Dell XPS 14 (2026) review: A beautiful laptop that excels at almost everything… except typing
Source: Engadget
Dell XPS 14 (2026) Review
There is so much to love about Dell’s new XPS 14, it’s hard for me to discuss it without sounding like a total fanboy. Its new design makes it incredibly thin and light, and Intel’s Panther Lake chips give it a ton of power—even when it comes to games. After reviving the XPS brand from last year’s ignominious rebranding, it feels as if Dell was laser‑focused on fixing all the issues we’ve had with the XPS 14 so far.
Unfortunately, a shallow, unresponsive, and hilariously error‑prone keyboard kept me from truly loving the XPS 14. Simply put, it has trouble recognizing keys if you press them too quickly in succession. For fast and demanding typists like myself, that leads to countless errors that disrupt your flow. In the last sentence alone, I counted ten times where I had to go back and make sure commas appeared before a space, or tweak simple spelling errors. What good is a fast, light, and beautiful machine if I can’t type a sentence in peace?
Dell’s revamped XPS 14 is lighter and more powerful than ever, but it’s hampered by an annoying keyboard.
Pros
- Gorgeous and light design
- Powerful Intel chips
- Lovely OLED screen
- Fixes previous design mistakes
Cons
- Baffling keyboard issues
- Expensive for beefy configs
- Mediocre battery life
It’s not unusual for laptop keyboards to require a bit of user training, but my issues with the XPS 14 aren’t from a lack of practice—it simply doesn’t recognize key presses as quickly as every other laptop I’ve tested. As you can see in the video below, quick key presses are almost always recognized in reverse, or sometimes aren’t recognized at all. Those issues mostly go away if you type more slowly and deliberately, but that seems like a ridiculous compromise for a premium machine in 2026.
Dell engineers are currently testing one of the two review samples I received, both of which exhibited the exact same keyboard issue. Other reviewers have also noted that they need to type more slowly for the keyboard to work best. Gizmodo’s Kyle Barr seems to be just as frustrated with the keyboard as I am, but he thinks it’s due to Dell’s seamless key design, which doesn’t have any spaces between keys. My brother, who is an IT professional, also noticed the input issues when he typed on the XPS 14.
I’m not crazy, I swear!
According to Dell, its engineers say that “a small batch of early XPS units” have the quick‑typing issue I ran into. They also say the issue is currently resolved and doesn’t affect XPS units shipping now. The company plans to release a firmware fix later this month, and I’ll be sure to update this review once I get my hands on it. But given that these laptops have been out in the wild for weeks, I decided to review the XPS 14 as is. TL;DR: it’s the prettiest machine I’ve ever used that I hate to type on.
Design & Build
Seriously, this thing is gorgeous. Dell’s designers outdid themselves with the machine’s smooth metal case, which is more MacBook‑like than its boxy predecessors. It’s astonishing this system weighs just three pounds, putting it right between the 3.4‑pound 14‑inch MacBook Pro and the 2.7‑pound 13.6‑inch MacBook Air. It’s also only a third of a pound heavier than the MacBook Neo, Apple’s attempt at an under‑powered entry‑level laptop.
I’m also glad to see that Dell has listened to complaints about how over‑designed the last XPS line was. For example, the company has kept its “invisible” trackpad, which sits flush with the laptop’s wrist rest, but now adds two faint lines that designate where, exactly, the trackpad begins and ends. This solution is reminiscent of Apple’s MacBooks, which feature large glass trackpads separated by a light border from their metal cases. Thanks to these subtle lines— which don’t detract from the XPS 14’s minimalist aesthetic— I feel more confident swiping around.
Dell also reversed course on the wonky capacitive function row from previous models. The old capacitive row looked cool but suffered from serious usability issues: it wasn’t tactile enough for touch‑typing and disappeared in direct sunlight. This XPS 14 brings back a normal keyed function row, which is easier to touch‑type on and actually works outdoors. (I sometimes wonder if Dell’s designers ever went outside with the last XPS 14.)
