Which laptop is best for business?

Two laptop brands you’ll often see used in the workplace are Dell and Lenovo. They make great business laptops in two popular product lineups: Latitude and ThinkPad, respectively. So if you’re shopping for a new business laptop in 2023, you might wonder how one of the latest Dell Latitude products, the Latitude 7430, stands up against the newly announced ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11.

Although you can’t buy the new ThinkPad just yet, as its availability is later in April, it does seem to have a bit of an edge over the Dell Latitude. There’s a newer CPU generation under the hood, a better webcam, and more. Yet the Dell Latitude 7430 has an optional 2-in-1 form factor. That’s just some of the differences between these two devices. We’ll be diving deeper into the specs differences, the design, the display, and more right here for you.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 vs Dell Latitude 7430: Price and availability

You can now buy the Dell Latitude 7430 through Dell’s retail website starting at $1,459. The base model is configured with the Intel Core i5-1235U CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a non-touch 14-inch FHD display. This will, of course, go up if you choose other configurations.

Unfortunately, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 won’t be up for sale until April. Starting then, you can buy the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 through Lenovo’s website for $1,729. It wasn’t clear, though, what specs that introductory price would get you. But based on the previous model, an estimated guess would be an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 vs Dell Latitude 7430 specs

Design: Both are clamshell laptops

Both of these business laptops are traditional clamshell notebooks. However, you can get the Dell Latitude in either a carbon fiber finish or an aluminum finish. The carbon fiber finish of the Latitude mimics that of the ThinkPad, as that’s always been Lenovo’s signature design choice. You can also get the Dell Latitude 7430 in a 2-in-1 form factor, so you can use the screen as a tablet, in tent mode, or as a regular laptop. You don’t get that with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11, but we’re not too focused on that aspect here.

Even the overall footprints are the same. Technically, the Dell Latitude 7430 is thinner and lighter than Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11, but the differences are minimal. The former measures 12.65 x 8.22 x 0.68 inches and weighs 2.69 pounds, while the latter measures 12.38 x 8.75 x 0.61 inches and weighs around 3 pounds.

Display: 16:9 vs 16:10 OLED

While they’re around the same size, the display is where things start to differ greatly. A lot of laptops nowadays feature 16:10 aspect ratio panels that are taller and pack in some extra pixels on the screen for productivity. Some laptop makers also offer the option for OLED panels on certain devices, which are much more vibrant and color accurate for multimedia tasks. It’s why we favor the ThinkPad over Dell’s Latitude since the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 sports a 16:10 aspect ratio OLED screen, and the Dell only has an LCD screen.

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 has a better resolution, too. It has a 14-inch 2.8K 2800 x 1800 resolution screen, which is a lot of pixels to enjoy for multitasking and opening more than one window at once. Dell’s Latitude 7430 only has a 14-inch FHD 1920 x 1080 resolution screen, although you do get the aforementioned touch options. That’s a lower resolution, so multitasking might be more awkward.

We definitely suggest the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 if you spend more time on web calls or if screen space is important to you.

Both laptops also have webcams in the top of the display. Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 has a 1080p FHD webcam as standard. Thanks to new software, you’ll also get features like a video enhancer that makes you look better on video calls and more. The Dell Latitude 7430 also has an option for an FHD webcam, but there’s a lower-quality HD 720p webcam as standard.

We definitely suggest the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 if you spend more time on web calls or if screen space is important to you. You’ll enjoy more room for multiple open apps, and you’ll get the option to upgrade to an OLED panel, which is color accurate and vibrant.

Performance: The ThinkPad has a newer 13th-Gen CPU

Now, we’ve come to the performance section. Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 was just announced ahead of CES 2023 in January, so we’re not sure of the laptop’s entire spec list yet. We do know that you can configure it with up to 64GB of RAM and Intel’s latest and greatest 13th-generation mobile CPUs, although we’re not sure what specific chip yet (Lenovo just refers to it as “Latest Intel Core Processors”). As for the Dell Latitude, it has last year’s Intel’s 12th-generation CPU under the hood, either P-series or U-series options, and up to 32GB of RAM. Naturally, if you want the most performance, we suggest you pick up the newer ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11, as the latest Intel chips are confirmed to offer a 10% productivity boost. There’s also the added RAM.

Naturally, if you want the most performance, we suggest you pick up the newer ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11.

However, the 32GB RAM you get with the Dell Latitude is still great. Plus, for everyday web browsing and many productivity tasks, 12th-generation Intel CPUs are still fine. Either laptop will do the trick for you. But of course, considering the pricing between these two models is about $300, you might want to invest in the long-term and put that money towards a newer CPU on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11. If your budget is lower, you can buy the Dell Latitude.

Ports and connectivity: It’s dead even

People enjoy business laptops because they typically come with a lot of ports, and that’s the case with both options here. These are both well-connected machines so you can avoid using a dongle on the go. You’ll also get the option for 5G or LTE connectivity across both devices.

Both laptops have USB-A ports, Thunderbolt 4 ports, and HDMI ports. The differentiating factor is that the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 has an extra USB-A port, and the Dell Latitude has a microSD card reader or Smart Card reader as an optional add-on.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 vs Dell Latitude 7430: Which should you buy?

These are both great laptops, but which one should you buy? You can’t buy it yet, but we highly suggest picking up the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 when it becomes available. It outclasses the Dell Latitude 7430 in two areas. There’s a more vibrant OLED display option with extra pixels for productivity, and it has newer Intel CPUs under the hood. Of course, it is also more expensive, so if you don’t mind sacrificing screen quality and not having the latest and greatest Intel CPUs, then the Dell Latitude 7430 is still good enough. You can get the Dell laptop below or wait until April for the new ThinkPad.