Sony just wrapped up its second launch event for this month, but unfortunately, it did not launch a new gaming smartphone. Instead, the company has unveiled a new streaming accessory for its flagship Xperia 1 IV — the Xperia Stream. Unlike gaming controllers like the Razer Kishi v2, the Xperia Stream is only good for streaming as it doesn’t include any additional buttons or joysticks. It’s essentially a port hub with a fan to help users stream games seamlessly from the Xperia 1 IV.
The Sony Xperia Stream has an ergonomic design with a curved back to offer users a comfortable grip during long streaming sessions. It has a cooling fan on the back to keep temperatures in check and a selection of four ports at the bottom. These include a full-sized HDMI port with 1080p 120Hz output support, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type-C port, and an ethernet port.
In addition, the Xperia Stream integrates with the Game enhancer on the Xperia 1 IV to display the real-time status of your device and ramp up the cooling fan when needed. The Game enhancer also gives you access to manual fan speed controls and a thermal boost setting that helps the phone handle demanding loads easily.
Sony has designed the Xperia Stream specifically for its flagship Xperia 1 IV, and it seamlessly clicks onto the device. Sadly, this means you won’t be able to use it with any other devices.
The Sony Xperia Stream will retail for JPY 23,100 (~$160) in Sony’s home market. It will also be available in a new Xperia 1 IV Gaming Edition bundle for JPY 175,000 (~$) with an Xperia 1 IV featuring 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. The company has not shared any details regarding an international launch at the moment.
What do you think of the new Xperia Stream? Is its $160 price tag justified? Let us know in the comments section below.
Although Apple shares detailed hardware specifications of its latest iPhones each year, the company doesn’t explicitly advertise the battery capacity. Instead of sharing concrete figures in milliampere-hour (mAh) or watt-hour (Wh) like most Android OEMs, Apple merely states how long the battery can typically last on a full charge while performing specific tasks, like video or audio playback. However, if you’d like to know the exact battery capacity of the latest iPhone 14 series devices before making a purchase, you’re in luck.
MacRumors has obtained the battery capacities of the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max from a Chinese regulatory database. According to the publication, three of the four new models feature larger batteries than the iPhone 13 lineup. Surprisingly, the top-of-the-line iPhone 14 Pro Max is the only exception, and it packs a slightly smaller battery than the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The new iPhone 14 packs a 3,279mAh battery, which is a minor upgrade over the 3,227mAh cell on the iPhone 13. The 3,200mAh battery pack on the iPhone 14 Pro is also slightly larger than the 3,095mAh unit on the iPhone 13 Pro. The iPhone 14 Plus gets the same 4,325mAh battery as the iPhone 13 Pro Max, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 4,323mAh battery.
Although the differences are marginal, Apple claims that the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max offer an extra hour of offline video playback compared to their iPhone 13 counterparts. However, there’s no direct comparison for the iPhone 14 Plus as it replaces the smaller iPhone 13 mini, which featured a minuscule 2,406mAh battery. Given that the iPhone 14 Plus packs the biggest battery pack of the lot, Apple claims that it offer the “best battery life ever” on an iPhone. However, the tech specs on Apple’s website indicate otherwise.
The website states that the iPhone 14 Plus offers up to 26 hours of video playback, up to 20 hours of video streaming, and up to 100 hours of audio playback. In comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro Max offers up to 29 hours of video playback, up to 25 hours of video streaming, and up to 95 hours of audio playback. The difference in the battery life rating for video playback can be attributed to the ProMotion display on the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which offers adaptive refresh rate support to reduce power consumption. This is likely why the iPhone 14 Plus only outperforms the premium model in audio playback.
Are you considering picking up one of the new iPhone 14 series devices? Will the battery capacity details mentioned above influence your buying decision? Let us know in the comments section below.
Although Apple shares detailed hardware specifications of its latest iPhones each year, the company doesn’t explicitly advertise the battery capacity. Instead of sharing concrete figures in milliampere-hour (mAh) or watt-hour (Wh) like most Android OEMs, Apple merely states how long the battery can typically last on a full charge while performing specific tasks, like video or audio playback. However, if you’d like to know the exact battery capacity of the latest iPhone 14 series devices before making a purchase, you’re in luck.
MacRumors has obtained the battery capacities of the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max from a Chinese regulatory database. According to the publication, three of the four new models feature larger batteries than the iPhone 13 lineup. Surprisingly, the top-of-the-line iPhone 14 Pro Max is the only exception, and it packs a slightly smaller battery than the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The new iPhone 14 packs a 3,279mAh battery, which is a minor upgrade over the 3,227mAh cell on the iPhone 13. The 3,200mAh battery pack on the iPhone 14 Pro is also slightly larger than the 3,095mAh unit on the iPhone 13 Pro. The iPhone 14 Plus gets the same 4,325mAh battery as the iPhone 13 Pro Max, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 4,323mAh battery.
