That’s not a bad price point for this kind of power. If you can spend a bit more, $1, 080 nets you a Core i7, 512GB of solid state storage, and 12GB of memory. Plus, there’s a touchscreen, and a 360-degree hinge which enables tablet use.
On paper, this Dell has a winning bang-for-the-buck breakdown, but are there compromises? And is this device truly useful as a tablet?
Sturdy small laptop; big bulky tablet
“Designed by Dell” means more than it used to, thanks to the XPS line’s consistently high praise from critics and users. The Inspiron line has never inspired quite the same devotion. Last year, called the 2015 verison of the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 a system that looked five years out of date. This year’s model is similar, though not identical, and it feels more robust.
This is a sturdy laptop, with no flex to speak on the frame, and just a little bit in the display. At three quarters of an inch thick while closed, and just over three and a half pounds, it’s reasonably thin and lightweight. Like the 2015 model, the 2016 version is built of attractive but generic brushed aluminum, but there is one notable improvement. The keyboard is now inset into the chassis, so a separate panel of material doesn’t surround it. This makes the new Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 look sleeker and feel more durable.
