And don’t forget people really like razer in terms of performance and sleekness. While it’s true to they have problems it’s no worse than this laptop except maybe keyboard.
Lol... No Dell wants money... I can only conclude that their product quality goes down each year... And then I'm talking mostly about the business models! They want prices as Apple for the profit but are mostly using cheap parts from their providers...
Agreed. They are just making it too easy for Apple to steal their market share. Dell XPS still has the non-software engineering community, but even those engineers are running to either Asus or Lenovo laptops. Some even relying on gaming laptops.
Dell now makes the vast majority of their money on enterprise. They don't need to sell laptops to consumers. So they won't take smaller margins on consumer devices. Just sell to people who keep buying Dell because they've always bought Dell.
IMO, it started in 2020, but got worse in 2022 and then seems to have hit a new low in 2024. When I wouldn't even take a recent for free, you know they're beyond bad.
I have the 2021 13" model, looks great, feels amazing and keyboard is really good, still I would not buy it again. Got problems with the jack, every time I want to use headphones I have to shut down the laptop and reboot with the jack inserted. And boy the battery is BAD, with my light use I was getting about 6-7h, until 2 months ago when they did a bios update, now if I get to 5h I'm lucky It is insane, but this PC makes me want to buy a mac!!!! Edit: note that I paid 1200$ for this one (no discount) directly from DELL, 16GB of ram and 512GB storage. How are they asking 2000$ for the new one with similar specs?! They slapped a new cpu in it and made some dis-improvements
The two reasons I don't buy Macs are the lack of upgradability and repairability and macOS. Dell doesn't have the luxury of developing their own OS, gg mate.
@@cameronbosch1213this has nothing to do with software. It's their funky hardware calibration that's got everyone worked up, I collapsed watching that😂😂spending nearly 2 grand to get half of the performance of an nvidia gpu and full HD screen. Ridiculous!
Spot on! Dell thinks it’s Apple with windows, so they charge high prices. But I think it’s great! This way other brands can compete and sell more. I would NEVER pay this much for a laptop without a great iGPU/dGPU at least 4060 class. People can even buy a SP9 at discount and even buy an eGPU like I did almost two years ago for this much. Go Razor/Asus go!
for the SAME PRICE Apple offers far greater performance in ALL metrics including fit and finish....along with a longer usable 'lifespan" than comparable Dell laptops.....
I purchased and have already returned the new XPS 16. Here in the UK I paid almost £2,800 for a machine with a terrible screen (and I mean TERRIBLE) 16GB RAM, and only an Nvidia 4050. That 4050 could barely play a AAA game at low settings - it was a terrible performer ! The build was also creaky in several places, the fan noise was ridiculous and the keyboard gave me a serious headache. I’m spending the refund on a MacBook M3 Max. Dell has got to be kidding here.
Try the lenovo pro 9i or the Asus G16 since u play games too, windows laptops are catching up to macbooks and have the advantage of dedicated GPUs, except Dell.
Why on Earth would you jump OS, just because you don't like one Windows laptop? Unless you have used Mac OS previously, you are going to have a ****ing nightmare moving to it.
@@loosabway3400 Why is it a nightmare? It is easier to manage... You still can emulatie windows in it or keep your old windows laptop besides it... Been using windows all my life and linux... Mac os is much easier than linux for the mass...
Yeah, Dell outlets are closing down one by one in my country. With their stubbornness and obsession of current XPS design (with no physical function row), they might probably be gone within the next 5 years considering the strong competition from Apple, Asus, and Lenovo
It's still incredible how Dell saw all of Apple's mistakes and said "Yeah let's repeat them". As if anything was going to be different. Their reputation is going downhill.
@@JustJoshTechif I can get the xps 14 open box excellent from best buy for $1664.00 would it be worth it? Or should I just wait for yoga 9i or get the hp spectre 14?
The touch bar is a bad sign for the company. Some out-of-touch corporate executive insisted on this probably. No real engineer who works for a living would ever curse their hardware with that.
I've been a loyal XPS user since like 2006, went through many generations because of the sleek premium feel and look but these days the price is just not justifiable whatsoever. You can get a fully stacked lenovo with dedicated gpu for less money. Hell I just bought a Lenovo 14 inch Business Thinkpad with an OLED HDR 500 400 NITS QHD panel, 64gb of ram, AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840 for 997$ USD.
I would like to get a ThinkPad if they sold a version without the trackpoint in the center of the keyboard. I personally don't want it disrupting the look and flow of the keyboard. The rest of the ThinkPad is mostly good.
I bought a Spectre 360 for my daughter in her senior year of high school and she used it through college and has graduated college and it's still running fine, even the battery!. It was a great investment. The only better laptop has been my late 2013 MacBook Pro that is still doing very well for itself, though I have a fairly new Alienware x14 that keeps going back for warranty repair and have been through a slew of Dells at work in that same time.
I'm happy with my LenovoLegion 7 Slim 16' that has 240HZ on a 2k panel and a 4060 and I got it for $1300 USD. The only problem I had with it, was with some NVidia drivers for the GPU that makes the laptop take 3 minutes to boot. I hope Lenovo and Nvidia will fix that asap so I can update to the latest driver.
Pretty much any other laptop with a power button on the keyboard requires a press and hold before it triggers to avoid exactly what happened with this one. This is sloppy engineering and an incredible, though not entirely unsurprising, oversight. Is there nothing in the BIOS or control software to adjust the behavior?
Am a software dev and I currentlly have a dell xps 9520 15" top spec'd, nearly 5 years old now, and I'm in the market for a top spec replacement. Thanks for this review, the most practical of all reviews so far. My next *won't* be an XPS 16. That function row, esc key, oversize caps lock, backspace/power button positioning and cursor keys are an absolute abomination.
We aren’t just living in a world where a Razer Blade is cheaper than a Dell XPS. We are living in a world where even Apple is cheaper than a Dell. I used the XPS 14 for a little less than a month - I thought I’d love it, but problems became more and more prominent. I just returned it and got an M3 Pro 12 Core MacBook Pro 14 inch
This^^^ Sadly this is the state of Intel and Laptops on Windows today. Amazing what garbage Intel is producing compared to what Apple has done. Our only hope is Qualcomm and MS getting that platform sorted out with ARM. Best laptop I used was the Surface laptop with Qualcomm, except app compatibility, random crashes and annoying stuff, it just isn't ready for prime time. Let's hope in the next year or so they get it worked out, using less power and even as fast as the Mac Air and better.