Although the differences are marginal, Apple claims that the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max offer an extra hour of offline video playback compared to their iPhone 13 counterparts. However, there’s no direct comparison for the iPhone 14 Plus as it replaces the smaller iPhone 13 mini, which featured a minuscule 2,406mAh battery. Given that the iPhone 14 Plus packs the biggest battery pack of the lot, Apple claims that it offer the “best battery life ever” on an iPhone. However, the tech specs on Apple’s website indicate otherwise.
The website states that the iPhone 14 Plus offers up to 26 hours of video playback, up to 20 hours of video streaming, and up to 100 hours of audio playback. In comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro Max offers up to 29 hours of video playback, up to 25 hours of video streaming, and up to 95 hours of audio playback. The difference in the battery life rating for video playback can be attributed to the ProMotion display on the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which offers adaptive refresh rate support to reduce power consumption. This is likely why the iPhone 14 Plus only outperforms the premium model in audio playback.
Are you considering picking up one of the new iPhone 14 series devices? Will the battery capacity details mentioned above influence your buying decision? Let us know in the comments section below.
Keeping your smart devices up to date can be really easy. But on devices like any of the best smart speakers, it’s also not immediately obvious what to do. This is true of the Google Nest Audio and Nest Mini, two of the best Google Assistant speakers you can buy. On your phone, it’s easy, it has a screen and a menu and there’s always a manual way to check for new software updates.
This isn’t the case for the Google Nest speakers. Neither have built-in displays, nor much at all in the way of hardware controls. So how do you go about making sure these get updated? The good news is that you don’t really have to.
Google Nest speakers should update automatically
Smart speakers such as these are designed to be as simple to use as possible. As such, the settings really just get out of the way after your initial setup process. And the same is true of updates. Google’s speakers, including the older Google Home and Google Home Mini, should update automatically when there’s a new version available. Though it should be said that much like Android update rollouts on Google’s Pixel phones, it’ll always take a period of time for every device out there to be updated.
The flip side is there is no update button and no way to manually force it. You can check the current software version in the Google Home app on your phone or tablet under Device Settings. But you’ll need to visit Google’s support pages to cross-reference whether or not you’re up to date. It’s a little clunky, but then for almost everyone with one of these speakers, this isn’t something that should worry them.
If your speaker is currently in the process of updating, the lights on the top/front of the speaker will be flashing. If you see this then leave it alone until it’s done.
One way to force an update on your smart speaker
While you don’t need to worry about manually updating your Google Nest speaker, there is one way you can try and force it if you really want to. This involves first completing a factory reset, then setting the speaker up again as new.
During the setup process, the speaker should check for and install any new updates. As above, if it is in the process of updating the LEDs on the device will be flashing. So leave it alone until it completes.
There isn’t as much need to update smart speakers like these as there is a phone or tablet, so resetting is a pretty drastic measure. Nevertheless, it should work, and is an option, too, if you’re having some issues with your hardware.
One of the great, yet often overlooked features of the best smart speakers around is the ability to use them as an intercom. Assuming you have multiple speakers dotted around the house, it’s an effective way of communicating without yelling at the top of your voice or calling up someone’s phone. Having an intercom is no longer just for executives in enormous offices to summon their next meeting; you can effectively summon your kids for dinner with it.
In the case of the HomePod and HomePod Mini, this is also true. It’s perfectly possible to have conversations (to some degree) and deliver messages to other areas of the home through the speakers. Whether you want to tell the kids food is ready, check if they’re doing their homework, tell everyone to get up in the morning, or whatever other message you have, here’s how to do it through the HomePod.
Before you begin
Before you begin using your HomePod as an intercom, there are a couple of bits of housekeeping to make sure you’ve done. The first is to make sure your iPhone or iPad is running whatever the latest update is at the time. This also applies to every other iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or HomePod you may want to use to send intercom messages.
Especially as iOS 16 and the other associated OS versions are due to start rolling out from September 2022, it’s a good idea to ensure that you don’t have a mix of different versions going on.
How to set up and control access to intercom
One of the neat things about the intercom feature on HomePod is that you have total control over who is allowed to use it. If you don’t want your kids constantly sending messages, for example, if you have their profiles in your Home setup you can exclude them. The people section is particularly important since you can use iOS devices to send messages through the intercom feature. Likewise, at any time, you can exclude individual HomePods from being able to receive messages.
