Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
TheHP Spectre x360 14andDell XPS 14are two of the self-aggrandising new laptops herald atCES 2024 .
by design or not , HP and Dell rove out significant upgrades of their premier laptop to co-occur with the arrival of Intel ’s Core UltraMeteor Lakechipset . The latter introduced a new manufacturing summons and design , as well as several feature that call improvements in execution , battery life , and AI performance .
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
Dell ’s XPS and HP ’s Spectre x360 lines have been on and off our tilt ofbest laptopsfor years , so the new XPS 14 and Spectre x360 14 are welcome upgrade . Which one of these new laptop computer predominate supreme ? Well , that ’s a much tougher call to make .
Specs and configurations
The Spectre x360 14 start up at $ 1,450 ( currently on sales agreement for $ 1,150 ) with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H chipset , 16 GB of RAM , a 512 GB SSD , and a 14.0 - inch 2.8 K OLED display ( the only alternative ) . you’re able to upgrade to a Core Ultra 7 155H for an additional $ 100 , and a fully - configured Spectre be $ $ 1,870 ( $ 1,570 on sale ) for the faster chipset , 32 GB of RAM , and a 2 TB SSD . All configs use Intel ’s desegregate Intel Arc graphic .
The XPS 14 is a substantially more expensive laptop computer . It starts at $ 1,499 for a Core Ultra 7 , 16 GB of RAM , a 512 GB SSD , Intel Arc computer graphic , and a 14.5 - in FHD+ IPS display . a 3.2 K OLED show is an extra $ 300 , as is an climb to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 entry - level discrete GPU . The RAM can be upgraded to 64 GB of RAM for $ 900 and storage to a 4 TB SSD for $ 700 . That make the eminent - end XPS 14 an passing expensive laptop computer at $ 3,399 .
Design
The XPS 14 is a new mannequin , slotting between a 13 - inch model that was antecedently branded as theXPS 13 Plusand a marque - newfangled 16 - inch political machine . It integrate the design dodging that debuted on the XPS 13 Plus and replace the aging 15 - in model that ’s now defunct . Available in lite and dark vividness scheme , the XPS 14 is a sincerely modern laptop with clean line on the exterior , anodized chrome along the edges , an border - to - sharpness keyboard , a hidden tactile touchpad on a glass - covered palm rest , and LED map key that give it a futuristic look with the chapeau opened . As usual , the XPS 14 sports the fragile bezel on a 14 - inch laptop computer .
The Spectre x360 14 builds on its predecessor , theSpectre x360 13.5 , with a display that ’s half an in larger and a human body that ’s just a fleck wider . It hold its predecessor ’s attractive convertible 2 - in-1 chassis and smoothen the boundary , dropping the colored chrome accents for a dewy-eyed and more elegant look . It ’s uncommitted in three colour — Nightfall black , ticket amobarbital sodium , or Sahara silver — and it retains the twofold notches on the bottom of the display that house a Thunderbolt 4 interface and 3.5 mm audio frequency jack . The Spectre ’s bezels are n’t nearly as small as the XPS 14 ’s , mainly to adapt the 2 - in-1 hinge mechanism and tablet format , so from that view , the Spectre does n’t await quite as modern . But it ’s nevertheless a gorgeous laptop .
The Spectre x360 14 is slightly narrow , a little deeper , and thinner and lighter than the XPS 14 . Like the XPS 14 , it ’s constructed from CNC - machine atomic number 13 , and it experience upstanding in hand . The XPS 14 is just as good . so both laptops are very well - built machines .
The XPS 14 inherits the edge - to - bound keyboard design from the XPS 13 Plus , with its zero - wicket design with large keycaps . It takes some getting used to , but it is comfortable once past that see curve . Also present is a hidden haptic touchpad and a dustup of LED function key replacing physical versions ( and without any tactual feedback , which is a bummer ) . The Spectre x360 14 has a more traditional island keyboard with large keycaps , ton of key spacing , and good , but not great , switches . Its haptic touchpad is fantabulous , providing natural feeling click and a reactive open . A ghost showing is an option with the XPS 14 and the default with the Spectre , which also supports an combat-ready pen .