Display
Our review model’s 2.8K 14‑inch OLED touchscreen looked spectacular, with bold colors and wonderfully deep black levels. But that’s pretty much what I’ve come to expect from OLED by this point. I can’t get enough of the extra eye‑candy OLED adds to photos and videos, and it makes a huge difference with games as well. Note that OLED is only available for the priciest XPS 14; all other models get a standard non‑touch 2K LCD.
Connectivity
When it comes to connectivity, the new XPS 14 offers three USB‑C ports and a headphone jack. The microSD card slot from the previous model is gone, and there’s also no HDMI or USB‑Type A connections like you’d find on similar systems from ASUS and Acer. Apple’s 14‑inch MacBook Pro, notably, features three USB‑C ports, a full‑sized HDMI slot, a large SD card reader, and a headphone jack.
End of cleaned markdown.
Dell XPS 14 (2026)
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Dell XPS 14 (2026) case logo
Overview
Beyond Dell’s redesign, the main star of the XPS 14 is Intel’s new Panther Lake Core Ultra X7 358H chip, which offers serious graphics upgrades over the previous generation. Our review unit (32 GB RAM, Intel’s built‑in Arc B390 GPU) reached 130 fps in Arc Raiders at 1080p with medium settings, XeSS upscaling, and frame generation. I could play several rounds with no lag—my only distraction was the lingering realization I was gaming smoothly on an ultraportable’s integrated graphics.
I wouldn’t recommend the XPS 14 for heavy gamers, but if you need a non‑gaming system for work or school, it’s nice that it can handle some modern titles. I also saw 63 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p, medium settings, with XeSS active—impressive for one of the most demanding PC games in recent memory.
Benchmark Results
| Device | PCMark 10 | Geekbench 6 (Single / Multi) | Geekbench 6 GPU | Cinebench 2024 (Single / Multi) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell XPS 14 (Core Ultra X7 358H) | 9,651 | 2,890 / 16,745 | 56,378 | 125 / 685 |
| MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ (Core Ultra X7 358H) | 10,169 | 2,864 / 16,633 | 56,425 | 117 / 719 |
| Apple MacBook Pro 14‑inch (M5, 2025) | N/A | 4,310 / 18,003 | 48,840 | 197 / 1,034 |
| Dell 16 Premium (Core Ultra 7 255H, RTX 5070) | 7,780 | 2,711 / 15,919 | 109,443 | 127 / 1,104 |
Key takeaways
- The XPS 14 scores similarly to the MSI Prestige 14 AI+ in PCMark 10 and Geekbench 6.
- Its single‑core Geekbench 6 score exceeds that of the ASUS ProArt PX13 GoPro Edition (128 GB RAM, AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395).
- In Geekbench’s multi‑threaded CPU test, the XPS 14 beats the Acer Predator Triton 14 AI (last‑gen Core Ultra 9 288V) by ~3,000 points.
Pricing & Configurations
- Highest‑end configuration (used for benchmarks): starts at $2,250 (64 GB RAM).
- Lowest‑end configuration: starts at $1,450 (Core Ultra 7 355, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB storage).
- In a brief test (keyboard issue required a return to Dell), this model scored ~2,000 points lower than the Ultra X7 in PCMark 10.
- No gaming tests were performed on the entry‑level model; Intel’s beefier Arc graphics are reserved for the X7 and X9 CPUs.
Battery Life
| Device | PCMark 10 Modern Office Battery Test |
|---|---|
| Dell XPS 14 | 10 h 21 min |
| MSI Prestige 14 | 22 h 15 min |
Both laptops were tested in Windows “Balanced” power profile. Additional battery‑saving settings may extend life further.
Keyboard Issues
The XPS 14’s keyboard is a major drawback. I had to type very slowly and make frequent corrections just to finish this review. Dell’s hardware is close to delivering a true MacBook Pro competitor, but the keyboard problem holds it back from greatness.
Update 3/6/26 2:20 PM ET: Added further information about the XPS 14’s keyboard issue and a potential firmware fix.