Dell - Inspiron 14 Plus - Copilot+ PC - 14" QHD Touch Laptop - Snapdragon X Plus - 16GB - 512GB SSD - Ice

Wow, I was impressed with the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus and the new Snapdragon X Plus CPU. It is fast and snappy. This is a great device for the average person who wants to browse the web, check emails, and do the daily task. The experience was great because I didn't have to worry about battery life. I got 14 hours of video playback at 40% brightness and the best battery settings. I was getting 10-12 hours of battery life when doing other tasks. That is all-day goodness which is new for Windows laptops. The laptop is very lightweight and offers a great package for on-the-go. You get a good screen with good colors. The speakers were quite good as well. The keyboard will be kind of shallow. Some may care for it some may not. I don't mind it because I have another Dell Inspiron with the same keyboard. So all day typing was no problem for me. The clicks are not that loud. The speakers are upward facing making the experience much clearer and giving more clarity. There was not as much bass though but that was fine. You get 2 woofers and 2 tweeters making the experience more lively. The QHD+ screen grants sRGB 100% and gets bright enough for day-to-day tasks. Now the Snapdragon X Plus CPU was extremely quick, fast, and snappy. No lags or stutters when it came to browsing the web or loading things. Maybe that is also because of the 8448 MT/s FAST RAM. I think that is the fastest RAM you can get now. You also get a WIFI 7 card which delivers fast WIFI speeds when connected to my WIFI 7 router. For ports, you get 2 USB-C which offers 40 Gbps speeds. You also get 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 A port. When you charge the laptop you do lose access to one of the USB-C ports. You also get an audio jack port and a micro SD card slot. I wish this was a standard SD card slot. Now for the Windows Copilot+ features... I tried them and I didn't care for them. I just don't have the usage for them. Also, I'm not a fan of having things limit my creativity. The one feature I see as a benefit is the Live Captions feature. I'm all for better communication The Windows Studio Effect was not for me. Yes, you can blur the background but that was the only benefit I got. The Cocreator can take your creations and generate AI images. It takes your image and words typed so it can generate the image. Sadly, all the images looked too artificial and not very real. I feel like the Copilot+ features are not very useful for most people. They were not very useful to me. The negatives about this laptop. With the name Plus, I thought the build quality would have better and stronger aluminum. Don't get me wrong the build quality is good and will last. But it feels the same as my regular Dell Inspiron 14. Also, the trackpad is not the most aesthetically pleasing. It feels kind of cheap but it still works. Yet, in the top right and left region there is no clicking anything. The RAM is not upgradable sadly. I would have loved to see this would 32GB of RAM! Overall, the laptop itself is great and offers a good experience. You get an all-day battery life. You get an extremely snappy device that will handle most of the needs of the average person. You get a good screen with good speakers. Lastly, you get good portability in a lightweight package.

