Dell Latitude 5490: A Solid Work PC

The Dell Latitude 5490 makes no bones about being an all-business laptop.

- Terry Sullivan

The Dell Latitude 5490 makes no bones about being an all-business laptop. Its style might be a bit dull, and it’s not as thin and light as comparable models—but when it comes to performance, it’s a solid workday companion. The model we tested runs on a robust eighth-generation Core i7-8650U CPU with 8GB of RAM and has more than 15 hours of battery life. It beats the performance of the Editors’ Choice Lenovo ThinkPad T470 (which packed a previous-generation Core i5 in our test unit), but it lacks that model’s comfortable keyboard and even longer battery life. But the Latitude 5490 is a strong performer that will please most business users.

READY FOR WORK

While you might make the case that the Latitude 5490 is subtle and restrained in its minimalist design, you could also say it comes off as slightly stodgy. It’s not an unattractive design—but nothing about it really pops.

The dark-gray chassis is made of carbon fiber, with a Dell logo emblazoned in the center of the lid. At 0.8 by 13.1 by 9 inches, the 5490 is slightly larger in every direction than the ThinkPad T470 and the 13-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (also an Editors’ Choice). At 3.52 pounds, it’s a bit lighter than the T470 but about a pound heavier than the X1 Carbon.

The 14-inch, 1,080-by-1,920 full-HD touch screen looks decent enough for apps, but it’s rated for only 220 nits, identical to the Lenovo T470 but far dimmer and less pixel-packed than the 13-inch MacBook Pro’s 2,560-by1,600-resolution screen (rated at 500 nits). The glossy display does have a slight glare that’s not too distracting; the X1 Carbon employs a protective layer to avoid this problem.