Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 Convertible Laptop Review

TweakTown Rating: 89%

Our Verdict

Dell impresses with the Plus 16 2-in-1 convertible laptop, starting with the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V "Lunar Lake" CPU, 16-inch 1600p @ 90Hz Mini-LED, and a fantastic keyboard. Oh, and it folds into a tablet, too!

Pros

• Fantastic 16-inch 1600p @ 90Hz Mini-LED display and touch enabled
• 2-in-1 display: laptop + tablet in one
• Intel Lunar Lake is more than powerful enough for most tasks
• Great keyboard and trackpad, and lovely design, MacBook Pro quality
• Full-sized HDMI 2.1 port and manual privacy shutter for the webcam

Cons

• Would've been nicer with a 120Hz refresh rate
• It's a bit on the heavy side
• Only 16GB RAM in stock form

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

Introduction

Dell has quite the laptop on its hands with the Plus 16 2-in-1 representing excellent value for money, a fantastic Mini-LED display, an awesome keyboard to type on, plenty of I/O, and more. The company reached out to me about a month ago, asking if I'd like to check out their Plus 16 2-in-1, to which I agreed, and I'm glad I did... it is a formidable laptop that I fell in love with in my time using it.

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The Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 takes aim at the likes of Apple's range of MacBook laptops, so if you love the look and style of the MacBook but don't want to deal with macOS and want to run Windows instead, you'll want to read on.

Dell starts things off at $1449 for the Plus 16 2-in-1 convertible laptop, packing the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, Intel Arc integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of Gen4 SSD storage. There's a higher configuration available with the Core Ultra 9 288V processor for $1699, with both laptops featuring a 16-inch 2560 x 1600 (1600p) Mini-LED touch-capable display with a 90Hz refresh rate.

The latter configuration is what I've got here in my review unit, packing enough power to drive my personal and professional workloads, and it didn't skip a beat.

The biggest selling point here over other laptops in its price range is the wicked 2-in-1 display, turning the regular laptop into a huge 16-inch tablet rocking a 1600p Mini-LED display at 90Hz. I didn't use it in its tablet mode anywhere near as much as the regular laptop mode, but if you're on the go, then the tablet-style mode is going to be a huge deal.

Specs Reviewed:

• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 256V "Lunar Lake" (12C/24T)
• GPU: Intel Arc 140V (8 Xe Cores)
• RAM: 16GB
• Storage: 1TB Gen4
• Display: 16-inch 1600p touch-enabled Mini-LED (2560 x 1600)

Best Deals: WD_BLACK 2TB SN8100 SSD

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Overview

I really like the design aesthetic that Dell is going with on its Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop, with a premium look using its "Midnight Blue" colorway, which is a fancy way of saying dark blue. It looks striking from the moment you take it out of the box.

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The Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 weighs in at 4.52 lbs (2.05 kg), which makes it a bit on the heavy side, while measuring in at 0.67 x 14.05 x 9.87 inches (16.99 x 356.78 x 250.60 mm). It's not too heavy to carry around with a single hand, but it's thin enough to easily slide into a backpack without having to use two hands to make room.

At the time of writing, the Dell website is only offering the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop with the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, while the review unit they sent over to me had the Core Ultra 7 256V. The difference between the 256V and the 258V is how much on-package memory the CPUs have.

Intel's Core Ultra 7 256V has 16GB of on-package RAM, while the 258V has 32GB of on-package RAM. I would normally recommend 32GB of RAM at a minimum anyway, so when you go to purchase it (from Dell USA at least), then you're going to get 32GB no matter what.

Dell does offer a higher-end configuration of its Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop that packs one single difference: the CPU. The higher-end configuration features the Intel Core Ultra 9 288V, which continues on with 8C/8T but with higher base clocks and a slightly higher boost clock.

The Core Ultra 7 256V and its 8C/8T have a base clock of 2.2GHz and a Turbo clock of up to 4.8GHz, while the Core Ultra 9 288V has the same 8C/8T but a much higher 3.3GHz base clock and a slightly higher boost clock of up to 5.1GHz. The Core Ultra 7 256V has a 17W TDP, while the Core Ultra 9 288V has a 30W TDP. Both chips share the same cache amounts, with 832KB of L1, 14MB of L2, and 12MB of L3 cache.