Dell finally upgrade to a 1080p webcam on the new XPS line , while HP has upped the secret plan with a 9MP version sporting hardware - enabled lowlight allowance . Both have infrared cameras for Windows 11 Hello facial recognition and both have fingermark reader imbed in the power buttons . Both also have substance abuser presence - sensing technology to lock away them and put them to kip when a exploiter leaves and fire up them up and log back in when the user returns .
Both laptops support various AI - enable features supported by Meteor Lake ’s Neural Processing Unit ( NPU ) .
Performance
Both laptops are build up around new Intel Meteor Lake chipsets , which introduce several newfangled designs to enhance performance and efficiency . The XPS 14 uses either the 28 - James Watt Core Ultra 7 155H or 165H , both of which are 16 - core ( six Performance , eight Efficient , and two Low Power Efficient ) , 22 - ribbon C.P.U. running at either 4.8GHz or 5.0GHz . The Spectre x360 14 propose the Core Ultra 7 155H or the Core Ultra 5 125H with 14 cores ( four Performance , eight Efficient , and two LP Efficient ) and 18 duds running at up to 4.5GHz .
That will make each laptop computer a exchangeable performer when configured with the Core Ultra 7 and the Spectre x360 14 a slower performing artist with the Core Ultra 5 . Both also apply the Modern Intel Arc desegregate graphics , while the XPS 14 also offers the debut - level Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 distinct GPU . That will make the XPS 14 the faster performing artist in games and in originative lotion that can utilise the GPU .
In our examination , the Spectre x360 14 with the Core Ultra 7 155H provided a slender bump in performance over Intel ’s former - gen 28 - James Watt processor . Graphics performance was halfway between the older Intel Iris Xe integrated graphic and the RTX 4050 . We tested the XPS 14 with the slightly faster Core Ultra 7 165H and the RTX 4050 . It was just slightly faster in our bench mark , and the RTX 4050 would be a meaningful boost to gamers and Creator .
Display
The XPS 14 can be configure with one of two video display : a 14.5 - inch 16:10 Full HD+ information processing display running up to 120Hz and a 3.2 K OLED 120Hz display . The Spectre x360 14 has a single display option , a 2.8 super acid OLED video display at up to 120Hz .
Both OLED displays were salient , as common . The XPS 14 ’s display had more exact but narrower colors , so the Spectre display is better for Almighty . But Dell ’s showing is sharper , and its lower - magnate IPS display pop the question potential battery living savings for those who do n’t care about the high resolution or OLED ’s active color and inky blacks .
Both laptop computer have quad - utterer audio systems , with upwards - enkindle speaker unit flank each keyboard and two woofers . The Spectre ’s audio was clearer and more bassy than the XPS 14 ’s , come a lot closer to competing with the best audio frequency on a 14 - inch laptop computer , the MacBook Pro 14 ’s six - speaker setup .
Portability
The Spectre x360 14 is slightly little , thin , and lighter , with the most important difference of opinion being in weighting , as it ’s more than half a Sudanese pound abstemious . Both laptops will be comfortably portable while offering more screenland real land than 13 - in laptop .
The Spectre x360 14 offered average to above - average battery liveliness in our test , and the XPS 14 closely twin it in our World Wide Web browsing psychometric test . The Spectre last almost twice as long in our video iteration test , making it the more effective overall . The Spectre would in all probability do good from its presumably more effective Core Ultra 5 option , while the IPS version of the XPS 14 will certainly get better stamp battery life .
The Spectre x360 14 is more traditional, and the XPS 14 is more modern
The Spectre x360 14 sports a more traditional design than the XPS 14 , albeit in the more flexible convertible 2 - in-1 strain factor . Purists will take account the Spectre ’s hardware function key fruit and a haptic touchpad that ’s easier to locate . Those who like a futurist laptop will appreciate the XPS 14 .
Overall , the Spectre x360 14 win out thanks to its salutary battery life and more coloured show . It ’s also well more low-cost than the XPS 14 .
