RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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TechRadar's Computing team tests dozens of laptops each year, and Dell models consistently impress. I know, because when I came to round up our top-scoring options for this article, I struggled to find any duds. I was spoiled for choice. Below, you'll find a showcase of the Dell laptops that we've reviewed over the past year or so, and which managed to earn four stars or higher when put through our demanding review process.
Most are high-end laptops that rival the best the likes of Apple have to offer, but you'll also find some brilliant affordable options, and some versatile 2-in-1s that would make a top choice for students. I've also included a standout gaming option, as well as a stellar laptop for professionals.
To find out more about each one, click the View details button — this will provide a rundown of our main pros and cons for each model, plus a link to our full review. Alternatively, if you want to see how these laptops compare to one another, check out our best Dell laptop ranking, or for our favorites from a range of brands, head to our comprehensive best laptop guide. Have I missed any models you'd recommend? Let me know in the comments section.
4.5-star Dell laptops
Dell
XPS 16 (2026) laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Outstanding hardware and performance
Exceptional clean design all round
Phenomenal battery life for an Intel chip
Beautiful, almost bezel-less 3K OLED screen
Cons
Three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports and that's it
Pricey, pricey, pricey
Dell
14 Plus budget laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Great productivity and everyday performance
Fantastic price
Very portable
Solid battery life
Cons
Limited configuration options
MacBook Air 13 (M4) is better value
Trackpad can be tricky
Display isn’t great
Dell
16 Premium laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Outstanding performance
Cheaper than MacBook Pro 16-inch
Gorgeous OLED display option
Cons
Battery Life for OLED model is mediocre
Apple M4 Pro can greatly outperform Intel Arrow Lake chip in some cases
Dell
Inspiron 14 Plus laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Snappy performance
Thin and light
Very long, impressive battery life
Cons
Feels very slightly overpriced
Audio, keyboard, and touchpad are just fine
Alienware
16 Area-51 Gaming Laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Beautiful Yet Logical Design
Outstanding Gaming Performance
Mechanical keyboard
Respectable speakers
Blistering display performance
Cons
Overall, the image quality on display is lacking & no HDR support
Battery life outside of gaming is on the low side
Dell
XPS 13 (2025) laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Gorgeous 3K OLED screen
Best-in-class battery life
Strong overall performance
Copilot+ ready
Cons
Not enough ports
Touchpad and touch bar hurt accessibility
4-star Dell laptops
Dell
XPS 14 (2026) laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Excellent redesign
Very good performance
OLED version looks fantastic
Cons
Only three USB-C ports
Windows 11 feels bloated
Still no AI killer app
Dell
Chromebook 3120 budget laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Tough build
Very portable
Decent all-round performance
Cons
Compromised display size
Frustrating touchpad
Inconsistent keyboard
Dell
16 Plus laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Solid lightweight design with a full keyboard
Affordable
Fantastic general performance
Nice looking 120Hz display
Respectable battery life
Cons
Webcam isn’t great
Lacks SD card slot and touchscreen
Limited gaming and creative task performance
Speakers sound weak, especially the bass
Dell
14 Premium Laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Discrete RTX 4050 graphics option
Highly portable
Same price or cheaper than a MacBook Pro 14-inch
Cons
Design is a bit boring
No physical privacy shutter on webcam
Falls way behind rival MacBook Pro in some workloads
Dell
14 Plus 2-in-1 laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Very affordable
Solid performance
Good looking
Cons
Display is not great
Not for high-performance workloads
Dell
Latitude 9450 2-in-1 laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Excellent battery life
Solid construction
Thunderbolt ports
Beautifully made
Cons
Expensive
Core Ultra Series 1
Insufficient storage
Needs a docking station
Dell
Pro 14 Premium business laptop
Read our full review
Pros
Latest Intel silicon
High-quality webcam
Exceptional battery life
Lightweight frame
Collaboration touchpad
Great keyboard
AI built-in (Intelligent privacy, onlooker detection, etc.)
Excellent connectivity (5G, Wi-Fi 7E, Bluetooth 5.4)
Cons
Underwhelming CPU performance
Expensive
Not XPS build quality
Limited upgrades
- The collaboration touchpad is limited
The display is good, but not great
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