Dell XPS 14 (2026)

The Dell XPS 14 (2026, model DA14260) marks the return of the XPS name after the short-lived "Dell 14 Premium" branding. It is an Intel Panther Lake Copilot+ ultraportable with a 50-TOPS NPU (manufacturer figure), a tandem OLED option and, notably, a conventional keyboard again. The one thing to know: it is x86, so there is no Arm compatibility caveat for line-of-business software.

Is the XPS 14 the safe Copilot+ choice for a small business?

• Pricing: from about $1,349 (Core Ultra 5, 2K LCD) at launch; $2,079.99 for the Core Ultra 7 / 2.8K OLED touch configuration, top configurations to $3,348.99 — dell.com, Sep 2026.
• HotHardware called it "a triumphant return", Tom's Guide "a comeback" and Notebookcheck "fully reborn", with battery life around 55% longer than the 2025 Dell 14 Premium.
• USB-C only, no SD card slot.
• The base 2K LCD is a large step down from the tandem OLED that reviewers tested, and HotHardware found storage performance lacklustre.

Read our Copilot+ laptops for small business guide; more in AI computing.

Who should skip it

Anyone who needs USB-A or an SD slot without a dongle, or who wants the lightest possible machine, should compare the Zenbook A14.

Research-based listing — not hands-on tested by Digital4All; details as of September 2026.

What reviewers say

• Notebookcheck rated the Core Ultra X7 358H model 87% and ran 16 h 45 min in its WLAN test at 150 nits, 55% longer than the 2025 Dell 14 Premium. (Notebookcheck, Mar 2026)
• Tom's Guide called the return of the XPS name a comeback, with a more practical design, an OLED option and more than 20 hours in its battery test, ahead of the 14-inch MacBook Pro M5; it faults the missing SD slot. (Tom's Guide, Feb 2026)
• Tom's Hardware said Dell is back to making an XPS it can recommend for portable use, and clocked a 25GB file copy at about 1,420 MBps on the 1TB drive. (Tom's Hardware, Feb 2026)
• HotHardware gave an Editor's Choice for the tandem OLED, battery life and keyboard, but found storage performance lacklustre, with PCIe Gen 4 drives in both test units. (HotHardware, Feb 2026)
• Engadget scored it 78/100: gorgeous and light, but its fast-typing test found keys registering out of order, and its own battery loop managed only 10 h 21 min — "It's literally a keyboard away from greatness". (Engadget, Mar 2026)

Consensus: Reviewers agree the 2026 XPS 14 fixes the 2024 redesign's mistakes and that Panther Lake efficiency is the story. They disagree sharply on the keyboard (Engadget's typing complaint against HotHardware's praise) and on battery, where different test methods produce anything from 10 to more than 20 hours.