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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Dell XPS 14 (2024) vs Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Dell XPS 14 (2024)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Dec 06, 2024 03:10 PM
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Size14.5"
Operating SystemWindows 11
Size15.3"
Operating SystemmacOS
Variants
- XPS 14 (XPS9440) (Platinum - FHD/Non Touch/Ultra 7/16GB/512GB)
- XPS 14 (XPS9440-7134SLV-PUS) (Platinum - OLED/Touch/Ultra 7/32GB/1TB)
- XPS 14 (XPS9440-7892SLV-PUS) (Platinum - OLED/Touch/Ultra 7/RTX 4050/32GB/1TB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD43LL/A) (Midnight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYU3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYV3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD23LL/A) (Silver - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYP3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYQ3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD13LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYM3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYN3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD33LL/A) (Starlight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYR3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYT3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/512GB)
Our Verdict
Dell XPS 14 (2024)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Though the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) and Dell XPS 14 (2024) are both premium thin and light laptops, the Apple is better in most ways for most people. The Apple laptop's M3 silicon can handle some heavier workloads, but the fanless design limits its performance headroom, so it's really best for general productivity tasks. It also offers a much better user experience overall; it features a better keyboard and display by default, as well as industry-leading speakers and haptic touchpad. The Dell features more powerful hardware, including options for dedicated GPUS, making it better suited for workstation tasks. While you can get a nicer OLED display on the Dell, you have to pay extra for it.
Main Differences for
Threshold
School
8.4
8.6
Touchpad
7.3
9.6
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
8.3
8.7
Dimensions Photo
Size
14.5"
15.3"
Thickness
0.7" (1.9 cm)
0.6" (1.4 cm)
Width
12.7" (32.2 cm)
13.4" (34.0 cm)
Depth
8.5" (21.6 cm)
9.3" (23.7 cm)
Volume
80.6 in³ (1,321.5 cm³)
68.8 in³ (1,128.1 cm³)
Weight
3.6 lbs (1.6 kg)
3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)
Charger Size
5.2 in³ (84.8 cm³)
4.2 in³ (68.6 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
5.8
3.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
7.5
6.0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
1
0
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
1920 x 1200
2880 x 1864
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
156 PPI
226 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
93%
87%
Refresh Rate
8.7
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Dynamic Refresh Rate
No
Contrast
8.0
7.5
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,788 : 1
1,412 : 1
Brightness
8.3
8.7
Maximum Brightness
450 cd/m²
494 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
20 cd/m²
2 cd/m²
Reflections
8.3
9.1
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Matte
Glossy
Total Reflections
3.19%
1.47%
Indirect Reflections
1.96%
0.38%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.23%
1.09%
Black Uniformity
8.2
7.3
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.808%
1.103%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
7.5
6.9
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
31°
26°
Color Washout From Right
30°
30°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
60°
42°
Color Shift From Right
60°
47°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
31°
29°
Brightness Loss From Right
32°
34°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
36°
30°
Gamma Shift From Right
38°
29°
Vertical Viewing Angle
7.3
6.9
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
29°
26°
Color Washout From Above
29°
28°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
45°
42°
Color Shift From Above
45°
44°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
32°
29°
Brightness Loss From Above
33°
30°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
29°
37°
Gamma Shift From Above
30°
36°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
5.7
9.9
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
5.37
1.47
Avg. Gamma
2.14
2.24
Avg. Color dE
3.3
0.98
Avg. Color Temperature
6,841.1 K
6,742.3 K
Color Gamut
8.3
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
98.36%
99.93%
sRGB uv
99.28%
99.72%
Adobe RGB xy
73.2%
87.43%
Adobe RGB uv
85.87%
92.34%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
73.03%
99.05%
DCI P3 uv
80.61%
98.72%
Rec. 2020 xy
52.46%
71.83%
Rec. 2020 uv
59.05%
73.49%
Flicker
10
9.0
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
No
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
> 1000Hz
Flicker Active Below
0%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
7.7
8.0
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
7.5
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
66 gf
62 gf
Actuation Force
34 gf
40 gf
Pre-Travel
0.64 mm
0.80 mm
Total Travel
1.20 mm
0.91 mm
Touchpad
7.3
9.6
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
6.5
9.5
Size
18.0 in² (116.0 cm²)
21.4 in² (138.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.0
8.9
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
85 dB SPL
81 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
6.4 dB
5.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.1
2.2
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
349 Hz
155 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.6 dB
2.3 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
9.0
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
Yes
No
Connectivity
Ports
6.5
5.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
3
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 3
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
MicroSD UHS 2
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
Apple MagSafe 3
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.3
5.3
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
Core Ultra 7 155H
M3
Core Count
16
8
Thread Count
22
8
GPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
Arc Graphics
M3
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
16 GB
8 GB
Modules
8 (Soldered)
Unknown
Type
LP-DDR5x
LP-DDR5
Speed
6,400 MHz
6,400 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
512 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
410 GB
214 GB
Drive 1
KIOXIA BG6 512 GB
Apple SSD AP0256Z
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
9.3
9.4
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,757 points
2,322 points
CPU Multi-Thread
11,577 points
10,501 points
GPU Compute
30,484 points
33,403 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.8
9.7
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,741 points
1,892 points
Multi-Thread
12,897 points
9,179 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
8.5
8.7
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
3.0 min
4.0 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
1.6 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
5.7
7.4
Basemark Image
Overall Score
21,960
44,950
Storage Drive Performance
9.4
9.2
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
1,750.2 MB/s
2,738.0 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
3,668.6 MB/s
2,834.7 MB/s
Random Write Speed
94.4 MB/s
41.1 MB/s
Random Read Speed
49.6 MB/s
62.5 MB/s
Battery
9.4
9.1
Capacity
70 Wh
67 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
15.2 hrs
12.7 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
13.8 hrs
12.0 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
2.3 hrs
3.5 hrs
Charge Time
2.7 hrs
2.8 hrs
Borderlands 3
3.9
3.1
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
27 fps
20 fps
1% Low
11 fps
7 fps
0.1% Low
3 fps
4 fps
1% Low Delta
51 ms
89 ms
0.1% Low Delta
297 ms
230 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
56 fps
37 fps
Civilization VI
6.3
5.6
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
42 fps
41 fps
1% Low
27 fps
26 fps
0.1% Low
25 fps
17 fps
1% Low Delta
14 ms
14 ms
0.1% Low Delta
17 ms
33 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
103 fps
93 fps
Avg. Turn Time
6.75 s
10.24 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
Counter-Strike 2
5.3
0.0
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
60fps
N/A
1% Low
18fps
N/A
0.1% Low
6fps
N/A
1% Low Delta
38 ms
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
156 ms
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
78fps
N/A
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
4.3
4.3
Avg. FPS
31 fps
32 fps
1% Low
15 fps
15 fps
0.1% Low
8 fps
8 fps
1% Low Delta
36 ms
36 ms
0.1% Low Delta
93 ms
90 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
54 fps
44 fps
Thermals And Noise
8.8
8.1
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
26 °C (79 °F)
27 °C (81 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
36 °C (96 °F)
50 °C (121 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
N/A
Fan Noise Under Load
40.0 dBA
N/A
Power & Fan Control App
Yes
No
Performance Over Time
7.9
7.1
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
85 °C
90 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
12% loss
6% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
74 °C
90 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
12% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 11
macOS
Additional Software
Yes
None
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
Face Recognition and Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor
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Dell XPS 14 (2024)
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Dell XPS 14 (2024) vs Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024): Main Discussion
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