Verdict — Biggest Changes Yet For The Series
The 2022 XPS revision was such a tangent for the series that many of its new features received mixed responses from longtime XPS fans. For 2026, this latest revision tackles many of the criticisms for significant ergonomic improvements all around. The chassis is stiffer, the touch-sensitive Function keys are gone, the clickpad is easier to see, and the webcam is now greater than 1080p to rival most competitors. Servicing is slightly more difficult, but it's a small price to pay considering how much stronger the new design feels and how much louder the 10 W speakers are.
Performance-wise, Panther Lake has done wonders for the XPS 14 series as it comes quite close to the GeForce RTX 4050 without the additional weight or power requirements. Even gamers will find the Arc B390 to be very powerful for an integrated GPU.
There are still several aspects of the XPS 14 that can be improved upon. A camera shutter continues to be missing, for example, and the dropped MicroSD slot can be a huge thorn for content creators. Both Turbo Boost performance and HDR support are weaker than on competitors like the Asus ExpertBook Ultra while the relatively soft key feedback may not be ideal for typists. It's also unfortunate that the new XPS 14 is half an inch smaller in screen size than the outgoing design for less screen real estate.
The new XPS 14 is nonetheless the most refined revision thus far for the series to be an easier recommendation over the 2025 Dell 14 Premium.
Pros
Cons
Price and Availability
Dell is currently shipping the 2026 XPS 14 starting at $1600 for the base configuration or $2200 for the configuration as reviewed.
After an arguably confusing year of transitioning away from the XPS branding, Dell is pivoting back to the recognizable name with the 2026 XPS 14 complete with Intel's latest Panther Lake CPU platform. The model sports a brand new exterior design from the previous generation 2025 Dell 14 Premium or 2024 XPS 14 series.
Our test unit is a middle configuration with the Core Ultra X7 358H CPU and 2.8K OLED touchscreen for approximately $2200 USD. Lesser SKUs ship with the Core Ultra 5 325 and 2K non-touch display while the highest-end SKU includes the Core Ultra X9 388H.
Alternatives to the XPS 14 include other prosumer ultrathin subnotebooks like the Asus ExpertBook Ultra, HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI, Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10.
More Dell reviews:
Specifications
Case — A Proper Evolution
The redesigned chassis has been extensively covered in our original preview video as shown below. Visually, the most notable change involves the front and side edges which are now flatter and no longer tapered. The front edge is therefore just as thick as the rear edge similar to the MacBook Pro or Razer Blade designs.
Aesthetically, the logos on the system have also been swapped around; whereas the 'Dell' and 'XPS' logos on the 2025 model were on the top and bottom covers, respectively, the 'Dell' logo is now on the bottom while the 'XPS' logo is on top.
The 2026 model is simultaneously thinner and lighter than the previous design while still managing to feel denser and more rigid especially along the front edge. However, much of this difference can be attributed to the move from a larger 14.5-inch screen size to just 14.0-inch. It is nonetheless heavier than competitors like the HP EliteBook X G1i 14 or ExpertBook Ultra by 200 to 300 grams each.
Connectivity
The triple USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports from last year's design have returned. Unfortunately, SD card users have gotten the short end of the stick as the reader has been dropped.
Webcam
Despite the massive upgrade to 8 MP from just 2 MP on the Dell 14 Premium, there is still no physical privacy shutter.

Maintenance
Servicing procedures are both different and slightly more difficult than the previous design. After removing the four bottom T5 screws, the keyboard deck must be carefully separated from the base with a sharp edge to reveal the motherboard components.
The official servicing guide can be found here.
Sustainability
The system consists of 75 percent recycled aluminum on the top and bottom covers, 50 percent recycled cobalt in the battery, 90 percent recycled steel for the keycaps, 10 percent recycled glass for the OLED touchscreen SKU, and 100 percent recycled copper in portions of the PCB. The packaging itself is fully recyclable with no plastics.
Accessories And Warranty
There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter and paperwork. The usual one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies if purchased in the US.
Input Devices — No More Touch Buttons!
