I’ve been looking for a new PC and went through 2 defective Lenovo X1 Yoga (6th gen) and a Dell XPS 13” with OLED screen. I’ve never tired the Latitude line before but figured I’d give the 9420 a shot. The 9000 series is their top dog business line of Latitudes.
After about a week of usage here are my thoughts on the Dell Latitude 9420:
Specs on my machine:
All in it cost me $1938.03 with tax and free shipping. They were also running a special alongside the sale where the machine includes 3-years of next day onsite repairs and 3-years of accidental damage.
I have pushed the machine pretty hard testing it (even more so after my XPS heat issues) and the machine does not get hot. It does get warm, and the fan does kick in, but the heat is not unbearable and the fan noise is not very loud when it does ramp up.
I am not a power user. I am a home type user that does web browsing, email, office docs along with some light 4K video editing from a GoPro and light photo editing.
Build Quality: 10/10
The machine is very well built. As a matter of fact, it is probably one of, if not the, best built Windows machines I’ve owned. For a 14” it’s very small and compact thanks to its small bezels. It is very sturdy and made with high quality components and material. Build quality is on par with the MacBooks. The near bezel-less display makes the laptop feel like a 13”.
Ports: 10/10
It comes with two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, one USB A port, a headphone jack, a microSD card reader and an HDMI port. It can be configured with LTE or 5G support if desired.
Screen: 8/10
The screen, for being 1080p, is more than adequate for a machine this size. It is not a matte screen but I’ve not noticed much reflection or glare. It gets very bright and is rated at 500 nits.
My unit has no screen bleed which is nice as most Windows machines (with LCD’s) do have screen bleed and my OCD would not be able to take it.
CPU & GPU: 8/10
I am probably not the best person to give an opinion / test these areas as I am a pretty basic home user and I don’t game on laptops never mind on an Ultrabook. Speed has been fine, and I’ve had no issues. I have edited a few 4K videos from my GoPro and edited several photos from my phone camera. I doubt many power users would be looking at this class of a machine for heavy workloads or demanding tasks.
Overall, I am happy with the performance and for my use, I don’t really notice much of a difference between it and the M1 Air for my everyday tasks. I did notice the Air handles editing 4K video faster from my GoPro but since it’s not a daily activity that I do, I do not mind that the Latitude is slower when doing those types of things.
Keyboard: 9/10
The keyboard is very good, and I have no issues typing on it. The key travel much better than on my M1 Air. Some have an issue with the fingerprint reader and delete key placement and I can see where that could be an issue for some. I am a slow hunt and peck typist, so it does not bother me at all.
The keyboard backlight is fine and its timeout for when ‘on power’ and when ‘on battery’ can be individually set in the BIOS. You can also set the brightness to low or high at boot in the BIOS. I really like this feature.
Trackpad: 9/10
The trackpad is accurate and smooth. The M1 Air would win here though which is no surprise as MacBook’s have the best trackpads on the planet. It’s also smaller than the trackpad found on current MacBook’s. It is an incredibly good trackpad but it’s not a MacBook level trackpad. Gestures work fine and overall; it is one of the best Windows trackpads I’ve used.
Sound: 8 /10
Sound is pretty good from the speakers on this machine. Sound from PC speakers is not a big deal to me as I never use the built-in speakers anyways. If I am watching something or listening to music, I use BT headphones.
Battery:
I am not giving battery a score as I am not the best person to test this out and report on it. I keep my brightness fairly high; I always keep it in performance mode and I generally don’t push machines as hard as a power use would.
Having said that, I have ran the battery down 3 times so far and while I didn’t track the exact times, I’d estimate that I am getting about 9 hours from it. My main culprits would be the high brightness level and having performance mode turned on. I assume some could get better battery life depending on their settings.
Other:
The SSD in the machine is user upgradable / replaceable which is nice. The SSD is however the smaller M2. 2230 drive. RAM is soldered on, however. The machine has Windows Hello for login, and you can use either the face recognition or fingerprint scanner. I’ve been using the fingerprint reader and it’s worked fine with no issues.
There is also a unique camera feature when the shutter is always closed unless the machine senses that it needs to be on. When it does so it activates the camera and then shutters it again when it is not needed. The camera will activate for Windows Hello activities or when you open a video conferencing app like Skype, Teams, ect… I don't use the camera for anything so I have it disabled in the BIOS. If I ever do need it, I'll just turn it back on before use.
The machine will also sense when you are in front of it or away. When you walk away it will lock the screen and then when back in front of it, it will unlock and log you in (if you have Windows Hello facial set up). A nice feature for some but I have it disabled..
Windows 10 and Android (Samsung specifically) play very well together and are getting awfully close to matching iOS and macOS’s integration. I have been using the built in Windows My Phone app with my Samsung Galaxy S21. I can text message from, and receive them, on either device. I can copy and paste from and to either, I can instantly view photos from my Galaxy S21 phone on the PC and I can easily drag and drop files between them.
Overall, I am happy with the machine and would recommend it to anyone looking for a Windows Ultrabook. The build quality is top notch and it might be the best built machine I have ever owned. Its design is stunning with its thin bezels and it’s plenty fast enough for Ultrabook type usage.
The only downside I can think of is its price. Even with the heavily discounted price I paid for it, it’s still pretty pricey at 2K for the specs you get. Would I buy it again? Yes, instantly. I think the Dell Latitude line has just replaced Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 series as my favorite Laptop.
If I compare the price to a MacBook Pro with M1, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, and Apple Care+ then It’s not completely out of line as that M1 MacBook Pro would come in at $2113.58 with tax and shipping.
