Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 Review: A cracker of a convertible laptop for the price

Pros:
– Two-in-one form factor
– Awesome battery life
– Great performance
– Solid keyboard and trackpad
– A healthy selection of ports
– Pricing

Cons:
– The display could have been a lot better
– Can get a little toasty under heavy load
– Speakers could do with more bass
– Higher variant models can be a little expensive for the performance

Price: Rs 85,000
Rating: 4/5

The concept of 2-in-1 convertible laptops is not a new idea, but the competition in this space has intensified as numerous manufacturers strive to capture a share of this market. Although Dell’s Inspiron series has been recognized for offering budget-friendly and work-oriented laptops, the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 stands out impressively in this context. This laptop provides commendable specifications, cleverly packed into a versatile form factor that may not reveal its full potential at first glance.

Despite sporting a price tag reminiscent of a budget-friendly deal, the laptop doesn’t compromise on performance and features. However, given its affordability, there are some trade-offs to consider. So, is the Inspiron 7430 worth your investment, or does Dell’s compromises make it a deal breaker?

Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 Review: Design & build quality
The Inspiron 14 2-in-1 stands out as one of the few all-plastic laptops I’ve tested. Because most laptops these days are made using aluminium, plastic has become a material that is reserved only for the lowest budget options and therefore, is a bit rare. Having said that, the laptop does have a premium finish.

As a result, the laptop’s lid shows more flexibility and bendability than usual, and there’s a noticeable degree of flex in both the keyboard deck and palm rest areas, which is somewhat unexpected for a laptop of this size. The laptop doesn’t instil the same confidence as some of its counterparts within the same price range and notably lacks the assurance we’ve come to associate with Dell’s other products. Surprisingly though, the Inspiron is a bit hefty at 1.58 kgs, considering its size and built.

However, it’s important to mention that the build quality isn’t bad.

The hinge, for example, is very solid and quite sturdy, although some people might find it slightly tighter than their preference. Having said that, we didn’t encounter any issues with it. What this meant, was that the display was sound and secure, no matter which of the four modes–clamshell, media, tent, or tablet– we had set it up in. There was absolutely no discernible screen wobble.

As for colours, the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 comes in only one option: the Platinum Silver one that I reviewed. The laptop has a simple design without any flashy elements. It might not be the most beautiful laptop, but it’s very suitable for professional settings, like a boardroom.

As for ports, there are plenty of options. You get HDMI 1.4, two Intel Thunderbolt 4.0 ports, one SB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, a full-sized SD card reader, and a combo audio jack. For wireless, you of course get BlueTooth and WiFi 6E.

Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 Review: Display
The laptop comes with a 14-inch FHD display (1920X1200 resolution) that has a 16:10 aspect ratio. It is a 60Hz panel that offers a peak brightness of 250 nits, supports ComfortView for reduced eye strain, and has both touch and stylus support (a stylus is also included in the box, BTW). The taller aspect ratio allows more content to fit on the screen, and the touch and stylus responses are accurate and never felt lacking. Also, the display has pretty thick bezels at the top and the bottom.

The display quality is decent as well. It provides good clarity and viewing angles. The colours are satisfactory, but not exceptionally vibrant or rich. It’s not suitable for precise colour editing of photos.

However, I think the display could be a bit brighter, especially when used under direct sunlight or in bright environments where the screen tends to reflect a lot.

The real magic, however, is the form factor of the laptop that lets you use the display in whatever angle you want. Tired after a hard day at work and just want to chill out and watch something on your favourite OTT platform? Just flip the display away from the keyboard, or set it up as a tent, grab a bowl of snacks, and enjoy.

Want to turn the laptop into a tablet, and doodle to your heart’s content? Easy. The foldable form factor, truly is, one of the best aspects of this laptop.

Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 Review: Keyboard and trackpad
The keyboard and trackpad section is nicely laid out. The keyboard is pushed slightly towards the display, which gives the user ample space to rest their palms. Dell has also used this space for a larger trackpad. The keys on the keyboard are a good size and provide a satisfying key travel distance.

They also come with two levels of backlighting and produce minimal noise when typed ferociously on. All in all the tying experience is pretty solid.

Additionally, there is a fingerprint scanner located on the upper right side of the keyboard, which also serves as the power button.