@@seththomas3194 unfortunately it’s not just processors that are an issue - windows itself is much less refined than macOS, but that is passable. The major issues is that all windows OEM laptops regardless of the brand cheap out… they cut corners and use low tier components, have QC issues and what not. MacBooks are almost always perfect out of the box. I like windows too - I have a custom built desktop, and because I didn’t cheap out on components, the pc is running rock solid for 2 years now. Wish laptops were as perfect in the windows department
@@Nobody-yp7in that laptop might be my last option for a high performing professional looking laptop after dell gets rid of the xps 15. I hope Samsung really steps up their game even more next year (like adding a better hinge than the book 4 has).
I'm an XPS 13 and MacBook Pro 16 user. I love my XPS but many of the things I love about it seem to keep going away. Micro SD slot? Seriously, every camera I own uses a full-size SD card. What the heck am I going to do with microSD? Also, I like the port mix on my XPS. This all-in-on USB C thing drives me nuts, my XPS has USB A ports which I use all the time, more often in fact than the USB C port. My XPS is also super light while the new one is getting pretty hefty. If I were to look today for an XPS replacement it should be a no-brainer to just get another XPS, yet that isn't the case at all.
I got the Spectre 14 based on your review earlier this year. For $1500 it's a steal with 32GB RAM and a 2TB SSD. The screen is amazing being 1800p OLED and the battery is decent for the size, although not really close to a Mac. I am so glad I did not wait for the Dell.
I've been following you for a while and you might be one of the best laptop reviewers out there, I saw your review on the pavilion plus 14 and almost bought it but I saw the brand new asus vivobook s14/s15/s16 2024 costs around the same and either matches or exceeds the pavilion in every way so I was hoping if you could review those and see what you think. Thanks, and keep the good work up 👍👍
Sad to hear this. I switched from MacBook Pro to a loaded XPS 17 a few years ago because of work needs. Other than the wonky trackpad I enjoyed it. I even bought a couple more for family. I’m in the market for a new laptop now and was waiting to see if Dell would improve the XPS. It definitely seems like they did not. It feels like they did a shift on their target audience for this thing. At least Dell helped convince me to go back to a MacBook Pro. I did miss it.
It is sad that Dell felt the need to needlessly change the xps 15 and 17 which were pretty highly praised and liked due to their design. I might have to blame some of the youtubers for begging for a refresh.
Glad to see this, Josh! I mean the XPS line up is premium and sleek. But like you pointed out the price point is just crazy and almost unrealistic compared to other competitors in the premium range. I had wanted an XPS earlier for the past few years, but it becomes clear now. I'm getting a Zephyrus G14!
My XPS 14 is out for delivery 😅 was waiting on this video before pulling the trigger. But couldn’t wait AMEX Business card had a 10% promo till 3/26/24 and on top of that $200 statement credit. So for 2k after tax and over $500 in savings it still seems like I’m going to be returning it anyways! We’ll see, really wish best buy carried the blue specture x360
I think it's fair to enjoy the product while still calling out Dell for their pricing and other flaws. If the laptop still fits your needs then there's nothing wrong with that.
"What planet are we on here?" In terms of notebook reviews, you own that planet today, Josh. I will be buying a new desktop replacement this year, and I was considering the XPS 16, while looking only at its best options, which as you prove here aren't enough to pull it over the finish line. Thank goodness for your gimlet-eyed review! As always, excellent, informative and beautifully presented. Thank you!
Lol, it also heavier that asus zephyrus g16, which is full blown gaming laptop, and it almost the same weight as my 2020 lenovo legion 5 , which is not even made to be slim or anything like that, what the point of slim laptop if it barely lighter than full blown gaming laptop with superior performance, 🤣🤣🤣
Very good review! It will surely provoke a lot of adverse reactions, but I am sure as with Josh's other reviews, everything about it is fair and objective. I am glad I read it before committing to buying an XPS 14. Now I am thinking about HP Pavilion Plus with Meteor Lake. I hope to read a review of that too soon!
I think it’s wild people, rightly, were up in arms about the bases MacBook Pro having 8gb ram but Dell can do this with their mainline laptop and it’s crickets from reviewers in general. Josh you and your team have done a great job with this review!
I mean.... I can appreciate the alternatives but why are we all ignoring the zenbook pro OLED? Its in the same price range and has a touchscreen which i can see XPS buyers wanting.
"If you like this video, show your support by smashing that like button and getting subscribed, unlike on these XPS laptops those buttons are where you expect them to be" 🥶👀🗿
It seems to be an issue with the XPS 14. When a USB speaker (AudioEngine A2+) is connected to a USB hub, audio crackles when the hub is plugged into the right USB-C port but not the left USB-C port. WTF!
There is some potential reason to favor a 1080p display. As I understand it, the battery life benefit over 4k (all else being equal) is fairly significant, though I don't know the numbers. A compromise like 1440 would be better, but you'd want DPI scaling by a fractional factor rather than an integer scale like 2x, which often leads to problems with existing software.
Thanks for the critical review. However, why didn't you give the ASUS G14/16 the same treatment in terms of value? Value for performance I believe is just as bad as the XPS.
Daddy ASUS limits what he can say, dell I guess not. Many of these UA-camrs claim to be objective but they do whatever the company says to ensure they get review units Just because money isn’t changing hands, doesn’t mean there ain’t EXTREME UA-camr bias. Josh has shown his hand, then made a follow up video claiming he was unbiased You can saw whatever you want, but your actions speak volumes
@@MediaChanelle100% nailed it, Josh is incredibly biased and has major conflicts of interest. Glad to see someone call him out on his inconsistencies.
I'm not sure you can really compare them. The G14/16 starts in a similar price range (1600-1800), but have dedicated graphics, amazing OLED screens, great keyboards, and an improved build quality from the 2023 version. The only downside is they reduced the GPU power, but in these thin laptops you get diminishing returns past 100W anyways. The new zephyrus line seems solid to me. I have the 2022 G14 and it's been a great value but I'd prefer the thinner aluminum chassis.