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus - Snapdragon X Plus Quick Overview ================================= Is it time for Windows on Arm to succeed? Microsoft has tried unsuccessfully (unlike Apple who has transitioned very well to their M1-M3 chips) to use Arm-based CPUs to power PCs but for multiple reasons, it hasn't really taken off. Perhaps now, with Qualcomm's most powerful Snapdragon X processors, an optimized Windows built for Arm, partnering with many of the largest software companies in the world to provide Arm-based versions, and a faster compatibility layer for x86/x64 applications that don't run natively on Arm, it could be that the 3rd time is the charm. Overall build ================================= Here we're looking at the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus spec'd out with the Snapdragon X Plus (also available with the faster Elite), 16GB of RAM, a 512GB NVMe SSD, and a nice 2560x1600 IPS touchscreen all in a 3 pound package. It looks and feels pretty premium, perhaps a bit unlike the Inspirons of the past. It's all-metal and feels solid without any creaking or flexing. On the left side, there's a microSD card slot and two USB-C ports that work for connectivity and charging. The right side has a combo headphone/mic jack and a single USB-A port for older devices or a dongle. Opening it up, we see the relatively bright (400 nits) and color-accurate (100% sRGB) IPS display. Sure, it's not OLED, but colors are great and there's no burn-in to worry about. Dell touts the 2560x1600 @ 60hz, 16x10 aspect ratio, display to fit more work on the screen at a time. After living in a widescreen world, it's nice to get just a bit more room for arranging windows usefully. The keyboard itself is very nice and provides a good typing experience. It's backlit and quiet with a smooth touchpad. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader which works quickly and accurately. The 1080p webcam works for Windows Hello as well. Sure, the arrow keys are a bit squished, but that's normal for fitting a decently-sized keyboard into a 14" frame. Next to the arrow keys is a new one - the Co-pilot key. More on that later! Overall I'd say this is a solidly built laptop and elevates the Inspiron brand quite a bit. I have an Intel-based Inspiron 16 and it's safe to say Dell is investing more money and resources to give users a more premium feel. Performance ================================= Here's the most important section! All we need to see based on the previously poor Windows-on-Arm performances is a Windows experience that's not terrible slow and stuttering. Well, I'm happy to say that Windows-on-Arm has finally arrived! Windows itself is snappy and after a brief setup that shows you an intro to some AI/NPU-powered new features, you're ready to use your new laptop and if you didn't know it was Windows-on-Arm, you wouldn't know the difference! I'm confident that for everyday tasks including MS Office, browsing, and listening to music, most people would never know we've secretly swapped out their Intel/AMD CPU for something different from Qualcomm! Microsoft has partnered with some leading software companies to ensure that there will be Arm-based versions for programs like Adobe's Creative Suite and Davinci Resolve. The second one is the one I have been itching to try! I use Davinci Resolve to render videos for YouTube and I'm used to using it on a beefy Windows computer (i9-13th generation, 32GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 4080) even though I don't have the Studio license for GPU acceleration. I took two different videos in their raw form (multiple videos recorded on Google Pixel 8 Pro, some still images, separate audio recorded via a Rode mic, some title overlays, and subtitles) and moved the entire project over to the Snapdragon X Plus-powered Dell. I figured if this new laptop was just 25-30% slower that would be a win since I didn't expect much. Well, apparently I didn't bank on the fact that Davinci Resolve worked hand-in-hand with Microsoft to allow full GPU (Adreno) acceleration in the free version of Davinci Resolve on Arm. What that means is that this laptop was actually faster than my "beast" of a laptop I was using because I couldn't take advantage of GPU acceleration without purchasing a Studio license. Here are my times on both devices rendering a 1080p video for YouTube (mp4, h.264): Asus ROG G18 (i9-13th, 32GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 4080) 1 gig of video and files - 2:52 7 gig of video and files - 14:01 Dell Inspiron Plus (Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB RAM, Adreno) 1 gig of video and files - 0:53 7 gig of video and files - 5:08 OK so this isn't really apples-to-apples since I'm not using GPU-acceleration on my G18 without a Studio license (specifically for h.264). I'm sure if I had GPU-acceleration on my G18 it would beas fast if not faster based on the sheer specs. Still, the fact that I don't have to spend extra money on a license is something to consider! OK so what about applications that aren't optimized for Windows-on-Arm? Well, Microsoft developed a compatibility layer (Prism) that's much better than in the past. Applications should install just like you're used to and function (though possibly slower or with other issues) as well. Rode Connect is an app for