Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 review

Having a laptop that doubles as a tablet has become increasingly attractive, especially as the 2-in-1 laptop market has become more affordable. With the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1, affordability is the name of the game. Even the entry-level model, which is what we have been testing, has enough processing power for most users. 

With upgrade options, and prices that are still below those of the Lenovo Yoga 920 or the Microsoft Surface Book 2, the Inspiron 2-in-1 laptop is worthy of your albeit careful consideration. 

Keep in mind, there are some corners cut when lowering the price of any product. One such corner with the Inspiron 13 7000, the 7373 specifically, happens to be battery life – and, to some extent, build quality.

Price and availability

Starting at $799 in the US, the Inspiron 13 7373 comes with an 8th generation Intel i5 Core processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Customers can tailor the configuration, all the way up to $1,149 with an 8th generation Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. 

The same approach is used in the UK and Australia, with starting prices of £849 and AU$1,698, respectively. Once again, you can customize the internals of the Inspiron 13 7373, loading it up with 8th generation Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, or any combination of components in between.

The versatility of being able to add more memory, a faster processor or more storage is convenient and appreciated. 

For those looking for a 4K UHD display, you won’t find one on the 13-inch model. Instead, Dell has limited the higher-resolution screen to the bigger Inspiron 15 model.

Design

While it’s not as light and thin as the HP Spectre x360, the Inspiron 13 is smaller than the Surface Book 2 and the Yoga 920, but only slightly. Weighing 3.2 pounds and measuring 12.2 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches, the Inspiron 13 puts portability first. Two hinges hold the screen in place, whether it’s in standard laptop, tent or tablet orientation. 

Front and center on the Inspiron 13 is an indicator light. The light’s placement is helpful in that it’s often easier to see the front of a laptop when it’s on a desk or in a bag, and can help you quickly judge how much battery life is left. 

There’s a myriad of ports on the Inspiron 13, including a lone USB-C port, HDMI, USB 3.0 and a 3.5mm audio jack on the left side. Opposite of those ports is another USB 3.0 and an SD card reader. The bottom of the laptop is covered in a series of elongated fan vents and small speaker grilles.

Upon opening the lid, the bright, 13.3-inch narrow-border FHD (1,920 x 1,080) touch display catches your eye. The bezels surrounding the display are small, and allow Dell to shrink the overall size of the laptop without compromising the screen size. Swipes and taps on the display are recognized and incredibly smooth.

Just above the display is an FHD webcam with infrared (IR) for facial recognition with Windows Hello, which unlocks the Inspiron 13 rather fast.

Keyboard and touchpad

The Inspiron 13 keyboard is rather basic, for better or worse. The keys are stiff and provide a reassuring feeling each time one is pressed. The top row of shortcut keys provide media playback controls, along with volume and brightness controls. 

The touchpad is something we struggle with. As with most touchpads, the lower-right corner is dedicated to act as a right-click when pressed. However, the area where a right-click is triggered is a mystery. 

At times, we can press nearly half-way up on the right side of the touchpad, expecting a standard left-click, and instead a right-click is triggered. Outside of that annoyance, the touchpad works as one would expect. Gestures and swipes are quick and easy to trigger.

Stylus not included

Unfortunately, a Dell Active Pen is not included with the Inspiron 13 7373. We were unable to test the display’s prowess with any sort of stylus, despite supporting Windows Ink and similar programs. 

Users can purchase the Dell Active Stylus Pen for $49 (about  £35, AU$62). Frankly, a stylus should be included in the box for how much the laptop itself costs, as it’s arguably a crucial piece of the product offering.