Pros:
– One of the best looking Windows laptops
– Solid build-quality
– Solid, dependable performance
– Decent gaming chops for an ultrabook
– Stunning OLED display with touch capabilities
– Incredibly sounding speakers
– Elegant-looking keyboard and trackpad
Cons:
– Comes at a hefty premium
– Lack of clearly demarcated trackpad may be an issue for some
– Function keys’ touchbar needs to be rethought
– Lack of a lip on the chassis makes it difficult to open single-handed
– Underpowered RTX 4050
Price: Rs 2,57,000 for the tested configuration
Rating: 4.5/5
The Dell XPS line of premium laptops is seeing its swansong with the XPS 14 9440, given that the tech giant has decided to go for a major rebranding exercise for its laptop going forward. Tech enthusiasts as well as fans of the XPS lineup will remember it as perhaps the only Windows laptop that could hold a candle to the almighty MacBook Pro lineup at least in terms of design.
However, there were instances when an XPS offering could go toe-to-toe against a MacBook Pro, in certain aspects of performance as well. The Dell XPS 14 9440, manages to do just that.
Here we have a laptop that looks phenomenal, performs fairly well thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, and truly defines what a Windows-based ultrabook should be. And to top it all, it comes with a rather impressive 3.2K display, with touch capabilities. Now there’s a complete package.
But not all is as golden as it would seem. Dell has clearly made some choices that favour form over function. The trackpad for example. While it is certainly something to behold, and I personally like it, it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Battery life too, could have been better. And to be truly honest, Dell is charging a premium for the XPS 14 9440. But is that premium justified in any way? We find out
Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED Review: Design and build quality
The Dell XPS series has a well-earned reputation for nailing that perfect mix of premium design and solid functionality, and the XPS 14 9440 OLED keeps that tradition alive. At first glance, it might look like just another high-end laptop, but the minute you open it, you realise this one’s got a few tricks up its sleeve.
The first thing that catches your eye is the completely smooth wrist rest—it stretches across the base without any demarcations, leaving you wondering where the touchpad is. Spoiler: it’s there, right where you’d expect it. Dell has gone for a borderless design that blends it into the surface. It’s sleek, modern, and definitely a conversation starter.
Then there’s the keyboard, which goes all-in on the minimalist vibe. The edge-to-edge, frameless design means the keys sit tightly together with no visible gaps, and it looks incredibly sharp. You also get the speaker grills flanking the physical keys of the keyboard.
However, replacing physical function keys with a row of touch-sensitive buttons might not be everyone’s cup of tea. This is Dell sacrificing functionality for form. And although the touchbar works, it feels a bit odd. Also, when you press the function key at the bottom left corner, the icons change.
When it comes to build quality, the XPS 14 doesn’t disappoint. The chassis is carved out of machined aluminium, giving it a premium, sturdy feel. The keyboard deck, topped with Gorilla Glass 3, adds an extra dash of elegance. At 1.7 kilograms for the OLED model, it’s not the lightest ultrabook out there, but it feels solid without being overly heavy. You’ll have no trouble carrying it in your bag for your daily commute or even longer trips.
Dell has kept things simple with the colour options. Globally, you can pick between Platinum and Graphite, but in India, it’s just the Platinum finish. The CNC-machined aluminium exterior, paired with a glass palm rest, looks and feels every bit as premium as you’d hope.
As for the ports, you get three Thunderbolt 4 connections, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD slot. It’s a minimalist setup, but the inclusion of the microSD slot is a thoughtful addition, especially for photographers and other creative users.
As for heat management, it’s decent but not groundbreaking. The laptop has air intake vents on the sides and expels heat through a vent under the display hinge. It holds up fine for most tasks, but if you’re pushing it hard, the underside does get noticeably warm. Not a dealbreaker, but worth mentioning.
There are a few quirks, though. The lack of a lip on the lid makes it tricky to open, especially if you’re trying to do it one-handed. But once it’s open, the lid feels rock-solid and doesn’t wobble, even if you’re carrying the laptop around while it’s open. The hinge strikes a nice balance between sturdiness and smoothness, and the lid itself is thick enough to resist flexing.
