Key Takeaways for ZDNET
- Dell 2024 Inspiron 14 2 in 1 It’s a great convertible laptop for busy professionals on the go.
- The model offers solid performance thanks to AMD hardware and decent battery life.
- Some users will be disappointed by the lackluster display.
Dell is known for manufacturing powerful laptops such as Inspiron 14 plus 7440, a model I reviewed earlier this year with solid performance and great quality-of-life features. But the company has upped the ante with another rugged work device in the form of a 2-in-1 convertible with Inspiron 14 2 in 1 7445.
The new Inspiron 14 convertible lets you flip the screen back and turn the device into a tablet, offering a degree of flexibility that the previous model lacks. As a result, the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 is better suited for users who need a PC capable of multitasking. The touchscreen alone adds a lot to its toolkit, allowing creative professionals to quickly sketch or sketch out work.
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Under the hood you’ll find a different hardware setup than the older Inspiron. Instead of an Intel chipset, the convertible has an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, an AMD Radeon 780M graphics card, and 16GB of memory. This configuration is designed to handle office-related tasks like multitasking with documents or hosting video calls with ease.
I was curious to see if it could outperform the Inspiron 14 Plus, which has an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU. So I ran some benchmark tests, and according to the results, the two models performed at a similar level. Although I did notice that the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 has faster image rendering speeds than its counterpart, making it the better-performing model.
Unfortunately, the Full HD Plus (1920 x 1200 pixels) touchscreen on the Inspiron 2-in-1 is somewhat disappointing. I’ve seen lower-res laptops that make up for their lack of visual fidelity with software enhancers (like HDR 10), but the Intel machine has none of these, resulting in washed-out colors.
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These are all the main differences between the two, along with some minor pointers. For example, the circular wrist rest is back, providing a comfortable experience. Speaking of the keyboard, it felt fine in my hand. Each key has a soft feel, but the large key travel makes up for that. I didn’t like the trackpad as much this time, but it’s smaller.
If you travel or commute with your laptop for work, you won’t be burdened with this device, as it weighs just 3.77 pounds. It’s also made of aluminum, giving it the durability it needs to survive frequent travel.
I should also mention that the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 has the same downward-facing air vents to expel heat, which is something I usually don’t like. However, in an interesting twist, the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 doesn’t generate much heat in the first place. I had a very comfortable experience working on this laptop, as it remained cool even during extended use. I’m not entirely sure what Dell has done to improve the cooling system, but I’m glad to see it.
Of course, I can’t forget the speaker system. The Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 has an impressive array of tubes. Music and movies sounded great when computer drivers came out. Part of its quality is due to the speaker inside, which adds powerful bass to the output. The drivers also support Dolby Atmos technology which is able to immerse users in a sound bubble.
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For the battery, I ran the usual ZDNET test running a medium load on the laptop. This consists of playing a non-stop YouTube live stream at 720p resolution and 50% brightness. I clocked the Inspiron 2-in-1 at about eight hours maximum while using the Best Energy Efficiency mode. Not too shabby; This is enough to last an entire day, although it would have been nice to last for 10 or 12 hours.
ZDNET Buying Advice
Prices for Dell Inspiron 14 2 in 1 Starting at $729, which is great for this laptop: You’re getting a powerful work machine that can handle everything you can throw at it for under $1,000. If you want to upgrade to a Ryzen 7 8840HS processor (which is what I tested here in this review) the price will rise to $949.
I also recommend choosing Midnight Blue as the color for your laptop. The Ice Blue option raises the price by an additional $100 because it runs Windows 11 Pro. Stick to the dark shade if you’re not interested in the pro OS.