Once upon a time, the Dell XPS series laptops were an absolute hit in the market and were the definition of a premium Windows device. If you wanted something that looked and felt as refined as a MacBook but ran on Windows, XPS was often one of the first names that came to mind. But somewhere along the way, that identity started to blur, and when Dell decided to do away with the XPS branding last year, the move was a shock for consumers as well as tech enthusiasts. But now, the XPS branding is back, and Dell has just announced its return in India today. In fact, Dell Vice Chairman and COO Jeff Clarke had even apologised during a pre-CES 2026 press conference, saying, ‘We didn’t listen to you. You were right on branding. You guys heard that right. You were right on branding.’
Now that we’ve established just how much weight the XPS branding carries, it would certainly be interesting to see if the device lives up to its expectations in 2026.
The new Dell XPS 14 has landed at Digit Test Labs already, and after the short time that I have spent with the device, I can say that this is a laptop that comes with a minimalist design and does not rely on flashy elements to stand out. But once you start using it, you realise a lot is going on.
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The moment I first saw the device, my immediate thought was that not much is happening here, and I actually liked that. The lid has a clean black finish with the XPS branding placed neatly in the centre. It is not trying too hard, but that XPS logo will definitely grab attention when you carry it around.
Now, when you lift the lid, things change, and this no longer feels like a basic laptop. First things first, the weight distribution here is excellent, and I could open the laptop easily with one hand. It is one of those small details that instantly tells you this is a well-engineered machine. There is also a subtle magnetic snap when you close the lid, which is super satisfying and adds to the overall experience.
Once open, the chassis feels incredibly smooth, especially around the palm rest area. Resting your hands here while typing feels natural and comfortable, which is something you start appreciating more during longer work sessions.
The keyboard and touchpad are easily among the highlights of this laptop. The zero-lattice keyboard, which we have seen earlier on the XPS lineup, returns here and immediately reminds you why people liked it so much in the first place. The keyboard comes with an edge-to-edge design with large, flat keys placed tightly together. As a result, typing feels firm and snappy. However, it might take a little time to get used to it if you are coming from a more traditional keyboard layout.
Talking about the touchpad, it blends seamlessly into the chassis and uses haptic feedback for clicks. In a nutshell, the touchpad feels smooth, quick, and very responsive. The fact that I did not feel the need to plug in a mouse at all is a statement in itself about how good the touchpad is. And this is not all. The touchpad comes with superb palm rejection technology. So even when my palms accidentally brushed against the touchpad while typing (and this happened way too much), it did not register any unwanted inputs. And this is exactly what you want from a premium machine.
The display is another area where the XPS 14 makes a strong first impression. You get a 14-inch OLED panel with slim bezels and a 120Hz refresh rate enabled by default. I quickly fired up a YouTube video, and the first thing that stood out was the deep blacks and punchy colours. It looks vibrant and sharp, and at least for indoor usage, the brightness feels more than adequate.
Ports, however, are something that will leave you wondering. You get three USB Type-C ports in total, one on the right and two on the left. Now, if you are charging the laptop, that effectively leaves you with two ports to work with. And for some users, especially those who rely on multiple accessories, this could feel limiting.
The Dell XPS 14 that I have with me is powered by the Intel Core Ultra X7 chip. And as you would expect from this chip, everything on the laptop feels fast and responsive. Be it opening multiple apps, launching endless browser tabs or multitasking, the laptop doesn’t show any signs of struggle. Of course, this is just an initial impression, and we will have more to say once we run our full set of benchmarks.
Another thing that deserves special mention is the audio and webcam experience. I joined a quick video call, and the webcam output looked clear and sharp. On the audio side, I played some Lo-Fi beats in the office and could clearly hear the output even in a relatively large space. There was a noticeable presence of bass as well, which is not always common on thin and light laptops.
Summing things up, the Dell XPS 14 feels like a laptop that focuses on getting the basics right and then refining them further. It looks premium, feels well-built, and delivers a smooth everyday experience so far. More importantly, it seems to bring back that sense of identity that the XPS lineup was once known for.
With a starting price of Rs 2,05,990, this is certainly for the people who take their work machines seriously and are willing to shell out a huge amount for a premium experience. Will it justify this price tag? Keep watching this space as we will explore that question in our full review soon.
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