We put the Dell XPS 14 inch through our rigorous DXOMARK Laptop test suite to measure its performance in sound, camera and display. In this review, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Scoring
Use-case and feature subscores included in the calculations of the global score
Dell XPS 14 (2026)
72
camera
52
Microsoft Surface Pro 13-inch
Best: Microsoft Surface Pro 13-inch (93)
23
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Aura
Best: Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Aura (56)
67
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8-inch
Best: Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8-inch (84)
59
Apple MacBook Pro 14" (M5; 2025)
Best: Apple MacBook Pro 14" (M5; 2025) (85)
70
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8-inch
Best: Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8-inch (146)
100
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8-inch
Best: Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8-inch (146)
Pros
- Acceptable face exposure in indoor conditions
- Good detail levels in bright lighting conditions
- Pleasant color rendering in typical indoor video conferencing scenarios
Cons
- Limited detail preservation in low-light conditions
- Highly visible noise across all tested conditions
- Noticeable exposure and white balance instabilities
- Strong clipping in HDR conditions
In our comprehensive evaluation of the Dell XPS 14, the camera delivers an acceptable performance in standard indoor conditions, with reasonable face exposure, good detail in bright lighting and pleasant color rendering for simple video conferencing use cases.
One of the key aspects delivered by the Dell XPS 14 is its acceptable face exposure in indoor conditions, allowing faces to remain reasonably visible during standard video calls. In bright light, the camera is also able to preserve a good level of detail, providing a relatively clear image. Color rendering is also pleasant in simple indoor video conferencing scenarios, particularly when the subject remains static and the lighting is consistent.
The overall camera performance becomes significantly more limited as lighting conditions become more challenging. Detail levels are low in low-light conditions, while noise is very visible across all tested scenarios. Exposure and white balance instabilities are also noticeable, resulting in variations in brightness and color rendering between different lighting conditions. The camera also shows significant limitations in HDR scenes, where strong clipping is visible across all tested HDR conditions, resulting in a loss of detail in bright areas.
The device provides an acceptable performance for simple indoor video conferencing and bright lighting conditions, but its limitations become clear in more challenging environments. Low detail, strong noise, exposure and white balance instabilities and significant HDR clipping considerably affect the overall image quality.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8” (8th Gen)
Test summary
About DXOMARK Laptop tests: For scoring and analysis in our laptop reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests and undertake more than 20 hours of perceptual evaluations under controlled lab conditions and real-life scenarios. (For more details about the Laptop protocol, click here.)
The following section gathers key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations under the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
Camera
72
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8-inch
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.8-inch
About DXOMARK Camera Laptop tests
DXOMARK evaluates the image quality of the built in camera during video calls, whether with a single person or with multiple people, in a variety of lighting conditions. Our camera evaluation particularly assesses the ability of the built-in camera to clearly render human faces during video calls. Other intrinsic camera quality aspects are also evaluated, like color reproduction, texture and noise, as well as artefacts.
Camera texture acutance on Deadleaves with illuminance levels (Eugene)
This graph shows the evolution of texture acutance with the level of lux measured on a Deadleaves chart.
Camera texture acutance on Deadleaves with illuminance levels (Eugene)
This graph shows the evolution of texture acutance with the level of lux measured on a Deadleaves chart.
Camera texture acutance on Deadleaves with illuminance levels (Eugene)
This graph shows the evolution of texture acutance with the level of lux measured on a Deadleaves chart.
Camera texture acutance on Deadleaves with illuminance levels (Eugene)
This graph shows the evolution of texture acutance with the level of lux measured on a Deadleaves chart.
Camera texture acutance on Deadleaves with illuminance levels (Diana)
This graph shows the evolution of texture acutance with the level of lux measured on a Deadleaves chart.
Camera texture acutance on Deadleaves with illuminance levels (Diana)
This graph shows the evolution of texture acutance with the level of lux measured on a Deadleaves chart.
Camera texture acutance on Deadleaves with illuminance levels (Diana)
This graph shows the evolution of texture acutance with the level of lux measured on a Deadleaves chart.
Camera texture acutance on Deadleaves with illuminance levels (Diana)
This graph shows the evolution of texture acutance with the level of lux measured on a Deadleaves chart.
Camera visual noise evolution with illuminance levels (Eugene)
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Camera visual noise evolution with illuminance levels (Eugene)
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Camera visual noise evolution with illuminance levels (Eugene)
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Camera visual noise evolution with illuminance levels (Eugene)
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Camera visual noise evolution with illuminance levels (Diana)
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Camera visual noise evolution with illuminance levels (Diana)
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Camera visual noise evolution with illuminance levels (Diana)
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Camera visual noise evolution with illuminance levels (Diana)
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions (Eugene)
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions (Eugene)
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions (Eugene)
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions (Eugene)
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions (Diana)
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions (Diana)
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions (Diana)
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions (Diana)
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
English
