Dell, a titan of enterprise hardware, has made an unexpected foray into personal audio with its first-ever wireless earbuds: the Dell Pro Plus. Priced at $230 and squarely aimed at professionals, these earbuds signal a strategic move into the hybrid work ecosystem, prioritizing communication clarity and endurance over bass-heavy entertainment.

Article illustration 1

Engineered for the Conference Room, Not the Concert Hall

The Pro Plus earbuds shine brightest in their intended domain: professional communication. ZDNET's testing revealed "crystal-clear sound and crisp vocal audio" during calls, significantly enhanced by AI-driven background noise reduction and adaptive Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). This tech stack ensures voices cut through ambient office chatter effectively. The earbuds even compensate for low-quality mics on the other end of calls, boosting incoming audio intelligibility. This laser focus makes them a compelling alternative to bulkier traditional headsets.

Performance Beyond Calls: Strengths and Quirks

While music playback is competent, it takes a backseat. The sound profile leans bass-heavy, potentially suppressing higher frequencies, though users can customize this via the Dell Audio app. A notable observation was occasional crackling with low-quality audio sources (e.g., certain mobile games or poorly mixed YouTube videos), suggesting sensitivity to source fidelity rather than inherent hardware flaws.

Battery Life and Connectivity: Standout Features

Dell delivers a powerhouse here. The chunky case houses a substantial 5,000mAh battery, providing up to 33 hours of playback with ANC enabled – surpassing competitors like the AirPods Pro. Crucially, the included USB-C adapter unlocks Bluetooth Multipoint support. This allows seamless, simultaneous connection to two devices (e.g., laptop and phone), enabling effortless switching between a work call on a PC and music on a phone – a major productivity boon.

Article illustration 2

The Dell Pro Plus case prioritizes battery capacity over compactness, enabling its impressive 33-hour runtime.

Design and ANC: Trade-offs for Comfort?

The elongated stem design, reminiscent of AirPods, prioritizes comfort for extended wear but impacts passive noise isolation. While the adaptive ANC works well in typical office environments, it can't match the near-total silence achieved by earbuds with a deeper in-ear seal, like the Sony LinkBuds Fit. This means ambient sound can seep in more readily in very noisy settings.

The Pinch Hiccup: Unintuitive Controls

The most significant usability hurdle lies in the touch controls. Eschewing simple taps, Dell employs a pinch-and-slide gesture system for functions like volume control. Reviewers found this system "finicky" and less intuitive than traditional methods, requiring precision that detracts from the user experience, even after extended use.

A Niche Well Defined

The Dell Pro Plus earbuds aren't trying to be everything to everyone. They carve out a distinct niche: dedicated tools for the hybrid professional. For users whose priority is exceptional call clarity, marathon battery life for back-to-back meetings, and the flexibility of multi-device connectivity, they present a strong, sleek alternative to headsets. However, audiophiles seeking immersive musicality or those requiring absolute noise isolation in chaotic environments may find better options elsewhere. Dell's debut proves they understand the productivity audio market, even if mastering the finer points of consumer ergonomics remains a work in progress.

Source: ZDNET Review: Dell Pro Plus Earbuds