Top 2-in-1 Laptop Review: Surprising Non-HP, Non-Lenovo Contender Unveiled

Top-Performing 2-in-1 Convertible Laptops Beyond HP and Lenovo: Uncovered

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

Dell’s 2024 Inspiron 14 2-in-1 is a great convertible laptop for the busy professional on the go.
The model offers solid performance thanks to its AMD hardware and decent battery life.
Some users will be disappointed in the lackluster display.

Dell is well known for making solid work laptops like the Inspiron 14 Plus 7440 , a model I reviewed earlier this year with solid performance and nice quality-of-life features. But the company upped the ante with yet another solid work device in a convertible 2-in-1 form with the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7445 .

The new convertible Inspiron 14 allows you to flip the screen all the way back and turn the device into a tablet, offering a degree of flexibility the previous model lacked. As a result, the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 is a better fit for users who need a computer capable of doing multiple jobs. The touchscreen alone adds a lot to its tool kit, allowing creative professionals to draw on the fly or sketch diagrams for work.

Under the hood, you’ll find a different hardware setup from the older Inspiron. Instead of an Intel chipset, the convertible has an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, an AMD Radeon 780M graphics card, and 16GB of memory. This configuration is geared to handle office-related tasks like multitasking with documents or hosting video calls with ease.

ZDNET RECOMMENDS Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7445 The Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 is the premiere work laptop. With its top tier performance and versatility, the device can handle just about anything you throw at it. View at Dell

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I was curious to see if it could outperform the Inspiron 14 Plus, which has an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU. So I ran some benchmark tests, and according to the results, the two models perform at a similar level. Although I noticed the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 had faster image rendering speeds than its counterpart, making it the better performing model.

Unfortunately, the Full HD Plus (1,920 x 1,200 pixels) touchscreen on the Inspiron 2-in-1 is rather disappointing. I’ve seen low resolution laptops make up for their lack of visual fidelity with software enhancers (like HDR 10), but Intel’s machine doesn’t have any of these, resulting in dull colors.

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That’s all the major differences between the two, besides a few minor mentions. The round wrist rest, for example, has returned, which makes for a comfortable experience. Speaking of the keyboard, it felt okay on my hands. Each of the keys have a mushy feel to them, but the keys’ generous travel distance makes up for it. I didn’t like the trackpad as much this time around, however, as it’s smaller.

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If you travel or commute with your laptop for work, you won’t be encumbered with this machine, as it only weighs 3.77 pounds. It’s also made of aluminum, which gives it the sturdiness it needs to survive frequent travel.

I should also mention the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 has the same downward-facing air vents for expelling heat, something I’m typically not fond of. However, in an interesting twist, the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 doesn’t generate a lot of heat in the first place. I had a very comfortable experience working on this laptop, as it stayed cool even during extended use. I’m not entirely sure what Dell did to improve the cooling system, but I’m glad to see it.

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

Of course, I can’t forget the speaker system. Dell’s Inspiron 14 2-in-1 has a nice set of pipes on it. Music and movies sounded fantastic coming of the computer’s drivers. Part of its quality is due to the woofer inside, which adds powerful bass to the output. The drivers also support Dolby Atmos which is capable of engulfing users in a bubble of sound.

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For the battery, I performed ZDNET’s usual test of running a medium load on the laptop. This consists of playing a YouTube livestream nonstop at 720p and 50% brightness. I clocked the Inspiron 2-in-1 at about eight hours max while on Best Power Efficiency mode. Not too shabby; that’s enough to last you a whole day, although it would’ve been nice if it lasted 10 or 12 hours.

ZDNET’s buying advice

Prices for the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 start at $729, which is great for this laptop: you’re getting a solid work machine that can handle just about everything you can throw at it for less than $1,000. If you want to upgrade to the Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, (which is what I tested here in this review) it’ll bump up the price to $949.

I also recommend picking Midnight Blue as your laptop color. The Ice Blue option jacks up the price an extra $100 because it runs Windows 11 Pro. Stick with the darker shade if you’re not interested in the pro-level OS.