There is an array of sensors and webcam on the top edge of the display for Windows Hello and other security measures, but no physical shutter to block the camera.
All in all, the XPS 14 9440 OLED is a stunner. It’s easily one of the best-looking Windows laptops around, and it might even give the newer MacBook Pros a run for their money in the design department, and that’s as high as praise gets. Sure, some might find the hidden touchpad or the touch-sensitive function keys a bit unconventional, but there’s so much to like here that those quirks hardly matter.
Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED Review: Keyboard and trackpad
Dell’s XPS 14 9440 continues the brand’s tradition of delivering stellar keyboards. We get pretty wide and massive keycaps, with decent travel, and a tightly-packed design with no spacing between the keys.
The keyboard’s edge-to-edge layout is visually striking. Without gaps between the keys, it looks sleek and modern. Surprisingly, despite the compact arrangement, it’s easy to avoid accidental key presses. The keys themselves are springy and responsive, offering just enough feedback to make typing a pleasant experience. Although it does take some getting used to if you’re coming from a more standard laptop keyboard, Typing on it feels fast and smooth, once you get used to it. Typing on the XPS 14 9440 for extended periods feels rather great.
Even though the XPS 14 9440 is not a Co-pilot PC, it does come with the new Co-pilot key. This should give users an indication of the AI capabilities of the laptop.
On the downside, Dell’s decision to replace the Function keys with touch-sensitive icons might not sit well with everyone. These buttons lack the physical feedback that many users prefer for quick commands like adjusting the volume or brightness. Moreover, the always-on LEDs for the icons, which only dim slightly in low light, can also be distracting, especially when you’re watching some content in the dark.
If you thought the keyboard is rather unique, wait till you get to the touchpad. This is where Dell takes a more unconventional route. At first glance, it seems to be missing entirely, as it blends seamlessly into the wrist rest with no visible borders or lines. This design can be confusing initially, and you might find yourself swiping in the wrong place. But once you get the hang of it, the glass touchpad is a joy to use. It’s smooth, responsive, and spacious, with excellent support for gestures.
For some, the invisible touchpad might feel like an unnecessary complication, but it’s not as intimidating as it seems. After a brief adjustment period, it feels intuitive and blends well with the overall design.
Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED Review: Webcam and speakers
The Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED packs a solid punch with its full HD webcam and impressive speaker setup. Sitting snugly on the slim top bezel, the camera delivers smooth 1080p video at 30 fps. It also features an IR sensor that works with Windows Hello for facial recognition and Express Sign-In.
The laptop also supports some nifty Windows Studio Effects like automatic framing, eye-contact tweaks, and background blurring. Even in dim or overcast lighting, the camera holds its own, capturing vibrant colours without the pesky static or noise. Credit for this goes to the laptop’s Ultra 7 Processor, whose powerful NPU boosts the AI-driven Studio Effects, making video calls seamless and polished.
For added security, the XPS 14 comes with a power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader, offering an extra biometric login option, while Express Sign-In adds another layer of convenience.
Now, let’s talk sound. The XPS 14’s quad-speaker setup is a refreshing upgrade over the usual downward-firing speakers in ultrabooks. These upward-facing speakers crank out 8W of sound at peak and stay crystal clear even at higher volumes.
Whether you’re blasting music, catching up on a series, or on a conference call, the audio feels rich and full. The addition of Dolby Atmos brings an immersive experience, and thanks to Waves Nx 3D audio, the headphone jack supports head tracking for a spatial sound effect.
The speakers don’t just get loud—they deliver balanced bass and minimal distortion, even with overlapping tracks. While the default dynamic loudness setting works well, you can fine-tune the audio for an even more refined output.
It’s fair to say that the XPS 14 9440 is one of the best sounding laptops that comes with Windows and almost rivals the MacBook Pro — a rare feat for a Windows machine. Whether it’s for video calls or entertainment, the XPS 14 9440 OLED doesn’t disappoint.
Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED Review: Display
The Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED comes with a stunning 14.5-inch 3.2K (3200×2000) OLED touchscreen that’s hard to fault. With a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and vibrant, crystal-clear visuals, it’s a display that sets the XPS 14 apart from many of its ultrabook competitors.
Whether you’re watching your favourite Netflix series, editing photos, or simply scrolling through documents, the screen delivers an exceptional experience.
One of the standout features is its brightness. With SDR peak brightness at 400 nits and HDR going up to 600 nits, the display performs admirably even under direct sunlight. Using it outside in the sun is a breeze, and the wide viewing angles ensure colour consistency no matter where you’re sitting. Add to that its impressive colour accuracy, and it’s clear this display is a winner for creative professionals.
In tasks like photo or video editing that require precise colour reproduction, the XPS 14 handles it beautifully. Even for everyday work or entertainment, the vivid colours and sharp details make everything from spreadsheets to YouTube videos feel more immersive. And because the XPS 14 9440 is an Intel EVO-certified machine, it means it has to adhere to certain quality standards. As a result, I wouldn’t hesitate in colour grading my photos and videos on this machine.
Dell uses what they call an InfinityEdge design for the XPS 14, which takes the aesthetics up a notch, thanks to its ultra-slim bezels that maximise screen real estate and make the laptop look modern and elegant. However, the glossy surface of the touchscreen does pick up reflections in well-lit environments, which can sometimes be a distraction. That said, the touchscreen itself is smooth and highly responsive, making navigation effortless. Whether you’re swiping between apps or scrolling through long documents, the touch functionality feels intuitive and fluid.
You also get a some intelligent features from Dell, through the MyDell app. One would be presence detection or Express Sign-in, which uses the webcam and the array of sensors to tell when a user has walked away and automatically locks the screen. When the user returns, the webcam wakes the laptop up without any physical input. The feature also takes privacy seriously. If you look away from the screen, it dims automatically, ensuring no one sneaks a peek over your shoulder.
MyDell also gives you control over how the display looks. You can adjust things like gamma and colour temperature, fine-tuning the visuals to match your preferences. Whether you want vibrant colours for watching movies or cooler tones for editing photos, it’s all customisable in just a few clicks.
Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED Review: Performance
At its heart is the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, a powerful 16-core chip designed to strike the perfect balance between performance and energy efficiency. It comes with six performance cores, eight efficient cores, and two low-power efficient cores.
These cores cover everything from demanding tasks to light browsing, with the performance cores reaching a turbo speed of up to 4.8 GHz, while the efficient ones max out at 3.8 GHz. Even the low-power cores, clocking up to 2.5 GHz, ensure no energy is wasted on less demanding tasks. This processor ensures the XPS 14 handles just about anything you throw at it without breaking a sweat.
Backing up the CPU is NVIDIA’s RTX 4050 GPU with 6GB of VRAM and a modest 40W TGP, as well as Intel’s on-board Arc GPU. While the RTX 4050 is not a gaming beast, it delivers solid graphics performance for everyday tasks and some creative workflows. Paired with 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM clocked at 7467 MT/s, running in dual-channel mode, this laptop breezes through multitasking. Whether you’re working on spreadsheets, editing photos, or hopping between a dozen Chrome tabs, the XPS 14 feels effortless.
It’s also equipped with a 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, offering speedy load times and plenty of space for work files, media, and more.
Performance-wise, the XPS 14 does fairly well in benchmarks. It might not top the charts, but it delivers better-than-expected results, especially in graphics-heavy tasks. In fact, it outperformed its main rival, the MacBook Pro 14-inch with the M3 chip in a number of GPU intensive tests, which is no small feat.
In everyday use, it handles business tasks smoothly, thanks to Intel’s focus on single-core performance and improved efficiency. Even when you hit it with something heavy, like scrubbing through 4K timeline in Premiere Pro, or exporting a tonne of photos using Lightroom, the laptop doesn’t break a sweat.
