Dell has been always good at making business class laptop. And with the new Latitude 13 7000 series, they proved it again!
With a small size, amazing build, powerful hardware, and infinity display, the Latitude 7370 is a good business laptop. Its only downside is the Core M processor. Now, if you are planning to get a compact business laptop and haven’t decided what to buy yet, let’s see our Dell Latitude 13 7370 Review and see, if it’s worth the $1299 price tag.
PROSCONSSmall and lightRelatively expensiveStrong buildWeak processorDecent batteryBad webcam placementInfinity displayOnly one traditional USB portFanless design Mobile broadband feature Good keyboard Good connectivity/ports 3 Years warranty
SPECIFICATIONS BrandDellModelLatitude 13 7370ProcessorIntel Core m5 6Y57ChipsetSkylake-YGraphicsIntel® HD Graphics 515Video MemorySharedMemory8 GB DDR3 – 1866Storage256 GB SSDOptical DrivenoneDisplay TypeGlossy IPSScreen Size13.3 inchScreen Resolution1920 x 1080AudioStereo speakersKeyboardChicletNavigation3.9 x 1.9 inchCamera720pVideo PortsMicro HDMIAudio PortsHeadphone/MicTotal USB Ports3USB type C2USB 3.0 Ports1Media PortsSDWi-Fi802.11acBluetooth4.1EthernetNoneBattery Life8 hoursWidth12 inchDepth8.3 inchHeight0.5 inchWeight2.7 poundsOperating SystemWindows 10Warranty3 Year limitedBase Price$1299
BUILD AND DESIGN
The design of XPS series had been always elegant. And our Latitude 13 7370 is same, more or less. It sports an aluminum lid is held by a hinge that stretches the full length of the laptop’s body. It’s a darker shade of silver than the one on the XPS 13 lending it a moodier appearance. The lid rotates 180 degrees to fold completely flat, which is surely a plus. Also the bottom has a soft-touch coating that helps with grip when toting the laptop between meetings. Long rubber feet run almost all the way along the base and help to anchor it to a table.
Considering the design, it is certainly good looking. Dark gray on the top and black on the bottom, its minimalist appearance should sit well in the office. It’s also very thin and light. There’s a slight taper, so the front thickness is about 10mm. And about the weight, you’ll barely notice the 2.7 pound weight in a travel bag.
KEYBOARD
As expected from Dell, the chiclet keyboard on the Latitude 13 is really comfortable. The letter keys are perfect when used with 10 fingers. The travel is comparatively generous for a laptop this thin and small, which results in a great feedback and a fast typing speed in combination with the firm stroke. The quality of the keyboard gave me a great impression in general, which is supported by the restrained noise development as well as perfect stability, even in the center area. However, probably it is just me, but sometimes the keys become sticky and cause typing mistakes.
TOUCHPAD
The touchpad is also spacious enough to perform almost all gestures. As I tested, the navigations, gliding, and gestures were very precious and accurate. So yeah, I really enjoyed the 3.9 x 1.9 inch large and spacious touchpad.
CONNECTIVITY
Even with a compact body, luckily the Latitude 13 has almost all the necessary connectivity features.
The left side of the laptop has 2 thunderbolt 3 ports, 1 micro HDMI port, and a SIM card slot.
While the right side sport SD card slot, combo audio port, and a USB 3.0 port.
DISPLAY
There are 2 variants of Latitude 13 7370 and they have very different types of display. They both have only 5mm bezels though, thanks to the InfinityEdge display! Anyway, you will have to settle for either full HD 1920×1080 or QHD 3200×1800. The QHD screen supports touchscreen and is glossier than the FHD one even though it sports an anti-reflective Gorilla Glass surface.
As for brightness, the touch QHD display has a lower 350cd luminance while on the other hand the cheap FHD display offers 400 cd. But when it comes to the pixel density, the QHD version is far ahead with a 276 PPI, while the FHD version only has 166. So, if you need a sharper and high res touch display, you have to get the QHD one, but if sharpness is not an issue for you, and 1080p resolution is enough, you can easily settle for the cheaper one.
SOUND
The stereo speakers, on the bottom of the chassis towards the front, deliver rather treble-rich sound at maximum volume. Overall, they are pretty decent. If you need a little background music while working at your desk, it will surely get the job done. But if you are looking for premium sound experience, you will have to get external speakers or a good headphone!
PERFORMANCE
The Core M-5 chip and 8GB of RAM keeps things running smoothly, despite the fact they are not considered as premium hardware and surely won’t be able to handle what an i5 or i7 processor can. And that’s why when it comes to processor-intensive tasks, such as transcoding video and resizing high resolution images, the flaws show up.
Compared to the Core i5, it scored 61% lower in Cinebench’s CPU test and 20% lower in PCMark8’s Home Test. However, I would not call the device slow: Common office, Internet and multimedia applications as well as light multi-tasking are handled without any problem. The loading times of Windows and applications are conveniently short.
Just like the CPU performance, the GPU performance of the HD Graphics 515 is also somewhat mediocre. Compared to the HD Graphics 520 from the common Core-i processors, the HD 515 benchmarked roughly 25% slower. But it shouldn’t be a big problem for a business device.
HEAT AND NOISE
Since there are no fan and mechanical hard drive, the Latitude 13 is totally silent. So, regardless of workload, it won’t make any noise. And as for temperature, even though the laptop doesn’t have an active cooling system, the chassis barely warms up. The main reason behind this, is the soft-touch surface, which is subjectively cooler compared to a metal construction. Only the center at the bottom of the device can be an inconvenient hotspot at around 50 °C when the laptop is running with the hard workload for over an hour.
WRAP UP
The Dell Latitude 13 7370 is the latest competitor in a field of business laptop. It’s durable and secure, and sports an excellent InfinityEdge display. Unfortunately, the performance of the Core M isn’t pleasing, and the battery life is not that good if you chose the QHD screen. Also, considering all the aspects, the laptop is kind of overpriced. Of course, there are faster, better and cheaper business laptops available nowadays. But, if you’re seeking a well built, compact laptop that packs enterprise features and enough horsepower to use it as a business laptop, the Latitude 13 7370 is surely the only choice right now.
