The 256GB solid-state drive in the Latitude 7280 we tested was faster than a traditional hard drive, but other SSDs outpaced it. So although the Latitude finished our file-transfer test in 53 seconds for a speed of 96 MBps, faster speeds were achieved by the EliteBook's 256GB SATA-3 SSD (145.4 MBps), the ThinkPad's 256GB SSD (157.1 MBps) and the ultraportables average (182.7 MBps). The keyboard on the Latitude 7280 is one of the best Dell has created. Featuring a large 1.7 millimeters of key travel the 7280 beats out the XPS 13 and XPS 15, which only have 1.3mm. It makes a huge difference. Just under the front edge of the keyboard are the 7280's stereo speakers, which pump out enough sound to fill a midsized conference room. Audio is good at low volumes, though predictably short on booming bass, but grows ragged as you crank the volume past 75 percent. At 100 percent, it'll remind you of the first AM radio you had as a kid.

In addition to these inadequacies (the significance of which is quite subjective), the 7280 retains a couple of the (albeit relatively minor) flaws of its predecessor. The display panel, while bright and high-resolution, remains rather dull in terms of color gamut coverage, and the touchpad is still merely average (though it does provide two physical hardware buttons). And we’re sorry to report that our review unit absolutely possesses the venerable CPU whine symptoms that many have encountered on some previous Dell Ultrabooks. The original SATA protocol was designed to maximize the performance of platter (physical spinning) hard drives. With the proliferation of SSD drives, the SATA storage management protocol has become a limiting factor. The NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory) protocol has been designed for solid state drives and uses the PCIe bus for optimal performance. An M.2 drive may support SATA or PCIe/NVMe but not both. Depending on the drive, and what the computer can support, not all M.2 drives work in all computers.SupportAssistpreviously called My Dell, provides system updates, detects issues, and sends you alerts based on your device, which makes solving and preventing problems easier than ever. This application gives you access to everything you must have totake the guesswork out of maintaining PCs and tablets. For more information and installation instructions see the following link: Overall, I enjoy the size, portability, and feel of the Latitude 7280. Sure, it's "businessy," but that doesn't mean it's dull. Ports, Ethernet and mobile broadband

Regarding real-world feel, I have no complaints. The Latitude 7280 feels like any other zippy Ultrabook in 2017 when it comes to light and ordinary tasks. However, if I was to buy one I would opt for the faster PCIe SSD option available on Dell.com. But SATA is more than fine for business use. Dell Latitude 7280 review bottom line There should be little question that the Latitude 7280 is far from being a graphics powerhouse. Nevertheless, the HD 620 does well enough for a productivity machine while keeping power consumption low. The Latitude earned a high score of 8,008 on the Geekbench 3 general performance test. The lower-tier, previous-generation CPUs in the EliteBook (Core m5-6Y57; 5,739) and ThinkPad X260 (Intel Core i5-6300U; 6,424) produced predictably lower scores. When you're ready for a break from work, the Latitude 7280 can handle some modest gaming. The system ran Dirt 3 (set to 1920 x 1080 pixels and medium graphics) at 46 frames per second, surpassing our 30-fps playability threshold and the 35-fps ultraportable average. Dell Latitude 7280 battery lifeThe Latitude 7280 excelled in our productivity testing, finishing our OpenOffice spreadsheet macro test in 3 minutes and 12 seconds. That beats the EliteBook (4:32), the Lenovo ThinkPad X260 (4:12) and the average (6:06). Dell Latitude 7280 graphics

But beyond these negatives, there are also quite a few positives to take into account. For starters, the 7280’s build quality is impeccable, with hardly any flex and a wonderfully ergonomic feel despite its thin and light profile. Battery life is positively outstanding. The keyboard is among the best in its class. The machine is practically silent (apart from the CPU noise) during most usage, and it still manages reasonable temperatures. And performance is blisteringly fast in general system operation, with synthetic application benchmarks putting most others to shame. Overall, I'm impressed with the endurance of the Latitude 7280. There is no doubt that you can leave the AC charger home when taking this out for the day and even night. Heat and noise Storage options for the 7280 range from 128 GB up to 1 TB in capacity, all of which are M.2 form factor solid-state drives (the only storage slot available in this tiny machine). Some of these options are conventional M.2 SATA (like ours) and others are NVMe/PCIe drives, since the Latitude supports both. Our particular drive was a 256 GB M.2 SATA (“Class 20” as Dell refers to it) drive: a SanDisk X400 M.2 2280 model specifically. It’s a very fast contender, recording sequential read and write speeds of 499.91 MB/s and 473.31 MB/s, respectively, in AS SSD, as well as fairly good 4K-64 speeds of 354.58/119.14 MBs (read/write) on top of that. Discrepancies are obvious when compared to NVMe drives such as the HP EliteBook 820 G4’s Samsung PM951, but nevertheless, most users will never know the difference. Dell gave the Latitude 7280 a fairly clean installation of Windows 10, only adding a handful of its own utilities. Command | Update keeps the system up-to-date on software and drivers from Dell; Command | Power Manager optimizes battery life, among other things; and SupportAssist organizes system info and support links. Bottom lineIt should not be surprising that the 7280's screen quality is below the high-end consumer XPS 13. Available in Full HD (1920 x 1080) the 7280 can go as low as HD (1366 x 768) for companies buying this in bulk and who want to save some money. The display is only 12.5", which is interesting because of the XPS 13, which is 13.3" with its Infinity Edge IGZO panel in the same frame. Dell takes a lot of cues for the Latitude 7280 from its XPS 13 line but minus the frills and high-end display. The Latitude 7280 is best described as a ruggedized business laptop, and it passes MIL-SPEC-810G tests including drops from 30 inches, extreme temperatures and more. That's not true of its 3DMark graphics scores—356 for the Fire Strike subtest, compared to 401 for the Razer Blade Stealth and 429 for the ZenBook 3—but that simply underscores that neither the Latitude nor any other integrated-graphics business laptop is built for 3D arcade or shoot-'em-up action. Casual and solitaire games, not the latest fast-blast titles, are its pastimes of choice. Although the FCC information and device ID are stamped on the bottom (and not hidden) the overall aesthetic of the latitude 7280 is spotless, not flashy, and it's very professional. It's not the type of device that draws attention in a room, which is perfect for its professional audience.