This review first appeared in issue 361 of PC Pro.
Dell has recently updated many of its Latitude business laptops with Intel’s Core Ultra chips, and this is our first chance to look at one in the flesh. If you haven’t checked out Latitudes for a while you might be struck by the dark grey matte chassis, a striking design that’s a welcome move away from the light grey metal finish so common on business laptops.
Duck if one is thrown at you, however, as it’s one dense, heavy machine. That’s partly due to the robustness of the aluminum chassis, but also because convertibles are always meatier due to the hinge mechanism and the extra support this requires.
While you can customize the CPU (Ultra 5 135U or Ultra 7 165U), RAM (16GB, 32GB, 64GB) and storage (256GB, 512GB, 1TB), every version ships with the same screen. It’s a 14in 2,560 x 1,600 IPS panel with a quoted peak of 500cd/m2, though I measured 489cd/m2. It covers 95% of the sRGB colour space with an average Delta E of 0.46, so near-perfect accuracy. With excellent whites, you couldn’t ask for more in a business laptop.
The keyboard is cut from the same cloth as the Dell XPS 13, with a pleasant feel to the keys. Again, though, I didn’t enjoy the off-center typing position. Then we come to the touchpad. Not only is it gigantic, at 135mm wide and 90mm tall, but if you take part in a Teams or Zoom call then four buttons appear at the top. These allow you to mute your mic, switch off the camera, jump to the chat function and share your screen.
I expected Dell to go all out on the webcam, too, but it’s a typical 1080p unit and doesn’t capture the level of detail you’ll find on the best offerings. Where Dell wins is for the granular control over audio in the Dell Optimizer app, including the option to remove background noise. This app is also where you can enable advanced security features such as presence detection, while fingerprint and face recognition are both on offer, too.
During benchmarking, I activated Ultra Performance in Dell’s software to give the system’s Core Ultra 7 165U every opportunity. Two small fans keep the CPU cool, but even in this supercharged mode I rarely heard any noise. The exceptions were during extended tests such as Cinebench 2024, with the multicore section particularly strenuous. A score of 460 highlights that the 165U is built for efficiency rather than outright speed – as highlighted by its incredible battery life for an Intel laptop – but in day-to-day use, you’ll have no issues with this laptop’s performance. It should do sterling service for years.
The first three of these are covered by the Dell ProSupport warranty that comes as standard, but this Latitude laptop is built with maintenance in mind. Standard crosshead screws keep the base secure, and the owner’s manual provides a detailed guide on how to replace components, from the WAN antenna module to the speakers that sit either side of the keyboard. And those speakers are excellent, delivering a quality I’d expect from a consumer laptop rather than a business machine.
Some businesses may be similarly surprised by a laptop that only offers USB-C ports, with two on the left and a third on the right. Aside from a 3.5mm combo jack and security lock, that’s your lot. Dell provides a tiny USB-C to USB-A dongle, and it’s just about small enough to stay in a port permanently, but there’s plenty of space for other ports on this 16.3mm-thick chassis so it’s an oddly restrictive choice.
Perhaps Dell is looking to the future rather than the past, recognizing that in five years USB-C ports will be the default, and that certainly reflects the progressive feel of the Latitude 9450 as a whole. Ports and price aside, I can’t find anything to fault in this high-quality convertible.
