A review about Dell Latitude 7330 UL business laptop hardware specification, performance and display..

Business laptops include models that don’t look like the stuffy, button-up affairs you might be familiar with. High-end machines push the envelope, offering businesspeople comparable designs and features to mainstream devices.

A good example is Dell's Latitude 7330 13-inch Ultralight. It's really light, which is something that almost everyone can enjoy.

Dell, on the other hand, reduced the Ultralight edition to the point where some of the most crucial business capabilities are missing. Moreover, despite its small weight, it is not quick or long-lasting enough to produce a compelling laptop in general. 

Configurations and pricing

I tested a high-end Latitude 7330 Ultralight (UL) setup with an Intel vPro processor and an old-school 16:9 monitor.

In comparison to its heavier brothers, the Latitude 7330 Ultralight has fewer configuration options. There is no 4G LTE WWAN option, just one 16:9 Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS display to pick from, the webcam is limited to 720p with no infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello support, and the battery is only 41 watt-hours against 58 watt-hours.

The base model costs $1,766 and has an Intel Core i5-1235U non-vPro CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB PCIe SSD. The top-tier setup costs $2,499 and includes a Core i7-1265U vPro, 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB PCIe SSD. The next-highest setup for my review was $2,265 for the Core i7-1265U vPro, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

The Latitude 9330, another business-class 13-inch laptop from Dell, features a more current 16:10 display but isn't nearly as light. It costs a few hundred dollars more than a comparably configured Latitude 7330.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is a competitive 14-inch laptop that is also relatively thin and light. Even with faster CPUs and better displays, it costs several hundred dollars less than the Latitude 7330. Finally, the HP Elite Dragonfly G3 costs around the same as the Latitude 7330, but lacks Intel's vPro and has a smaller SSD. It's also very light.

Design 

The Latitude 7330 comes in three different materials: aluminum, carbon fiber, and magnesium alloy. I tested the magnesium model, the Latitude 7330 UL, which weights only 2.13 pounds. That makes it one of the lightest laptops on our list. It's slim, but not incredibly thin, at 0.67 inches, and its big top and bottom bezels mean it's not the smallest 13-inch laptop in terms of table footprint.

It's somewhat wider and shallower than the 2.2-pound Elite Dragonfly G3, which is 0.65 inches thick, but it features a larger and higher 13.5-inch 16:20 display. It's also slightly larger and shallower than the Latitude 9330, which has a 13.3-inch 16:10 display, weighs 2.8 pounds, and is 0.55 inches thick. Finally, the 14-inch ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is wider and deeper than the Latitude, but it's thinner at 0.60 inches and weighs just 2.48 pounds — more than the Latitude but with a larger display. Finally, the Latitude 7330 UL stands out for its weight rather than its thickness or chassis size.

Magnesium is a robust metal, but it lacks the stiffness of aluminum. As a result, the Latitude 7330 UL's keyboard deck flexes and its lid bends awkwardly, revealing minor LCD discolouration. That doesn't make it a bad laptop, but it lacks the sturdy feel of all-aluminum computers like the Dell XPS 13 Plus and the HP Spectre x360 13.5. The hinge allows the lid to open about halfway with one hand, but then it stiffens and requires the use of the other hand to fully open. During prolonged typing sessions, it does retain the display firmly in place. I'll mention that the magnesium alloy is softer to the touch than aluminum, yet it may seem more like plastic to some people.

The Latitude 7330 UL is about as simple as they come in terms of design. Only the chrome Dell logo on the lid lends any flair to the plain lines and angles. There's nothing wrong with simple designs if they're well-executed and appealing, but this one is tedious. The Latitude 9330 has a more streamlined appearance, whilst the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 has the distinctive and appealing ThinkPad appearance. For my money, the HP Elite Dragonfly G3 is a more stylish and appealing laptop.

Ports and connectivity

There are two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, one full-size HDMI port, and one 3.5mm audio jack. We lack an SD card reader, and the Ultralight edition lacks the optional Smartcard reader and eSIM. Wireless connectivity is up to date, including Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, however the Ultralight edition lacks the metal version's optional WWAN functionality.

Dell's innovative Express Connect technology allows you to connect to two wireless networks at the same time for increased speed, and the laptop can be customized to connect to the best available network.

Performance

According to Dell's rather complex configurator, the Latitude 7330 UL can be configured with one of two 12th-generation Intel U-series CPUs. The Core i5-1235U is a 15-watt 10-core (two Performance and eight Efficient), 12-thread processor that runs at up to 4.4GHz, and the Core i7-1265U has the same core and thread count but runs at 4.8GHz and includes Intel's vPro technology. My evaluation unit equipped the Core i7-1265U, which promised at least as fast performance as the Core i7-1255U (up to 4.7Ghz) laptops that I’ve recently evaluated.

However, in our benchmarks, the Latitude 7330 UL trailed all of the other Intel 12th-generation CPUs we evaluated. That was true in Geekbench 5, our Handbrake test, which encodes a 420MB video as H.265, and the Cinebench R23 video rendering benchmark. Even in the PCMark 10 Complete benchmark, which examines a range of productivity, multimedia, and creative applications, the Latitude trailed.

Throttling was seen on the Latitude 7330 UL, which presumably limited performance. And the Dell Optimizer application offered several thermal tuning modes, including balanced and performance. Switching to performance mode resulted in a minor improvement in Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23, but a substantial improvement in Handbrake. Switching modes had little effect on the PCMark 10 Complete score, as expected.