It’s a good idea to get this all set up before you start using intercom. Open the Home app on your iPhone or iPad and follow these steps.
Open Home Settings. In iOS 15 this is behind the house-shaped icon. In iOS 16 you’ll find it behind the three dots menu icon.
Tap on intercom.
Choose your preferred notifications.
Select which members of your home you want to be able to send intercom messages.
Select which speakers you want to be able to send and receive intercom messages.
Now you’re set up it’s time to start sending intercom messages.
How to send intercom messages
There are a number of methods you can use to send intercom messages to your HomePod speakers. Besides the HomePod speakers, you can send messages using iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods and even CarPlay to announce a message from the car.
Here’s how you use each.
How to send intercom messages from HomePod, HomePod Mini, AirPods, and Beats headphones
To use your speakers or headphones to send messages to your other speakers, simply use your voice to invoke the feature by saying:
“Hey Siri, intercom <your message here>”
This will automatically broadcast to every enabled HomePod speaker within your home. If you want to target a particular speaker or group, you can do that too:
“Hey Siri ask <speaker name, location or group>”
This will then target those specific speakers or groups without having to disable others in the Home app.
If you’re using your AirPods or Beats headphones it’s important to remember that they need to be connected to an iPhone or iPad in order to use the intercom feature.
How to send intercom messages from iPhone and iPad
If you’re using an iPhone or iPad there are two different methods you can use to send intercom messages. One of which is certainly more convenient than the other.
Assuming you have “Hey Siri” enabled on your device you can do it the same way as on your HomePod. This will also apply when using CarPlay.
“Hey Siri, intercom <your message here>”
Alternatively, you can use the Home app to send intercom messages if you spend a lot of time inside it.
Tap the waveform icon in the top right-hand corner.
Speak your message. You can use the same principles described above to dictate specific speakers or groups.
Hit the stop button when you’re done to send the message.
How to send intercom messages from Apple Watch
You can also use your Apple Watch to send intercom messages to your various HomePod speakers. There are two methods and both are very similar to using other devices. To send an intercom message entirely using your voice, simply say:
“Hey Siri, intercom <your message here>”
As with the other devices, you can specify a specific speaker or group of speakers to send the message to.
Alternatively, as on the iPhone you can use the Home app on the Apple Watch to send intercom messages.
Open the Home app on your Apple Watch.
Swipe down.
Tap on intercom.
Speak your message, again remembering you can tailor it to specific speakers or groups.
How to reply to HomePod intercom messages
Intercom is good but it wouldn’t be as useful if it was only a one-way street. Fortunately, those in rooms you have delivered messages to are able to reply through those HomePod speakers. By default, if a message was broadcast to all HomePods, it will be sent back to them all as well. If the original message was directed to a specific location, the reply will only be sent back to the origin of the message.
To send a reply simply say:
“Hey Siri, reply <insert message here>”
Or you can dictate a location for your reply by saying:
“Hey Siri, reply <speaker name, location or group>” followed by your message.
Intercom is a simple but incredibly useful feature on the HomePod and HomePod Mini. The ease of setup and use across Apple’s various devices make it something that the whole family can use, and certainly reduce on the need to yell between rooms!
The Apple HomePod Mini is an affordable, Siri-enabled speaker that offers plenty of neat smart features. It caters to a very particular group of users, though.
I really love what we’re seeing with ultra-light PCs. Dell actually offers a wide array of products under the umbrella of Latitude 7330. This one is the Latitude 7330 Ultralight, and it weighs in at only 2.13 pounds. It’s pretty sweet, packing Intel U-series processors, an array of ports, and a magnesium build.
There are some drawbacks. Unlike most modern laptops, it has a 16:9 display. Also, strangely, it’s the only Latitude 7330 that has a 720p camera instead of a 1080p webcam. If you were willing to get a laptop that’s a bit heavier in the Latitude 7330 that’s made of carbon fiber, that’s what you’d get. It’s just not in the Ultralight model.
Still, this laptop is great, as long as you’re not looking for the absolute best webcam. Dell Optimizer offers some really great features, like AI noise reduction for both you, and other people on the call with you. It’s pretty neat. If you’re looking for a productivity laptop to take on the go, this is a pretty great choice.
The Dell Latitude 7330 comes in a variety of flavors, but the Ultralight model weighs in at well under a kilogram, still packing Intel 12th-gen processors, an array of ports, and more.
Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight pricing and availability
The Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight starts at $1,895.19
There’s also a standard Latitude 7330 and a 2-in-1
If you’re in the market for Dell’s Latitude 7330 line of products, there’s a wide variety to choose from. To be clear, I’ve reviewed a wide variety of them in the past, and they’re almost universally fantastic. They’re all available on Dell.com, under the same product listing.
