CES 2024 | Dell resurrects XPS 14 9440 after a decade's hiatus, now with Intel Core Ultra 7 and optional RTX 4050 graphics

Dell has had an on-and-off relationship with the XPS 14 for over a decade. After briefly discontinuing it in 2011, Dell re-introduced the XPS 14 in 2012 only to make way for the XPS 15-L521X in 2013.

Now, after more than a 10-year hiatus, the XPS 14 is making a comeback at CES 2024 as the XPS 14 9440. According to Dell, the XPS 14 is aimed at offering the "perfect balance of power and portability".

The XPS 14 9440 shares the same design language as that of the XPS 13 9340 including aspects such as CNC-milled aluminum, Gorilla Glass 3, touch-sensitive function row of the keyboard, and the invisible glass touchpad. That's where most of the similarities end, though.

Unlike the XPS 13, the XPS 14 9440 does not offer a QHD+ panel. Available display options include 14.5-inch FHD+ and 3.2K (3200 x 2000) OLED displays. The FHD+ display has a dynamic 30 Hz to 120 Hz refresh rate and is slated to offer a 500 nits typical brightness while covering 100% sRGB. The 3.2K OLED panel, on the other hand, is touch-enabled and can cover 100% DCI-P3 while offering a 48-120 Hz dynamic refresh rate and 400 nits brightness. All panels are InfinityEdge and support Dolby Vision.

The XPS 14 9440 foregoes Intel Core Ultra 5 and instead offers a choice between the 30 W Core Ultra 7 155H and Core Ultra 7 165H. Buyers can also configure the XPS 14 with a 30 W Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU. Dell said that the CPU and GPU together can allow for 47 W of sustained performance.

Memory can be configured with up to 64 GB of dual-channel LPDDR5x RAM at 7467 MT/s. However, these speeds are only available when configured with the RTX 4050. Otherwise, the memory speeds are capped at 6400 MT/s if used with the integrated Intel Arc graphics. Up to 4 TB of PCIe Gen4 NVMe storage can be configured.

We also see a few differences in terms of connectivity from the XPS 13. The XPS 14 offers a total of three Thunderbolt 4 ports with DisplayPort 2.1-out and Power Delivery along with a microSD card reader and a 3.5 mm combo audio jack. There is no Wi-Fi 7 onboard, so users will have to make do with a Killer Wi-Fi 6E 1675 WLAN card with Bluetooth 5.3. 

Other niceties include a FHD webcam, a dedicated Windows Copilot key, and support for Windows Studio Effects. A 69.5 WHr battery powers the laptop.

The Dell XPS 14 9440 will be available in Q1 2024 in Platinum and Graphite color options with prices starting from US$1,699.99 and CA$2,299.99.

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