Dell has unveiled its first premium Qualcomm-based business laptop, the Latitude 7455, at Dell Technologies World 2024. The device, which the PC manufacturer says is its thinnest Latitude laptop yet, features a Snapdragon X Elite or X Plus CPU, a souped-up variant of the chip used on popular smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Both Snapdragon X units come with a NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that can achieve between 40 and 45 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second) and an Adreno 740 GPU; both essential for AI tasks. The slower Plus version has 10 CPU cores running at up to 3.4GHz while the Elite one has two extra cores.
Further highlighting its mobile roots are the presence of LPDDR5X memory (up to 32GB onboard) and optional 5G connectivity. Elsewhere, the laptop has a 14-inch, 16:10 QHD+ touchscreen and is likely to be a true 2-in-1 convertible laptop (there isn't a non-touch screen option offered).
Qualcomm set to shine
Opting for Qualcomm hasn’t made the 7455 particularly portable compared to the competition. It weighs 1.44 Kg and has a footprint slightly larger than an A4 sheet at 314 x 224mm. Its height of 17mm is 1.2mm less than the Latitude 7450.
Dell hasn’t given any indication for the expected battery life of the device (it has a 3-cell 54WHr battery) but one can expect that it will be in the double digits. Dell has also been keen to emphasize the eco-credentials of this laptop which uses recycled aluminum and its battery will ship with 50% recycled cobalt later this year.
Other features include four speakers, two microphones, a spill resistant keyboard, up to 1TB SSD (Gen 4 PCIe NVMe), optional fingerprint reader, three USB ports, one microSD card reader and a plethora of security features.
The laptop comes with Windows 11 Home Arm edition with a Windows 11 Pro variant offered - no mention of Ubuntu, the popular open source Linux distribution. Pricing and availability will be disclosed later this year although; at the time of writing, a Dell Latitude 7450 with a touch display retails for over $2,100 (about £1,650, AU$3,140).
Qualcomm has thrown the gauntlet to Intel and AMD as it embarked on what looks like a thrilling year for the Arm-based CPU vendor. Other than Dell, all the major PC vendors (and lesser ones) are expected to launch Qualcomm-based CPUs in the second half of 2024 as part of a major AI laptop/AI PC drive orchestrated by Microsoft.
A more mainstream version of the Latitude 7455, called the 5455, is expected to launch later this year.
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