Dell Inspiron laptops feature reliable keyboard and trackpad functionality that makes work-related tasks a snap, but their displays fall short as they tend to be dim and dull, failing to meet brightness expectations.
There is some deck flex in the screen area, and it can bend in unexpected ways. Furthermore, opening this laptop proves quite slippery.
Design
Budget laptops can be hard to distinguish. Dell Inspiron laptops stand out among their competition thanks to their affordability. While most models from this family were sturdy enough, I did notice some deck flex when opening and closing the keyboard and some strange directionality on smooth surfaces. Furthermore, these machines tend to slip around on tables so you’ll want to either position yourself properly when using it or invest in some rubber pads for your desk to ensure an ergonomic experience.
Generally, Inspiron laptops offer an appealing appearance and construction, yet do not possess the premium feel associated with other brands. Their designs may appear bland compared to more costly laptops featuring sleek metal bodies. Yet overall they outshone more budget-minded offerings.
Dell used to offer its Inspiron and XPS lines under one name, but this year is seeing them split off into separate brands. Consumer laptops will now be known simply as Dell, Dell Plus, Premium or Business while business-oriented Pro line will now be known as Business. You’ll still find some Inspiron/XPS laptops on the market though and some remain excellent deals; one such example would be Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 which features an attractive design, solid performance from an ARM-based Snapdragon X processor as well as competitive battery life.
Performance
The Dell Inspiron laptop performs admirably at basic multitasking and light photo editing tasks, but struggles when faced with demanding workloads such as photo editing. Its Core i3-1115G4 CPU scores lower than Intel 11th Gen U-series processors found in Dell XPS 16 despite both sharing the same clock speed; Geek bench 5 scores show it excelling in single threaded tests while struggling in multi-threaded ones due to limited number of cores and threads available to it.
For demanding workloads, upgrade to one with more powerful Intel 13th Gen U-series processors available on other thin and light laptops such as Dell Inspiron’s i3 processor; it could easily become overwhelmed by even one multithreaded application and potentially lead to thermal throttling.
Dell Inspiron displays are decent, but cannot match the brightness or color gamut of better models in this category. Unfortunately, its panel offers poor coverage of sRGB colors while only offering limited support for wider hues like Adobe RGB and DCI P3.
On the upside, the Dell Inspiron’s keyboard deck remains comfortable to the touch when idle and its fans don’t become overbearing at peak performance. Although its chassis has some flex around its keyboard area, this doesn’t pose an undue burden for operation.
Connectivity
Dell Inspiron laptops include standard ports such as USB 3.0 and a Noble wedge lock slot. In addition, these models support gigabit Ethernet connectivity through Dell’s Wireless Network Adapter that supports speeds up to 1 Gbps. Furthermore, there’s also a 3.5 mm headphone/microphone jack and SD card reader built-in.
Dell Inspiron laptops feature the latest 802.11ac protocol with 2×2 MIMO and wider channel spacing, and can use their proprietary software to automatically prioritize connections to strong wireless signals while managing security settings. Their ExpressConnect and ExpressSign-in technologies also make logging into secure Wi-Fi networks much simpler by automatically connecting to the most reliable one when moving about.
Dell Inspiron laptops often stop connecting wireless networks because the wrong device drivers have been installed – this often occurs after reformatting and reinstalling Windows without first using Dell recovery partition or disc. If this issue arises for you, download and install the correct drivers from Dell’s website.
Dell Inspiron laptops that lack functional hibernation sensors may fail to enter suspend or hibernate mode when their lid is closed. These sensors use magnetic reed switches activated by magnets on the touchpad; over time these switches may wear out and prevent your laptop from waking up from sleep mode.
Battery life
Though Dell Inspiron might bring to mind bland plastic work machines, the new Dell Inspiron 14 Plus defies expectations by offering an appealing design, top performance, and long battery life in one competitive package.
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus can be customized with Intel’s 13th-gen “Meteor Lake” CPUs paired with NVIDIA discrete GPUs for an optimal experience. You also have the choice between an FHD+ IPS or 2.8k OLED display – both feature sharp images that get bright enough indoors. Plus, its 120Hz refresh rate makes the Inspiron feel responsive when inking or mousing around.
The Inspiron’s battery can last around 10 hours with light use. Multicore performance plays a bigger role than single-core in determining battery runtime, so this result should encourage those who switch between multiple tasks on their laptop. Furthermore, this performance outpaces rivals like MSI Swift 3’s 48Wh battery capacity and Acer Swift 3’s LPDDR4X memory and dimmed screen compared with which competitors?
Your Inspiron can extend its battery runtime by employing power-saving modes, maintaining optimal operating temperatures, and not leaving it plugged in at all times. Furthermore, closing unnecessary applications or employing Airplane Mode may help extend its battery runtime further.
