The recently launched 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro established a clear modern recipe for building a successful professional laptop: Make the screen bigger without making the laptop (much) bigger. Dell’s own twist on that dish is the Latitude 9510, launching at CES 2020.

The Latitude 9510 is an all-new business flagship for Dell, occupying a new rung on its product-lineup ladder above the Latitude 7400 2-in-1. With a 15-inch screen and a weight that hovers around 3.3 pounds, depending on optional extras, it's a no-compromise corporate laptop the likes of which we haven’t seen before. There's even a promise of up to 30 hours of battery life.

Available in either conventional clamshell or 2-in-1 convertible versions, the Latitude 9510 offers all the niceties essential for corporate IT departments, from Intel Core processors with vPro support to Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and LTE connectivity. End users will probably be more enamored of its luxurious keyboard, which, based on our brief time with it, could rival those available on Lenovo's ThinkPads for the most comfortable typing experience you can find on a business laptop. They’ll also appreciate the proximity sensor and face-recognition support, which can wake up and unlock the laptop without a single touch.

Dell also plans to launch a 5G-capable version of the Latitude 9510, though that won’t happen until this summer. In the meantime, you can start lobbying your IT department to buy one on March 26. (Pricing hasn’t yet been announced.)

We got a brief tour of the Latitude 9510’s features and some touchy-feely time with the laptop ahead of its launch. Read on for our first impressions.


Laptop or 2-in-1? Still a 9510



The 2-in-1 version of the Latitude 9510 does add a few ounces, taking the laptop up from the astonishingly light (for a 15-incher) 3.2 pounds to 3.3 pounds. It’s hardly a sacrifice. Up until about a year ago, adding a 360-degree hinge to a laptop so it can convert into a tent, easel, or tablet required adding significant weight and bulk, as much as a half-pound or more. That’s not the case anymore, as laptops like the 2.2-pound, 14-inch HP Elite Dragonfly have shown. So Dell chose to offer the Latitude 9510 with or without a 360-degree hinge.The 2-in-1 version of the Latitude 9510 does add a few ounces, taking the laptop up from the astonishingly light (for a 15-incher) 3.2 pounds to 3.3 pounds. It’s hardly a sacrifice.

A Rare 15-Inch Business Machine The most popular large and medium-size business laptops of the past few years have been 14-inch or 13-inch machines. Adding an extra screen inch is welcome for people who frequently edit spreadsheets or spend their days showing sales presentations to clients. Dell claims that the Latitude 9510 is the world’s lightest and smallest (based on surface area) 15-inch premium business PC.



The Latitude 9510’s panel is exactly 15 inches on the diagonal, not the 15.6 inches that’s more common in this screen-size class. It’s touch-enabled only on the 2-in-1, and available only in a full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) resolution.

Luxurious Keyboard, Many Speakers Even though we spent just a few moments typing on the Latitude 9510’s keyboard, it was immediately apparent that the experience is just as good as it is on the Latitude 7400 2-in-1. That means island-style backlit keys that are extremely solid with virtually no flex in the middle, and a satisfying travel distance.



You get a total of four speakers on the Latitude 9510, including some that are mounted beneath the speaker grilles to the left and right of the keyboard. The grilles occupy space where the number pad typically goes on large laptops, but if the audio quality turns out to be as good as it is on other many-speaker laptops, like Apple's MacBook Pro, we won’t bemoan the grilles. The laptop also features four microphones for better noise cancellation during conference calls.



Antennas for the Wi-Fi 6, 4G LTE, and future 5G modems are arranged around the speaker grilles, instead of breaking the clean lines and simple styling of the Latitude 9510’s exterior.

Port Options Since this is a business laptop, it needs a full-size HDMI video output for quick, hassle-free connections to conference-room AV systems. Other ports include two USB Type-C connectors that each support Thunderbolt 3 speeds, as well as a MicroSD card slot, a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, and a headphone jack.

Your Laptop Knows You The Latitude 9510’s webcam offers a trifecta we're thrilled to see show up: IR sensors for Windows Hello face recognition, a privacy door to thwart snooping hackers, and a proximity sensor that wakes up the laptop when it senses you approaching. This innovative tech is one of the most compelling aspects of the Latitude 7400 2-in-1, so it’s no surprise to see it here.



Unfortunately, face recognition isn’t secure enough for many companies’ IT policies, so Dell will also offer the option to order a Latitude 9510 without the camera.

A Peek Inside Processing power comes from Intel Core processors with up to six cores, as well as optional vPro support. Intel hasn’t yet made available vPro-capable versions of its latest 10th Generation "Comet Lake" or "Ice Lake" processors, so the Latitude 9510 could be the first place they show up. The Latitude 9510 offers Intel UHD integrated graphics, SSDs up to 1TB, and up to 16GB of system memory.



The single largest interior component is, of course, the battery. Dell will actually offer multiple battery options, including an available 88-watt-hour one that Dell says should be able to last for up to a whopping 30 hours before needing to be charged. If that turns out to be true, it will certainly be the longest-lasting 15-inch-class laptop we’ve tested. Stay tuned for our full review.

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