Keyboard
The new XPS 14 addresses certain concerns with the older keyboard and clickpad design. Most obvious is the omission of the top row of touch-sensitive keys in favor of more traditional keys a la the Dell Pro 13 Premium. Key travel and feedback are otherwise similar to last year's zero-lattice layout which we find to be shallower and softer than the keys of the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 or HP EliteBook 14 series.
Touchpad
While the seamless clickpad on last year's design was quite spacious, it lacked visual borders and so it was difficult to know where the touch-sensitive surface would begin or end. The new XPS 14 adds subtle etching along the sides of the clickpad (~15.2 x 7.5 cm) to improve usability without being visually intrusive. Haptic feedback could have been stronger and clickier, however, but at least it is not overly sensitive unlike what we experienced on the haptic clickpad of the ExpertBook Ultra.
Display
Two display options are available as follows:
- 1920 x 1200, non-touch, matte, 500 nits, 100% sRGB, IPS, 1 - 120 Hz
- 2880 x 1800, touchscreen, glossy, 500 nits, 100% DCI-P3, OLED, 20 - 120 Hz
The XPS 14 utilizes a more traditional Gorilla Glass 3 glossy OLED display in contrast to the matte Gorilla Glass Victus tandem OLED display of the ExpertBook Ultra. The OLED screen here is definitely not as grainy as on the Asus, but maximum HDR brightness is only half as dim at best for weaker HDR support.
Dell has swapped OLED suppliers from Samsung on last year's model to LG Philips for this 2026 revision. Core attributes are very similar between the panels aside from their size difference (14-inch vs. 14.5-inch)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 96 %
Center on Battery: 393.8 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE ColorChecker Calman: 1.27 | ∀{0.5-29.43 Ø4.76}
calibrated: 0.71
ΔE Greyscale Calman: 2 | ∀{0.09-98 Ø5}
98.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 3D)
99.7% Display P3 (Argyll 3D)
Gamma: 2.19
CCT: 6379 K
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H LG Philips 140WT2, OLED, 2880x1800, 14", 120 Hz | Dell 14 Premium Samsung 145FB02, OLED, 3200x2000, 14.5", 120 Hz | Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED SDC41A2, OLED, 3200x2000, 14.5", 120 Hz | Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA Samsung ATNA40LE01-0, OLED, 2880x1800, 14", 120 Hz | Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 LEN145WQ+, OLED, 3000x1876, 14.5", 120 Hz | HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI IPS, 1920x1200, 14", 60 Hz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -4% | -4% | -5% | -1% | -20% | |
| Display P3 Coverage (%) | 99.7 | 99.3 0% | 98.5 -1% | 96.2 -4% | 99.5 0% | 69.9 -30% |
| sRGB Coverage (%) | 100 | 100 0% | 100 0% | 100 0% | 99.4 -1% | 98.4 -2% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage (%) | 98.2 | 87.2 -11% | 87.2 -11% | 86.7 -12% | 95.5 -3% | 71.6 -27% |
| Response Times | 11% | 16% | 15% | 37% | -4079% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * (ms) | 0.75 ? | 0.72 ? 4% | 0.7 ? 7% | 0.71 ? 5% | 0.63 ? 16% | 42.3 ? -5540% |
| Response Time Black / White * (ms) | 1.03 ? | 0.96 ? 7% | 0.77 ? 25% | 0.94 ? 9% | 0.54 ? 48% | 28 ? -2618% |
| PWM Frequency (Hz) | 240.62 ? | 475 | 480 | 968.8 ? | 120 ? | |
| PWM Amplitude * (%) | 29 | 23 21% | 20 31% | 15 48% | ||
| Screen | -61% | -12% | 23% | 33% | -33% | |
| Brightness middle (cd/m²) | 393.8 | 349.3 -11% | 351 -11% | 600.5 52% | 497 26% | 487.5 24% |
| Brightness (cd/m²) | 389 | 352 -10% | 353 -9% | 612 57% | 500 29% | 469 21% |
| Brightness Distribution (%) | 96 | 98 2% | 97 1% | 96 0% | 96 0% | 91 -5% |
| Black Level * (cd/m²) | 0.26 | |||||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.27 | 3.47 -173% | 1.7 -34% | 1.18 7% | 0.7 45% | 2.37 -87% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.35 | 7.38 -120% | 2.2 34% | 3.4 -1% | 1.7 49% | 5.77 -72% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 0.71 | 1.3 -83% | 0.8 -13% | 0.73 -3% | 0.86 -21% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2 | 2.6 -30% | 3.1 -55% | 1 50% | 1 50% | 3.8 -90% |
| Gamma | 2.19 100% | 2.22 99% | 2.12 104% | 2.27 97% | 2.22 99% | 2.14 103% |
| CCT | 6379 102% | 6758 96% | 6616 98% | 6567 99% | 6404 101% | 6540 99% |
| Contrast (:1) | 1875 | |||||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -18% /
-31% | 0% /
-6% | 11% /
15% | 23% /
26% | -1377% /
-704% |
* ... smaller is better
The display ships well-calibrated with average grayscale and color deltaE values of 2 or less. Calibrating the panel further with our colorimeter would only improve colors marginally.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1.03 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.53 ms rise | |
| ↘ 0.5 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 4 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.1 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 0.75 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.43 ms rise | |
