Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Review: Big-Screen Laptop Gains AI CPU but Still No OLED – CNET [CNET]

The Inspiron 16 Plus is Dell’s budget-friendlier, big-screen, content-creation laptop. It has an all-metal chassis and discrete GPU options you won’t find with a non-Plus Inspiron 16 but without the higher price, OLED display and radical design of the premium XPS 16 9640. With the Inspiron 16 Plus 7640, Dell adds Intel’s Core Ultra AI processors but keeps the design basically unchanged from last year’s Inspiron 16 Plus 7630. Other than two new Core Ultra CPU options, there is little difference between this year’s Inspiron 16 Plus and last year’s.

The design is no more exciting this year than last, and the lack of an OLED option remains frustrating. The 16-inch IPS panel’s color accuracy is lacking for graphics pros, but its crisp 2.5K resolution and speedy 120Hz refresh rate should suffice for creative hobbyists and even casual gamers. As will the performance you get from the Core Ultra CPU and RTX 4060 GPU. The Inspiron 16 Plus remains a good budget option for creators needing a roomy, 16-inch workspace backed by discrete RTX graphics power.

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 starts at $1,100 for a config with a Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, 16GB of RAM, integrated Intel Arc graphics, a 1TB SSD and the 2.5K IPS display. During the period I was writing this review, this baseline model was on sale for $950.

Our test system adds RTX 4060 graphics and costs $1,500. It was briefly discounted to $1,300 but is usually selling at its full price. Jumping from the baseline model on sale to our full-price test system will run you $550 — that’s a hefty increase for an RTX 4060 GPU.

The Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 with a Core Ulta 7 155H CPU and RTX 4060 graphics costs £1,249 in the UK. The Core Ultra model with Intel Arc graphics starts at AU$1,698 in Australia. 

Big and Ice Blue

Dell brought back roughly the same enclosure as last year’s model. I won’t repeat my thoughts about it here and will instead refer you to my Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 review if you want more details about its design. In short, it has a straightforward, if somewhat staid, look, but it’s an all-aluminum enclosure that feels more solid than a regular Inspiron 16 model with some plastic in its build. I also like the silvery-blue hue that Dell calls Ice Blue.

Again, the chassis is nearly identical to last year’s, but there are a few changes. This year’s model is a hair heavier, weighing 4.9 pounds to last year’s 4.8-pound unit. That seems to be the trend with the line. The Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 from two years ago weighed 4.6 pounds.

The port selection is the same, but both USB-A ports are now located on the right side instead of being split between each laptop side. Lefties looking to use a mouse to avoid using the undersized touchpad with its too-firm click response will be disappointed with this change. 

The keys have a squarer shape than last year’s model with less rounded corners, and the right Ctrl key has been replaced with a Copilot key to call up Microsoft’s AI assistant. Just like last year, I was immediately comfortable typing on the Inspiron 16 Plus 7640’s keyboard and enjoyed the springy, lively keys.

The display is the same 16-inch, 16:10 panel with a 2.5K (2,560×1,600-pixel) resolution rated for 300 nits, but the refresh rate has changed slightly — and not for the better. It can still run at 120Hz like last year’s model, but it can’t be set to switch dynamically. In place of last year’s 60Hz/120Hz dynamic refresh, this year’s can run at a battery-saving 48Hz or a smooth 120Hz, but you’ll need to dig into display settings to switch between these two modes manually.

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 performance

With a Core Ultra 7 155H chip, the Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 is better equipped to handle AI workloads, but we didn’t see any gains in overall performance from last year’s 13th-gen Core i7-based model. In fact, it was a step slower on our application benchmarks than the previous version. Still, its application scores were in line with those of other laptops we’ve tested with the Core Ultra 7 155H.

Graphics performance was nearly identical from this year to last, which isn’t a surprise since both models feature a 60-watt RTX 4060. You won’t get the same level of performance as you would from a full-wattage RTX 4060, but it provides enough oomph for smooth gameplay at 1080p.

Where the Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 improved over the previous model was with efficiency. It ran for more than 11 hours on our online streaming battery drain test, which was over an hour longer than the Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 lasted on the test.

The 2.5K display creates a sharp picture with smooth movement, but its color performance is only so-so. On my tests with a Spyder X Elite colorimeter, it covered 100% of the sRGB gamut but just 79% of AdobeRGB and 81% of P3. If your creative endeavors require greater color accuracy, then you’ll need to look elsewhere or connect to an external display. And you’re likely shopping for an OLED laptop anyway for its more accurate color reproduction and superior contrast.

The display is rated for 300 nits of brightness, and it exceeded that number in testing, hitting a peak brightness of 330 nits. I found it bright enough in various indoor lighting conditions, but it looked washed out under direct sunlight outdoors.

For a 16-inch OLED laptop with RTX graphics, you will need a budget of roughly $2,000. The HP Spectre x360 16, for example, costs $1,980 for a Core Ultra 7 155H/RTX 4050 config with a 2.8K OLED. Dell’s own XPS 16 costs even more: a Core Ultra 7 155H/RTX 4060 config with a 2.8K OLED would run you $2,700. Those prices make the $1,500 for the Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 with its Core Ultra 7 155H and RTX 4060 seem like a steal. 

Still, it’s one of the more expensive big-screen, content-creation laptops you’ll find without an OLED display, so I’d wait for Dell’s revolving discount to land on it so you can scoop it up for a thrifty $1,300. At that price, the limitations of the display and the mediocre touchpad become more palatable.