@@JustJoshTech Hey Josh, appreciate the reply. Yes I agree you were tough on it in terms of the fan issue. However, in terms of a value proposition, you glossed over the fact that there are much better value laptops out there with similar specs. I believe in the video you spent only around 10 seconds regarding the price. I feel that you should put that more in perspective as it is a very expensive machine like the XPS, but doesnt offer much in terms of performance compared to its competitors. ie the Lenovo Legion Slim
So Josh - tell us how you REALLY feel?! Very big grin. It has been a LONG time since I viewed or read a critique like this one. I hope Dell officials view it as well. It would do their company good.
I really, really, really wish PC manufacturers would bring back thick, performance focused laptops that are not gaming laptops. For those who use their mobile workstations for work and truly need the performance but are not gamers, it would be really nice to get something that doesn't compromise performance without looking too gimmicky. I have a 2022 Blade 15 advanced with the 2K display and it is fantastic. 2560x1440 or 2560x1600 should be the industry standard for a base resolution on premium laptops.
Yes! Something like the Acer Predator Helios 500/700; a muscle book of sorts but a true desktop replacement with every port you might ever need and performance rivaling desktops but can still be contained in one unit. I do think there still is a market for these, but I'm worried that SFF desktops are better value.
Apple Silicon ruins that idea. Consumers simply will not buy chunky laptops with huge batteries and cooling fans. Apple has again set the standard for laptops moving forward - High performance even when unplugged - Long battery life - thin form factor - World-class displays.
@@goobfilmcast4239 Don't get me wrong, I agree that Apple Silicon has changed a good part of the game regarding high performing laptops but some of us still need windows because certain enterprise programs don't support MacOS.
Finally a review that does not look brand marketing. I wish more of these abusive facts were pointed out more frequently by more influencers, like: - Pricing of Alienware high-end laptops with ridiculous 400 nits IPS panels (hi Dell). - Pricing of Asus G14 & G16: 2000 Euros with 16 GB of RAM soldered and RTX 4050, 3000 Euros for 4070 and 4000 Euros for the 4080 version. - Almost any high-end laptop that mimics the price of the Macbook Pro without all the bells and whistles and pushes overall laptop market prices upwards. - ... I would like to see more influencers to highlight both the advantages and the disadvantages which should not exist in certain price ranges. Thanks for this great review!
Great review Josh. One of the reasons i have stuck with Thinkpads and X1 line so far is that despite their flaws, and there are some, they are still more upgradeable and better built than most Windows laptops, with top-of-the-line keyboards and simple aesthetics. Keep up the good work mate, enjoying witnessing the channel grow.
0:57 the MSI Stealth has a 165Hz screen, it's a gaming product. It's pretty normal that it favors refresh rate over pixel density since a higher resolution would make the screen harder to drive and therefore cancel the high refresh rate benefit.
What weird thing do you guys do with the audio track? It always seems to be slightly to fast on playback speed and out of sync with the lips. Drives me nuts on your videos and it seems to have gotten worse in revent videos.
1080p on 14 is bad? Come on even gaming monitors on 24 inches have 1080p and they are just fine. 99% of people won’t care about more resolution than 1080p on 14 display. 1440p on 14 is so tiny and hard to read
@@HelloBrother22Agree! Using 100% scaling (in Windows), a 1080p resolution on a 14 or 15in screen is perfectly fine. Using a 4K resolution on a 14 or 15in screen (for me) provides very little visual difference but a noticeable hit to the battery life…
I would like to point out that ppi is not the only factor , but the vewing distance is also equally as important. There is a reason ppi of phones > laptops > monitor> tv. A laptop may have a good ppi compared to a monitor but you look at the laptop from a much closer distance 😊. So just ppi is not the point
Appreciate the honest review. Too much focus on form and nearly none on function. But hey, it’s pretty to look at, right? Hope Dell scraps this design ASAP.
This is too good of a roast! Below are some good lines: "No other laptop priced this high has a resolution this low" "When compared to the M3 Pro MacBook Pro 14, this laptop gets crushed in single core and smashed in multi-core." "When we look at graphics, things just fall apart"
FINALLY a true review that speaks what everyone is thinking. Im so tired of these annoying reviewers who are not vocal about these issues. Also my 2016 xps 13 had a seperate charging port now I jave to sacrifice a USB C port for what?! I would only have 1 port left, and why capacitieve fn keys? It's funny that Dell is taking flop choices from Apple, 12 inch macbook had only 2 ports and flopped, also the keyboards had no gaps, the new macbooks had touchscreen fn keys and those were bad. Yet Dell wants to use them when even APPLE couldn't convince their audience..
Decided against an XPS based (almost exclusively) based on this review. Opted to take a chance on the RedmiBook Pro 14 (CU7, 32GB, 1TB) for the Apple-esque look/build quality (I hope), the 80wh battery and the price..... Would love to hear your thoughts in a review of this laptop eventually. Mine will be here in about 2 weeks
The g14/16 aren’t overprice and this is? Seems like daddy ASUS made you read the script but dell didn’t. Making a video claiming you left s money making job for this doesn’t mean you aren’t a biased UA-camr chasing review units.
My Dell XPS15 9570 just died. I am going to replace it with a Lenovo Yoga, just because of this review. What a major mistake from dell to not listen to IT professionals about their wishes
I am really enjoying this channel lately and it's brutal honestly about laptops and how they actually work for real people. You guys are killing it and I hope you become huge!
Hey Josh. Really informative review, thanks ! I actually am considering though one of these two. I’m not planning to play any games. Since I’m a photographer the main purpose will be Lightroom Classic to work with the 26-33MP RAW files. Would the 14” still be good enough in terms of thermals and (GPU) performance ?
Ain't no way the base config is $1,700 😭I just got last year's Zenbook 14X open box in like new condition for $400 - it has a '2.8K' screen at 120HZ with the same amount of storage AND still excellent build quality 🥴
@@JustJoshTech I finally see it- it's one of the fake "buttons" at the top. Ridic. I'm currently waffling between the Galaxy Book4 Pro 360 (maybe the 32gb on the business site) & the new HP Spectre...