| ↘ 0.32 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (31.5 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 240.62 Hz Amplitude: 29 % | ≤ 100 % brightness setting | |
The display backlight flickers at 240.62 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 100 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 240.62 Hz is relatively low, so sensitive users will likely notice flickering and experience eyestrain at the stated brightness setting and below. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8033 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance — Panther Lake Boost
Testing Conditions
We set Windows and Dell Optimizer to Performance mode prior to running the benchmarks below.
Processor
Raw CPU performance is within 5 percent of the Core Ultra 7 255H on average in last year's Dell 14 Premium and so existing owners shouldn't expect any significant boosts in this regard. Furthermore, multi-thread performance would throttle by as much as 25 percent when running CineBench R15 xT in a loop as shown by the comparison graph below. The Asus ExpertBook Ultra, which ships with the same Core Ultra X7 358H CPU as our Dell unit, would throttle noticeably less for faster performance.
Upgrading to the highest-end Core Ultra X9 388H SKU is only expected to improve performance by 5 to 10 percent based on our time with the Asus ZenBook Duo.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance rating | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (10451 - 12221, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (29763 - 29930, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (3916 - 4549, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (63425 - 63827, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (4729 - 4735, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (14716 - 14777, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (4678 - 5127, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (1140 - 1168, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (5478 - 6506, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (30538 - 32133, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
System Performance
PCMark 10: Score | Essentials | Productivity | Digital Content Creation
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
WebXPRT 3: Overall
WebXPRT 4: Overall
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: Total
Geekbench AI: Single Precision GPU 1.5 | Half Precision GPU 1.5 | Quantized GPU 1.5
| Performance rating | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 -3! | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED -3! | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (9298 - 9880, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (10811 - 11263, n=2) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (14899 - 16780, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (13541 - 13847, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (1884 - 1955, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (1678 - 1719, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (2241 - 2398, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (1560 - 1585, n=2) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| WebXPRT 3 / Overall | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (304 - 338, n=2) | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| WebXPRT 4 / Overall | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (279 - 305, n=2) | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 / Total | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (445 - 449, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Geekbench AI / Single Precision GPU 1.5 | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (11592 - 12255, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Geekbench AI / Half Precision GPU 1.5 | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (20292 - 21796, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Geekbench AI / Quantized GPU 1.5 | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (7898 - 8011, n=2) | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
* ... smaller is better
| PCMark 10 Score | 9880 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (117245 - 132641, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (119858 - 134966, n=2) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (n=1) | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
| Drive Performance rating - Percent | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The integrated Arc B390 is one of the major highlights of the 2026 XPS 14. Year-over-year performance is such a massive improvement over the Arc 140T in the 2025 Dell 14 Premium that it even matches or outperforms the 2024 XPS 14 with dedicated GeForce RTX 4050 graphics. 3DMark scores are roughly 2x the Arc 140T while being 25 to 40 percent greater than the RTX 4050. For professional rendering operations, however, the CUDA cores of the Nvidia GPU are still the faster option by roughly 35 percent.
