The Architecture: Dissecting the Dell Latitude 7350 Detachable’s Core
At the heart of the Dell Latitude 7350 Detachable lies the Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 165U processor. This isn’t just another incremental CPU update; it’s part of Intel’s new Meteor Lake architecture, which introduces a radical chiplet design and a dedicated AI Boost NPU (Neural Processing Unit). We configured our test unit with 32GB of soldered LPDDR5x RAM running at 7467 MT/s and a swift 1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD. The integrated Intel® Arc™ graphics, leveraging the new Xe-LPG architecture, promise a generational leap in iGPU performance. This hardware forms the foundation for our comprehensive benchmark suite, designed to measure raw power, real-world productivity, and sustained performance under load.
Synthetic Benchmarks: Measuring Raw Computational Might
Synthetic tests provide a controlled, repeatable environment for comparing hardware. In Geekbench 6, a cross-platform benchmark measuring CPU performance, the Core Ultra 7 165U posted impressive scores. The single-core score hovered around 2,450 points, showcasing excellent responsiveness for everyday tasks like app launches and web browsing. The multi-core score surged to approximately 12,100 points, demonstrating its capability for heavier, parallelized workloads like data processing or running multiple virtual machines. This places it decisively ahead of previous-generation 15-watt mobile processors and in a competitive position against Apple’s M3 chip in multi-threaded scenarios.
For storage, the NVMe SSD delivered exceptional throughput. Using CrystalDiskMark, we recorded sequential read speeds of 6,800 MB/s and write speeds of 5,100 MB/s. These figures translate to near-instantaneous system wake-from-sleep, blisteringly fast application installations, and negligible load times for large files, effectively removing storage as a system bottleneck.
Graphics & Creative Workloads: The Arc GPU Test
The integrated Intel Arc graphics represent a major focus for Intel. In 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark, a DirectX 12 test designed for gaming PCs, the 7350 Detachable scored roughly 2,100 points. This is a substantial 60-80% improvement over the Iris Xe graphics found in the previous generation. While not a dedicated gaming rig, this enables surprisingly playable frame rates in popular esports titles like Valorant and CS:GO at 1080p with medium settings.
For creative professionals, GPU acceleration is vital. In the PugetBench benchmark for Adobe Photoshop, the system scored a very respectable 1,050 points. Complex filters, heavy brushwork, and panorama stitching were handled with fluidity. Video editing, a more demanding task, was tested using a 4K timeline in Adobe Premiere Pro. Exporting a 3-minute project with color grading and basic effects took just under 5 minutes, a testament to the efficient hardware encoding/decoding engines and the GPU’s capable rendering. The NPU’s role in these creative apps is still emerging, but early AI-powered features like subject selection and audio denoising showed notably snappy performance.
Real-World Productivity & Application Performance
Benchmarks are one thing, but daily use is another. Our standardized productivity script involved having 25 Chrome tabs open (including three streaming 1080p video), Microsoft Teams running in the background, a large Excel spreadsheet with complex formulas recalculating, and a Word document with embedded graphics. The Dell Latitude 7350 Detachable navigated this gauntlet without stutter or lag. Switching between applications was instantaneous, a benefit of the fast RAM and SSD.
We timed specific tasks: launching Microsoft Office applications occurred in under two seconds. A 500MB PowerPoint file with 4K images opened in 4 seconds. Compressing a 4GB folder of mixed files into a ZIP archive using 7-Zip completed in just under 90 seconds. These results underscore a device that feels consistently fast and responsive, eliminating the frustrating micro-waits that plague lesser hardware.
Thermal Performance & Sustained Workloads
Tablets, especially thin detachables, face significant thermal constraints. To test this, we ran the Cinebench R23 multi-core test in a continuous 10-minute loop. The initial burst score was high, but as the chassis warmed up, the system intelligently managed clock speeds to maintain a stable temperature. After the initial 90-second peak, performance settled at a consistent plateau around 85% of the maximum score. This indicates a well-tuned thermal design that prioritizes sustained performance over short, unsustainable bursts. The device became warm to the touch near the top of the slate but never uncomfortably hot, and fans (when they spun up) remained quiet and whine-free. In typical office use, the fans were inaudible.
Battery Life & Efficiency: Performance per Watt
Performance is meaningless without efficiency. The Meteor Lake architecture is built on a more efficient Intel 4 process node. In our standardized battery test (screen at 200 nits, productivity workload via PCMark 10 Modern Office), the Dell Latitude 7350 Detachable achieved an outstanding 14 hours and 20 minutes of runtime. This allows for a full day—and then some—of intensive work unplugged. Crucially, performance did not nosedive when on battery power. Running the Geekbench 6 multi-core test on battery yielded a score within 5% of the plugged-in result, proving this is a truly mobile workstation, not a desktop replacement chained to an outlet.
Connectivity & I/O Performance: The Peripheral Pipeline
Real-world speed includes data transfer. The tablet features two Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB-C) ports. We tested file transfers to and from an external Samsung X5 NVMe SSD. Large file transfers consistently maxed out the bandwidth of our test drive, with real-world write speeds exceeding 1,800 MB/s. This makes backing up projects or working directly from an external drive a viable, high-speed workflow. The optional 5G sub-6 GHz cellular connectivity also proved a performance boon, with download speeds consistently measuring over 600 Mbps on a T-Mobile network, effectively turning the tablet into a true anywhere-workstation with broadband-like performance.
Comparative Context: Positioning in the Market
Against its direct Windows competitor, the Microsoft Surface Pro 10 for Business (with Core Ultra 7 165U), the Dell holds a slight edge in multi-core CPU performance and a more significant lead in graphics, thanks to potentially higher-spec RAM and thermal tuning. Compared to Apple’s iPad Pro with M4 chip, the Dell trades blows: the M4 retains a commanding lead in single-core speed and raw GPU grunt, but the Dell’s multi-core performance is highly competitive, and its offering of a full, unrestricted Windows 11 environment with legacy app support is a different value proposition entirely. For the enterprise and prosumer market it targets, the Dell Latitude 7350 Detachable’s benchmark profile paints a picture of a device that is finally desktop-class in a detachable form factor, closing the performance-per-watt gap significantly.