Features + I/O

The biggest difference with the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop is that it's a convertible, meaning you can easily turn it into a huge 16-inch tablet for media consumption and reading.

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I found this useful for both of those things, but more so, reading long-form content on the laptop acting as a tablet. I did watch a bunch of videos through YouTube and Netflix to get a feel of the convertible laptop, with its 16-inch 1600p @ 90Hz Mini-LED display being the standout. It's a truly gorgeous panel.

The hinge mechanism that Dell uses on its 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop is actually a great help for normal use, not just for folding it into a tablet. As you adjust the display to your liking, the hinge tilts up and lets you angle the laptop better for increased typing comfort and viewing angles.

The Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop features a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port that's good for high-res, high-refresh rate monitors or TVs, as well as two USB-C ports on the left side of the laptop (one of them supports Thunderbolt 4, too). On the right, you've got a 3.5mm audio jack and a regular USB-A port for plugging in additional devices into it. I used the USB-A port to plug in my Logitech G502X wireless mouse, as the dongle doesn't hang out of the side too much.

Detailed Look

Dell's new Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop has a basic design that just works, with the chassis sporting a dark blue look, with a "DELL" logo front and center on the lid.

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It looks great, with no RGB bling... this is a laptop that's not for gamers, so there are no LEDs everywhere.

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The keyboard is quite spacious with a full function row and number pad (which comes in useful for workstation tasks). The power button is located in the top right of the keyboard, far away from the rest of the keyboard, so there's no chance of accidentally sleeping or powering off the laptop.

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The magic here with the Dell Plus 16-in-1 laptop is that it's convertible, meaning that you can fold the display into a tablet. This is great for multimedia and reading, where I was streaming video in 4K and enjoying it on the display, as well as long-form reading, which is a large part of my job. I ended up reading this review before it was published on the Dell Plus 16-in-1 in tablet mode, and it is a joy.

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The hinge system is fantastic, but it is bulky. This is a 16-inch laptop after all, where a 14-inch display would've most likely been easier to twist into tablet form.

Dell's new Plus 16-in-1 convertible laptop measures in at 14.05 x 9.87 x 0.67 inches and weighs in at 4.52 pounds, so it's not super-light, and it's not super-heavy either... it's snug in the middle.

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On the left, we've got a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 port, and a USB-C port.

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On the right, we've got a full-sized USB-A port and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Benchmarks (Synthetic + CPU + SSD)

Cinebench R24

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Inside the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop, we've got the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V "Lunar Lake" CPU with 8 cores and 8 threads (no HT here). The 8C/8T processor spits out a score of 119 in single-core and 609 for multi-core on Cinebench R24, putting it at the bottom of the benchmark charts.

3DMark Speed Way + Steel Nomad

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In our run of 3DMark Speed Way, the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 scores 455 points, putting it behind the Strix Point APU-powered MSI Prestige A16 AI+ laptop (and its included RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 880M GPU).

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The Lunar Lake chip inside the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 is slightly ahead in 3DMark Steel Nomad, with 675 points versus the 552 points from the Strix Point APU.

3DMark TimeSpy Extreme + TimeSpy

3DMark Time Spy is definitely a little easier on the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop and its Core Ultra 7 256V processor; with 7065 points, it trails behind everything else, but the GPU is definitely more powerful than Qualcomm's family of Snapdragon X Elite processors (based on the Arm architecture).

The same goes for the TimeSpy Extreme run, with 3376 points from the CPU and 1878 points from the GPU, trailing the Strix Point APU, but the GPU demolishes the Adreno GPU inside the Snapdragon X Elite.

Performance + Battery Life

The Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop features the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor with 8 cores and 8 threads, which might not seem like much, but for most tasks, it's more than enough CPU power. I live inside of the Google Chrome browser with a million-and-one tabs open at once, and it didn't skip a beat... and that's also with only 16GB of RAM. Normally I'd prefer - and I do recommend - 32GB of RAM, but 16GB did suffice inside the laptop for my everyday tasks.

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I used the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop for my everyday workloads for around a month or so, as well as taking it into the lounge room most nights to watch a bunch of movies - how have I never seen Shanghai Noon?! - and thanks to the full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, could output to the TV without a problem.