Running on battery power unfortunately impacts performance just slightly as shown by our Fire Strike results table below. The deficit may become even greater if set to Balanced mode instead of Performance mode.
| Power Profile | Graphics Score | Physics Score | Combined Score |
| Performance Mode | 17324 | 25143 | 4879 |
| Balanced Mode | 14560 (-16%) | 21811 (-13%) | 4073 (-17%) |
| Battery Power | 15875 (-8%) | 27090 (-8%) | 4578 (-6%) |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 18603 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 48038 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 14336 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 7546 points | |
Help | ||
* ... smaller is better
Gaming Performance
While not a gaming laptop, the new XPS 14 can run demanding titles like Black Myth Wukong at decent 1080p settings. Note that overall gaming performance is only within 10 percent of the RTX 4050-powered XPS 14 on average even though our synthetic 3DMark scores suggest wider deltas.
| Performance rating - Percent | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Cyberpunk 2077 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset (FSR off) | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Baldur's Gate 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark - 1920x1080 High Quality | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Strange Brigade - 1920x1080 ultra AA:ultra AF:16 | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Dota 2 Reborn - 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| X-Plane 11.11 - 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED | |
| Dell 14 Premium | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI | |
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra FPS Chart
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V (2015) | 176.7 | 171 | 98.2 | 43.3 | 30.9 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 135 | 95.4 | 107.6 | 105.4 | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 123.5 | 73.7 | 52.8 | 39 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 59.7 | 47.1 | 40.3 | ||
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 384 | 138.6 | 103.3 | 95.1 | 71.7 |
| Baldur's Gate 3 (2023) | 64.3 | 55.4 | 49 | 48.7 | 34.9 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (2023) | 68.6 | 56.2 | 46.9 | 40.9 | 24.7 |
| F1 24 (2024) | 145.9 | 132.2 | 100.7 | 36.2 | 23.8 |
| Black Myth: Wukong (2024) | 43 | 34 | 26 | 14 | 11 |
| ARC Raiders (2025) | 104.3 | 57 | 42.4 | 28 | 19.2 |
Emissions
System Noise
The new XPS 14 is able to stay quieter for longer than on last year's model. When running 3DMark 06, for example, fan noise would stabilize at 34 dB(A) towards the end of the first benchmark scene compared to 39 dB(A) on the older Arrow Lake model. Otherwise, the fan noise ceiling still tops out at around 45 dB(A) to be similar to before.
Noise level
| Idle |
| 23.3 / 23.3 / 23.3 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 34 / 45.7 dB(A) |
![]() | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min: | ||
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU | Dell 14 Premium Ultra 7 255H, Arc 140T | Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED Ultra 7 155H, GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU | Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU | Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 Ultra 9 285H, Arc 140T | HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI Core Ultra 7 268V, Arc 140V | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -3% | -8% | 3% | -11% | -10% | |
| off / environment * (dB) | 22.9 | 23 -0% | 24.3 -6% | 22.9 -0% | 24.5 -7% | 28.2 -23% |
| Idle Minimum * (dB) | 23.3 | 23.2 -0% | 24.3 -4% | 23.4 -0% | 24.5 -5% | 28.4 -22% |
| Idle Average * (dB) | 23.3 | 24 -3% | 26.5 -14% | 23.4 -0% | 24.5 -5% | 28.4 -22% |
| Idle Maximum * (dB) | 23.3 | 24.7 -6% | 28.5 -22% | 23.4 -0% | 24.5 -5% | 28.8 -24% |
| Load Average * (dB) | 34 | 39 -15% | 37 -9% | 28.6 16% | 46.9 -38% | 33.5 1% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (dB) | 43.5 | 43 1% | 42.8 2% | 46.9 -8% | 39.1 10% | |
| Load Maximum * (dB) | 45.7 | 44.9 2% | 43.3 5% | 45.2 1% | 48.7 -7% | 40.4 12% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * (dB) | 39.1 |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
Surface temperatures are slightly warmer than what we recorded on the 2025 Dell 14 Premium particularly on the bottom (D cover) when running more demanding loads. The hot spot would reach 36 C to 39 C compared to 34 C on last year's design. Differences are otherwise minimal and not warm enough to be distracting during use.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 34 °C / 93 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 35.8 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 39.2 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.6 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 31.3 °C / 88 F.
