Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook review

Looking for a good business Chromebook? You won’t find one in the Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook. Premium Chromebooks are getting more popular, but filling a laptop with high-end specs and calling it a “business” machine to drive up the price should look like a bad deal to any multi-million dollar company or small-business owner. For a whopping $1,900, the Latitude 7410 has an awful touchpad, a dim display and scratchy speakers. 

It does offer great performance, long battery life and a comfy keyboard, but those aren’t worth the tradeoffs, especially at this price. You’re better off checking out our best Chromebooks page for something more reasonably priced.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook price and configuration options

First off, the price of our Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook review unit is ludicrous. For a whopping $1,900, this machine comes with an Intel Core i5-10310U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and a 4K display. Just as a point of reference, you can get one of the best gaming laptops, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, for $1,449 and it’ll come packed with an AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 1080p, 120Hz display.

Even if you wanted a cheaper Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook, the cheapest one is $1,329. That model comes with a Core i5-10310U CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 1080p display. If, for some reason, you want to get the maxed out version, you’ll get a Core i7-10610U CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 4K display all for $2,267. That’s as expensive as a premium gaming laptop.

Unless you’re a big corporate company that wants to blow a bunch of cash, do yourself a favor and check out our best Chromebooks or best business laptops pages to find something more reasonably priced.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook design

The Latitude 7410 looks exactly like every other Latitude that has recently launched. Although it does look sleek thanks to its gray aluminum chassis, the aesthetic is starting to grow tired and become symbolic of the dreary environment of a 9-to-5 desk job. The interior of the Latitude 7410 features a matching gray-aluminum deck with a gray-black keyboard and a pale-gray touchpad. There’s a gray Chrome logo on the bottom left of the deck.

While the bezels on the display are relatively thin, I noticed that the display is unevenly placed on the panel. The top-right corner of the panel is dipping. I tested the placement by placing my cursor at the very bottom of the screen. I could see the tip of the cursor as I dragged it horizontally until I hit the halfway point where it started to disappear off screen. This happened because the display is dropping into the bottom bezel. 

We asked the company for a replacement to see if the issue extends to other laptops. The problem wasn’t nearly as bad on the second unit, but the display’s blacked sections between the bezel and the panel are disproportionate. There’s no black buffer on the right side between the screen and bezel, whereas there is a thin black frame on the left. Meanwhile, the bottom bezel has some of the black buffer on the left but it gets wider on the right side.

At 3.2 pounds and 12.7 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches, the Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook is a decent size for a 14-inch Chromebook. The HP Pro C640 Chromebook Enterprise (3.4 pounds, 12.8 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches) is heavier, but the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook (2.3 pounds, 11.9 x 8.0 x 0.4 inches) is remarkably slimmer.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook ports

There are a good number of ports on the Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook.

On the left, there’s an HDMI port, two USB Type-C ports (DisplayPort 1.4) and a microSD card slot. The right side sports a wedge lock slot, two USB Type-A ports and a headphone jack.

If you need more ports, check out our best USB Type-C hubs and best laptop docking stations pages.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook security and durability

The Latitude 7410 passed 17 MIL-STD 810G tests, which means that it can withstand extreme temperatures, altitudes, shock, sand and dust, vibrations and drops. So, at the cost of your soul (and wallet), you’ll get a machine that can withstand some punishment.

In terms of security features, the Latitude 7410 is outfitted with Chrome Enterprise, which is similar to Intel vPro in that it allows for remote management. There’s also a privacy shutter for the webcam.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook display

It’s difficult to find a 4K display that’s this dim, but the Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook’s 14-inch screen manages to impress me again in all of the wrong ways. The color is better than most Chromebooks, but it doesn’t add up to the price point.

In the trailer for Archenemy, actor Joe Manganiello stood atop a building during a night shot, and the building on the right side of the screen was completely blacked out. The pinkish electricity that was stitched in Manganiello’s cloak didn’t pop as much as I expected it to on a 4K display. Despite that, Manganiello’s grizzly beard was sharp and detailed.

According to our colorimeter, the Latitude 7410 covered 114% of the sRGB color gamut, which surpasses the 78% Chromebook average. However, keep in mind that average is filled with budget systems. The HP Pro C640 (63%) did worse, but the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook (224%) was exceptional.

At 233 nits, the Latitude 7410 is remarkably dim, even for a Chromebook, as the average lands at 275 nits. The HP Pro C640 and Samsung Galaxy Chromebook were both brighter, at 240 nits and 357 nits, respectively.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook keyboard and touchpad

Most Chromebook keyboards are either super compact or offer shallow keys, but the Dell Latitude 7410 actually offers a comfortably clicky keyboard that’s decently spaced and has nice backlighting.

