Dell Latitude 7380 Review

A business laptop is a serious investment, and Dell understands that, providing premium features with its $1,849 Latitude 7380 ($1,199 starting price). With a striking, bezel-free display, Dell's 13-inch business laptop provides an enjoyable viewing experience, as well as a zippy SSD paired with a fast 7th-Generation Core i7 processor. The design is a bit bland for our tastes, but when you add in more than 10 hours of battery life, a variety of ports and a great keyboard, the Latitude 7380 is a strong choice for business users on the go.

Design: Plain

Dell's Latitude 7380 is as simple as they come. With a sturdy, black, carbon-fiber-and-aluminum body, the Latitude is a durable ultraportable. A standout for the Latitude is its InfinityEdge display, which has very narrow bezels, but unlike the Dell XPS 13, leaves room for the webcam to live above the screen.  Silver Dell logos add a pop of color to the Latitude's lid and bottom bezel, while the word "Latitude" is printed in gray on the notebook's soft-touch deck.

Opening the notebook reveals a trackpad and island-style keyboard, while the Latitude's underside has rubber grips to prevent sliding.

At 12 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches and weighing 2.75 pounds, the Dell Latitude 7380 isn't the lightest ultraportable, but it's still a few ounces lighter than the $1,709 MacBook Pro (3 pounds). The $2,013 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2.49 pounds) has the Dell Latitude beat, but by only a slight margin.

Durability and Security

Dell claims the Latitude 7380 meets MIL-STD 810G durability standards, which means it can handle humidity, shock, high altitudes and extreme temperatures.

The Intel Core i7 processor that Dell uses in the Latitude 7380 feature Intel vPro system-management technology and TPM encryption for your data. An optional fingerprint reader allows for biometric logins. Dell's ControlVault stores authentication data on its own processor, and Dell's Command software provides a simple way to monitor the health of your computer.

Ports: Modern

The Latitude 7380 has all the ports a business owner would need. On the laptop's left side, there's a charging port, a Thunderbolt 3 connector, an HDMI out and a USB 3.0 port.

The right side is packed with a Noble Wedge lock slot, an Ethernet connector, another USB 3.0 port, a USD 4.0 memory card reader, a USIM slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Display: Colorful

Dell's Latitude 7380 comes with a sharp, 13.3-inch, 1080p display that outputs dynamic colors. According to our colorimeter, the Latitude reproduced 144 percent of the sRGB color gamut, a score that surpassed those of the MacBook Pro (123 percent) and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (104 percent), as well as the category average (100 percent).

The Latitude's impressive color range was very evident when I watched Bobby's "Runaway" music video. The cutscenes of Bobby singing on a Virginia highway were colorful and stunning. I was also blown away that the Latitude's display was keen enough to capture individual locks of Bobby's ash-blond hair.

The Latitude 7380 doesn't have the brightest screen around, registering 267 nits according to our light meter. That result is below showings we saw from the MacBook Pro (458 nits) and ThinkPad X1 Carbon (275 nits), as well as the ultraportable category average (290 nits). The Latitude's screen may not be the most luminous, but it didn't hinder my viewing experience, and it handled glare well. The Latitude also has wide viewing angles; image quality didn't suffer when I flipped the panel down to 45 degrees and back 180 degrees.

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Audio: Good

The Latitude 7380 has a satisfactory sound system. Its dual stereo speakers are located at the base and reproduce accurate sound. The speakers are loud enough to fill a small conference room without distortion, which comes in handy if you're presenting a project or just want to jam to some music. When I listened to "Flexicution" by Snow Tha Product, I could hear the bass, strings and synth without issue. Snow's verses also came through clearly.

The Latitude's microphone is conveniently built-in with the webcam, so video calls and audio recordings can be done with ease. I recorded a few voice notes to test how well the mic picked up audio, and the playback sounded accurate.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The island keyboard on the Latitude offers a great typing experience. With 1.69 millimeters of vertical travel (1.5 to 2mm is typical), the Latitude provided enough room for me to type comfortably with long nails.

On the Key Hero typing test, I achieved my typical average typing speed of 58 words per minute. The keyboard's backlighting feature was also helpful when I was typing in the dark. I appreciated being able to control the level of brightness throughout the day.

The Latitude's 3.8 x 2.0-inch touchpad is smooth to the touch, though it doesn't feel slippery. The touchpad provided accurate navigation. Standard features like pinch-to-zoom and three-finger swipe were a little buggy, so I didn't use these shortcuts often to switch between apps.

Performance: Satisfactory

Dell's Latitude 7380 comes with an Intel Core i7-7600U CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, all of which provided robust performance in our tests. With 12 tabs open in Google Chrome -- including streams from YouTube, Pandora and Netflix, along with a few rounds of Candy Crush Soda Saga -- I didn't experience a hint of lag.