The one that I’m reviewing is the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight, a 2.13-pound version of the Latitude 7330 that starts at $1,895.19, packing a Core i5-1235U, 16GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD. The model that the company sent me for review includes a Core i7-1265U, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD, which currently comes in at $2,256.79.
Like I said, there are various other models to choose from. There’s a Dell Latitude 7330 2-in-1, which is obviously a convertible. There are also both carbon fiber and aluminum models of the clamshell Latitude 7330. You can think of the carbon fiber one as a ‘light’ model, rather than ‘Ultralight’.
Dell Latitude Ultralight specs
Processor
Intel Core i7-1265U
Graphics
Intel Iris Xe
Display
16:9 13.3” FHD (1920 x 1080) WVA Non-Touch, 400 nits, sRGB 100%, Anti-glare, Super Low Power, ComfortView Plus Low Blue Light,
2x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4.0 with Power Delivery & DisplayPort 1.4
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 with Power share
1x HDMI 2.0
1x Optional external uSIM card tray (WWAN only)
1x Optional Contacted SmartCard Reader
1x Optional Touch Fingerprint Reader in Power Button
1 x Universal Audio jack
Wedge Shaped Lock slot
Connectivity
Intel Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz) AX211 2×2 + Bluetooth 5.2
Multimedia
HD Camera
Experience: Temporal Noise Reduction, Camera Shutter
Optional FHD IR Camera
Experience: ExpressSign-in, Intelligent Privacy, Ambient Light sensor, Temporal Noise Reduction, Camera Shutter
2 x Speakers, Waves MaxxAudio Pro
2 x Noise Canceling Microphones
Intelligent Audio with Neural Noise Cancelation
Universal Audio jack
Battery
3 cell 41 WHr Polymer, ExpressCharge 1.0, ExpressCharge Boost & Long Life Cycle capable
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Price
$2,282.85
Design: It’s under a kilogram, but it doesn’t stop there
It weighs in at 2.13 pounds
There’s a USB Type-A port and two Thunderbolt 4 ports
Like I said above, you have choices in build material for the Latitude 7330. Aluminum is the heaviest, which is to be expected. Carbon fiber is lighter, and magnesium is the lightest. The Latitude 7330 Ultralight comes in at 2.13 pounds. Most companies seem to aim for “under a kilogram”, so they land at around 999g or 2.22 pounds, so this goes a step further.
Also, while Dell’s website for configuring a Latitude 7330 is kind of a mess, I really like that the company offers a variety of designs, all of which are designed for business. The carbon fiber is a black weave style. The magnesium on this unit is a sort of gunmetal gray. You’ve got options here.
Your laptop bag doesn't have to be so heavy.
At 2.13 pounds, it’s perfect for anyone that’s on-the-go. Moreover, you can configure it with cellular connectivity, so it’s super easy to just throw it in a bag, carry it wherever, and work from wherever. Your laptop bag doesn’t have to be so heavy.
As far as ports go, there are Thunderbolt 4 ports on both sides. First of all, Thunderbolt has become a staple of what we consider to be a good laptop, but to be fair, most people don’t take full advantage of it. Still, you’ll be able to connect the dock of your choosing for proper expansion. What I like, particularly, is that there’s one on each side. It seems trivial, but cables get in the way, and sometimes it’s just easier to have the charging port on a different side.
On the left side, there’s just the one Thunderbolt 4 port and a 3.5mm audio jack. On the right, there’s the Thunderbolt port, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, and HDMI 2.0, so there’s a proper array of ports here, something that’s critical in a business environment where you could be using any kind of peripheral. It could be a brand new peripheral, or it could be 2012.
Ultimately, the design isn’t particularly sexy, nor is it intended to be. This is a business laptop, so it’s not meant to turn heads. It’s meant to be more functional, and it gets the job done there. It’s very light, and that’s the key selling point.
Display and keyboard: It’s a standard FHD screen and Chiclet-style keyboard
The display is FHD, but weirdly 16:9
The camera is still 720p
The Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight comes with a 16:9 1,920×1,080 400-nit display, which is fine. The strange thing is that it’s 16:9, like the rest of the Latitude 7330 lineup. This would have been completely normal two years ago, but most of the rest of the market has moved on to 16:10 screens, to the point where it’s actually jarring for me to run into something that’s 16:9.
This is the only display option for the Ultralight model. For the traditional clamshell, there are options that come in at 250, 300, and 400 nits, and of course, touch and non-touch options (the Ultralight is non-touch only). There are also two 300-nit options for the convertible.
