TechRadar's Computing team tests dozens of laptops each year, and Dell models consistently impress. I know, because when I came to round up our top-scoring options for this article, I struggled to find any duds. I was spoiled for choice. Below, you'll find a showcase of the Dell laptops that we've reviewed over the past year or so, and which managed to earn four stars or higher when put through our demanding review process.
Most are high-end laptops that rival the best the likes of Apple have to offer, but you'll also find some brilliant affordable options, and some versatile 2-in-1s that would make a top choice for students. I've also included a standout gaming option, as well as a stellar laptop for professionals.
To find out more about each one, click the View details button — this will provide a rundown of our main pros and cons for each model, plus a link to our full review. Alternatively, if you want to see how these laptops compare to one another, check out our best Dell laptop ranking, or for our favorites from a range of brands, head to our comprehensive best laptop guide. Have I missed any models you'd recommend? Let me know in the comments section.
4.5-star Dell laptops
Dell XPS 16 (2026) laptop
Pros
- Outstanding hardware and performance
- Exceptional clean design all round
- Phenomenal battery life for an Intel chip
- Beautiful, almost bezel-less 3K OLED screen
Cons
- Three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports and that's it
- Pricey, pricey, pricey
Dell 14 Plus budget laptop
Pros
- Great productivity and everyday performance
- Fantastic price
- Very portable
- Solid battery life
Cons
- Limited configuration options
- MacBook Air 13 (M4) is better value
- Trackpad can be tricky
- Display isn’t great
Dell 16 Premium laptop
Pros
- Outstanding performance
- Cheaper than MacBook Pro 16-inch
- Gorgeous OLED display option
Cons
- Battery Life for OLED model is mediocre
- Apple M4 Pro can greatly outperform Intel Arrow Lake chip in some cases
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus laptop
Pros
- Snappy performance
- Thin and light
- Very long, impressive battery life
Cons
- Feels very slightly overpriced
- Audio, keyboard, and touchpad are just fine
Alienware 16 Area-51 Gaming Laptop
Pros
- Beautiful Yet Logical Design
- Outstanding Gaming Performance
- Mechanical keyboard
- Respectable speakers
- Blistering display performance
Cons
- Overall, the image quality on display is lacking & no HDR support
- Battery life outside of gaming is on the low side
Dell XPS 13 (2025) laptop
Pros
- Gorgeous 3K OLED screen
- Best-in-class battery life
- Strong overall performance
- Copilot+ ready
Cons
- Not enough ports
- Touchpad and touch bar hurt accessibility
4-star Dell laptops
Dell XPS 14 (2026) laptop
Pros
- Excellent redesign
- Very good performance
- OLED version looks fantastic
Cons
- Only three USB-C ports
- Windows 11 feels bloated
- Still no AI killer app
Dell Chromebook 3120 budget laptop
Pros
- Tough build
- Very portable
- Decent all-round performance
Cons
- Compromised display size
- Frustrating touchpad
- Inconsistent keyboard
Dell 16 Plus laptop
Pros
- Solid lightweight design with a full keyboard
- Affordable
- Fantastic general performance
- Nice looking 120Hz display
- Respectable battery life
Cons
- Webcam isn’t great
- Lacks SD card slot and touchscreen
- Limited gaming and creative task performance
- Speakers sound weak, especially the bass
Dell 14 Premium Laptop
Pros
- Discrete RTX 4050 graphics option
- Highly portable
- Same price or cheaper than a MacBook Pro 14-inch
Cons
- Design is a bit boring
- No physical privacy shutter on webcam
- Falls way behind rival MacBook Pro in some workloads
Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 laptop
Pros
- Very affordable
- Solid performance
- Good looking
Cons
- Display is not great
- Not for high-performance workloads
Dell Latitude 9450 2-in-1 laptop
Pros
- Excellent battery life
- Solid construction
- Thunderbolt ports
- Beautifully made
Cons
- Expensive
- Core Ultra Series 1
- Insufficient storage
- Needs a docking station
Dell Pro 14 Premium business laptop
Pros
- Latest Intel silicon
- High-quality webcam
- Exceptional battery life
- Lightweight frame
- Collaboration touchpad
- Great keyboard
- AI built-in (Intelligent privacy, onlooker detection, etc.)
- Excellent connectivity (5G, Wi-Fi 7E, Bluetooth 5.4)
Cons
- Underwhelming CPU performance
- Expensive
- Not XPS build quality
- Limited upgrades
- - The collaboration touchpad is limited
- The display is good, but not great
