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It’s been a while since we last reviewed a Dell portable monitor – we looked at the C1422H nearly three years ago. While it offered excellent color performance and build quality, it lacked extended OSD controls, didn’t feature integrated speakers, and was limited to USB-C connectivity alone.
Dell is back with the Pro 14 Plus (P1425), which features a similar design. Unfortunately, our qualms concerning the C1422H haven’t been addressed in this latest model. In addition, its price tag puts it in a precarious position compared to the best portable monitors which offer superior functionality along with larger and higher resolution displays.
Design of the Dell Pro 14 Plus (P1425)
As mentioned, the Pro 14 Plus hones the design of the previously released C1422H. It’s a sleek device with a thin, lightweight aluminum chassis. However, there is plastic framing the matte display, with thick bezels along the top and bottom of the display. The Dell logo is featured prominently in the center of the bottom bezel and again on the back of the display.
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The Pro 14 Plus features a weighted base that houses all the controls and ports for the monitor. A hinge at the front of the base allows the display to go from near-vertical to entirely horizontal for storage.
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You’ll also notice rubber feet on the corners of the 14-inch display and along the rear corners of the base. This allows the Pro 14 Plus to be used in portrait orientation on either side of your laptop’s internal display without sliding around on your desk. That’s a helpful addition that wasn’t present on the C1422H. The non-stick rubber feet are also on the bottom of the base when using the Pro 14 Plus in the traditional landscape orientation.
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There are two USB-C ports supporting DisplayPort Alt-Mode, with one on each side of the base. Raspberry Pi users are out of luck, as there are no HDMI connectivity provisions.
There are also four buttons on the top of the base: power, orientation lock, and brightness control (one to increase brightness, one to lower). Unfortunately, like the C1422H, the Pro 14 Plus still doesn’t include speakers. A lack of speakers isn’t a big deal if we’re talking about a sub-$ $100 budget portable monitor, but it’s harder to ignore for the Pro 14 Plus, which costs $329.
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Dell includes a USB-C to USB-C cable in the box, and thankfully, one end features a 90-degree connector. The 90-degree connector allows the USB-C cable to tuck neatly behind the display panel, out of sight from the user. A nice, fabric-covered carrying pouch is also included for transporting the Pro 14 Plus.
Dell Pro 14 Plus (P1425) Specifications
|
Panel Type / Backlight |
IPS / WLED |
|
Screen Size / Aspect Ratio |
14 inches / 16:10 |
|
Max Resolution & Refresh Rate |
1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz |
|
Max Brightness |
400 nits |
|
Contrast Ratio |
1,500:1 |
|
Screen Coating |
Matte |
|
Ports |
2x USB-C (DisplayPort Alt Mode) |
|
Speakers |
None |
|
Weight |
1.25 pounds |
Dell Pro 14 Plus (P1425) User Controls
The Pro 14 Plus doesn’t include a traditional OSD that you can navigate to adjust picture settings. Instead, you have three buttons on the top of the base, two of which are dedicated to brightness control and orientation lock. As I mentioned, the Pro 14 Plus supports operation in landscape or portrait mode.
The built-in gyro allows the monitor to automatically adjust the picture’s orientation when you switch from landscape or portrait mode. The button simply locks the image so that it won’t automatically switch. The Pro 14 Plus doesn’t even include the dedicated ComfortView button from the C1422H, which helped reduce blue light emissions and lessen eyestrain.
Image Quality on the Dell Pro 14 Plus (P1425)
The Pro 14 Plus uses a 14-inch 60Hz IPS panel with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 – a slight step up in vertical resolution from the C1422H, which uses a 1920 x 1080 panel. The panel is covered with a matte finish to lessen reflections.
Display measurements tracked closely with the C1422H, so the similarities are more than skin deep. Our colorimeter showed that the Pro 14 Plus covered 71.3 percent of DCI-P3 and 100.6 percent of sRGB – both were slight gains over the C1422H’s 70.2 percent and 99.1 percent, respectively.
However, the Pro 14 Plus showed remarkable gains in maximum brightness. Where the C1422H could only muster 241 nits at its maximum, the Pro 14 Plus pushed that limit to 409 nits. The next-closest competition was the ViewSonic TD1656-2K, which maxed out at 363 nits.
Dell markets the Pro 14 Plus as a productivity monitor, and I used it as such in my testing. I used my laptop’s internal monitor for my primary work tasks in Microsoft Word. I used the Pro 14 Plus to swap between Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Edge, Slack, and Pixelmator Pro. I found a good compromise using Excel to take up roughly 2/3 of the screen real estate and Slack for the 1/3. I used the entire screen when working in Edge and Pixelmator.
I also used the display to watch a few films in the background as I worked. I watched Disney’s Lightyear, which critics panned, but I found it to be enjoyable when I first saw it with my son when it was initially released in theaters. The colors looked well-saturated with the screen brightness set to maximum.
Then, I placed the Pro 14 Plus side-by-side with the ViewSonic TD1656-2K; I had to give the edge to the latter with its glossy screen finish. The images looked a tad crisper and more vibrant, even with the brightness disadvantage. I’m a sucker for glossy displays: my laptop’s display and my desktop monitor have a glossy finish, so I naturally gravitate towards them.
Bottom Line
It’s hard to argue with the Dell Pro 14 Plus’s fundamentals. It offers a 14-inch 1200p display that is bright and colorful, the build quality is impeccable, and it has a versatile stand that allows the monitor to be used in landscape or portrait mode. Dell even includes a carrying case in the box.
However, with a sticker price of $329, it would have been nice for Dell to have included some decent speakers on the Pro 14 Plus. A full OSD would also help make better use of this excellent panel for multiple viewing scenarios.
For just $300, you can get the ViewSonic TD1656-2K, which offers a larger, 2560 x 1600 display, touch support in Windows 11 and macOS, and built-in speakers. That would be my pick if you’re looking for a portable monitor in the $300+ price range.