The Latitude's processor scored 8,355 on Geekbench 4, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall performance. That showing is less than the scores from the MacBook Pro's Intel Core i5-7267U CPU (9,213) and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon's Intel Core i5-7200U CPU (8,571). However, the Latitude did outperform the category average (6,545).

The Latitude copied a 4.97GB batch of multimedia files in 17 seconds, for a rate of 299 megabytes per second. That SSD speed surpassed the ThinkPad X1 Carbon's drive speed (242 MBps), as well as the category average (214.9 MBps). The MacBook Pro, however, beats them all (727 MBps).

The Latitude excelled on our OpenOffice Spreadsheet Macro test, taking 3 minutes and 14 seconds to match 20,000 names and addresses. That time is 8 seconds faster than the ThinkPad X1 Carbon's showing (3:22) and 2 minutes and 51 seconds faster than the category average (6:05).

With an integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 GPU, the Latitude scored 73,063 on the Ice Storm Unlimited test, a synthetic benchmark that measures graphics performance. This mark is better than the ThinkPad X1 Carbon's score (68,082) and the category average (56,338).

The Latitude's Intel HD 620 graphics processor is capable of playing simple games. The notebook exceeded our 30-frames-per-second playability threshold in the Dirt 3 racing game test, earning a score of 46.7 fps. This rate is better than the MacBook Pro's 41 fps and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon's 33 fps.

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Battery Life: Long

The Latitude 7380 had a strong showing of 10 hours and 46 minutes in our Laptop Mag Battery Test, which simulates continuous web browsing. That time is longer than the MacBook Pro's (8:40) run time and the category average (8:18), but it's also shorter than the ThinkPad X1 Carbon's impressive showing of 12 hours and 21 minutes. Still, the Latitude's battery life is more than enough to get you through a workday on a single charge.

Heat: Warm

Dell's Latitude 7380 stayed cool on top but ran a bit warm on the bottom. After we played a full-screen video for 15 minutes, the touchpad measured 86 degrees Fahrenheit, while its keyboard registered 92 degrees and the bottom hit 98.5 degrees. The touchpad and keyboard passed our 95-degree Fahrenheit comfort threshold, but the underside was 3.5 degrees warmer than we'd like.

Webcam: Better than most

It has become difficult to find a worthwhile webcam in laptops nowadays, but this Latitude offers a solid front camera with 720p resolution. When I took a selfie under the fluorescent lighting in my office, the Latitude provided clear image quality with only a little grain in the background.

My features were defined, and fine details like the individual curls in my hair were captured. Colors were also accurate. The Latitude's webcam reproduced the vibrant tones in my turquoise Taeyang t-shirt and olive jacket.

Configurations

The Latitude I reviewed is configured with an Intel Core i7-7600U CPU, a 256GB SSD and 16GB of RAM. However, this exact model, with 16GB of RAM, is not currently listed on the website. If you want to get a similar experience, you'll have to go with Dell's $1,849 Latitude, which has an identical processor and storage size but 8GB of RAM (can be upgraded to 16GB). If you'd like to save $70, there's another configuration with the same processor, a 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM that sells for $1,779.

Dell's Latitude lineup also includes slightly cheaper options, with the $1,669 configuration, which has an Intel Core i5-7300U CPU, a 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM, and the $1,499 configuration, which features a Core i5-7300U CPU, a 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM.

Budget-conscious shoppers may want to consider Dell's $1,379 Latitude, which is configured with an Intel Core i5-7200U CPU, a 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM; or the $1,199 Latitude, which has a Core i3-7100U CPU, a 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM.

Software and Warranty

Dell's Latitude 7380 runs Windows 10 Pro. The machine comes preloaded with branded software, including Dell Command Update, which monitors the system for updates, and Dell Command for Power Management. Aside from Windows- and Dell-specific programs, the Latitude comes with minimal bloatware, such as Candy Crush and Bubble Witch Saga.

The Latitude is backed by Dell's three-year hardware warranty, that covers on-site and in-home servicing, though limits may apply. You can extend your warranty to four years for $76 or five years for $139. ProSupport warranties are available ranging from three to four years, for $76 to $153, while ProSupport Plus warranties, which cover accidental damage, range from three to five years, for $87 to $185.

See how Dell fared on our Best and Worst Brands Report and Tech Support Showdown.

Bottom Line

The $1,849 Dell Latitude 7380 is a solid business ultraportable that offers a number of noteworthy features, including Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, a colorful and nearly bezel-free HD display, clear audio, and a speedy SSD. The machine's Core i7-7600U CPU is reliable for office tasks, while also providing adequate performance for streaming and light gaming. The more than 10 hours of battery life is also impressive. However, the Latitude 7380's chassis is a bit bland compared to business Laptops from HP and Lenovo.

If you want an even sleeker design, longer battery life and a better keyboard the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a superior alternative. However, if you want an business ultrabook with a fast SSD, a light chassis and a great display, the Latitude 7380 is a very good choice.

Credit: Shaun Lucas/Laptop Mag

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