Hey Josh, you suggested the Omen Transcend 14 laptop for me. I need it for gaming, coding, and other tasks. However, I am looking for a laptop that has no major issues and can perform most tasks smoothly. I wanted to ask if it is a good idea to buy from HP, as they have a bad reputation. Also, I am curious if there are better alternatives to the Omen Transcend 14 that fit my budget of around $2000. Thank you!
With your budget, you may want to look at the Lenovo Thinkbook 16P. The “P” is important as it is not the same laptop without that in the name. It can be configured with a matte wide color gamut 3.2k IPS for coding and media/editing and an RTX 4060 for gaming. Runs very silent also. The gotcha is it can be heavy.
💻 HP Spectre 14 ( @BestBuy ): bestbuy.7tiv.net/nL30AX
😁 HP Spectre 14 (Customizable): bestbuy.7tiv.net/eKPnQO
🎉 Asus G14 2024 (4070): bestbuy.7tiv.net/1r3Z1m
👉 Asus G14 2024 (4060): bestbuy.7tiv.net/LXGRxY
🛒 Yoga Pro 9i 16 (2024): bestbuy.7tiv.net/eKLBNg
🎉 All Our Favorite Laptops: www.justjosh.tech/best-tech
Hi @JustJoshTech!😊
What's your opinion on Acer swift go 2024 models?
Will you review those?
“You can save money by buying a razer blade”- what planet do we live in
Sounds crazy lol, Dell need to wake up.
Heck, at least the Razer Blades can be upgraded and aren't fundamentally broken in terms of the basics.
And don’t forget people really like razer in terms of performance and sleekness. While it’s true to they have problems it’s no worse than this laptop except maybe keyboard.
Its a cruel world we live in
I read this comment before watching the review, I thought you were talking about sponsored content. Dell shat on this XPS line.
Dell secretly tries to promote Macbook with these laptops
Yeah and they did it worse.
Lol... No Dell wants money... I can only conclude that their product quality goes down each year... And then I'm talking mostly about the business models! They want prices as Apple for the profit but are mostly using cheap parts from their providers...
Agreed. They are just making it too easy for Apple to steal their market share.
Dell XPS still has the non-software engineering community, but even those engineers are running to either Asus or Lenovo laptops. Some even relying on gaming laptops.
@@akin242002 Indeed pfff
Dell now makes the vast majority of their money on enterprise. They don't need to sell laptops to consumers. So they won't take smaller margins on consumer devices. Just sell to people who keep buying Dell because they've always bought Dell.
Good. Call out these OEMs that make apple laptops look cheap in comparison.
"Cheap" and "expensive" are always a relative concept, but good point 😃
@@daimebaru I think he/she means better value.
@@fidelisitor8953 apple laptops are excellent value.
At least with a MacBook you get great battery life and it doesn't sound like a jet engine if you open MS Word
when the better deal is the new macbook pro, its actually laughable how expesive these are lmao
Dell has been progressively fucking up the XPS line over the years
IMO, it started in 2020, but got worse in 2022 and then seems to have hit a new low in 2024. When I wouldn't even take a recent for free, you know they're beyond bad.
For their other models even the Latitudes it started from the 2014 models.
It's a travesty it's the only brand that believes in making 0 bezels all around
I have the 2021 13" model, looks great, feels amazing and keyboard is really good, still I would not buy it again.
Got problems with the jack, every time I want to use headphones I have to shut down the laptop and reboot with the jack inserted.
And boy the battery is BAD, with my light use I was getting about 6-7h, until 2 months ago when they did a bios update, now if I get to 5h I'm lucky
It is insane, but this PC makes me want to buy a mac!!!!
Edit: note that I paid 1200$ for this one (no discount) directly from DELL, 16GB of ram and 512GB storage. How are they asking 2000$ for the new one with similar specs?! They slapped a new cpu in it and made some dis-improvements
@infamousincubus2888 Oh boo hoo, 1 mm of extra bezel... who the heck cares if it means a 1080p or 1440p camera?
" Like Disney destroyed Star Wars " - truly said
*with the usual caveat that Andor is good, actually
Just not true.
Star Wars started as infantile crap and became Disney-fied infantile crap.
Grow up; develop some taste and discrimination.
It never was amazing though. I actually liked episode 7. 8 & 9 were bad imo though.
Disney is feast or famine. The heights Andor/Rogue One and the lows of The Rise of Skywalker within a couple of years. Yuck
@@tinnyfoible7318Hello, friend. Andor trumps everything after OT. Love the prequels too
“You can save money by buying a razer blade” can't be real. 😂
This laptop feels like they hired Jony Ive:
Looks good, that's it.
Dell really think they're Apple now and we'll buy their shit😂😂
The two reasons I don't buy Macs are the lack of upgradability and repairability and macOS. Dell doesn't have the luxury of developing their own OS, gg mate.
@@cameronbosch1213this has nothing to do with software. It's their funky hardware calibration that's got everyone worked up, I collapsed watching that😂😂spending nearly 2 grand to get half of the performance of an nvidia gpu and full HD screen. Ridiculous!
@Jambajakumba MacOS is part of why some people by Macs. That's a reason I don't.
But yeah, the XPS lineup this year is awful.
@@cameronbosch1213You say that on every video bro. It's getting tiring. We get it. You're in bed with Windows.
Spot on! Dell thinks it’s Apple with windows, so they charge high prices. But I think it’s great! This way other brands can compete and sell more. I would NEVER pay this much for a laptop without a great iGPU/dGPU at least 4060 class. People can even buy a SP9 at discount and even buy an eGPU like I did almost two years ago for this much. Go Razor/Asus go!
Dell thinks it’s Apple and can get away with the same pricing tactics 😂. Incredible
for the SAME PRICE Apple offers far greater performance in ALL metrics including fit and finish....along with a longer usable 'lifespan" than comparable Dell laptops.....
Crazy to think that Apple, a company that is ludicrously stingy when it comes to memory options offers more memory than Dell’s offering.
I purchased and have already returned the new XPS 16. Here in the UK I paid almost £2,800 for a machine with a terrible screen (and I mean TERRIBLE) 16GB RAM, and only an Nvidia 4050. That 4050 could barely play a AAA game at low settings - it was a terrible performer ! The build was also creaky in several places, the fan noise was ridiculous and the keyboard gave me a serious headache. I’m spending the refund on a MacBook M3 Max. Dell has got to be kidding here.