Dell also bakes in super-fast Wi-Fi 7 into the laptop, so if you've got the right router, you'll enjoy some blazing fast wireless speeds, backed up with Bluetooth, which I used to connect my Apple AirPods Max headphones virtually every minute that I used the laptop.

The Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop has a physical webcam shutter, which is fantastic to see: true privacy when needed. Other laptops will come with some software-based or even AI-based privacy, but a physical webcam shutter that is an easy slide-to-use function when you want the ultimate in privacy is a great addition to the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop.

Battery Life + Charging

With my personal and professional workloads being pushed through the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop, I was getting around 7.5 hours of real-world battery life out of the laptop. I was running the screen on around 75% brightness, with maybe another hour or two squeezed out if I turned the brightness down to 50%.

Battery life these days isn't that much of a worry, thanks to ultra-fast USB-C charging, where you can get a couple of hours of additional battery life for 15-30 minutes of charging. There were times when I needed another couple of hours of battery life, so I'd quickly plug it in before I needed it, and voila: USB-C fast-charging does its thing.

Secondary Monitor Using USB-C

Dell sent both the Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop alongside its Dell Pro 14 Plus Portable Monitor.

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The portable monitor is powered entirely over USB-C. The portable monitor offers a 14-inch, 1920 x 1200 (1200p) resolution on an IPS panel, with an included USB Type-C to Type-C upstream cable.

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It supports power pass-through of up to 65W, which works beautifully with the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop and is quite possibly the best companion for it.

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The portable monitor has a fair bit of flexibility to it, depending on your use case. You might want to fold it down a little bit if you're tall, or, depending on your workload, have it almost flat to the desk. The hinge system is great to use, as the portable monitor is extremely light and requires just a light press to adjust its position.

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You've got some buttons on the portable monitor as well. In the top left, there's a lock mode, with brightness (up and down) tweaks.

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On the right is a power button, which isn't required if you don't need to manually turn it off; it'll enable and be recognized as soon as you've plugged in the included USB-C cable into any laptop or desktop PC.

Final Thoughts

Dell's new Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop is an impressive piece of kit, and while it's not a total hardware powerhouse, it does the job when required. I live inside of Google Chrome tabs, and the included 8C/8T processor with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB Gen4 SSD did the job for me. I would've liked 32GB of RAM, but the 16GB included on the Lunar Lake CPU did fare better than I thought it would.

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I did do some light Photoshop work on the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop and didn't experience any performance-related issues, but I didn't even try to game on it. This isn't a gaming laptop, but it's aimed more as a Windows-powered Apple MacBook laptop competitor, and in that regard, it kicks ass.

It's also a showcase for how Intel's new Core Ultra 7 256V "Lunar Lake" CPUs have a position in the market, and while they won't win against AMD's Strix Point or Strix Halo APUs, inside of a business-style laptop like the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop, they can flex a bit of their mobile muscle.

If you're in the market for a new laptop that looks and acts similar to how a MacBook does, but don't want that (crap) macOS operating system, and you want the flexibility of a huge (and gorgeous) tablet, the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 should be on your radar.

The 16-inch 1600p @ 90Hz OLED display is nothing short of gorgeous to look at, and when you go back to a TN or IPS panel, your eyeballs will be sad. It's so hard to go back to a non-OLED panel once you've experienced the greatness of a high-res OLED display.

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Dell's new Plus 16 2-in-1 laptop ships with a 16-inch 1600p @ 90Hz OLED panel, but sometimes a single 16-inch monitor isn't enough, which is why you should take a look at the Dell Pro 14 Plus Portable Monitor, something you could (but don't need to) purchase alongside the laptop.

I found myself using it far more than I thought I would be, even if it's just to stream some Netflix to the side of the laptop when you're working.

I came into this review thinking the Lunar Lake CPU wouldn't be up to scratch, and that Dell would have a so-so laptop with its Plus 16 2-in-1, but I walked away thinking this was one of my favorite laptops to review so far. I would absolutely purchase the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 for my personal use, as it ticks far more boxes than I thought it would. You've impressed me here, Dell.

Wrapping up, the Dell Plus 16 2-in-1 is a formable laptop that is only let down with its high pricing and lack of CPU options, but if you're only needing 8C/8T of processing power, and like the fact it has a huge 16-inch 1600p @ 90Hz OLED display that doubles as a huge (and beautiful) tablet, then look no further!