As for gaming performance it is a pretty decent gaming machine, though within limits. Casual gamers will be pleased to know that lighter indie titles run effortlessly. More demanding games like Doom Eternal perform well too, maintaining frame rates between 95 and 115 fps at medium settings in 1080p.
However, heavier titles struggle dipping into the low 20s even at medium settings. With Nvidia’s DLSS enabled, Cyberpunk 2077 delivers playable frame rates of around 45 fps, though it drops to the mid-20s without DLSS. This performance cap is largely due to the GPU’s 40W power limit and the laptop’s compact design, which restricts airflow.
The XPS 14 9440 also brings some quality of like improvements thanks to Dell’s MyDell App. This handy tool makes fine-tuning the laptop a breeze. We did all of our testing with the thermal management set to Ultra Performance. We were also able to tweak the display’s calibration and Enable presence detection using the MyDell app. MyDell Apps’ Audio settings are equally impressive, with options to toggle 3D audio effects and customise equaliser profiles for different music genres. The app also helps optimise your network connection by prioritising apps and connecting to the strongest Wi-Fi signals.
The Dell XPS 14 9440 is perfect for professionals who need reliable performance for work, some light gaming to unwind, and a design that stays portable without compromising on power. While it’s not a gaming laptop by any stretch, it enough power for the light and casual gaming session as well.
Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED Review: Battery
The Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED is equipped with a solid 69.5WHr, 6-cell battery, and while it’s not breaking any endurance records, it performs well for a Windows laptop. During typical use—handling emails, writing, and hopping on video calls—it managed to last a respectable 7 hours and 45 minutes. That’s enough to comfortably get through a standard workday without frantically searching for a charger.
However, let’s be real—this is far from what Qualcomm’s ARM-based Windows PC, or Apple’s MacBook Pro 14-inch with the M3 Pro offers. Apple’s machine pulls off a staggering 18 hours of battery life, whereas with Qualcomm, we have machines that last well over 20 hours. These make the XPS 14’s runtime feel modest in comparison. But then, there are still some compatibility issues with Windows on ARM the last time we checked, so that may be a deal breaker for some.
That said, for an x86-based Windows laptop, this is still a solid improvement over what we’ve seen in recent years. If you need something that keeps going for long stretches without a charge, you might want to look elsewhere, but for most professionals, the XPS 14’s battery life is likely to be sufficient for everyday tasks.
Where the XPS 14 truly shines is in its charging speed. Dell includes a 100W fast charger in the box, and it’s impressively quick. In just about 90 minutes, the battery goes from empty to fully charged, which is a huge convenience when you’re in a rush.
In the end, while it may not lead the pack in battery endurance, the XPS 14 9440 offers enough juice to keep you productive during a workday and charges quickly enough to make up for its moderate runtime.
Dell XPS 14 9440 OLED Review: Verdict
There is no doubt that the XPS 14 9440 is a bit more expensive than it needs to be, especially when you consider that that there are Windows laptops from other manufacturers that cost about Rs 70,000 less and still provide somewhat better performance, and a significantly better gaming experience.
Do they look and feel as premium as the XPS 14? No. Plus it has a pretty solid keyboard, barring the function row, and its trackpad, once you get an idea where it is situated, is fairly intuitive to use, while offering great precision.
Moreover, you will be making some sacrifices with the display. That gorgeous OLED display, ties up the whole package that the XPS 14 9440 is.
That is not to say that the XPS 14 9440 is a slouch when it comes to performance. It has enough grunt to take on most of the demanding tasks that you can think of. And although the RTX 4050 is underfed, it handles most casual games fairly well.
If for some reason you were trying to avoid Apple’s ecosystem and just have to stick to Windows or Linux, but can’t compromise on how your devices look — if you value both, function and form — the Dell XPS 14 9440 becomes a great choice. Yes, it has some idiosyncrasies but that’s what gives the laptop its character.