(+) 3: The average temperature for the upper side is 30.1 °C / 86 F, compared to the average of 31.3 °C / 88 F for the class Multimedia.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 31.2 °C / 88.2 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.7 °C / 83.7 F (-2.5 °C / -4.5 F).
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU | Dell 14 Premium Ultra 7 255H, Arc 140T | Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED Ultra 7 155H, GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU | Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU | Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 Ultra 9 285H, Arc 140T | HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI Core Ultra 7 268V, Arc 140V | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | 2% | -12% | -4% | -8% | 5% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * (°C) | 34 | 33 3% | 40.5 -19% | 38.6 -14% | 38.1 -12% | 35 -3% |
| Maximum Bottom * (°C) | 35.8 | 33.6 6% | 42.6 -19% | 38.4 -7% | 36.5 -2% | 33.4 7% |
| Idle Upper Side * (°C) | 25.6 | 26.4 -3% | 26.9 -5% | 24.6 4% | 28.2 -10% | 23.8 7% |
| Idle Bottom * (°C) | 26.4 | 25.6 3% | 27.8 -5% | 26 2% | 28.8 -9% | 24.2 8% |
* ... smaller is better
Stress Test
When running Prime95 stress, the CPU would boost to 3 GHz, 69 W, and 100 C before eventually dropping to 2 GHz, 30 W, and 74 C roughly 30 seconds later. Turbo Boost sustainability is thus limited which correlates with our CineBench R15 observations above. In comparison, the same CPU in the ExpertBook Ultra would stabilize at a higher 48 W for faster processor performance.
GPU clock rate and temperature would stabilize at 2000 MHz and 63 C when running Cyberpunk 2077 compared to 2500 MHz and 88 C on the aforementioned Asus even when set to Ultra Performance mode.
| Average CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | |
| System Idle | -- | -- | 41 |
| Prime95 Stress | 2.0 | -- | 74 |
| Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 1.5 | 1350 | 67 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 Stress (Performance mode) | 0.8 | 2000 | 63 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 Stress (Balanced mode) | 0.8 | 1950 | 62 |
Speakers
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (87 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 7.6% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (5.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.2% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (7.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 95% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 1% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 99% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (4.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Graphics performance-per-watt is one of the strongest aspects of the 2026 XPS 14 all thanks to Panther Lake. Running Cyberpunk 2077, for example, demands about the same as the 2025 XPS 14 and yet performance is roughly 80 percent faster for a significant year-over-year improvement. Nevertheless, gains in CPU performance-per-watt over last year's Core Ultra 7 255H is comparitively minor.
We're able to record a temporary maximum draw of 102 W from the small (~10.2 x 5.5 x 2.2 cm) 100 W USB-C AC adapter when the CPU is fully stressed which is much higher than on the 2025 XPS 14 under similar conditions. The higher power ceiling exemplifies the higher Turbo Boost ceiling of Panther Lake-H when compared to Arrow Lake-H.