The display supports 100% sRGB, 77% NTSC, 82% Adobe RGB, and 83% P3, which is all pretty good, particularly for a business laptop. This is really more of a productivity machine, rather than a creativity machine that would require a color-accurate work flow, so it exceeds expectations there. It’s also a matte anti-glare display, which is also helpful on this type of device.
Brightness maxed out at 432.1 nits, which is pretty awesome considering how much it exceeds what was promised. Contrast ratio maxed out at 1,400:1.
The bezels are narrow on the sides with a bit more space on top for the webcam. Unfortunately, the camera is still a 0.9MP sensor, or 720p. This comes at a time when Intel is including FHD webcams as a recommendation in its latest Evo spec, most business laptops are including FHD webcams, and companies like HP are even pushing that boundary with 5MP cameras.
The disappointing part is that Dell had originally led the charge on this. When the working from home boom started in 2020, it took a long time to actually get laptops with proper webcams. Redesigns have to sit in the pipeline for 12-18 months. But Dell was first, including FHD webcams in a bunch of Latitude laptops because it was already planning to do so. Unfortunately, there’s no FHD option for the Latitude 7330 Ultralight as there is for the rest of the 7330 series. In fact, an FHD webcam comes standard for the rest of the 7330 series.
To be fair, it’s a pretty large sensor, and as far as 720p standards go, it’s one of the better webcams out there. It’s just not as good as other business laptops, and that’s a big deal considering how much of today’s business environment revolves around being on video calls.
The keyboard is pretty standard. It uses the backlit Chiclet-style keys that you’d expect from a Dell Latitude. It’s a good keyboard, but if you’re looking for the best typing experience, it’s still not coming from Dell. Again, that’s not to say that it’s bad. The keyboard is great; it’s just that HP and Lenovo are doing better in their business products.
Performance: Intel’s 12th-gen U-series is really good
Dell chose Intel’s 12th-gen U-series processors for this product, and it’s the right choice
With Intel’s 12th-gen lineup, there are a lot of choices that a company can make for a product. Some companies are pushing for the new 28W P-series, while others are opting for the more traditional 15W U-series. I’ve reviewed a lot of them now, including a bunch of ultrabooks using 45W H-series processors without dedicated graphics. Having lots of experience with these devices, I’m comfortable in saying that 15W U-series is the best option for almost everyone, and that’s what Dell chose for the Latitude 7330 Ultralight.
Like I said earlier, this is a laptop that’s built for productivity on the go. It’s great at that. Everything about it feels fast and snappy, as it should. Most of this includes just working through the browser, as many people work these days. But I have to admit, I took this and the ThinkPad X13s with my on a work trip recently, and while the intention was to use the ThinkPad for the bulk of the trip, I ended up using this Latitude for a lot of photo editing in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop.
The Snapdragon PC just couldn’t meet my needs, thanks to how poorly the native Photoshop app works and the lack of native browsers. That’s not the point though. The point was that the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight could meet my needs, and while Dell didn’t include 4G LTE in this configuration, it’s an option, so all of the benefits were there. It did great with photo editing, just like it did with productivity. This laptop was a lifesaver.
For benchmarks, I used PCMark 10, 3DMark: Time Spy, Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, and CrossMark.
I noted above that 15W processors are still the right choice for this type of product, and in case you thought I had forgotten, I’m still going to tell you why. The reason comes from benchmarks. These machines aren’t designed to accommodate such high TDPs, so the power usually isn’t sustained well enough in order to actually have a higher score than the 28W processor or even the 45W processor.
The Latitude 7330 Ultralight actually benchmarks fairly low for its class, which is still fine. The Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 actually scored 5,305 on PCMark 10, which actually exceeds the score that the 28W processor in the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 got. When I tested the Asus Vivobook S 14X, which had a 45W Core i7, that scored 5,233.
Performance on the Latitude 7330 Ultralight is the best at this size and weight.
Battery life was pretty mediocre on the Latitude 7330 Ultralight. To be clear, this unit came with a 41mAh battery, but it’s also available with a larger 58mAh battery, and it adds around $19 to the config price. It’s probably worth it.
For some numbers, the best I was able to get was five hours and nine minutes, which isn’t great. The worst was two hours and 42 minutes, which is terrible. On average though, I found that you’re looking at around four hours of battery life. It’s not terrible, but it’s definitely not good.
To be clear, I run these tests with real-world performance. I just work and then record how long it lasted. Work means using the Vivaldi browser, editing photos, Slack, Notepad, and some other productivity applications. Brightness was only at around 25% most of the time, since I found that to be comfortable (I set it to the minimum comfortable brightness).
