Dell launches $1,549 Latitude 7320 Detachable laptop for mobile professionals | ZDNet

Microsoft’s success with the Surface line of hybrid laptops is pushing competitors to step up their 2-in-1 notebook game. In particular, the enterprise-friendly Surface Pro 7+ seems to have struck a nerve with rivals, as Lenovo’s recent release of the ThinkPad X12 Detachable — its first detachable ThinkPad in years — has suggested. Unlike Lenovo, Dell has had a business detachable in the marketplace in the form of the Latitude 7210 2-in-1 since last year, but is ready to upgrade already with the release of its new Latitude 7320 Detachable.

The first thing that jumps out at you about the new Latitude is its price tag: At $1,549 for the base configuration, it’s substantially more expensive than both the base LTE-capable Surface Pro 7+ ($1,149.99) and the ThinkPad X12 Detachable ($1,091). The ThinkPad includes a keyboard for the price, while the Latitude and Surface offer it as an option. Even more glaring is that you arguably get the least specs-wise for that much higher price — while the Dell and Lenovo base models include an 11th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, the base Latitude ships with half the RAM of its competitors (4GB vs. 8GB) and the base ThinkPad X12 includes twice the storage (256GB vs 128GB). The base LTE Surface Pro 7+, meanwhile, boosts the CPU to an 11th-generation Core i5 instead of an i3. 

One key advantage the Latitude offers is a 13-inch touchscreen display whereas the Surface Pro 7+ and ThinkPad X12 Detachable come with 12.3-inch screens. The screen, covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 6 DX, offers 500 nits of brightness and features blue light emission protection. Dell manages to squeeze that into a 12-inch footprint, so it retains similar dimensions to its rivals with smaller displays. According to Dell, the Latitude is also the first detachable that is Intel EVO-verified, which means it has met 25 performance and responsiveness tests, including battery life of nine hours or more and quick-charging capabilities. 

Also: The best Surface? See which Microsoft Surface PC is right for you

That rapid battery charging comes courtesy of the ExpressCharge feature, one of a number of “Express” branded capabilities the Latitude 7320 provides. ExpressSign-in, for instance, allows the Latitude to sense your presence to automatically wake the system on and log you in (or, conversely, lock the system when you leave the immediate area), while ExpressResponse (using Intel’s Adaptix technology) can prioritize your most-used apps to speed their performance. Other security features comprise optional SmartCard and fingerprint readers, TPM (Trusted Platform Module), and Intel vPro support.

The Latitude 7320 Detachable is currently available to order through Dell’s website with May shipping dates listed. Other listed configurations are priced at $1,799 (Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 256GB solid-state storage), $2,159 (Core i7, 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD), and $2,299 (Core i7, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD), though you can customize any of these.