| Off / Standby | |
| Idle | |
| Load |
|
Key:
min: | |
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1, OLED, 2880x1800, 14" | Dell 14 Premium Ultra 7 255H, Arc 140T, Kioxia BG6 KBG6AZNV1T02, OLED, 3200x2000, 14.5" | Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED Ultra 7 155H, GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR, OLED, 3200x2000, 14.5" | Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD, OLED, 2880x1800, 14" | Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 Ultra 9 285H, Arc 140T, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101, OLED, 3000x1876, 14.5" | HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI Core Ultra 7 268V, Arc 140V, Kioxia XG8 KXG80ZNV512G, IPS, 1920x1200, 14" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -20% | -88% | 1% | -73% | 12% | |
| Idle Minimum * (Watt) | 3.1 | 4.4 -42% | 8.1 -161% | 3.5 -13% | 7.9 -155% | 2.5 19% |
| Idle Average * (Watt) | 3.6 | 6.1 -69% | 9.9 -175% | 4 -11% | 10.5 -192% | 5.4 -50% |
| Idle Maximum * (Watt) | 10 | 13.7 -37% | 10.4 -4% | 5.3 47% | 10.8 -8% | 5.8 42% |
| Load Average * (Watt) | 39.2 | 53.8 -37% | 75.6 -93% | 43.7 -11% | 64 -63% | 36.9 6% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (Watt) | 51.4 | 50.7 1% | 61.3 -19% | 76.3 -48% | 48.5 6% | |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra external monitor * (Watt) | 51.2 | 46.5 9% | 61.4 -20% | 72.6 -42% | 44.9 12% | |
| Load Maximum * (Watt) | 101.4 | 62.7 38% | 107.1 -6% | 63.4 37% | 103.2 -2% | 54.6 46% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * (Watt) | 65.6 |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Cyberpunk / Stress Test
Power Consumption external Monitor
Battery Life
WLAN runtime lasts for almost 17 hours when on Balanced mode which is very close to what we recorded on the similarly-equipped ExpertBook Ultra. However, note that Windows VRR is not automatically enabled for a default fixed refresh rate of 120 Hz; manually enabling this would drop the refresh rate to just 20 Hz when static for potentially longer runtimes.
Charging from empty to full capacity with the included AC adapter takes between 1.5 to 2 hours.
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, 70 Wh | Dell 14 Premium Ultra 7 255H, Arc 140T, 69.5 Wh | Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED Ultra 7 155H, GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, 69.5 Wh | Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, 70 Wh | Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 Ultra 9 285H, Arc 140T, 84 Wh | HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI Core Ultra 7 268V, Arc 140V, 68 Wh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery runtime | -36% | -54% | -4% | -39% | 10% | |
| WiFi v1.3 (h) | 16.8 | 10.8 -36% | 7.8 -54% | 16.1 -4% | 10.3 -39% | 18.5 10% |
| H.264 (h) | 10.6 | |||||
| Load (h) | 1.3 |
Notebookcheck Rating
The 2026 XPS 14 is a significant improvement over the previous generation design especially in terms of performance-per-watt, but serviceability takes a small hit.
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H
- 02/07/2026 v8
Allen Ngo
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Image | Model / Review | Price | Weight | Height | Display |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H ⎘ Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU ⎘ 32 GB Memory, 1000 GB SSD | Amazon: List Price: 2200 USD | 1.4 kg | 15.2 mm | 14.00" 2880x1800 243 PPI OLED | |
| Dell 14 Premium Intel Core Ultra 7 255H ⎘ Intel Arc Graphics 140T ⎘ 32 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | Amazon: List Price: 1950 USD | 1.7 kg | 18 mm | 14.50" 3200x2000 260 PPI OLED | |
| Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED Intel Core Ultra 7 155H ⎘ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU ⎘ 32 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | Amazon: List Price: 2949€ | 1.8 kg | 19 mm | 14.50" 3200x2000 260 PPI OLED | |
| Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406CAA Intel Core Ultra X7 358H ⎘ Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU ⎘ 32 GB Memory, 2048 GB SSD | Amazon: | 1.1 kg | 15.9 mm | 14.00" 2880x1800 243 PPI OLED | |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IAH10 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H ⎘ Intel Arc Graphics 140T ⎘ 32 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | Amazon: 1. Keyboard Cover for 2025 Leno... 2. 3 Pack Designed for 2025 New... 3. Keyboard Cover for 2025 New ... List Price: 1500€ | 1.6 kg | 18.9 mm | 14.50" 3000x1876 244 PPI OLED | |
| HP EliteBook X G1i 14 AI Intel Core Ultra 7 268V ⎘ Intel Arc Graphics 140V ⎘ 32 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | Amazon: List Price: 3300 USD | 1.2 kg | 15 mm | 14.00" 1920x1200 162 PPI IPS |
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
This is how Notebookcheck is testing
Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.

























































































