Dell’s new student laptop weighs just 2.5 pounds and claims 21 hours of battery life
Dell has announced a thin and lightweight 14-inch laptop built for students, with up to 21 hours of battery life, a 2.8K 120Hz display option, and four colorful finishes, but its price remains unknown.
FrankLin
Dell is pitching the 14S against the MacBook Neo, although the pricing has not been revealed yet.
Dell
Apple’s MacBook Neo has given inexpensive Windows laptops a new benchmark to chase, and Dell is now putting forward the Dell 14S as one of its answers. Announced at IFA 2026, the new 14-inch laptop is aimed at students and young adults, with an aluminum chassis, multiple color options, and a claimed battery life of up to 21 hours.
Dell itself describes the 14S as a more affordable student and everyday-use alternative to the MacBook Neo. One important detail is still missing, as Dell has not announced a price yet. The laptop will arrive in North America this fall, with pricing coming closer to release. Until then, it is difficult to judge how competitive it will actually be against Apple’s $699 laptop.
Dell 14S Laptop all colors Dell
Dell is going after the same young buyers
The Dell 14S weighs 1.15kg, or roughly 2.5 pounds, and measures 13.5mm thick. That puts it close to the MacBook Neo, which weighs 2.7 pounds and measures 12.7mm thick.
Dell is also leaning into color. The 14S will come in Linen, Dusty Rose, Washed Denim, and Velvet Green, all using the same aluminum chassis. The approach feels familiar after Apple made brighter finishes a major part of the MacBook Neo’s identity.
Dell
There are two 16:10 display options. The higher-end configuration gets a 2.8K panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the second uses a 2K 60Hz display. Dell has not provided brightness figures for either panel. Intel Core 5 and Core 7 Series 3 processors handle the computing side.
The laptop is making its case with battery life and ports
Dell claims the 14S can manage up to 21 hours of Netflix streaming on a charge. That figure comes from Dell’s own testing, so it should not be compared directly with Apple’s battery estimates without independent testing.
Dell
The port selection is less restrictive than Apple’s. Dell includes two USB-C ports with power delivery, HDMI, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There is also Wi-Fi 6E, Windows Hello, an FHD webcam, stereo speakers, and dual-array microphones.
On paper, the Dell 14S has several features that make sense for a student laptop, particularly the low weight, 120Hz display option, and broader port selection. Whether it can genuinely compete with the MacBook Neo will mostly come down to the price, which Dell has not revealed yet.
I’ve got about 4 years of experience, mostly covering gaming, PC hardware, and smartphones. In my free time, I like…
Acer’s new Vero 16 proves repairable laptops don’t have to feel like a compromise
Acer's new Vero 16 pairs a tool-free, repairable chassis with flagship Intel hardware and a 16-inch OLED display.
Acer's Vero series has spent several generations building a reputation for eco-conscious PCs. At IFA 2026 in Berlin, Acer gave the line its biggest update yet with the new Vero 16, a laptop that pairs deep repairability with genuinely capable hardware, marking a big step up from earlier Vero models. The redesigned notebook combines a serviceable, recycled-aluminum chassis with Intel's latest Core Ultra chips and a 16-inch OLED display.
Easier repairs, longer lifespan
Acer’s new ePaper monitor wants to make your screen time more comfortable
No blue light, no glare, just paper-like vibes for your next work session.
At its press conference during IFA 2026 in Berlin, Acer unveiled a big lineup of new gadgets, from tablets to routers to a projector. As an e-reader enthusiast, the one product that caught my eye is the Acer EP130K, a portable ePaper monitor built for people who spend hours staring at screens.
What makes the EP130K different from a regular monitor?
Apple just gave developers the green light to leave Intel Macs behind
Mac developers can now leave Intel behind as Apple pushes further into its Apple Silicon era.
Apple is nudging developers to finally leave Intel behind. The company started emailing developers today, letting them know that universal macOS apps on the Mac App Store that require macOS 13 or later can now drop support for Intel-based Macs.
In the email, obtained by 9to5Mac, Apple says:
