With the launch of the new Dell XPS 14, a lot of prosumers are going to be looking at the newest addition to the XPS lineup, and specifically how it measures up to the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch. These are two of the best laptops ever made, and there's not a great deal between them in most areas.
The Dell XPS 14 is one of the best Windows laptop models on the market right now, offering outstanding performance, phenomenal style, and fantastic specs for the price.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3), meanwhile, is a powerhouse on just about every level, and offers the best battery life you're going to find anywhere.
So how do these two fan-favorites match up one on one? I have the data and the expertise to help you navigate this major purchase, and make the right decision for your needs and budget.
XPS 14 vs MacBook Pro 14: Price
The Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch starts at $1,599 / £1,699 / AU$2,699, powered by the Apple M3 chip, 8GB unified memory, and 512GB SSD storage. This can scale up all the way to an astounding $6,899 / £6,999 / AU$11,149 for an M3 Max with 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU, 128GB unified memory, and 8TB storage. This also includes the 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display (3024 x 1964p) with variable refresh up to 120Hz, up to 600 nits SDR brightness, a peak brightness of 1,600, and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1.
The XPS 14, meanwhile, starts cheaper at $1,499 / £1,599 / AU$2,998, which includes an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor with integrated Intel Arc graphics, 16GB LPDDR5x RAM, and 512GB storage and a 14.5-inch FHD+ display with a peak brightness of 500 nits. It maxes out at $3,399 / £3,079 / AU$5,999 with the Core Ultra 7 155H, Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, 64GB LPDDR5x RAM, 4TB PCIe SSD, and a 14.5 3.2K (3200 x 2000p) OLED touch display with 120Hz refresh, Dolby Vision and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1.
Considering that the Dell XPS 14 has lower starting price while also offering more memory and a more powerful processor, the XPS 14 wins out when it comes to price.
- Winner: Dell XPS 14
XPS 14 vs MacBook Pro 14: Design
Design-wise, these two laptops are very close in terms of overall aesthetic. Both come in attractive finishes, and both have a slender profile that makes them easy to carry with you.
The MacBook Pro 14 comes out ahead in terms of ports, but only just, thanks to its dedicated SD card slot and an HDMI out, in addition to three Thunderbolt ports.
The XPS 14, meanwhile, has support for a microSD card, so you can still move photos from a camera to your laptop, you'll just need an adapter. You don't get an HDMI-out on the XPS 14, but the Thunderbolt ports on it do support DisplayPort video output, so you're not totally cut off from an external monitor.
The keyboards and trackpads are going to be a matter of taste. I find the MacBook keyboard to be superior here, while the XPS 14's keyboard and trackpad are proving divisive, and aren't the best for accessibility, but if you love the look and feel of the XPS 14's new keydeck and trackpad there's nothing else like it out there.
In terms of displays, the MacBook Pro 14 comes with a Liquid Retina XDR display regardless of your configuration, but the XPS 14's OLED 3.2K touchscreen panel is an optional, and pricey, upgrade, with the standard display being a FHD+ (1200p) non-OLED, non-touch panel.
Having used both, I can say that the Dell XPS 14's OLED panel can go toe-to-toe with the Liquid Retina XDR on the MacBook Pro 14, but the standard FHD+ is going to fall well short of what Apple is offering.
- Winner: MacBook Pro 14
XPS 14 vs MacBook Pro 14: Performance
The MacBook Pro 14-inch with the new M3 series of processors offers some of the most powerful performance you can find. But the Dell XPS 14 isn't that far off, especially when compared to the Apple M3 and Apple M3 Pro configurations.
That said, in most instances the Dell XPS 14 is falls short, and in a few cases it's simply outclassed by the MacBook Pro 14 across the board.
Among the highlights for the XPS 14 is its ray tracing performance, noted in 3DMark Solar Bay and Solar Bay Unlimited, where it manages to beat out even the M3 Max in the former, and comes in second behind the M3 Max in the latter.
Possibly the strongest category for the XPS 14 was its gaming performance, where the XPS 14 handily beat came or came a close second to the MacBook Pro 14-inch in three of the games tested, both at 1080p/1200p as well as at native resolutions on max settings. Even without the help of DLSS upscaling, the XPS 14 performs better than just about any MacBook Pro 14-inch configuration on the market, but with DLSS 3 and Frame Generation technology, there are few games where the MacBook Pro 14-inch is going to compete – and that's assuming the game in question is playable at all on a Mac, which most aren't.
Still, on balance, there's no getting around the fact that the MacBook Pro 14-inch is the better performer overall, though it's not as clear a win for Apple's premiere laptop as many might expect.
- Winner: MacBook Pro 14
XPS 14 vs MacBook Pro 14: Battery life
There's no sugarcoating it when it comes to battery life: the MacBook Pro 14-inch wipes the floor with the XPS 14. It's not even close, as the MacBook Pro offers nearly double the battery life of the XPS 14 with OLED display. The non-OLED FHD+ display XPS 14 will get you better battery life, but it still can't compete with what Apple's M3-series chips are capable of.
- Winner: MacBook Pro 14-inch
Which one should you buy?
If you're looking for the best laptop overall, then it's going to be the MacBook Pro 14-inch. Whether it's an M3, M3 Pro, or M3 Max configuration, it simply outperforms the Dell XPS 14 in most areas where it counts for this kind of laptop.
That said, if you're a Windows user and you're here to find some reason to hope that the XPS 14 will give you a MacBook Pro 14-like experience, than you'll be happy with what you're getting. There are some shortcomings, like battery life, but overall this is about as close to a MacBook Pro 14 as you're going to get with a Windows laptop.
