Dell Latitude 7330 UL review: an ultra-light enterprise laptop

Dell Latitude 7330 UL review: an ultra-light enterprise laptop

MSRP $2,440.00

“The Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight is definitely lightweight, nevertheless it is slower than completely different Intel Twelfth-gen laptops, its battery life suffers, and its enterprise choices are lacking.”

Execs

• Terribly lightweight
• Sturdy enterprise administration
• Good keyboard
• Vibrant and high-contrast present

Cons

• Earlier-school 16:9 present
• Pricey
• Below-average battery life
• Missing key privateness and security options

Enterprise laptops aren’t the entire stuffy, button-up affairs they’re often acknowledged for. Extreme-end machines are persevering with to push the envelope, and now provide businesspeople comparable designs and choices to mainstream gadgets.

Dell’s Latitude 7330 13-inch Ultralight is an efficient occasion. It’s terribly delicate — which is one factor practically anyone might respect.

However, Dell restricted the Ultralight mannequin to the aim the place among the many most important enterprise choices are missing. And it’s not fast adequate or long-lasting adequate to make for a compelling laptop principally, no matter its delicate weight.

Price and configurations

I reviewed a high-end configuration of the Latitude 7330 Ultralight (UL) with an Intel vPro processor and an old-school 16:9 present.

The Latitude 7330 Ultralight mannequin has restricted configurations compared with its heavier siblings. For example, there’s no 4G LTE WWAN chance, there’s only one 16:9 Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS present to pick from, the webcam is proscribed to 720p with no infrared camera for Dwelling home windows 11 Hiya help, and the battery is solely 41 watt-hours compared with 58 watt-hours.

The entry-level model is $1,766 for an Intel Core i5-1235U non-vPro CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB PCIe SSD. The high-end configuration is $2,499 for a Core i7-1265U vPro, 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB PCIe SSD. My review configuration was the next-highest configuration, $2,265 for the Core i7-1265U vPro, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

Dell has one different business-class 13-inch laptop, the Latitude 9330, that encompasses a further fashionable 16:10 present and isn’t virtually as delicate. It runs a few hundred {{dollars}} higher than the Latitude 7330 equally configured.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is a aggressive laptop, albeit a 14-inch model, that’s moreover comparatively skinny and light-weight. It’s a variety of hundred {{dollars}} decrease than the Latitude 7330, even with faster CPUs and better reveals. Lastly, the HP Elite Dragonfly G3 is throughout the equivalent value as a result of the Latitude 7330, albeit with out Intel’s vPro and a smaller SSD. It’s merely as lightweight.

Design

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The Latitude 7330 is obtainable in three decisions of provides: aluminum, carbon fiber, and magnesium alloy. I reviewed the magnesium mannequin, dubbed the Latitude 7330 UL, which weighs merely 2.13 kilos. That’s delicate adequate to make it onto our file of lightest laptops. It’s skinny, nevertheless not amazingly so, at 0.67 inches, and its large excessive and bottom bezels suggest it’s not the smallest 13-inch laptop spherical by means of its footprint on the desk.

It’s wider and barely a lot much less deep than the 2.2-pound Elite Dragonfly G3 that’s 0.65 inches thick, nevertheless that laptop has a much bigger and taller 13.5-inch 16:10 present. It’s moreover wider and barely a lot much less deep than the Latitude 9330, which has a 13.3-inch 16:10 present, weighs 2.8 kilos, and is 0.55 inches thick. Lastly, whereas the 14-inch ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is wider and deeper, it’s thinner at 0.60 inches and weighs merely 2.48 kilos — higher than the Latitude nevertheless with a much bigger present. Ultimately, the Latitude 7330 UL stands out for its weight nevertheless not for its thickness or the scale of its chassis.

Magnesium is a strong metal, nevertheless it’s not as stiff as aluminum. The Latitude 7330 UL, attributable to this truth, has some flexing throughout the keyboard deck and its lid bends awkwardly, exhibiting off some LCD discoloration. That doesn’t make it a poorly constructed laptop, nevertheless it doesn’t actually really feel as robust as all-aluminum machines similar to the Dell XPS 13 Plus and the HP Spectre x360 13.5. The hinge permits the lid to open about halfway with one hand, nevertheless then it stiffens and likewise you’ll need the alternative hand to open all of it the best way wherein. It does protect the present firmly in place all through heavy typing lessons. I’ll phrase that the magnesium alloy makes for a softer contact than aluminum, although it’d actually really feel further like plastic to some people.