The keyboard’s keycaps and spacing are well-proportioned. However, I noticed that the switches beneath the keys feel a bit loose. While the keystrokes are comfortable, especially when typing for long, extended periods of time, I personally would have liked more tactile feedback.

The trackpad is also pretty solid. It supports multi-touch gestures and tracks very well. The touchpad is also pretty large. The physical clicks could have been a bit softer in my opinion, but it isn’t something that you would notice unless you get to play around with multiple laptops in a month.

Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 Review: Webcam and speakers
You get two upward-firing speakers flanking each side of the keyboard. The speakers are pretty decent and get loud enough to fill a room, but the sound lacks a certain punch or bass, despite being Dolby Atmos certified. On the plus side though, dialogues and vocals in general are pretty clear. If you plan on watching content extensively and use the speakers for the audio, it will get the job done but don’t expect to blow you away. You do get the option to adjust the sound signature a little using the MyDell app and playing around with the EQ, but it won’t do any good.

As for the webcam, it is an FHD unit, which is pretty solid for a laptop at this price range. There are many manufacturers who cheap out in this regard and go for a 720P or HD webcam, so kudos to Dell in making the wiser choice. You also get a privacy shutter. The webcam is pretty solid and does the job as well as you can realistically expect. It was more than sufficient for general video calls and online meetings.

What we really liked about the webcam and audio setup though, is that you get dual microphones and Dell’s proprietary AI that reduces the background noise.

Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 Review: Specs, performance and features
The laptop that Dell sent us over was packing some seriously impressive hardware. It boasted a Core i7 1355U processor, 16GB of high-speed LPDDR5 RAM clocked at 4800 MT/s, and 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD. The Core i7 1355U is made up of 2 Performance cores and 8 Efficiency cores and has a 12MB cache. The Performance cores can reach a maximum turbo frequency of 4.60GHz, while the Efficiency cores can achieve up to 3.70GHz.

Included with the laptop is the MyDell app, which lets you play around with the power settings, allowing you to choose between better performance or a longer battery life.

For benchmarking and testing, we decided to go for the highest performance settings to see what the machine is really capable of.

The Core i7 1355U stands out in both lightweight, single-threaded tasks and more demanding multi-threaded tasks. It does a very impressive job handling day-to-day tasks, and practically breezes through most things that a normal user would ask of it Throughout our usage, we saw no lag, or performance concerns whatsoever.

The laptop’s graphics performance is also pretty good, considering you get onboard graphics. It’s great for everyday things like watching videos and doing some basic photo editing. But if you’re into gaming or heavy-duty 3D stuff, or are planning to edit a video, it might not be the top pick because of its Intel Iris Xe graphics.

Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 Review: Battery
The battery performance of the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 is actually pretty solid and long-lasting. It’s equipped with a 4-cell, 54Wh battery and comes with a 65W Type-C charger. On average, I found that the laptop’s battery lasted just under six hours during use. This means that during regular activities, you can expect the laptop to run for around six hours before needing to be charged again. And when you do put it to charge, it can get up to 80 per cent in about 60 minutes.

In a typical scenario where you do a lot of writing, some photo editing, and watch videos on platforms like YouTube and Netflix, with the screen brightness set at 80 per cent, the laptop’s battery can last for approximately 7 hours before you receive a 20 per cent battery remaining alert. If you use it until the battery is completely drained, it can manage to stay powered for around 8 hours.

Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 Review: Verdict
The Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7430 is a pretty solid, no-nonsense device that really stands out because of its price when you consider its form factor, and the fact that other 2-in-1 options are way more expensive than this.

The only real drawback here is the display panel. The panel lets down the laptop very much. And when you consider that in a 2-in-1 laptop, the display plays an especially important part, you just wish if only Dell had used a panel that was a little more punchy, with more saturation, the Inspiron 7430 would have been very easy to recommend, to practically anyone.

Despite that, Dell has a cracker of a device in this one. While it may not be pretty or uber-stylish, it is a solid performer and stands up to everything that a regular user might throw at it. The performance and battery life are pretty solid for its price–it genuinely is a workhorse of a machine that can go on and on, and then still manage to be a pretty solid personal laptop.