Dell Inspiron 14 Plus Review: A Deep Dive into Performance and Practicality
In the highly competitive market of mid-range laptops, Dell has consistently been a top contender, offering reliable machines that balance performance, design, and affordability. One of their standout models is the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, a sleek, powerful device designed to handle everyday tasks, creative work, and entertainment with ease.
In this review, we’ll explore everything the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus has to offer, from its design and build quality to its performance, battery life, and special features. Whether you’re a student, professional, or casual user looking for a solid all-around laptop, this detailed guide will help you understand why the Inspiron 14 Plus might be the perfect fit for you.
1. Design and Build Quality
Dell is known for designing sturdy yet aesthetically pleasing laptops, and the Inspiron 14 Plus is no exception. Let’s start by focusing on the design:
Material and Finish
The laptop sports an elegant brushed aluminum chassis, which not only adds to its premium feel but also ensures durability. The compact size makes it highly portable for users who are frequently on the go. At around 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs), it’s lightweight, but the materials used in construction give it a sturdy build that can withstand daily wear and tear.
Display Quality
The 14-inch display is perhaps one of the highlights of the Inspiron 14 Plus. With a 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) resolution, the screen offers sharp visuals and vibrant colors, ideal for both media consumption and light creative work. The anti-glare coating minimizes reflections in bright environments, making it a perfect companion for outdoor use or in well-lit offices.
- Brightness: 300 nits ensure the screen remains readable in various lighting conditions.
- Color Accuracy: The display boasts 100% sRGB color coverage, which is great for designers or content creators who need color precision.
Form Factor and Keyboard
The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus has a thin profile and sleek edges, which make it look modern without being over-styled. The keyboard is backlit, providing easy typing even in dim conditions, and the keys have a comfortable travel distance, giving a pleasant typing experience. The touchpad is spacious and responsive, supporting multi-gesture controls smoothly.
2. Performance
One of the key selling points of the Inspiron 14 Plus is its balanced performance for everyday computing and multitasking. Dell offers several configurations, so let’s break down the performance details:
Processor Options
The laptop is powered by the Intel Core i7-12650H, a 12th-generation processor that offers top-tier performance in this category. Built on the Alder Lake architecture, the i7-12650H includes a total of 10 cores (6 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores), making it suitable for a variety of tasks, from web browsing and office applications to demanding workloads such as photo editing or light video rendering.
The processor’s base clock speed of 2.3GHz and a turbo boost up to 4.7GHz ensures smooth multitasking, handling everything from basic tasks to more resource-heavy applications.
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
For users who need more graphical power, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus includes the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card. While this isn’t a top-of-the-line GPU, it’s a strong choice for a mid-range laptop. It’s capable of handling light gaming, video editing, and creative software like Adobe Premiere or Photoshop without breaking a sweat. Paired with the 4GB GDDR6 memory, it ensures smooth rendering and decent frame rates for games on medium settings.
Memory and Storage
The Inspiron 14 Plus comes with 16GB of DDR5 RAM, ensuring a fast and seamless experience, even when multiple applications are running simultaneously. The DDR5 memory significantly improves performance over older DDR4 memory, especially in tasks that demand more system resources.
Storage options include a 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD, which delivers quick boot times, faster file access, and more responsive system performance. The SSD can be upgraded if you need more space, and Dell also offers higher configurations with 1TB SSD.
Performance Benchmarks
In real-world use, the Inspiron 14 Plus excels in productivity tasks like running multiple Office apps, browsing with dozens of tabs open, and even handling some heavy-duty tasks like batch photo processing. Benchmark results show:
- Geekbench 5: Scoring over 7400 in multi-core performance.
- Cinebench R23: The multi-core score hits around 11,000 points, indicating solid performance in multi-threaded workloads.
3. Battery Life
Battery life is always a critical factor for laptop users, especially those who are constantly on the move. The Inspiron 14 Plus houses a 4-cell 64Wh battery, which is respectable for a laptop of this size and power.
