Review of the new, improved, and impressive Dell XPS 14

 The updated chassis, touchbar, and invisible trackpad of the XPS 13 Plus are all features of the new 14-inch XPS, but it also offers superior thermals and twice the battery life.

T he 2022 Dell XPS 13 Plus showed up with

 a bold new design: a trackpad that blends seamlessly into the chassis, a perfectly flush “zero-lattice” chiclet keyboard, and a “capacitive touch function row.” Unfortunately, the new look was overshadowed by the fact that it ran too warm and had too short a battery life. Now, Dell has given the whole XPS lineup that same futuristic design, from the Intel or Qualcomm-powered XPS 13 models to new 14- and 16-inch sizes that seem aimed directly at the MacBook Pro. The XPS 14 ($2,500 as reviewed) doesn’t suffer from the same issues as the 13 Plus or even the XPS 15 — yet it’s still underwhelming.