping ₹2,53,090. That’s one heft asking price. You do get the gorgeous OLD display, the futuristic design, and speedy performance. 

On the other hand, the battery life is lagging, and several new chips have launched in the ensuing months. Intel did a good job with Meteor Lake but, with Lunar Lake showing even more promise (especially concerning power efficiency and battery life), it might be best to wait for the next iteration of the Dell XPS line of lineups. 

But, all-in all, if you do go for the Dell XPS 14, you will not be disappointed (unless you’re an avid gamer). Not even for a mere second.