Dell Optimizer
One cool thing about Dell’s business laptops is that it has an app called Optimizer that has a lot of neat features. Here are some examples.
For one, you can adjust thermals for better performance, for it to stay quiet, and more. There’s also ‘adaptive battery performance’, which should get you better battery life based on it learning how you use your PC.
The Network category has a feature where it can automatically use both wired and wireless networks simultaneously for a faster download speed. You can also choose your five most-used applications and optimize your PC for it.
Dell Optimizer improves your meeting experiences in a meaningful way.
Probably most interesting is the Audio category. That’s where you can remove your background noise when you’re on a call. One thing that’s newer is that you can actually remove background noise coming from others’ streams. It’s pretty great.
There’s no option for an IR camera or anything along those lines on the Ultralight, so the Presence Detection category doesn’t work unless you plug in a Dell webcam. This offers a feature called ExpressSign-in, which can wake up the PC when you sit in front of it and automatically log you in. But again, it doesn’t work with this laptop.
Should you buy the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight?
Now, it’s time to ask the question. Should you buy it?
You should buy the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight if:
Your work is productivity-related
You travel a lot, or you take your PC on-the-go
You have an external webcam that you use with your laptop
You should NOT buy the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight if:
You make a lot of video calls from your PC
Your work flow includes creative work
If you make a lot of video calls, you’re better off with the carbon fiber model, which is just a little bit heavier but comes with an FHD webcam.
The Dell Latitude 7330 comes in a variety of flavors, but the Ultralight model weighs in at well under a kilogram, still packing Intel 12th-gen processors, an array of ports, and more.
I really love what we’re seeing with ultra-light PCs. Dell actually offers a wide array of products under the umbrella of Latitude 7330. This one is the Latitude 7330 Ultralight, and it weighs in at only 2.13 pounds. It’s pretty sweet, packing Intel U-series processors, an array of ports, and a magnesium build.
There are some drawbacks. Unlike most modern laptops, it has a 16:9 display. Also, strangely, it’s the only Latitude 7330 that has a 720p camera instead of a 1080p webcam. If you were willing to get a laptop that’s a bit heavier in the Latitude 7330 that’s made of carbon fiber, that’s what you’d get. It’s just not in the Ultralight model.
Still, this laptop is great, as long as you’re not looking for the absolute best webcam. Dell Optimizer offers some really great features, like AI noise reduction for both you, and other people on the call with you. It’s pretty neat. If you’re looking for a productivity laptop to take on the go, this is a pretty great choice.
The Dell Latitude 7330 comes in a variety of flavors, but the Ultralight model weighs in at well under a kilogram, still packing Intel 12th-gen processors, an array of ports, and more.
Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight pricing and availability
The Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight starts at $1,895.19
There’s also a standard Latitude 7330 and a 2-in-1
If you’re in the market for Dell’s Latitude 7330 line of products, there’s a wide variety to choose from. To be clear, I’ve reviewed a wide variety of them in the past, and they’re almost universally fantastic. They’re all available on Dell.com, under the same product listing.
The one that I’m reviewing is the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight, a 2.13-pound version of the Latitude 7330 that starts at $1,895.19, packing a Core i5-1235U, 16GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD. The model that the company sent me for review includes a Core i7-1265U, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD, which currently comes in at $2,256.79.
Like I said, there are various other models to choose from. There’s a Dell Latitude 7330 2-in-1, which is obviously a convertible. There are also both carbon fiber and aluminum models of the clamshell Latitude 7330. You can think of the carbon fiber one as a ‘light’ model, rather than ‘Ultralight’.
Dell Latitude Ultralight specs
Processor
Intel Core i7-1265U
Graphics
Intel Iris Xe
Display
16:9 13.3” FHD (1920 x 1080) WVA Non-Touch, 400 nits, sRGB 100%, Anti-glare, Super Low Power, ComfortView Plus Low Blue Light,
2x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4.0 with Power Delivery & DisplayPort 1.4
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 with Power share
1x HDMI 2.0
1x Optional external uSIM card tray (WWAN only)
1x Optional Contacted SmartCard Reader
1x Optional Touch Fingerprint Reader in Power Button
1 x Universal Audio jack
Wedge Shaped Lock slot
Connectivity
Intel Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz) AX211 2×2 + Bluetooth 5.2
Multimedia
HD Camera
Experience: Temporal Noise Reduction, Camera Shutter
Optional FHD IR Camera
Experience: ExpressSign-in, Intelligent Privacy, Ambient Light sensor, Temporal Noise Reduction, Camera Shutter
2 x Speakers, Waves MaxxAudio Pro
2 x Noise Canceling Microphones
Intelligent Audio with Neural Noise Cancelation
Universal Audio jack
Battery
3 cell 41 WHr Polymer, ExpressCharge 1.0, ExpressCharge Boost & Long Life Cycle capable
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Price
$2,282.85
Design: It’s under a kilogram, but it doesn’t stop there
It weighs in at 2.13 pounds
There’s a USB Type-A port and two Thunderbolt 4 ports
Like I said above, you have choices in build material for the Latitude 7330. Aluminum is the heaviest, which is to be expected. Carbon fiber is lighter, and magnesium is the lightest. The Latitude 7330 Ultralight comes in at 2.13 pounds. Most companies seem to aim for “under a kilogram”, so they land at around 999g or 2.22 pounds, so this goes a step further.