Try the lenovo pro 9i or the Asus G16 since u play games too, windows laptops are catching up to macbooks and have the advantage of dedicated GPUs, except Dell.
If it was the Oled... Probably due to the Screen door effect or dead pixels ?
Why on Earth would you jump OS, just because you don't like one Windows laptop?
Unless you have used Mac OS previously, you are going to have a ****ing nightmare moving to it.
@@loosabway3400 Why is it a nightmare? It is easier to manage... You still can emulatie windows in it or keep your old windows laptop besides it... Been using windows all my life and linux... Mac os is much easier than linux for the mass...
I did the exact same thing, purchased the Pro version and ended up saving $1000 usd
The "Don't buy a Dell" golden rule in laptops stands firm to this day.
Wasn't always like that. Dell used to be pretty reliable. Then they got their heads hyped up over the XPS line because reviewers kept shilling it.
@@jayrollo1352 A reviewer's job is 99% a shill.
@@blueeyednick Yeah. These days review videos are essentially long advertisements. Wasn't always like that though.
Yeah, Dell outlets are closing down one by one in my country. With their stubbornness and obsession of current XPS design (with no physical function row), they might probably be gone within the next 5 years considering the strong competition from Apple, Asus, and Lenovo
The XPS series are meant as a showoff. Their Latitude series are some of the best in the industry.
Another proof why you're the best laptop reviewer on UA-cam. You tell it like it is.
Thank you
He does.
Not that these laptops are going down well anywhere....
You tell exactly what we think !
It's still incredible how Dell saw all of Apple's mistakes and said "Yeah let's repeat them". As if anything was going to be different.
Their reputation is going downhill.
Ha ha Dell hired the people Apple fired.
"Lets repeat them but add another 1000 bucks on top of that as well 🤣🤣🤣
wow, these are pricey. Great review!
Happy to see you here Alex !
Hey, happy to see you here!!! Waiting more fun vidos from you :D.
Thanks mate, almost missed your comment!
@@JustJoshTechif I can get the xps 14 open box excellent from best buy for $1664.00 would it be worth it? Or should I just wait for yoga 9i or get the hp spectre 14?
The touch bar is a bad sign for the company. Some out-of-touch corporate executive insisted on this probably. No real engineer who works for a living would ever curse their hardware with that.
I've been a loyal XPS user since like 2006, went through many generations because of the sleek premium feel and look but these days the price is just not justifiable whatsoever. You can get a fully stacked lenovo with dedicated gpu for less money. Hell I just bought a Lenovo 14 inch Business Thinkpad with an OLED HDR 500 400 NITS QHD panel, 64gb of ram, AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840 for 997$ USD.
I would like to get a ThinkPad if they sold a version without the trackpoint in the center of the keyboard. I personally don't want it disrupting the look and flow of the keyboard. The rest of the ThinkPad is mostly good.
exactly which model is it?
@@Slavolkocringe
Tear em up Josh! I got my Spectre X360 14 yesterday thanks to you, and it's stunning for the 1k I paid ❤
I bought a Spectre 360 for my daughter in her senior year of high school and she used it through college and has graduated college and it's still running fine, even the battery!. It was a great investment. The only better laptop has been my late 2013 MacBook Pro that is still doing very well for itself, though I have a fairly new Alienware x14 that keeps going back for warranty repair and have been through a slew of Dells at work in that same time.
@@TWSmith42Sir why is the Dell laptop going for repair often? What problems and issues is it giving to you?
broke.
I’ve always thought the XPS line was massively overpriced, but this is whole new level. What the hell??
It's targeted on the posers probably
or should we say: what the Dell 😄
Killer review! Great work
We'll be testing it out soon to see what we think, but it'll be the OLED version.
Looking forward to seeing what you guys think of it. I heard they have already dropped the price. Lets see if its permanent
I'm happy with my LenovoLegion 7 Slim 16' that has 240HZ on a 2k panel and a 4060 and I got it for $1300 USD.
The only problem I had with it, was with some NVidia drivers for the GPU that makes the laptop take 3 minutes to boot. I hope Lenovo and Nvidia will fix that asap so I can update to the latest driver.
I got that one too, except it has the i9/4070 for 1700, on sale from Best Buy normally priced at 2,099.
Pretty much any other laptop with a power button on the keyboard requires a press and hold before it triggers to avoid exactly what happened with this one. This is sloppy engineering and an incredible, though not entirely unsurprising, oversight. Is there nothing in the BIOS or control software to adjust the behavior?
Clusterf***
The missing esc key killed me :D
Am a software dev and I currentlly have a dell xps 9520 15" top spec'd, nearly 5 years old now, and I'm in the market for a top spec replacement. Thanks for this review, the most practical of all reviews so far. My next *won't* be an XPS 16. That function row, esc key, oversize caps lock, backspace/power button positioning and cursor keys are an absolute abomination.
Time for a "Why buying a laptop sucks in 2024" video.
Ha. I did "Are UA-camrs Lying To You?" Instead this year
@@JustJoshTechwe still want it tho.
The main message has remained the same: laptops are made to be sold, not to be used.
Bam. Glad you watched it and remembered the quote!@@xpforevergaming8609
Mac machines are beautiful
new Dell announcement! We are bringing butterfly key switches to the 2025 XPS line!
Lol, I should have mentioned that in the video :P
At least they didn't bring over the headphone jack removal from XPS 13 Plus
It can't be far behind at this rate
Employees at Apple, would you like a Touch Bar and to ruin the thermals of your laptops as well?
We aren’t just living in a world where a Razer Blade is cheaper than a Dell XPS. We are living in a world where even Apple is cheaper than a Dell.
I used the XPS 14 for a little less than a month - I thought I’d love it, but problems became more and more prominent. I just returned it and got an M3 Pro 12 Core MacBook Pro 14 inch
This^^^ Sadly this is the state of Intel and Laptops on Windows today. Amazing what garbage Intel is producing compared to what Apple has done. Our only hope is Qualcomm and MS getting that platform sorted out with ARM. Best laptop I used was the Surface laptop with Qualcomm, except app compatibility, random crashes and annoying stuff, it just isn't ready for prime time. Let's hope in the next year or so they get it worked out, using less power and even as fast as the Mac Air and better.