maximizing the recording options of Rode microphones and I didn't expect it to work well with Windows on Arm, but after a longer-than-usual installation, it's working fine. I was able to detect my mic, record, and adjust the options to achieve the same quality I was used to on my other Intel-powered PCs. Some games may be too taxing for the compatibility layer, but there are some games that are optimized and run well. There's a website called worksonwoa.com (for Works on Windows-on-Arm) that is keeping track of many games and how they run. Some games you may know like Witcher 3, Control and Stardew Valley should work fine. Though Cyberpunk 2077 installs and runs, it was pretty choppy (sub 30 fps) even at resolutions less than 1080p. Skyrim works (obviously at native resolution) well at 1080p or below to at near 30-40 fps. Sure, they won't be awesome like a dedicated gaming PC, but they do work at lower settings. The Adreno GPU isn't a bad GPU at all. Sure, some games will crash or not work but I think given time and Microsoft's investment, Windows gaming on Arm may really, finally, come to fruition in the next generation with this iteration being a great first step. Battery life: A key benefit of using Qualcomm's Arm-based SOCs is battery life. Rated at more than 20 hours of battery life, I could easily go two days of light to medium work without plugging in. Admittedly, I plugged it in for testing games and Davinci Resolve, but for browsing, YouTube, Netflix and other tasks on the couch, I could go two days of normal usage (including sleeping!). Range/charge anxiety is definitely a thing of the past. I'm one of those that ensures the battery health setting is enabled and I always travel with a charger. I could see myself going on a 2 day trip without having to worry about this. In a pinch, you could always use any USB-C charger. Co-pilot and AI/NPU-powered features ====================================== A big differentiator between this Snapdragon X Plus-powered device and those that came before it is a dedicated NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that helps perform AI-related tasks without going out to the cloud. If you're using to using ChatGPT or other LLMs, you're interacting with a model that's powered by some cloud-hosted infrastructure. If you want locally-powered AI benefits, you'll need an NPU that has been built and programmed to perform these tasks on-chip/on-device. Some new features that take advantage of this are: Cocreator in Paint, Live Captions, and Windows Studio Effects for enhancing your video calls and meetings. Additionally, you can use the dedicated Co-pilot key to launch your local AI assistant to help you keep tabs on things, create pictures (see my review photos) and more. Cocreator works with you within Paint to enhance your drawing in real-time. For example, if you wanted to draw a sunny day with mountains and trees, you'd type that into the prompt box and then start drawing with lines, brushes, and shapes. From there, you'll see Cocreator making a preview for you that you can then incorporate into your own drawing. You can also tweak it and apply different styles before using it. I think it's very interesting and as a wannabe-artist, I feel like it's a good way to whip up some quick and refined "clip art" or something to use in a presentation or a blog post. If I'm out to create my next "masterpiece", I'll do it on my own. Live captions were pretty impressive and if you open up Task Manager at the same time, you'll see that it's using the NPU to translate more than 40 languages in real-time. This could be very useful if you're offline or if you're simply watching a video or having a video meeting where there aren't any subtitles or captions available. I tested this with some Japanese anime since I do know what the output should look like and overall it was very close. For translations, there's often enough room for interpretation that one person's subtitles may differ from another person's, but the meaning was mostly there. I see this as a very useful tool if you needed to get some data in your own language from videos or other media where there aren't any captions. Windows Studio Effects help enhance not just video, but sound quality in video calls. Besides better, more accurate blurring of backgrounds, there's also some AI-powered eye contact options to help make it look like you're paying attention =). Your video can also be cropped/framed like you may have seen on some high-end room video conferencing systems. Lastly, Voice Focus can help filter out background noise. We've seen features like this before on applications that you use for video calls, but now these can be powered by a dedicated processor on your own PC. I didn't see any diff

