Dell Inspiron 14 review: Pinning too much hope on a Snapdragon chip

Worth When Reviewed

799

Finest Costs At this time: Dell Inspiron 14

$749

$799.99

The Dell Inspiron 14 (5441) is yet one more iteration of a machine that’s seen many up to now yr. This one adjustments little or no outwardly. It shifts just a few ports and vents, and it swaps facial recognition instead of a fingerprint reader. The larger change is below the hood, the place the Dell Inspiron 14 has converted to an ARM chip from Qualcomm.

There’s been quite a lot of pleasure round these chips, and the Dell Inspiron 14 has put one on provide with a beginning worth of $749. That mentioned, Dell selected the weakest Snapdragon X Plus chip of the bunch and did little else to make this laptop computer really shine, leaving little cause to contemplate it over the various different high quality laptops yow will discover close to its worth, together with Dell’s personal wonderful Inspiron 14 Plus.

Additional studying: Finest laptops 2024: Premium, price range, gaming, 2-in-1s, and extra

Dell Inspiron 14: Specs and options

• Mannequin quantity: 5441
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100
• Reminiscence: 16GB LPDDR5x
• Graphics/GPU: Adreno X1-45 Graphics
• Show: 14-inch 1200p IPS
• Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Webcam: 1080p + IR
• Connectivity: 2x USB4 Kind-C with Energy Supply and DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Kind-A, 1x MicroSD card reader, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: Qualcomm FastConnect7800 WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: Home windows Hey facial recognition
• Battery capability: 54 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 12.36 x 8.81 x 0.7 inches
• Weight: 3.3 kilos
• MSRP: $799 as-tested ($749 base)

Dell Inspiron 14: Design and construct high quality

This laptop computer does little to distinguish itself from the various Inspiron permutations which have come earlier than it. It bears greater than a little bit resemblance to the Inspiron 14 Plus I examined earlier this yr. And though this isn’t a Plus mode, it will get the classier contact with a sturdy aluminum chassis throughout. It’s not overly thick at 0.7 inches nor overly heavy at 3.3 kilos. It may actually be extra svelte, but it surely’s assembly expectations for a sub-$1,000 laptop computer. 

Regardless of the extra premium construct, The Inspiron 14 nonetheless finally ends up trying slightly bland. It’s all silver save for the black plastic of the keyboard and show bezel, which date the design a bit. The body is properly rounded and doesn’t make any main design statements. 

The hinge takes a small step away from primary by being of the kind that lifts that again fringe of the laptop computer when opened past 90-degrees. Whereas this could enhance typing ergonomics, the commerce off is much less consolation when utilizing the laptop computer on a lap, the place the again fringe of the show will add stress to the thighs.

The underside of the laptop computer sits on two small rubber ft on the entrance and one broad one on the again. There are two small slits for the audio system close to the entrance of the laptop computer, and there’s a grate for airflow. Curiously, the grate doesn’t line up all that effectively with the fan contained in the Inspiron 14, which may impression its efficacy. 

Dell Inspiron 14: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Mark Knapp

The Inspiron 14’s keyboard is uninspired and but, on the similar time, fairly succesful. The keycaps provide simply sufficient stabilization and resistance to supply a agency platform for typing. So though the keyboard doesn’t have a very memorable really feel, it’s greater than as much as the duty of snappy typing.

With simply an hour or so of utilizing the laptop computer, I used to be already capable of get my typing pace as much as 118-words-per-minute with 96 p.c accuracy in Monkeytype. I’d like to see a little bit extra contour to the important thing caps, as I discover most of my typos come from reaching the sting of the flat keycaps, that are exhausting to really feel out. The keys embrace primary white backlighting that successfully illuminates all the legends. 

The trackpad is nothing too particular. It’s lots easy and fairly giant, although not fairly as broad because it might be. It’s sufficient for even giant fingers, however there are actually higher on the market. It has a considerably deep bodily click on, which proved largely constant in my testing. 

Dell Inspiron 14: Show, audio

IDG / Mark Knapp

Should you love a top quality show, don’t get too excited. It’s a giant letdown with simply 65 p.c protection of the sRGB colour area and 50 p.c of the DCI-P3 colour area. This makes content material of all types look decidedly bland even with its 1690:1 distinction ratio.

The show will get moderately shiny with a 370.9-nit peak brightness, and that mixes effectively with a matte end for simple visibility even in un-ideal situations. However in comparison with the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, it’s an all-around downgrade. That laptop computer hit 79 p.c DCI-P3 protection, a 418-nit peak brightness, and boasted a better decision. 

The Inspiron 14’s audio system are a blended bag as effectively. They hearth out the underside of the laptop computer, and this could depart them sounding a bit boxed in relying on the floor they’re set on, particularly when listening at excessive volumes.

Excessive volumes additionally include a little bit of reverberation within the chassis, making for harsher listening. At decrease volumes, the audio system are slightly satisfying, providing a contact of bass depth alongside shiny and clear mids, increased frequencies aren’t effectively achieved, coming by way of as extra of a high-pitched sibilance. This issues much less for dialogue however hurts music. 

Dell Inspiron 14: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

IDG / Mark Knapp

The Inspiron 14 gives only a 1080p webcam, but it surely does surprisingly effectively. In a modestly lit room, it managed to seize shiny and clear visuals with out noticeable noise. The footage additionally didn’t wrestle with publicity. The flexibility to seize sufficient gentle helps considerably with sharpness as effectively, as even sharp high-resolution cameras that have to resort to excessive ISO settings will find yourself with a lot digital noise that their visuals find yourself gentle and grainy. Whenever you’re not utilizing the digital camera, there’s a bodily shutter that flips over the sensors above the show.