@@seththomas3194 unfortunately it’s not just processors that are an issue - windows itself is much less refined than macOS, but that is passable. The major issues is that all windows OEM laptops regardless of the brand cheap out… they cut corners and use low tier components, have QC issues and what not. MacBooks are almost always perfect out of the box. I like windows too - I have a custom built desktop, and because I didn’t cheap out on components, the pc is running rock solid for 2 years now. Wish laptops were as perfect in the windows department
Hey Josh, will u review the galaxy book 4 ultra 4070 version?
Yeah. We haven't been able to order it yet. No stock
@@JustJoshTechok, thx a lot
@@Nobody-yp7in that laptop might be my last option for a high performing professional looking laptop after dell gets rid of the xps 15. I hope Samsung really steps up their game even more next year (like adding a better hinge than the book 4 has).
Really wish Dell could get the XPS lineup right. They are so pleasant on the eyes. Can you start doing some Surface product reviews btw?
What's with the pricing this year? To sell out last years leftovers?
7:11 "Worst issue is a lack of physical escape key " --- ARGH!!! Burn it with fire! It is f****n torture device
When even Apple reversed course on that, it's telling that Dell would rather screw programmers who constantly use that key rather than revert it.
Apple: They say my laptops are poor value.
Dell: Hold my 14 inch beer bottle.
I'm an XPS 13 and MacBook Pro 16 user. I love my XPS but many of the things I love about it seem to keep going away. Micro SD slot? Seriously, every camera I own uses a full-size SD card. What the heck am I going to do with microSD? Also, I like the port mix on my XPS. This all-in-on USB C thing drives me nuts, my XPS has USB A ports which I use all the time, more often in fact than the USB C port. My XPS is also super light while the new one is getting pretty hefty. If I were to look today for an XPS replacement it should be a no-brainer to just get another XPS, yet that isn't the case at all.
I got the Spectre 14 based on your review earlier this year. For $1500 it's a steal with 32GB RAM and a 2TB SSD. The screen is amazing being 1800p OLED and the battery is decent for the size, although not really close to a Mac. I am so glad I did not wait for the Dell.
Great Review! I'm not surprised. I don't think Dell has made a quality XPS laptop with a dedicated GPU in a very long time. That price though....
I've been following you for a while and you might be one of the best laptop reviewers out there, I saw your review on the pavilion plus 14 and almost bought it but I saw the brand new asus vivobook s14/s15/s16 2024 costs around the same and either matches or exceeds the pavilion in every way so I was hoping if you could review those and see what you think.
Thanks, and keep the good work up 👍👍
I'm a developer and the lack of Function keys is a huge fail.
Sad to hear this. I switched from MacBook Pro to a loaded XPS 17 a few years ago because of work needs. Other than the wonky trackpad I enjoyed it. I even bought a couple more for family.
I’m in the market for a new laptop now and was waiting to see if Dell would improve the XPS. It definitely seems like they did not. It feels like they did a shift on their target audience for this thing.
At least Dell helped convince me to go back to a MacBook Pro. I did miss it.
It is sad that Dell felt the need to needlessly change the xps 15 and 17 which were pretty highly praised and liked due to their design. I might have to blame some of the youtubers for begging for a refresh.
Glad to see this, Josh! I mean the XPS line up is premium and sleek. But like you pointed out the price point is just crazy and almost unrealistic compared to other competitors in the premium range. I had wanted an XPS earlier for the past few years, but it becomes clear now. I'm getting a Zephyrus G14!
You know it's bad when the Macbook comes with more memory at the same price 😅
My XPS 14 is out for delivery 😅 was waiting on this video before pulling the trigger. But couldn’t wait AMEX Business card had a 10% promo till 3/26/24 and on top of that $200 statement credit. So for 2k after tax and over $500 in savings it still seems like I’m going to be returning it anyways! We’ll see, really wish best buy carried the blue specture x360
I saw the promo too on my Chase Freedom Flex card, I think. I wished it was Asus or Lenovo instead. 😂
Your XPS is a great machine. Don't believe this video..
@@PeterVassiliou Depends on what you value as important... and you CAN'T escape the screen door effect... and the price... 😢
I think it's fair to enjoy the product while still calling out Dell for their pricing and other flaws. If the laptop still fits your needs then there's nothing wrong with that.
Hows it working
"What planet are we on here?" In terms of notebook reviews, you own that planet today, Josh. I will be buying a new desktop replacement this year, and I was considering the XPS 16, while looking only at its best options, which as you prove here aren't enough to pull it over the finish line. Thank goodness for your gimlet-eyed review! As always, excellent, informative and beautifully presented. Thank you!
Oh we have a video coming out for you in about 3 weeks on Desktop Replacements. Its a big round up one
@@JustJoshTech Fantastic! I was going to request that, but alas, you're already on it!
how is the 16 inch heavier than a lenovo legion slim gaming laptop lol
Lol, it also heavier that asus zephyrus g16, which is full blown gaming laptop, and it almost the same weight as my 2020 lenovo legion 5 , which is not even made to be slim or anything like that, what the point of slim laptop if it barely lighter than full blown gaming laptop with superior performance, 🤣🤣🤣
Very good review! It will surely provoke a lot of adverse reactions, but I am sure as with Josh's other reviews, everything about it is fair and objective. I am glad I read it before committing to buying an XPS 14. Now I am thinking about HP Pavilion Plus with Meteor Lake. I hope to read a review of that too soon!
Thanks. And yes we are getting that in in April
Go with a ZenBook. Love my ZenBook
probably a Yoga 9 or a Zenbook 14 are the options for you
I think it’s wild people, rightly, were up in arms about the bases MacBook Pro having 8gb ram but Dell can do this with their mainline laptop and it’s crickets from reviewers in general. Josh you and your team have done a great job with this review!
Alot of people surprisingly own dells 😅
I mean.... I can appreciate the alternatives but why are we all ignoring the zenbook pro OLED? Its in the same price range and has a touchscreen which i can see XPS buyers wanting.
