Laptops Review

Lately, we've been looking a lot at business notebooks. They're all mid-range in terms of price. Well, today we have a slightly more premium notebook. It's the Latitude 13 7320, which comes in two different configurations. One is made of aluminum and features a cool feel and a bluish-gray color. The other is made of carbon fiber and is black. It's also a bit lighter, but we'll talk about that later.

Dell has once again opted for Intel. Their Tiger Lake-U chips power the rather small Latitude 13 7320, with the top-of-the-line offering featuring a Core i7-1185G7. This eliminates the need for a dedicated graphics card, as the Iris Xe Graphics G7 offers fantastic performance for productivity and most light games.

On the other hand, this is still a business device, and there are things that matter more than performance. These include a dedicated TPM 2.0 chip, a camera privacy shutter, and some biometric options, which we'll cover later.

The Dell tablet has a continuously adjustable stand on the back. When unfolded, the device starts automatically. The aluminum casing is sturdily constructed. Unlike the Surface, the attachable keyboard with touchpad and the Active Pen for the touchscreen are included.

Equipment meets business needs

With its features, the 7320 meets the needs of large businesses more specifically than the Surface: In addition to Windows 10 Pro and an optional upgrade with an LTE modem—which Microsoft also offers with the Surface Pro 7+ —the Dell detachable offers a fingerprint sensor, a smart card reader, and NFC for contactless login using a smart card. These security features are all located on the tablet, eliminating the need for a special keyboard like the Surface Pro Type Cover with fingerprint sensor. Another plus for business customers is the long 36-month warranty. 

With the universal Thunderbolt 4 connector

The 7320 is powered by a Core i5 processor from the 11th-generation Tiger Lake processor. Its performance is perfectly adequate for office applications and video calls – only in very CPU-intensive applications like rendering does a Core i7 clearly excel. Conversely, in most tests, the Tiger Lake processor's performance gap to its predecessor, Ice Lake, found in the Surface Pro 7 , for example , is not significant. However, due to the significantly improved processor graphics, the Dell 7320 outperforms the Surface when these can support the CPU in tasks such as photo and video editing. The Dell tablet's very fast Wi-Fi 6, which delivers almost 600 Mbps with a good connection, should also not be underestimated.

The Tiger Lake platform offers even more advantages for the Dell tablet because it supports Thunderbolt 4: The 7320 features two Type-C ports, one for charging the tablet, and the other for connecting to a Thunderbolt docking station, for example—ideal for flexible use of the tablet at the office desk. Microsoft relies on its proprietary Connect connector for docking extensions and will only introduce Thunderbolt 4 in the Surface Pro 8.

3:2 display with FHD resolution

Dell also has an edge over its Surface competitors when it comes to the display: It has a 13-inch touchscreen – a size only available on the Surface Pro 8. The Latitude's screen has a 3:2 aspect ratio, but at 1920 x 1280, it has a significantly lower resolution than the Surface models. Image quality, however, is comparable – in other words, very high: The Latitude's brightness is well over 400 cd/m², which also allows for outdoor use. Other advantages include good contrast, excellent color coverage, and evenly distributed brightness.

Due to its larger screen, the Dell Latitude is slightly heavier than the Surface Pro 7—but it doesn't take up any more space, as the chassis is very compact thanks to the narrow bezels on the sides. With the keyboard attached, the weight is still under 1.2 kilograms.

Despite the small 40-watt-hour battery, the Dell tablet's runtime is excellent: It lasted over ten hours in the video test and just under 12 hours while surfing via Wi-Fi. After one hour plugged into a wall outlet, the 65-watt power adapter recharges the tablet to 60 percent. If the Express Charge feature is enabled in Dell Power Manager, the battery recharges to 90 percent within an hour.

Keyboard and touchpad as good as on a notebook

The size and spacing of the keys on the Dell tablet's clip-on keyboard are the same size as those on a laptop keyboard. However, some keys are narrower, making very fast typing a bit more difficult. However, the backlit keys make it easy to work in the dark. There's a small recess above the keys where you can place and charge the stylus. Typing is very comfortable and quiet, with decent key feedback and good travel.

The touchpad also impresses with a clear pressure point when clicking the mouse, a non-slip surface that allows the mouse pointer to be placed precisely, and the quick implementation of multi-finger gestures.

The hardware configuration, with a Core i5 processor and a 256 GB SSD, is a bit meager for the asking price. A configuration with a Core i7 processor and a 512 GB SSD can be put together for around €2,300. However, the Surface Pro 7+ is slightly cheaper with the same features plus a keyboard and pen.

For more details please visit https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/2-in-1-laptops-tablets/latitude-7320-laptop/spd/latitude-13-7320-2-in-1-laptop