Also, while Dell’s website for configuring a Latitude 7330 is kind of a mess, I really like that the company offers a variety of designs, all of which are designed for business. The carbon fiber is a black weave style. The magnesium on this unit is a sort of gunmetal gray. You’ve got options here.
Your laptop bag doesn't have to be so heavy.
At 2.13 pounds, it’s perfect for anyone that’s on-the-go. Moreover, you can configure it with cellular connectivity, so it’s super easy to just throw it in a bag, carry it wherever, and work from wherever. Your laptop bag doesn’t have to be so heavy.
As far as ports go, there are Thunderbolt 4 ports on both sides. First of all, Thunderbolt has become a staple of what we consider to be a good laptop, but to be fair, most people don’t take full advantage of it. Still, you’ll be able to connect the dock of your choosing for proper expansion. What I like, particularly, is that there’s one on each side. It seems trivial, but cables get in the way, and sometimes it’s just easier to have the charging port on a different side.
On the left side, there’s just the one Thunderbolt 4 port and a 3.5mm audio jack. On the right, there’s the Thunderbolt port, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, and HDMI 2.0, so there’s a proper array of ports here, something that’s critical in a business environment where you could be using any kind of peripheral. It could be a brand new peripheral, or it could be 2012.
Ultimately, the design isn’t particularly sexy, nor is it intended to be. This is a business laptop, so it’s not meant to turn heads. It’s meant to be more functional, and it gets the job done there. It’s very light, and that’s the key selling point.
Display and keyboard: It’s a standard FHD screen and Chiclet-style keyboard
The display is FHD, but weirdly 16:9
The camera is still 720p
The Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight comes with a 16:9 1,920×1,080 400-nit display, which is fine. The strange thing is that it’s 16:9, like the rest of the Latitude 7330 lineup. This would have been completely normal two years ago, but most of the rest of the market has moved on to 16:10 screens, to the point where it’s actually jarring for me to run into something that’s 16:9.
This is the only display option for the Ultralight model. For the traditional clamshell, there are options that come in at 250, 300, and 400 nits, and of course, touch and non-touch options (the Ultralight is non-touch only). There are also two 300-nit options for the convertible.
The display supports 100% sRGB, 77% NTSC, 82% Adobe RGB, and 83% P3, which is all pretty good, particularly for a business laptop. This is really more of a productivity machine, rather than a creativity machine that would require a color-accurate work flow, so it exceeds expectations there. It’s also a matte anti-glare display, which is also helpful on this type of device.
Brightness maxed out at 432.1 nits, which is pretty awesome considering how much it exceeds what was promised. Contrast ratio maxed out at 1,400:1.
The bezels are narrow on the sides with a bit more space on top for the webcam. Unfortunately, the camera is still a 0.9MP sensor, or 720p. This comes at a time when Intel is including FHD webcams as a recommendation in its latest Evo spec, most business laptops are including FHD webcams, and companies like HP are even pushing that boundary with 5MP cameras.
The disappointing part is that Dell had originally led the charge on this. When the working from home boom started in 2020, it took a long time to actually get laptops with proper webcams. Redesigns have to sit in the pipeline for 12-18 months. But Dell was first, including FHD webcams in a bunch of Latitude laptops because it was already planning to do so. Unfortunately, there’s no FHD option for the Latitude 7330 Ultralight as there is for the rest of the 7330 series. In fact, an FHD webcam comes standard for the rest of the 7330 series.
To be fair, it’s a pretty large sensor, and as far as 720p standards go, it’s one of the better webcams out there. It’s just not as good as other business laptops, and that’s a big deal considering how much of today’s business environment revolves around being on video calls.
