The convertible form that is so popular right now is absent from the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus. Moreover, it is devoid of a clever webcam that can recognize your face and unlock the laptop before you even sit down with top-firing speakers or an elegant OLED display. I just can’t seem to give up using it as my everyday driver.
With a price tag of just over Rs 1,000,00, the Inspiron 14 Plus faces formidable competition. I can confidently suggest the laptop over more refined and delicate options from rival brands, even with its built-in flaws. This is the reason.
Rating: 8 / 10
Design and Display
The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus appears to be the standard laptop for business use. As a result, it has a simple, understated style that works well in both corporate and academic settings. The base of the laptop is constructed of plastic, but the lid is made of metal. The Inspiron 14 Plus’s chassis seems plenty rigid despite the mixture of materials, and it doesn’t squeak or groan under pressure.
My wrist strain didn’t cause the keyboard deck to give way, and when I twisted the display’s corners, there was no flex at all. The laptop weighs about 1.6 kg and is fairly tiny, yet it is packed very full. I had thought the Inspiron 14 Plus would be lighter given its semi-metal build.
Because of its 16:10 aspect ratio, the display is also a blessing for reading emails, PDFs, and articles while on the go. It eliminates the need for you to continually nudge the page slider by supporting more text each scroll. Additionally, the screen has good viewing angles, and when I looked at it off-axis, there was no discernible color shift. The panel’s 60Hz refresh rate is my only genuine complaint, which is unfortunate given the laptop’s price.
Overall though, the Inspiron 14 Plus display will satisfy customers searching for a high-quality screen to write emails on, work on Excel spreadsheets, and even watch movies or YouTube videos.
Audio, WebCam, and Ports
Additionally, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus has a good assortment of connectors. The laptop has a microSD card reader, a Thunderbolt 4 connector, two USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and a 3.5mm mic-audio combo. It’s interesting to note that the model that was supplied to me for evaluation had a Type-C connector and a 100W power brick. Having said that, a barrel-style charging port is also included with the laptop.
Furthermore, although the laptop has a full-sized HDMI connector, the output is limited to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels at 60 frames per second. That’s very disappointing because I was hoping to get the most out of the laptop’s 2K, 144Hz monitor. Having said that, the Inspiron 14 Plus’s downward-firing speakers can produce remarkably powerful sound and have good depth without sounding hollow.
The laptop has a 1080p webcam installed. It includes advanced Windows Studio features like auto-framing and portrait blur, and the picture quality was satisfactory to me. Enabling these capabilities won’t strain the CPU because, like with most Core Ultra 7-powered laptops, these functions are transferred to the integrated NPU.
Additionally, the device has a privacy shutter, which allows you to turn off the webcam during video calls with the slider above it.
TrackPad and Keyboard
I have very high standards for a keyboard, and the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus meets them all. The laptop’s keyboard deck is comfortable, and although the keys offer muffled input, I could write lengthy articles on it without experiencing wrist pain. In addition, the laptop’s lid extends outward and, like ASUS’ Ergo Lift hinges, supports the keyboard at an angle. Not only does this aid in cooling, but it also improves typing comfort and enjoyment.
You may use the laptop to do work at night because the keyboard has backlit lighting. Furthermore, even though the webcam on the Inspiron 14 Plus isn’t compatible with Windows Hello, the laptop has a fingerprint sensor built right into the power button. The sensor unlocks the laptop instantly and functions as promised. I also liked the trackpad on the device. It has a smooth surface, is constructed of Mylar, and reacts nicely to inputs. I had no trouble utilizing the Inspiron 14 Plus’s multi-finger gestures.
Battery life, performance, and temperatures
With its exceptional performance, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus is the best small business laptop available. The gadget is equipped with a 16GB LPDDR5X RAM module operating at 6,400 MT/s, paired with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor. Six P-cores, eight E-cores, and two LPE cores are allocated to the CPU. The gadget has an eight-Xe core Intel Arc-integrated GPU for graphics.
The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus delivers exceptional performance, as you may have already surmised. My routine entails juggling about twelve tabs in Chrome and using tools like Asana, Slack, and AirTable. The laptop performed flawlessly in this regard. Throughout my use of it, the laptop didn’t exhibit any symptoms of slowing down.
However, you may connect the laptop to an HRR monitor using the Thunderbolt 4 connector. Be aware that the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus heats a lot when it’s working hard. Several of the laptop’s P-cores reached 100 degrees during a 30-odd-minute run of Valorant. It’s excellent that I didn’t detect the FPS drop.
Another feature that makes the Inspiron 14 Plus unique is its battery backup, which allows me to use the laptop for up to seven hours straight. The laptop lasted a little over 13 hours in PCMark 10’s Battery benchmark, which is astounding, to say the least.
Verdict
There is no shortage of laptops with elegant displays and thin profiles. I still find myself going back to the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, though. The reason is that I place the performance and battery life of a laptop above anything else. Please understand that I would have loved nothing more than to see an HRR display on the Inspiron 14 Plus. However, Dell had to make some compromises due to its competitive pricing. They have, in my opinion, done so in the appropriate locations.
