Dell just launched a new Inspiron 14 laptop with a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, and it’s priced like a Chromebook, costing only $500. The advantage of using a Qualcomm chip is the long battery life, and Dell claims the Inspiron 14 can last for 16 hours on a single charge.
The budget laptop includes a respectable 8GB of memory and 256GB of SSD storage, which should be sufficient for productivity and browsing. A 14-inch antiglare screen has an LED backlight and offers 1080p resolution.
The 3.2-pound weight isn’t bad for a large laptop, and Dell didn’t skimp on ports, with two USB-C, one USB-A, a headset jack, and a Micro-SD card reader. Wireless connectivity is up to date, supporting Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, meaning all of your devices should connect easily.
The laptop comes with Windows 11 Home in S mode. That means you’ll be limited to apps available on the Microsoft Store. That isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker, but it’s worth considering if you rely on older x86 apps you download from the internet.
The 14-inch laptop offers three configurations, but an AMD Ryzen 7 5825U bumps the price to $550, and a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U tops out at $650.
While the ARM chip isn’t as fast as an Intel or AMD processor, it’s much more efficient. It does, however, support Windows Studio Effects to enhance video calls with background blur, automatic framing, and a trick that makes it appear like you are maintaining eye contact even when you’re looking at the screen instead of the webcam.
The Dell Inspiron 14 is available on Dell’s website, and ready to ship today.
