Dell 14S Review: Higher Price, Better Quality
Dell's new mid-range laptop 14S offers premium design and excellent battery life, but its price and some compromises raise questions about its value.
Dell has launched the new 14S laptop, successor to the Dell 14 Plus, positioned between budget models and the high-end XPS series. It starts at $1,270, significantly higher than its predecessor.
Design and Ports
The Dell 14S is made of aluminum and is only 0.61 inches thin. It offers an OLED display option, but some details hint it's not top-tier: shiny plastic edges and only 2-watt speakers. The laptop has a wide range of ports, including two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.1, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a headphone jack, but lacks an SD card slot. Charging is only possible from one side.
Display and Performance
The OLED display delivers great color reproduction and contrast, but it is very glossy and lacks an anti-reflective coating. Brightness is only 300 nits, so bright lighting often requires max brightness. The resolution is 1920x1200, lower than the 2560x1600 of the Dell 14 Plus. A QHD+ version is reportedly coming but not yet available. The webcam produces a noisy image even in good light.
Battery life is excellent—in local video playback tests, it took 20 hours for the battery to drop by 50%. However, standby battery is not as good as Qualcomm-powered laptops. The device has Smart Charging enabled by default, limiting charge to 80%, and turning it off is cumbersome: requires downloading the MyDell app or accessing BIOS.
Verdict
The Dell 14S is a solid laptop with a great touchpad and performance, but it faces strong competition from cheaper models like the HP OmniBook 5 (at $630) with similar specs. Compared to the Dell 14 Plus and XPS 14, the 14S is hard to recommend due to its high price and some downgrades from the previous generation. Discounts later in the year could improve its appeal.
