Dell Latitude 7400 2-in-1 review: A great business laptop with 24 hour battery life

Price: Rs 1,35,000 onwards
Rating: ****1/2

Specs: 14-inch IPS touchscreen, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 8th generation Intel Core i7 vPro processor, 16GB DDR3 RAM, 256GB SSD, 2 x USB 3.1 ports, HDMI, 2 x USB Type-C ports, microSD card reader, SIM slot, backlit keyboard, fingerprint scanner, IR facial recognition, WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, Windows 10, 1.3kg


When you think of a business laptop, the first thing that comes to mind is a plain and boring looking laptop. Dell's latest Latitude laptop, the Latitude 7400 2 in 1 goes complete against the notion. Not only does it score on looks but is also loaded with features that would be appreciated by business as well as casual users.

The Latitude 7400 2-in-1 is unlike any business laptop we have seen till date. In fact, it is even better looking than a number of premium laptops in our opinion. For starters, it weighs just 1.4kg and that too with a machined aluminium body. Plus, its overall footprint is smaller than a 13-inch laptop thanks to its display (more on this later). Being a 2-in-1 convertible, you can use it in standard laptop mode or completely rotate the screen and use it as a large tablet. The hinge system is solid, and you can stop the screen at any angle of your choice - it will stay at that angle and not flex at all.

You get a chiclet-style backlit keyboard with well excellent travel that is a joy to use. Unlike other brands that tend to make the arrow keys smaller to fit in on the side, the Latitude 7400 2 in 1 gives you arrow keys the same size as other keys. This makes the keyboard extend a bit more on the right side of the palm rest compared to the left side - it looks a bit odd, but we would overlook it considering the benefit of having standard size arrow keys. The trackpad is also updated - instead of the usual trackpads we see on Latitude laptops, the 7400 2 in 1 gets a glass trackpad similar to the XPS range. Not only does it work seamlessly but also goes with the overall premium look and feel of the laptop. There is also an integrated fingerprint scanner in the power button which is an optional feature that can be customized as per user requirement. Even with the sleek design, you get two full-size USB 3 ports, HDMI, microSD card reader and dual USB Type-C ports. There is also a SIM slot with 4G support giving you the freedom to work on the move anywhere.

After the impressive design is the gorgeous touchscreen display that impressed us. You get a 14-inch full HD screen with slim bezels on four sides - this enables a smaller footprint for the laptop. The screen has excellent viewing angles, rich colours, an anti-reflective and anti-smudge coating - in our usage it worked great indoors as well as outdoors and was fantastic for office work, watching videos or surfing the web. Moreover, the screen also supports use with Dell's pressure-sensitive pen for writing/drawing which is an optional purchase. For protection, the screen has Gorilla Glass 5 adding to the overall durability.

Our review unit configuration was - 8th gen Intel Core i7 vPro 8665U processor along with 16GB DDR3 RAM and 256GB SSD storage. The 8665U processor was announced a few months back and comes with the advantage of enhanced security at the processor level. While the configuration proved to be more than enough for any office work and even photo editing, we do feel that 256 storage feels like a limiting factor. Battery life is just unbelievable on the laptop - this is the first time a laptop delivered a battery life of almost 22 hours on a single charge. In addition to this, it uses USB Type-C for charging, so you get a compact size charger with fast charge support (charges from 10 to 75% in an hour).

Dell ExpressSign is one of the most impressive features of the laptop. The Latitude 7400 2-in-1 is the first laptop to come with an IR sensor and proximity sensor for unlocking. As soon as you come near the laptop, it wakes up and looks for you - once your face is detected, it unlocks the laptop. Much to our surprise this worked seamlessly and instantly unlocked the laptop for use 90% of the times. Some of the other features that impressed us were its loudspeakers, above average wide-angle webcam and efficient thermal management with minimal fan noise.

The Dell Latitude 7400 2 in 1 is the company's smallest commercial laptop. It is priced on the higher side but keep in mind that you get a lightweight laptop, compact yet sturdy convertible design, fantastic 14-inch touchscreen display, great performance and the best battery life we have seen on any laptop. The only gripe is the 256GB storage. The closest competition it has is the recently announced HP Spectre x360 LTE which starts from Rs 1,69,990.