I managed 76 words per minute on the 10fastfinger.com typing test, which isn’t far from my 78-wpm average. The keyboard layout may take a bit of getting used to for some, because the keys are laid out slightly to the right of the touchpad.

While the keyboard lighting is decently bright, it’s frustrating that I can’t adjust the luminance whatsoever, it is either on or off.

Meanwhile, the 4.6 x 2.8-inch touchpad is simply awful. The cursor bounces around at a weird acceleration when I tried moving it. I’ve messed with all of the settings Chrome OS provides, but nothing has helped. Also, the clickers make inconsistent sounds on each side, which is annoying. I tested the touchpad on the replacement we received, and it was just as bad.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook audio

The forward-firing speakers on the Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook are scratchy, hollow and overall poor.

In Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Satisfied,” the opening piano sounded empty, as the lack of bass failed to give it any emphasis. When John Laurens chimed in, his voice was crackly and hollow, and when Angelica Schuyler’s voice hit, those highs sounded sharp and scratchy. Even if the audio sounded OK, the speakers were incredibly quiet, unable to fill my living space.

There’s no audio app included with the Latitude, unless you want to download apps in the Google Play Store.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook performance

Underneath the hood of the Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook lies an Intel Core i5-10310U processor and 16GB of RAM, which managed to easily juggle over 40 Google Chrome tabs and five YouTube videos with little sign of slowdown. Keep in mind that while it’s a good processor, you can get a better one for the same or a lower price in other laptops.

On the Geekbench 5.0 overall performance benchmark, the Latitude 7410 scored 3,292, surpassing the Chromebook average (2,440). The HP Pro C640’s Core i7 10610U CPU (3,114) wasn’t far behind, while the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook’s Core i5-10210U CPU (2,232) couldn’t quite catch up to the average.

The Latitude 7410 scored 127 on the Jetstream 2.0 web-browsing benchmark, which jumps over the 101 category average. The HP Pro C640 and Samsung Galaxy Chromebook didn’t manage to keep up at 117 and 92, respectively.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook battery life

Despite some of the Latitude 7410’s glaring flaws, it does have great battery life. On the Laptop Mag battery test, the Latitude 7410 lasted 10 hours and 52 minutes, which slides past the 10:19 Chromebook average. It just missed the HP Pro C640 (11:07), but it crushed the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook (5:56).

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook webcam

Like most laptop webcams, the Latitude’s 720p shooter is bad.

In my test shot, the leaves in the banner surrounding Grookey, the best new Pokemon, turned into mush and blended together. Despite the fuzzy quality, this camera balanced color and contrast surprisingly well; it didn’t blow out my window and the blue in my shirt popped. I would even call it a decent webcam if the lens was sharper. Unfortunately, I’d recommend looking at our best webcams page for something better.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook heat

The Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook remains pretty cool under pressure. After it streamed a 15-minute FHD video, its underside measured 86 degree Fahrenheit, which is comfortably below our 95-degree comfort threshold. The center of the keyboard and touchpad reached 80 and 75 degrees, respectively. The hottest the machine got was 90 degrees, between the second and third vents on the underside.

Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook Chrome OS

For those who are unfamiliar, ChromeOS is basically a very stripped down operating system that heavily relies on Google Chrome.

Most of the apps you’ll use are in the Google Play Store, but not every app is optimized for Chrome OS, so it might look funky (like a small window with large borders). Meanwhile, Chrome Enterprise allows an employer to remotely manage your computer, so don’t purchase the Enterprise upgrade because it’s “business” related. This upgrade is specifically for companies buying these machines in bulk that want to manage their employee's equipment. If you don’t want Enterprise, that’ll save you roughly $100, but it won’t make up for how expensive this machine is.

The Latitude 7410 comes with a three-year limited warranty. See how Dell performed on our Tech Support Showdown and Best and Worst Brands ranking.

Bottom line

The Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook feels like a cheap attempt to be the Chrome equivalent to the Windows version of its Latitude siblings. However, matching their ludicrous pricing won’t cut it. Yes, you get good performance, long battery life and a comfortable keyboard, but that’s not enough for an asking price of $1,900. No one wants a crappy touchpad experience, a dim 4K display and speakers that sound like someone’s speaking through a tin can.

If you’re a company looking for a Chrome Enterprise machine, go with the HP Pro C640, as it offers longer battery life as well as similar security and durability features but for $700 less.

Overall, the Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook’s price is egregious for what it offers.