Dell has brought back the XPS name for its 14-inch laptop just one year after abandoning it, and the new model fixes the two loudest complaints about its predecessor: a shockingly heavy chassis and a touch-sensitive function row. Starting at $1,350—with frequent discounts that regularly knock off $250—the 2026 XPS 14 weighs as little as 3.15 pounds and replaces the glossy capacitive strip with real, tactile Esc, volume, and media keys.

The most visible fix: physical keys return

The Dell 14 Premium’s most divisive feature was its illuminated touch bar in place of the function row. It looked sleek but proved miserable in daily use—nobody wants to fumble for Esc during a frozen app or BIOS prompt. The XPS 14 eliminates that design mistake entirely. Traditional keys are back, each with a firm, stable press that reviewers say feels less wobbly than the previous model’s. The haptic touchpad beneath the latticeless keyboard now has subtle etched lines on either side, so you can feel its active area without breaking the minimalist look.

Half a pound lighter—and now lighter than a MacBook Pro

Weight was the prior design’s more fundamental flaw. The Dell 14 Premium tipped scales at 3.8 pounds, absurd for a 14-inch laptop without discrete graphics. The XPS 14 sheds more than half a pound, landing between 3.15 and 3.18 pounds depending on configuration. That puts it comfortably below Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro (3.5 pounds) and makes it one of the lightest premium Windows ultraportables in its class. The CNC-machined aluminum chassis is just as rigid, but it no longer feels like a brick in your bag. Thin bezels keep the footprint compact—roughly 12.2 inches wide and 8.3 inches deep.

Intel Panther Lake inside: three processor tiers

Dell offers three Intel Panther Lake (Core Ultra Series 3) chips:

  • Core Ultra 5 325 – entry-level, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, non-touch IPS
  • Core Ultra 7 355 – 8-core CPU, Intel Graphics (4 Xe3 cores), 512 GB / 1 TB SSD options
  • Core Ultra X7 358H – 16-core CPU, Intel Arc B390 integrated GPU (12 Xe3 cores), 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, OLED option

The X7 model is the real story for anyone who dabbles in gaming or content creation. CNET’s testing recorded 64 fps in Guardians of the Galaxy at 1080p High and 50 fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at its highest preset. More demanding titles like Assassin’s Creed Shadows needed XeSS frame generation to hit 60 fps, but the laptop stayed cool and quiet throughout—not a gaming notebook in disguise, but far more capable than typical integrated graphics.

Display choices: upgrade to OLED is a no-brainer

The base 14-inch display is a 1920×1200 IPS panel with a 120 Hz dynamic refresh rate. It’s bright (535 nits peak) and sip power, but color coverage is modest: 98% sRGB, 73% DCI-P3. For $150 more, you get a 2880×1800 OLED touchscreen with 120 Hz and far better color—100% sRGB, 100% DCI-P3, 95% AdobeRGB. Blacks are truly black, contrast is immense, and text looks razor sharp. The only tradeoff is battery life: the OLED model lasted 14 hours 42 minutes in CNET’s streaming test, versus over 21 hours for the IPS configuration. For most people, that’s still a full workday plus a transcontinental flight.

Battery life and connectivity

Both models posted excellent runtimes thanks to Panther Lake’s efficiency. The IPS XPS 14 exceeded 21 hours in looping video playback; the OLED fell just shy of 15 hours. Real-world use will vary, but even the shorter figure comfortably outlasts most workdays. That’s a massive leap over the Dell 14 Premium’s 10.3-hour result.

Port selection remains a sore point: three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports and a headphone jack. No HDMI, no USB-A, no SD card slot, and no adapter in the box. For desk warriors using a Thunderbolt dock, it’s fine. For field technicians or anyone who frequently plugs in legacy devices, it’s a dongle tax. There’s also no fingerprint reader—only an IR camera for Windows Hello facial recognition. Many premium laptops include both.

How we got here: a one-year branding disaster

In early 2025, Dell abandoned its iconic XPS, Inspiron, and Latitude names in favor of a simplified “Dell, Dell Plus, Dell Premium” scheme. The Dell 14 Premium was the flagship of that lineup. It flopped. Reviewers universally hated the touch function row, and the 3.8-pound weight made it a burden rather than a premium machine. Dell backpedaled quickly: at CES 2026, the company resurrected XPS with the 14 and 16 models, and an XPS 13 is promised for later this year. The reversal is as stark as New Coke’s return to Classic—and just as instructive.

What to do now: configuration advice and discounts

If you’re buying an XPS 14, skip the base Core Ultra 5 unless budget is paramount. The sweet spot is the Core Ultra 7 with IPS display for maximum battery life and solid everyday performance—currently $1,450 after Dell’s typical $250 discount. For creatives or gamers who value visuals, the Core Ultra X7 with OLED at $1,950 is the pick; that extra $150 for the screen and $300-ish for the faster processor and GPU is money well spent. Remember, RAM is soldered and not upgradeable, so spec 32 GB upfront if you multitask heavily.

Factor in a USB-C hub if you own HDMI monitors or USB-A peripherals. The weight difference from the old Dell 14 Premium is transformative if you carry your laptop daily. Windows shops that standardize on XPS 15 or Latitude should consider this a viable, more portable alternative for executives and road warriors, though IT admins will miss the fingerprint reader for MFA scenarios.

Outlook: the XPS line has its mojo back

Dell’s quick course correction shows the company is listening. With the XPS 14, it has a credible MacBook Pro alternative that doesn’t force compromises on weight or input. Apple’s M5 chip still leads in raw CPU performance and stretch battery life, but Windows users who value the operating system, integrated Arc gaming, or simply a lighter chassis now have a genuine flagship to consider. The upcoming XPS 13 could bring these same improvements to an even more portable shape, and the XPS 16 targets creators who need a larger canvas. Dell has turned a branding disaster into a reset, and the XPS badge feels earned again.