Yes we can call that out in future
"If you like this video, show your support by smashing that like button and getting subscribed, unlike on these XPS laptops those buttons are where you expect them to be" 🥶👀🗿
The links to better competing laptops is nice
Just the video I was waiting for, though now no clue whether to go with XPS 14 or MacBook Pro 14 lol, what was the battery life like on XPS 14 Josh?
That Star Wars line was absolutley brutal :D
As a small token of my appreciation, thank you!
Thank you. That's appreciated!
I’ll wait for next year’s model. Got a sweet deal for a newly used M2 Air 15 recently.
Been looking at XPS 17 for my editing , watching this video has made me look at other brands
Thanks again for the great review!!!
And ofcourse also your team!
It seems to be an issue with the XPS 14. When a USB speaker (AudioEngine A2+) is connected to a USB hub, audio crackles when the hub is plugged into the right USB-C port but not the left USB-C port. WTF!
@ 5:51, I wanna watch a 10 minute video of josh reviewing keyboards and yelling atrocities .PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN!!
Ugh I spent so much and have non stop issues with mine :( i got so many extra things 6,000 later i literally hate editing now!
I just love your honest and detailed reviews, Josh. You are one of a kind. Well done!
Be well.
There is some potential reason to favor a 1080p display. As I understand it, the battery life benefit over 4k (all else being equal) is fairly significant, though I don't know the numbers. A compromise like 1440 would be better, but you'd want DPI scaling by a fractional factor rather than an integer scale like 2x, which often leads to problems with existing software.
Thanks for the critical review. However, why didn't you give the ASUS G14/16 the same treatment in terms of value?
Value for performance I believe is just as bad as the XPS.
Daddy ASUS limits what he can say, dell I guess not.
Many of these UA-camrs claim to be objective but they do whatever the company says to ensure they get review units
Just because money isn’t changing hands, doesn’t mean there ain’t EXTREME UA-camr bias. Josh has shown his hand, then made a follow up video claiming he was unbiased
You can saw whatever you want, but your actions speak volumes
The G16 is much better value. And I was incredibly tough on it. I spent a lot of the video talking about bad fan noise
@@MediaChanelle100% nailed it, Josh is incredibly biased and has major conflicts of interest. Glad to see someone call him out on his inconsistencies.
I'm not sure you can really compare them. The G14/16 starts in a similar price range (1600-1800), but have dedicated graphics, amazing OLED screens, great keyboards, and an improved build quality from the 2023 version. The only downside is they reduced the GPU power, but in these thin laptops you get diminishing returns past 100W anyways. The new zephyrus line seems solid to me. I have the 2022 G14 and it's been a great value but I'd prefer the thinner aluminum chassis.
@@JustJoshTech Hey Josh, appreciate the reply.
Yes I agree you were tough on it in terms of the fan issue. However, in terms of a value proposition, you glossed over the fact that there are much better value laptops out there with similar specs. I believe in the video you spent only around 10 seconds regarding the price. I feel that you should put that more in perspective as it is a very expensive machine like the XPS, but doesnt offer much in terms of performance compared to its competitors. ie the Lenovo Legion Slim
Do you think they were counting on Meteor Lake not being as hot as it turned out to be when designing these? (especially 185H)
So Josh - tell us how you REALLY feel?! Very big grin. It has been a LONG time since I viewed or read a critique like this one. I hope Dell officials view it as well. It would do their company good.
Hear hear!
What’s a good creator laptop in the same range or less ? $2300 usd
I appreciate your transparency when it comes to these reviews. You're a gem in the tech world.
I really, really, really wish PC manufacturers would bring back thick, performance focused laptops that are not gaming laptops. For those who use their mobile workstations for work and truly need the performance but are not gamers, it would be really nice to get something that doesn't compromise performance without looking too gimmicky. I have a 2022 Blade 15 advanced with the 2K display and it is fantastic. 2560x1440 or 2560x1600 should be the industry standard for a base resolution on premium laptops.
Yes! Something like the Acer Predator Helios 500/700; a muscle book of sorts but a true desktop replacement with every port you might ever need and performance rivaling desktops but can still be contained in one unit.
I do think there still is a market for these, but I'm worried that SFF desktops are better value.
Apple Silicon ruins that idea. Consumers simply will not buy chunky laptops with huge batteries and cooling fans. Apple has again set the standard for laptops moving forward - High performance even when unplugged - Long battery life - thin form factor - World-class displays.
@@goobfilmcast4239 Can’t upgrade Apple Silicon and it doesn’t scale well to higher performance tiers. It might never scale well…
@@goobfilmcast4239 Don't get me wrong, I agree that Apple Silicon has changed a good part of the game regarding high performing laptops but some of us still need windows because certain enterprise programs don't support MacOS.
Finally a review that does not look brand marketing. I wish more of these abusive facts were pointed out more frequently by more influencers, like:
- Pricing of Alienware high-end laptops with ridiculous 400 nits IPS panels (hi Dell).
- Pricing of Asus G14 & G16: 2000 Euros with 16 GB of RAM soldered and RTX 4050, 3000 Euros for 4070 and 4000 Euros for the 4080 version.
- Almost any high-end laptop that mimics the price of the Macbook Pro without all the bells and whistles and pushes overall laptop market prices upwards.
- ...
I would like to see more influencers to highlight both the advantages and the disadvantages which should not exist in certain price ranges.
Thanks for this great review!
Great review Josh. One of the reasons i have stuck with Thinkpads and X1 line so far is that despite their flaws, and there are some, they are still more upgradeable and better built than most Windows laptops, with top-of-the-line keyboards and simple aesthetics.
Keep up the good work mate, enjoying witnessing the channel grow.
Brutal yet completely warranted. Dell really fumbled this release.
Thanks for the review, you are one of the very few reviewers making genuine reviews, not paid by other companies to be biased.
I miss the carbon fiber 13 and 17.
At last someone telling the truth about these abominable pricing of this model of laptops. Excellent review. And I liked the closing line.
"It's equivalent to what Disney did to Star Wars"
Woah CALM DOWN Josh 🤣
Do you think matte or glossy display is the best ?
Glossy if it's touch enabled. But otherwise, only if it's OLED and not super reflective. I still think glossy screens should be touch enabled.
Thank you for calling it how it is Josh. Another great video!
I switched to a macbook from an xps two years ago, never looked back, never going back to windows.
