For the past several weeks, I've been using the Latitude 7410, Dell's entry in the premium 14-inch corporate laptop space. Dell markets this as the smallest 14-inch corporate laptop—due to the hinge design and its small bezels surrounding the display, particularly on the bottom—and it has proven to be a very solid device, with a few special features but a few minor annoyances.

It measures 0.76-by-12.65-by-8.22 inches (HWD). Compared with the current ThinkPad X1 Carbon, probably its closest competitor, which measures 0.63 by 12.74 by 8.55 inches (HWD), the Latitude 7410 is a fraction smaller and thus fits a bit better in most cases. The Latitude is available with either aluminum or carbon fiber casing; the version I tried had an aluminum case and weighed 2.93 pounds, a bit more than the X1 Carbon which weighs just under 2.5 pounds.

Part of what makes the Latitude stand out is the Dell Optimizer software, which the company describes as an AI that learns the way you work and improves performance in part by launching applications faster. It also includes ways of appropriately charging your system for maximum battery life.

The most interesting part of Dell Optimizer lets you choose up to five frequently-used or resource applications, and then as you use the applications over time, it makes changes at the system level to provide better performance. Although I couldn't quantify any improvements, the applications I picked did load pretty quickly. It's certainly an interesting idea.

Express Charge allows adaptive battery performance which Dell says can extend battery run-time based on PC behavior, and similarly apply the right charge policy. Dell says it takes two weeks for the machine to really learn how this works. Similarly, it sounds great, though any improvements are subtle. The battery life I got with the 6-cell 68 watt-hour battery was very good—over 13 hours with PCMark 10. (The base battery is a 4-cell 52 watt-hour battery.)

Another option called Intelligent Audio lets you set the machine for the best audio for a quiet room, a noisy office, a room with multiple people, or a recording studio. This theoretically optimizes and enhances speaker and microphone performance. In practice, audio quality seemed quite good, although the speakers aren't the loudest. You can enable 3D audio through headphones or speaker. In practice, I could hear a difference with this enabled, but it didn't really improve most audio.

Finally, it includes Express Sign-In, which uses a proximity sensor near the front-facing camera to automatically wake your system when you're in front of it, and then log you in via the IR Camera and Windows Hello. Similarly, it will automatically lock the machine when you walk away. This was the easiest log-in experience I've had with any PC.

Not surprisingly, Dell offers a variety of displays. The unit I used had a gorgeous 14-inch, 3,840-by-2,160 (UHD) display with 400 nits of brightness; it looked great. It has an anti-glare coating. It was easily one of the best displays I've ever seen on a laptop. Alternatives include a low-power, 1080p display; a normal 1080p version; a touch-screen version; and one with an integrated privacy screen. Dell also makes models with a hinge that turns it into a 2-in-1 convertible, although I haven't tried these. They all use 1080p touch screens.

The model I used was powered by an Intel Core i7-10610U 4-core/8-thread processor, which has a base speed of 1.8GHz, with boost speeds up to 4.9GHz, and support for the latest connectivity standards including Wi-Fi 6 and Thunderbolt. This processor has integrated graphics and vPro support, important for enterprise management. It had 16GB of 2666MHz DDR4 memory and an M.2 512GB SSD, Windows 10 Pro, and Wi-Fi 6 (though Dell does offer models with eSIM support for cellular connections). The left side of the machine has two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3, Power Delivery, and DisplayPort capabilities, along with an HDMI port and a microSD slot. The right side has two USB-A ports, one with power share, a headphone jack, and a lock. You could optionally add a smartcard reader.

In my benchmarks, it typically lagged the ThinkPad X1 Carbon with the same processor by a bit, most notably taking about 15% longer to running a very large Excel model that is very processor intensive, and a complex Matlab portfolio simulation. Both of these are real world models that take over an hour to run; shorter benchmarks had much less of a difference. The machine also could often feel hot on the bottom after running for a while, so I speculate that this may have to do with thermal management. PCMag's review had similar results with more consumer applications.

Dell updated the backlit keyboard this year, and the keys felt quite good to type on. The touch pad is larger and both seem quieter than previous Latitudes or the one the ThinkPad. I liked it a lot. The integrated webcam was sharp and fine for videoconferencing, but sometimes gave me a reddish tint for no apparent reason. It has a physical shutter, which is always good. The device meets MIL-STD 810G certifications for shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, and other environmental hazards,

This is a premium laptop, and the configuration I tried has a list price of over $2,500, although the actual price on the Dell would be considerably lower. Of course, there are configurations that are both higher and lower starting at about $1,500 before the inevitable discount. It's not an inexpensive option by any stretch, but then again, neither are its competitors.

In summary, there's a lot to like about the Latitude 7410—it seems quite well built, performed well enough, had a wonderful screen and keyboard, and is smaller than your typical 14-inch premium laptop. Compared with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, the Latitude 7410 is smaller, seems a bit more modern in design, and offers a bigger TrackPad and a few special features through its Optimizer App. On the other hand, the Latitude 7410 is noticeably heavier, the webcam didn't seem as good for videoconferencing, and seems to run a bit hot, so performance wasn't as good as I would have liked. Given the tradeoffs, I'd pick the X1 Carbon for an executive laptop, but the Latitude is quite a credible choice.