Dell's XPS 13 and XPS 15 are some of the most beautiful laptops around, but their premium materials -- aluminum, carbon fiber, and glass -- can feel a bit heavy.
That's where the new Inspiron 14 7000 comes in.
Announced today as part of Dell's IFA 2019 releases, the Inspiron 14 7000 is a super-lightweight 14-inch notebook powered by Intel's new 10th Gen Comet Lake CPUs.
The Inspiron 14 7000 will be available on Oct. 1 in North America with a starting price of $929.
Dell Inspiron 14 7000 (7490) Specs
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Dell Inspiron 14 7000 |
| Starting Price | $929 |
| Display | 14-inch, 1080p |
| CPU | Up to Core i7-10510U |
| RAM | Up to 16GB |
| Graphics | Up to GeForce MX250 |
| Storage | Up to 1TB |
| Ports | HDMI, 2 USB 3.1 (USB-A), Thunderbolt 3, headphone |
| Size | 12.6 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches |
| Weight | 2.4 pounds |
Dell Inspiron 14 7000 hands-on
I got to spend some time with the Inspiron 14 7000 and was surprised by just how lightweight the laptop is. In fact, I had the same bewildered reaction picking up the Inspiron 14 7000 as I did with Acer's featherweight Swift 5. Dell used magnesium alloy, a lightweight yet fairly durable material, and high-density circuit boards to keep the Inspiron 14 7000 at just 2.4 pounds, or 0.3 pounds lighter than the 13-inch XPS 13.
And with thin displays bezels surrounding the 14-inch, 1080p display (300 nits of max brightness), the Inspiron 14 1700 is also fairly compact. The combination of a lightweight, compact design and a large display makes the Inspiron 14 7000 a compelling travel laptop. Not to mention its estimated 21 hours of battery life, although we'll have to put the Inspiron 14 7000 through our own testing to get more accurate real-world results.
Another thing that stood out about the Inspiron 14 7000 is the unique color options, particularly Ice Berry, a soft purple tone. The silver-on-silver color variant, or Platinum Silver, also looked great.
The Inspiron 14 7000 features a lid-open sensor. We didn't get to test the feature, but if it works as advertised, Inspiron owners should be able to jump back into their work the moment they lift the laptop's lid. Of course, you'll still have a login, which can be quickly done with the Inspiron's fingerprint sensor.
You can configure the Inspiron 14 7000 with either the Intel Core i5-10210U or Core i7-10510U CPU. These are a part of Intel's new 10th Gen Comet Lake (not to be confused with Ice Lake CPUs), which means they should offer around 16% better performance than the 8th Gen processors found in late 2018/early 2019 laptops.
One benefit of 10th Gen chips is support for Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), the latest wireless standard that should enable faster internet speeds and improved power efficiency. You also get an integrated Thunderbolt 3 port for fast transfer speeds.
Other components offered on the Inspiron 14 7000 include up to 16GB of RAM, up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD and optional Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics.
Outlook
Overall, the Inspiron 14 7000 is shaping up to be a compelling lightweight alternative to Dell's own XPS 13 and XPS 15 laptops. We're excited to get the laptop into our office to see how those 10th Gen processors perform and how that ambitious battery claim pans out.
The Inspiron 14 7000 is one of several Inspiron laptops Dell is bringing to IFA 2019 in Berlin. Updated with 10th Gen CPUs, refreshed versions of the Inspiron 7000 2-in-1, Inspiron 5000 2-in-1, Inspiron 5000-series and Inspiron 3000-series will be on hand, so check back in with us in early September for more coverage.