Aesthetically, the Latitude 7330 UL is about as minimalist as they arrive. The traces and angles are straightforward, and solely the chrome Dell emblem on the lid offers any aptitude. There’s nothing mistaken with simplistic designs within the occasion that they’re exceptionally streamlined and attractive, nevertheless this one is boring. The Latitude 9330 has that further streamlined look, whereas the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 sports activities actions the enduring and attractive ThinkPad aesthetic. For my money, the HP Elite Dragonfly G3 is a sleeker and better-looking laptop.

Ports and connectivity

Connectivity is good, with two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, a full-size HDMI port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. We’re missing an SD card reader, and the Ultralight mannequin doesn’t provide the non-compulsory Smartcard reader and eSIM. Wi-fi connectivity is up to date with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, nevertheless as soon as extra the Ultralight mannequin doesn’t have the non-compulsory WWAN help of the aluminum mannequin.

One good perform is Dell’s new ExpressConnect technology that lets you be a part of to 2 wi-fi networks concurrently for increased velocity, and the laptop shall be configured to attach with the easiest accessible neighborhood.

Effectivity

As far as I’ll inform working by the use of Dell’s very sophisticated configurator, the Latitude 7330 UL shall be configured with one amongst two Twelfth-gen Intel U-series CPUs. There’s the 15-watt 10-core (two Effectivity and eight Surroundings pleasant), 12-thread Core i5-1235U working at as a lot as 4.4GHz, and the Core i7-1265U that has the equivalent core and thread rely nevertheless goes considerably faster at 4.8GHz and embody Intel’s vPro technology. My review unit outfitted the Core i7-1265U, which promised at least as fast effectivity as a result of the Core i7-1255U (as a lot as 4.7Ghz) laptops that I’ve not too way back reviewed.

In our benchmarks, though, the Latitude 7330 UL fell behind all the alternative Intel Twelfth-gen CPUs we’ve examined. That was true in Geekbench 5, our Handbrake check out that encodes a 420MB video as H.265, and the video rendering benchmark Cinebench R23. The Latitude even fell behind throughout the PCMark 10 Full benchmark, which exams a variety of productiveness, multimedia, and creative duties.

The Latitude 7330 UL did exhibit some throttling that doable restricted effectivity. And the Dell Optimizer utility equipped quite a few thermal tuning modes, of which I examined the balanced and effectivity. Switching to effectivity mode made a modest distinction in Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23, and a further very important enchancment in Handbrake. As odd, switching modes didn’t have an effect on the PCMark 10 Full score by rather a lot.

Whole, the Latitude 7330 UL’s effectivity was faster than Intel’s Eleventh-gen, nevertheless decrease than the necessities of Twelfth-gen machines. That doesn’t suggest the laptop can’t take care of demanding productiveness workflows, nevertheless it’s not going to be as fast as competing — and in plenty of cases, rather a lot cheaper — machines.

Overlook gaming besides you’re having fun with older titles with low resolution and graphics. The Intel Iris Xe isn’t a fast GPU in the easiest cases, and the Latitude 7330 UL is among the many many slowest.

Present

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I immediately seen that the Latitude 7330 UL’s 13.3-inch 16:9 Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS present was sensible with true blacks for an IPS present. Colors appeared dynamic with out being oversaturated, and except for the old-school aspect ratio, I found the present pretty good all through my testing.

In accordance with my colorimeter, my eyes didn’t deceive me. The present was extraordinarily sensible at 503 nits, properly above our 300-nit regular. Its distinction was fantastic for an IPS panel at 1,650:1, which made black textual content material pop on white backgrounds. Colors hit the premium present frequent at 95% of sRGB and 74% of AdobeRGB, although that frequent has been creeping upward lately. Accuracy was good at a DeltaE of 1.56, the place decrease than 2.0 is taken into consideration ample for creative work. Amongst our comparability group, the Latitude 7330 UL most fastidiously matched the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10, with the earlier being brighter and the latter having barely wider colors.

Sadly, the Latitude Ultralight would not embody decisions for touchscreens.

Productiveness workers, at whom this laptop is aimed, will get pleasure from this present if they’re going to stick with the choice and aspect ratio. Creators will want to look elsewhere, nevertheless then as soon as extra, this isn’t a laptop meant for all-day video or image modifying.

Two downward-firing audio system current the audio and put out a surprising amount of amount, with zero distortion and clear mids and highs. There was even a contact of bass.

The audio system had been ample for watching Netflix and casual music listening, although movement movies and further demanding music tastes will demand a terrific pair of headphones.