The keyboard is pretty standard. It uses the backlit Chiclet-style keys that you’d expect from a Dell Latitude. It’s a good keyboard, but if you’re looking for the best typing experience, it’s still not coming from Dell. Again, that’s not to say that it’s bad. The keyboard is great; it’s just that HP and Lenovo are doing better in their business products.
Performance: Intel’s 12th-gen U-series is really good
Dell chose Intel’s 12th-gen U-series processors for this product, and it’s the right choice
With Intel’s 12th-gen lineup, there are a lot of choices that a company can make for a product. Some companies are pushing for the new 28W P-series, while others are opting for the more traditional 15W U-series. I’ve reviewed a lot of them now, including a bunch of ultrabooks using 45W H-series processors without dedicated graphics. Having lots of experience with these devices, I’m comfortable in saying that 15W U-series is the best option for almost everyone, and that’s what Dell chose for the Latitude 7330 Ultralight.
Like I said earlier, this is a laptop that’s built for productivity on the go. It’s great at that. Everything about it feels fast and snappy, as it should. Most of this includes just working through the browser, as many people work these days. But I have to admit, I took this and the ThinkPad X13s with my on a work trip recently, and while the intention was to use the ThinkPad for the bulk of the trip, I ended up using this Latitude for a lot of photo editing in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop.
The Snapdragon PC just couldn’t meet my needs, thanks to how poorly the native Photoshop app works and the lack of native browsers. That’s not the point though. The point was that the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight could meet my needs, and while Dell didn’t include 4G LTE in this configuration, it’s an option, so all of the benefits were there. It did great with photo editing, just like it did with productivity. This laptop was a lifesaver.
For benchmarks, I used PCMark 10, 3DMark: Time Spy, Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, and CrossMark.
I noted above that 15W processors are still the right choice for this type of product, and in case you thought I had forgotten, I’m still going to tell you why. The reason comes from benchmarks. These machines aren’t designed to accommodate such high TDPs, so the power usually isn’t sustained well enough in order to actually have a higher score than the 28W processor or even the 45W processor.
The Latitude 7330 Ultralight actually benchmarks fairly low for its class, which is still fine. The Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 actually scored 5,305 on PCMark 10, which actually exceeds the score that the 28W processor in the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 got. When I tested the Asus Vivobook S 14X, which had a 45W Core i7, that scored 5,233.
Performance on the Latitude 7330 Ultralight is the best at this size and weight.
Battery life was pretty mediocre on the Latitude 7330 Ultralight. To be clear, this unit came with a 41mAh battery, but it’s also available with a larger 58mAh battery, and it adds around $19 to the config price. It’s probably worth it.
For some numbers, the best I was able to get was five hours and nine minutes, which isn’t great. The worst was two hours and 42 minutes, which is terrible. On average though, I found that you’re looking at around four hours of battery life. It’s not terrible, but it’s definitely not good.
To be clear, I run these tests with real-world performance. I just work and then record how long it lasted. Work means using the Vivaldi browser, editing photos, Slack, Notepad, and some other productivity applications. Brightness was only at around 25% most of the time, since I found that to be comfortable (I set it to the minimum comfortable brightness).
Dell Optimizer
One cool thing about Dell’s business laptops is that it has an app called Optimizer that has a lot of neat features. Here are some examples.
For one, you can adjust thermals for better performance, for it to stay quiet, and more. There’s also ‘adaptive battery performance’, which should get you better battery life based on it learning how you use your PC.
The Network category has a feature where it can automatically use both wired and wireless networks simultaneously for a faster download speed. You can also choose your five most-used applications and optimize your PC for it.
Dell Optimizer improves your meeting experiences in a meaningful way.
Probably most interesting is the Audio category. That’s where you can remove your background noise when you’re on a call. One thing that’s newer is that you can actually remove background noise coming from others’ streams. It’s pretty great.
There’s no option for an IR camera or anything along those lines on the Ultralight, so the Presence Detection category doesn’t work unless you plug in a Dell webcam. This offers a feature called ExpressSign-in, which can wake up the PC when you sit in front of it and automatically log you in. But again, it doesn’t work with this laptop.
Should you buy the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight?
Now, it’s time to ask the question. Should you buy it?
You should buy the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight if:
Your work is productivity-related
You travel a lot, or you take your PC on-the-go
You have an external webcam that you use with your laptop
You should NOT buy the Dell Latitude 7330 Ultralight if:
You make a lot of video calls from your PC
Your work flow includes creative work
If you make a lot of video calls, you’re better off with the carbon fiber model, which is just a little bit heavier but comes with an FHD webcam.
The Dell Latitude 7330 comes in a variety of flavors, but the Ultralight model weighs in at well under a kilogram, still packing Intel 12th-gen processors, an array of ports, and more.