I have been super stoked to get my hands on the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus featuring a Snapdragon X Plus processor. I geek out a bit at the prospect of new hardware in the PC space. While ARM PCs running Windows have existed for a few years now, this latest push for the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus is my first foray with the hardware. I have a feeling that will be the case for many people. Unfortunately, I must say at the beginning that I am not entirely sold on Windows 11 on ARM. There is a ton of potential and I hope that this recent push of Snapdragon X Co-Pilot PCs helps with the development of native applications. This could be my favorite laptop at this point next year, but as of right now, I have some mixed feelings. I think this laptop is good: it has an excellent screen, good keyboard, WiFi7, a dedicated NPU, and excellent battery life, but that does not seem to matter when applications are still not compatible, or applications run slower than a comparable PC with an AMD or Intel processor because the application is running through emulation. I do recommend the laptop. But users will need to check with their specific work or school needs to see if the PC is right for them. Installation / Setup: The laptop comes with the base computer and Dell’s standard at this point 65w USB-C charger. Turning the laptop on, Microsoft will guide you through the setup process. As to be expected, there were a fair amount of driver and software updates out of the box all handled through Windows Update. Experience: The Good: The first thing that stood out to me was this screen. The colors and black levels look great. I noticed no stuck pixels or light bleed. The speakers are loud. The webcam comes with a Windows Hello facial recognition scanner. You also have Dell’s trusty fingerprint reader. All worked very well. The keyboard and trackpad are great as per usual with Dell. Most of the hardware internals on the PC come from Qualcomm. I had some concerns about hardware compatibility, but Bluetooth microphones and USB headphones worked well. I had no printer compatibility issues. I heard about some potential quirks with Canon software, but I did not experience any hardware related hang-ups in my testing. However, I do not think you will be making many hardware upgrades on the internals. The machine simply does not appear to be as receptive to internal hardware changes or upgrades. Battery life is good. It is not 20 hours good. It is 10 to 12 hours good. Still. That is good. Microsoft Co-Pilot A.I. features work well. I have been using Co-Pilot for a while to help research a book I am working on. I was amazed that an A.I. tool could help me develop a character for my work. The Bad: The obvious thing that stood out to me was software compatibility. Many apps do work. Some applications have native ARM variants and the installers for those applications will detect the ARM processor when you go to set up or download the application. For instance, Chrome and CPU-Z have ARM variants. Windows applications like Office 365 work well. If an application is native for the CPU, it works great. But occasionally I would discover an application that did not work. For instance, I use the AppleTV and Apple Music apps, but those applications are not ARM compatible. Some applications will work in an apparent emulation mode. But that emulation takes a hit to the CPU performance. If you are looking into this PC, I would suggest making sure your important applications are compatible with the processor first. This is not meant to condemn the laptop. There is a lot of potential here. But students and people working from home will need to make sure that software and hardware compatibility is present before diving in. I tried testing out some games. I know this machine is not marketed for gaming, but I had to check. I thought I even read that this processor and GPU would run many games in emulation. But I had absolutely no luck. Sorry SIMS 4 players, this laptop did not work for me. Sorry Helldivers, you will not be spreading managed Democracy. It seems that nearly any game with an anti-cheat feature will struggle to even launch. I could not get any of my recent Steam library games to work on this laptop. I cannot claim that was an exhaustive test, but I was a tad disappointed. I was able to benchmark the CPU and the GPU using 3DMark. CPU numbers were good, but GPU numbers were abysmal. But I am not sure what good the recent benchmarks are if there is a performance hit due to emulation. So, if you want to play any games on this PC, I recommend streaming over Steam or a service like Geforce Now. Also, the laptop is hurting for connectivity. You get two USB-C ports (one of which will be dedicated to the charger), one USB-A port, a MicroSD slot, and a headphone jack. That is it. The laptop is really pushing wireless peripherals or dedicated docking solutions. Conclusion: I do like this laptop. I love the screen, but I cannot watch my purchased AppleTV movies and shows. Hopefully, software updates will continue, and more apps will gain ARM support. At the moment, it feels like there are two versions of Windows 11 and Windows applications: programs for X86 and programs for ARM. Many X86 programs will work in emulation at a slight performance hit, but others will not run at all in their current state... If you are primarily seeking a laptop for web applications, Microsoft Office, and some Adobe products, this laptop is great. It will work perfectly. But if you have specific software and networking requirements for work or school, you will need to do some research to decide if this laptop will work for you now or in the future. That ambiguity and the abysmal GPU performance are the only things keeping me from saying this is a 5/5 must buy. As is, I would say the laptop is more of a 3.5 or 4. It is a good machine. Hopefully future application updates and conversions will make it even better.