Dell must think Window's users are pretty stupid
I was considering XPS for my next laptop, guess I gotta move to thinkpads.. they don't fuck around that often
Just bought a Yoga Pro 9i (64gb 4070, teal) because of your reviews. Thanks!
the 4070 isn't available in the US, from where did u get it?
@@keyo6456 I'm in the UK
0:57 the MSI Stealth has a 165Hz screen, it's a gaming product. It's pretty normal that it favors refresh rate over pixel density since a higher resolution would make the screen harder to drive and therefore cancel the high refresh rate benefit.
Get em Josh!
What weird thing do you guys do with the audio track? It always seems to be slightly to fast on playback speed and out of sync with the lips. Drives me nuts on your videos and it seems to have gotten worse in revent videos.
You are the first person to mention this. I didn't notice it. We do record audio separately and sync in post
I'm afraid you've got a Dell with lipsync issues...Dell xps 15 95X0 & 17 97X0 series are prown to that! I also had these devices...
1080p on 14 is bad? Come on even gaming monitors on 24 inches have 1080p and they are just fine. 99% of people won’t care about more resolution than 1080p on 14 display. 1440p on 14 is so tiny and hard to read
it's not even 1080 it's 1200. I have a 1080p screen in a 15.6 and it's absolutely fine, nothing looks pixelated
I think the reasons is the price, compared to similarly priced laptops.
@@HelloBrother22Agree! Using 100% scaling (in Windows), a 1080p resolution on a 14 or 15in screen is perfectly fine. Using a 4K resolution on a 14 or 15in screen (for me) provides very little visual difference but a noticeable hit to the battery life…
I would like to point out that ppi is not the only factor , but the vewing distance is also equally as important. There is a reason ppi of phones > laptops > monitor> tv. A laptop may have a good ppi compared to a monitor but you look at the laptop from a much closer distance 😊. So just ppi is not the point
So XPS 14 with FHD is atrocious
Appreciate the honest review. Too much focus on form and nearly none on function. But hey, it’s pretty to look at, right? Hope Dell scraps this design ASAP.
agreed, they need to get with the times
This is too good of a roast! Below are some good lines:
"No other laptop priced this high has a resolution this low"
"When compared to the M3 Pro MacBook Pro 14, this laptop gets crushed in single core and smashed in multi-core."
"When we look at graphics, things just fall apart"
I'm surprised "It's what Disney did to Star Wars" didn't make the list
@@JustJoshTech Too many for me to write down, but that one was hilarious too.
call them out …it’s a disgrace
FINALLY a true review that speaks what everyone is thinking. Im so tired of these annoying reviewers who are not vocal about these issues. Also my 2016 xps 13 had a seperate charging port now I jave to sacrifice a USB C port for what?! I would only have 1 port left, and why capacitieve fn keys? It's funny that Dell is taking flop choices from Apple, 12 inch macbook had only 2 ports and flopped, also the keyboards had no gaps, the new macbooks had touchscreen fn keys and those were bad. Yet Dell wants to use them when even APPLE couldn't convince their audience..
Well done Dell, beating Apple in bad decisions is not an easy task!
😂😂😂😂
Decided against an XPS based (almost exclusively) based on this review. Opted to take a chance on the RedmiBook Pro 14 (CU7, 32GB, 1TB) for the Apple-esque look/build quality (I hope), the 80wh battery and the price..... Would love to hear your thoughts in a review of this laptop eventually. Mine will be here in about 2 weeks
The g14/16 aren’t overprice and this is? Seems like daddy ASUS made you read the script but dell didn’t.
Making a video claiming you left s money making job for this doesn’t mean you aren’t a biased UA-camr chasing review units.
I mean, 32 GB of RAM should be cheaper, given 16 GB for performance tasks is insufficient in 2024.
My Dell XPS15 9570 just died. I am going to replace it with a Lenovo Yoga, just because of this review. What a major mistake from dell to not listen to IT professionals about their wishes
They had the perfect design and throw It in the bin
I am really enjoying this channel lately and it's brutal honestly about laptops and how they actually work for real people. You guys are killing it and I hope you become huge!
Thank you
Apple laptops seems like a better deal :D especially M2 MacBook Air for 899 with student discount
Hey Josh. Really informative review, thanks ! I actually am considering though one of these two. I’m not planning to play any games. Since I’m a photographer the main purpose will be Lightroom Classic to work with the 26-33MP RAW files. Would the 14” still be good enough in terms of thermals and (GPU) performance ?
This laptop is shit, but c'mon, what Disney made to Star Wars is God damn worst
Ain't no way the base config is $1,700 😭I just got last year's Zenbook 14X open box in like new condition for $400 - it has a '2.8K' screen at 120HZ with the same amount of storage AND still excellent build quality 🥴
So, it has an assisted living life support dongle like we crapped on Apple for?
And HOW does it not have a freaking delete key?!?
It has one. It's just shifted to the left from where it normally is
@@JustJoshTech I finally see it- it's one of the fake "buttons" at the top. Ridic. I'm currently waffling between the Galaxy Book4 Pro 360 (maybe the 32gb on the business site) & the new HP Spectre...
@slvrchic I haven't started on the Galaxy Book4 yet. That's this week. But my team have been using it and have warned me.
@JustJoshTech "Warned"...?? Uh oh, that doesn't sound good!
Hey Josh, you suggested the Omen Transcend 14 laptop for me. I need it for gaming, coding, and other tasks. However, I am looking for a laptop that has no major issues and can perform most tasks smoothly. I wanted to ask if it is a good idea to buy from HP, as they have a bad reputation. Also, I am curious if there are better alternatives to the Omen Transcend 14 that fit my budget of around $2000. Thank you!
All Windows laptops have gotchas right now. So that's an impossible ask!
With your budget, you may want to look at the Lenovo Thinkbook 16P. The “P” is important as it is not the same laptop without that in the name. It can be configured with a matte wide color gamut 3.2k IPS for coding and media/editing and an RTX 4060 for gaming. Runs very silent also. The gotcha is it can be heavy.
@@JustJoshTech *All* laptops have gotcha right now. Even MacBooks.
@@cameronbosch1213 Bingo
The idea that you can't use a 1920x1200 display on a 14" laptop, that it somehow hurts your eyes, is beyond ridiculous.