Keyboard, touchpad, and webcam

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The keyboard’s keycaps are barely small, nevertheless the necessary factor spacing is generous adequate, making it easy to hit the right letters. The switches are company with a fast bottoming movement, that signifies that within the occasion you want considerably further pressure, you’ll like this keyboard. It’s prone to be a bit rather a lot within the occasion you’re accustomed to lighter keys. I’d value it behind the easiest laptops, along with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10’s lighter and even snappier mannequin.

The touchpad helps Dwelling home windows 11’s multitouch gestures properly adequate, and its flooring is comfortable. It’s a bit on the small side, though, thanks partly to the shorter present and a primary lack of home on the palm leisure.

There’s moreover no Dwelling home windows 11 passwordless login help. For those who want an infrared camera for facial recognition or a fingerprint reader, you’ll need to resolve on one in every of many heavier fashions. That’s notably disappointing for a enterprise laptop, the place security is usually a vital situation.

Lastly, the webcam is solely 720p. As soon as extra, there’s a value to be paid for the lighter chassis — a Full HD webcam and infrared camera should not be an chance on the Ultralight.

Privateness and security

Dell builds a variety of privateness and security devices into its Latitude machines, along with its SafeBIOS to help avoid hacking and Dell Encryption Enterprise. There’s moreover a variety of various enterprise administration devices along with Intel Vigorous Administration Know-how (AMT) for distant administration and Intel {{Hardware}} Defend for hardware-enhanced security. These are best supported by an Intel vPro chip, which my review unit was outfitted with.

On account of my machine lacked an infrared camera, it did not help the onlooker detection, Look Away Detect (which dims the show based mostly totally on shopper conduct), and ExpressSign-In wake on technique devices that completely different Latitude 7330 fashions help. The one nod to privateness on the Ultralight model is a sliding bodily shutter for the webcam.

Battery life

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The Ultralight mannequin of the Latitude 7330 is proscribed to a 41-watt-hour battery, whereas the alternative fashions shall be outfitted with 58 watt-hours. The present is solely Full HD, and it makes use of a 15-watt CPU, so I was hopeful that I’d see at least respectable battery life.

In our suite of battery exams, though, the Latitude 7330 UL fell about an hour beneath frequent all through the board. In our web looking out check out that cycles by the use of a handful of sophisticated websites, it managed merely seven hours, and in our video check out that loops an space Full HD Avengers trailer, it hit 10.5 hours. Lastly, throughout the PCMark 10 Utility check out that best signifies productiveness battery life, the Latitude made it to eight.5 hours. That’s decrease than each of the laptops in our comparability group and beneath frequent principally.

The Latitude 7330 UL is unlikely to get you through a full day of productiveness work besides your duties are delicate on the CPU. One thing further and likewise you’ll be pulling out your charger.

Our take

The Latitude 7330 Ultralight appears like a really perfect idea. Take a powerful enterprise laptop and assemble a mannequin with lighter provides, making it one in every of many lightest laptops you can purchase. Nonetheless Dell compromised an extreme quantity of, stripping off among the many choices that could be most compelling to its purpose market.

It doesn’t help that effectivity is on the low end of its class, and its battery life is decrease than frequent. Certain, it’s a extremely delicate laptop, nevertheless that’s not adequate to justify its extreme value compared with some compelling alternate choices.

Are there any alternate choices?

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 may be very delicate, given its 14-inch present. It provides comparable enterprise choices, is faster, and can get increased battery life. It’s a powerful competitor.

Lenovo’s Yoga 9i Gen 7 is an outstanding completely different within the occasion you don’t need these (sometimes missing) enterprise choices. It’s engaging, well-built, and has a stunning present. It’s moreover faster and cheaper.

Lastly, I on a regular basis advocate Apple’s MacBook Skilled 14 as an chance. As soon as extra, within the occasion you’re not plugging into an enterprise, you acquired’t uncover one different laptop that’s as fast with such fantastic battery life, along with most likely probably the most robust assemble accessible. And it’s not way more expensive, if the least bit.

How prolonged will it remaining?

The Latitude 7330 UL has some slight bending and flexing, which is frequent in a magnesium chassis. Nonetheless, that doesn’t suggest it’s not sturdy adequate for years of service. It’s pretty well-equipped for the near future as properly. Dell provides a 3-year assure with the Latitude, which is welcome.

Do you must buy it?

No. There are increased enterprise laptops accessible that are solely barely heavier. The Latitude 7330 UL merely makes too many compromises for its delicate weight.

Editors’ Options