The webcam additionally supplies useful Home windows Hey facial recognition for fast sign-ons and biometric authentication. Although the keyboard structure is much like different Dell laptops with fingerprint scanners, the Inspiron 14 doesn’t get one. 

The microphone does its job effectively, capturing my voice clearly whereas simply subduing gentle background noise. 

Dell Inspiron 14: Connectivity

IDG / Mark Knapp

The Dell Inspiron 14 is not less than on level in the case of connectivity. It’s not compromising on connection high quality with two USB4 Kind-C ports able to some severe bandwidth, show output, and energy. Splitting these ports between all sides would have been good, however as an alternative Dell located each on the left edge alongside a microSD card reader. The best facet of the laptop computer features a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Kind-A port and a 3.5mm headphone jack, giving the Inspiron 14 a fast leg up on even XPS fashions in the case of wired connections. 

With a Qualcomm chipset inside, the Inspiron 14 will get Qualcomm FastConnect7800 Wi-Fi 7, which has been lots quick and secure in my testing. It additionally will get a more moderen Bluetooth 5.4 connection.  

Dell Inspiron 14: Efficiency

The Dell Inspiron 14 isn’t promising to be a efficiency beast constructed across the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 — the lowest-tier chip in Qualcomm’s lineup. I’ve already seen Qualcomm’s higher-tier chips struggling to maintain up with Intel and AMD chips when emulation is required, and the Inspiron 14’s chip has even much less horsepower out there to assist it sustain.

Positive sufficient, whether or not it’s single- or multi-core efficiency, the Inspiron 14 struggles to maintain up with the $999 Dell Inspiron 14 Plus and $849 Asus Zenbook 14 OLED in Cinebench R23, Cinebench R20, and Cinebench R15, all of which don’t run natively on ARM. Even the $749 Acer Aspire Vero 16’s comparatively weak Intel Core Extremely 5 125U chip outperformed the Dell in these assessments.  

That’s one thing of a troublesome spot for the Inspiron 14 to be in, because it’s not just like the CPU is unhealthy. In truth, when it will get to run a local app, the tides can flip. Different techniques that it loses to in Cinebench R23, just like the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 Gen 9 and Acer TravelMate P4, and up falling behind it in Cinebench R24, which runs natively on ARM.

The issue is the variably efficiency can result in an inconsistent expertise. Plus, it’s not just like the Inspiron 14 will all the time flip the tides, because it nonetheless loses to the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7445, and subsequently very probably nonetheless would lag behind the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED which runs the identical chip.

To the Inspiron 14’s credit score, it does run the Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 quicker than the Asus ProArt PZ13 ran it, however that was a compact pill and the Inspiron 14 is a large laptop computer.

Graphics efficiency additionally isn’t a robust level for the Dell Inspiron 14. In Time Spy, it struggles to maintain up with even the fundamental Intel Graphics discovered contained in the Acer Aspire Vero. And subsequent to each Intel Arc Graphics and AMD Radeon 780M graphics, it’s no contest. 

3DMark’s Evening Raid benchmark is a barely totally different story. It was designed with ARM techniques in thoughts, and certain sufficient, the Dell Inspiron 14 finally ends up performing higher. Each the Inspiron 14 and Asus ProArt PZ13 handle to leap forward of the Acer Aspire Vero 16 and its Intel Graphics. However they nonetheless don’t come near scratching the efficiency of Intel Arc Graphics within the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus or AMD Radeon 780M graphics within the Asus ZenBook 14 OLED. 

The Inspiron 14 additionally experiences a hiccup I’ve encountered on many Home windows techniques with weak built-in graphics. Whereas streaming video, it is going to often stall all video updates to the display screen, showing to have utterly frozen. The system stays responsive, nevertheless, and rapidly minimizing all home windows restores all the pieces. However a easy repair doesn’t erase the truth that the Inspiron 14 is experiencing a glitch that shouldn’t occur within the first place.

Dell Inspiron 14: Battery life

Battery life is the good refuge for low-performance techniques, and pretty much as good because the Inspiron 14 manages to be, it doesn’t stand out. It’s environment friendly, managing to run for over 17 hours on common in our native 4K video playback benchmark with only a 54-watt-hour battery. However many Home windows machines have stepped as much as the plate not too long ago.

In truth, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus managed the identical end result all the way down to the minute, and but its efficiency is healthier in nearly each means. It’s the same story for the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED, which solely ran a couple of minutes much less in our battery take a look at however had a lot extra to supply in different respects. 

In common use with searching and a few streamed video playback, the Inspiron 14 provided a bit over 8 hours of runtime. That is significantly totally different from its video playback runtime, however not surprising.

Dell Inspiron 14: Conclusion

You are able to do so much worse than the Dell Inspiron 14. It’s a cultured, if bland, trying machine that’s received lots to supply by way of connectivity and simple utility. However it’s simply not fairly all it may have been. Dell shifted over to a low-tier Snapdragon X Plus chip for this mannequin, and the efficiency left lots to be desired. So long as emulation is required, you’ll find yourself higher off with even a few of Intel’s less-loved CPUs, and graphics lags behind totally. 

Consider a really disappointing show and the truth that even the low-power processor couldn’t set the Dell Inspiron 14 other than the competitors in battery life, and also you’ve received a laptop computer that has no simple time justifying itself over others.