Dell claims up to 9 hours of battery life, but in real-world usage, it’s closer to 7 hours under moderate workloads (web browsing, streaming, word processing). With heavier usage, such as gaming or intensive video editing, expect it to last about 4-5 hours.
Thankfully, the ExpressCharge feature allows the battery to charge up to 80% in just an hour, so you won’t be tied to a charger for too long.
4. Ports and Connectivity
Dell hasn’t skimped on connectivity options with the Inspiron 14 Plus. It includes all the necessary ports for day-to-day operations:
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1 x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C with Power Delivery and DisplayPort)
- HDMI 2.0
- Headphone jack
- SD card reader
The inclusion of a Thunderbolt 4 port is a notable advantage for a laptop in this price range, offering versatile functionality, from fast data transfers to connecting an external display.
In terms of wireless connectivity, the Inspiron 14 Plus supports Wi-Fi 6E, which ensures faster speeds and more stable connections, especially in crowded networks. Bluetooth 5.2 is also included, allowing you to connect peripherals like mice, keyboards, and headphones without issue.
5. Special Features
Dell has added a few unique touches to enhance the user experience with the Inspiron 14 Plus:
- Dell Cinema: This suite includes CinemaColor, CinemaStream, and CinemaSound, which collectively provide a richer multimedia experience, optimizing video playback, streaming quality, and audio output.
- Dell Mobile Connect: This allows seamless integration between your laptop and smartphone, enabling easy file transfers, messaging, and even screen mirroring.
- Windows Hello: The laptop features a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button, offering a fast and secure way to log in.
6. Software and Bloatware
The Inspiron 14 Plus comes with Windows 11 Home pre-installed, offering the latest OS experience. Dell includes some pre-installed software, like McAfee LiveSafe and Microsoft Office, but thankfully, the bloatware is minimal compared to some other manufacturers. However, you might still want to uninstall certain unnecessary applications for a cleaner experience.
7. Pricing and Configurations
The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus starts at ₹95,000, but the configuration with the Intel Core i7 and RTX 3050 sits closer to ₹1,20,000, depending on sales and promotions. Dell also offers different variants with Core i5 processors and integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics for users who don’t need as much power.
While the price is higher than some of the competition in the same category, the inclusion of premium features like the dedicated GPU, Thunderbolt 4, and solid build quality justifies the extra cost.
8. Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Solid performance with Intel Core i7 and RTX 3050 GPU
- Thunderbolt 4 for enhanced connectivity
- Excellent build quality and sleek design
- Good battery life with ExpressCharge
- High-quality display with anti-glare coating and 100% sRGB
Cons:
- Slightly expensive for its category
- Average webcam quality (720p)
- No option for a touchscreen
9. Conclusion: Is the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus Worth It?
If you’re looking for a mid-range laptop that offers excellent performance for both productivity and light creative tasks, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus should definitely be on your list. It strikes a great balance between power and portability, with premium features like a WUXGA display, RTX 3050 GPU, and Thunderbolt 4. The battery life and build quality further add to its value.
That said, if you’re someone who’s not into gaming or heavy video editing, you might find more affordable alternatives with similar build quality and performance. But for those who need a laptop that can handle demanding tasks without compromising portability, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus is a solid choice that delivers on all fronts.
While the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus isn’t a dedicated gaming laptop, it performs well for casual gaming with its NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. You can play most modern games at medium settings with decent frame rates, but it’s not built for high-end AAA gaming experiences.
The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus offers up to 7 hours of battery life under typical use, which includes tasks like web browsing, document editing, and streaming. Heavier tasks like gaming or video editing may reduce battery life to around 4-5 hours.
The Inspiron 14 Plus features a 14-inch WUXGA (1920×1200) display with 100% sRGB color coverage and 300 nits brightness. This makes it excellent for media consumption, light creative work, and general use, with sharp, vibrant visuals and minimal glare.