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After about a week of usage here are my thoughts on the Dell Latitude 9420:
Specs on my machine:
- Intel i5 1145G7
- 16GB RAM
- 512 SSD
- 1080p Display – 14” 16:10 aspect ratio – 500 nits’ brightness
- Windows 10 Pro
- 3-years next day onsite repair and 3 years accidental damage coverage
All in it cost me $1938.03 with tax and free shipping. They were also running a special alongside the sale where the machine includes 3-years of next day onsite repairs and 3-years of accidental damage.
I have pushed the machine pretty hard testing it (even more so after my XPS heat issues) and the machine does not get hot. It does get warm, and the fan does kick in, but the heat is not unbearable and the fan noise is not very loud when it does ramp up.
I am not a power user. I am a home type user that does web browsing, email, office docs along with some light 4K video editing from a GoPro and light photo editing.
Build Quality: 10/10
The machine is very well built. As a matter of fact, it is probably one of, if not the, best built Windows machines I’ve owned. For a 14” it’s very small and compact thanks to its small bezels. It is very sturdy and made with high quality components and material. Build quality is on par with the MacBooks. The near bezel-less display makes the laptop feel like a 13”.
Ports: 10/10
It comes with two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, one USB A port, a headphone jack, a microSD card reader and an HDMI port. It can be configured with LTE or 5G support if desired.
Screen: 8/10
The screen, for being 1080p, is more than adequate for a machine this size. It is not a matte screen but I’ve not noticed much reflection or glare. It gets very bright and is rated at 500 nits.
My unit has no screen bleed which is nice as most Windows machines (with LCD’s) do have screen bleed and my OCD would not be able to take it.
CPU & GPU: 8/10
I am probably not the best person to give an opinion / test these areas as I am a pretty basic home user and I don’t game on laptops never mind on an Ultrabook. Speed has been fine, and I’ve had no issues. I have edited a few 4K videos from my GoPro and edited several photos from my phone camera. I doubt many power users would be looking at this class of a machine for heavy workloads or demanding tasks.
Overall, I am happy with the performance and for my use, I don’t really notice much of a difference between it and the M1 Air for my everyday tasks. I did notice the Air handles editing 4K video faster from my GoPro but since it’s not a daily activity that I do, I do not mind that the Latitude is slower when doing those types of things.
Keyboard: 9/10
The keyboard is very good, and I have no issues typing on it. The key travel much better than on my M1 Air. Some have an issue with the fingerprint reader and delete key placement and I can see where that could be an issue for some. I am a slow hunt and peck typist, so it does not bother me at all.
The keyboard backlight is fine and its timeout for when ‘on power’ and when ‘on battery’ can be individually set in the BIOS. You can also set the brightness to low or high at boot in the BIOS. I really like this feature.
Trackpad: 9/10
The trackpad is accurate and smooth. The M1 Air would win here though which is no surprise as MacBook’s have the best trackpads on the planet. It’s also smaller than the trackpad found on current MacBook’s. It is an incredibly good trackpad but it’s not a MacBook level trackpad. Gestures work fine and overall; it is one of the best Windows trackpads I’ve used.
Sound: 8 /10
Sound is pretty good from the speakers on this machine. Sound from PC speakers is not a big deal to me as I never use the built-in speakers anyways. If I am watching something or listening to music, I use BT headphones.
Battery:
I am not giving battery a score as I am not the best person to test this out and report on it. I keep my brightness fairly high; I always keep it in performance mode and I generally don’t push machines as hard as a power use would.
Having said that, I have ran the battery down 3 times so far and while I didn’t track the exact times, I’d estimate that I am getting about 9 hours from it. My main culprits would be the high brightness level and having performance mode turned on. I assume some could get better battery life depending on their settings.
Other:
The SSD in the machine is user upgradable / replaceable which is nice. The SSD is however the smaller M2. 2230 drive. RAM is soldered on, however. The machine has Windows Hello for login, and you can use either the face recognition or fingerprint scanner. I’ve been using the fingerprint reader and it’s worked fine with no issues.
There is also a unique camera feature when the shutter is always closed unless the machine senses that it needs to be on. When it does so it activates the camera and then shutters it again when it is not needed. The camera will activate for Windows Hello activities or when you open a video conferencing app like Skype, Teams, ect… I don't use the camera for anything so I have it disabled in the BIOS. If I ever do need it, I'll just turn it back on before use.
The machine will also sense when you are in front of it or away. When you walk away it will lock the screen and then when back in front of it, it will unlock and log you in (if you have Windows Hello facial set up). A nice feature for some but I have it disabled..
Windows 10 and Android (Samsung specifically) play very well together and are getting awfully close to matching iOS and macOS’s integration. I have been using the built in Windows My Phone app with my Samsung Galaxy S21. I can text message from, and receive them, on either device. I can copy and paste from and to either, I can instantly view photos from my Galaxy S21 phone on the PC and I can easily drag and drop files between them.
Overall, I am happy with the machine and would recommend it to anyone looking for a Windows Ultrabook. The build quality is top notch and it might be the best built machine I have ever owned. Its design is stunning with its thin bezels and it’s plenty fast enough for Ultrabook type usage.
The only downside I can think of is its price. Even with the heavily discounted price I paid for it, it’s still pretty pricey at 2K for the specs you get. Would I buy it again? Yes, instantly. I think the Dell Latitude line has just replaced Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 series as my favorite Laptop.
If I compare the price to a MacBook Pro with M1, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, and Apple Care+ then It’s not completely out of line as that M1 MacBook Pro would come in at $2113.58 with tax and shipping.
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