Overall, the performance of the Latitude 7330 UL was faster than Intel's 11th-generation computers, but not up to the standards of 12th-generation machines. That isn't to say the laptop can't handle demanding productivity workflows, but it won't be as quick as competing — and often far less expensive — computers.

Forget gaming unless you're playing older titles with low resolution and graphics. The Intel Iris Xe isn't a fast GPU even in the best of circumstances, and the Latitude 7330 UL is among the slowest.

Display 

I noted right away that the 13.3-inch 16:9 Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS display of the Latitude 7330 UL was bright and had realistic blacks for an IPS display. Colors appeared lively but not oversaturated, and aside from the old-school aspect ratio, I thought the display to be rather acceptable during my testing.

My colorimeter confirmed that my eyes were not deceiving me. The display was extremely bright at 503 nits, far exceeding our 300-nit threshold. At 1,650:1, its contrast ratio was good for an IPS panel, making black text stand out against white backgrounds. Colors met the premium display average of 95% sRGB and 74% AdobeRGB, albeit that average has recently been rising upward. Accuracy was good, with a DeltaE of 1.56, which is less than 2.0 and deemed adequate for creative work. The Latitude 7330 UL most nearly resembled the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 in our comparison group, with the former being brighter and the latter having somewhat wider colors. Unfortunately, there are no touchscreen alternatives for the Latitude Ultralight.

Productivity workers, who are the target audience for this laptop, will appreciate this display if they can live with the resolution and aspect ratio. Creators should seek elsewhere, but this isn't a laptop designed for all-day film or photo processing.

The music is provided by two downward-firing speakers that provide a surprising amount of volume while exhibiting zero distortion and crisp mids and highs. There was even some bass.

The speakers were adequate for Netflix and casual music listening, but action movies and more demanding music tastes will necessitate the use of a good pair of headphones.

Keyboard, touchpad, and webcam

The keycaps on the keyboard are relatively small, but the key spacing is enough, making it easy to hit the correct letters. The switches are firm and have a snappy bottoming motion, so if you like a little more pressure, this keyboard is for you. If you're used to lighter keys, this may be too much. I'd put it behind the greatest laptops, including the lighter and faster Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 model.

The touchpad works nicely with Windows 11's multitouch gestures and has a pleasant surface. It is, nevertheless, on the small side, owing to the shorter display and a general lack of room on the palm rest.

There is also no passwordless login functionality in Windows 11. You'll need to go with a heftier model if you want an infrared camera for facial recognition or a fingerprint reader. That's especially unfortunate for a business laptop, where security is sometimes a concern.

Finally, the webcam only has 720p resolution. Again, the lighter chassis comes at a cost: a Full HD webcam and infrared camera are not available on the Ultralight.

Security and privacy

Dell incorporates various privacy and security technologies into its Latitude line of computers, including SafeBIOS to assist prevent hacking and Dell Encryption Enterprise. Other enterprise administration solutions available include Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) for remote management and Intel Hardware Shield for hardware-enhanced security. These are best supported by an Intel vPro chip, which was included in my review unit.

Due to the lack of an infrared camera, my computer did not support the onlooker detection, Look Away Detect (which dims the screen based on user behavior), and ExpressSign-In wake on approach utilities that other Latitude 7330 models do. The Ultralight model's only reference to privacy is a sliding physical shutter for the webcam.

Battery Life

The Ultralight edition of the Latitude 7330 has a 41-watt-hour battery, whereas the other variants have a 58-watt-hour battery. The display is just Full HD, and the CPU is only 15 watts, so I was hoping for at least good battery life.

However, in our battery testing, the Latitude 7330 UL performed around an hour below average across the board. It took only seven hours to cycle through a number of sophisticated websites in our online surfing test, and 10.5 hours to loop a local Full HD Avengers trailer in our video test. Finally, the Latitude made it to 8.5 hours in the PCMark 10 Application test, which best represents productive battery life. That is less than any of the computers in our comparison group and below average overall.

Unless your tasks are light on the CPU, the Latitude 7330 UL is unlikely to bring you through a full day of productive work. Anything more than that, and you'll be reaching for your charger.

Our viewpoint

The Latitude 7330 Ultralight seems like a fantastic idea. Take a strong business laptop and redesign it using lighter materials, resulting in one of the lightest laptops available. However, Dell made too many concessions, eliminating some of the characteristics that would be most appealing to its target demographic.

It doesn't help that its performance is at the bottom of its class, and its battery life is below average. Yes, it's a lightweight laptop, but it doesn't justify its expensive price when compared to several tempting options.

Are there any other options?

Given its 14-inch display, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is also incredibly light. It has similar business functionality, but it is speedier and has a longer battery life. It is a strong rival.

If you don't require certain (sometimes absent) business capabilities, Lenovo's Yoga 9i Gen 7 is a fantastic option. It's beautiful, well-made, and has a magnificent presentation. It is also less expensive and faster.

Finally, I always suggest Apple's MacBook Pro 14 as a viable option. Again, if you're not working in an enterprise, you won't find another laptop that's as quick as this one, has such a fantastic battery life, and is built with the most durable materials available. And it's not significantly more expensive, if at all.

How long will it last?

The Latitude 7330 UL exhibits minor bending and flexing, which is typical of magnesium chassis. But it doesn't imply it won't last for years. It is also pretty well-equipped for the near future. Dell included a 3-year guarantee with the Latitude, which is a nice touch.

Conclusion 

If you are looking to buy then there are Better business computers that are only slightly heavier . The Latitude 7330 UL simply makes too many sacrifices given its small size.