I found a 16-inch Windows laptop that could replace my MacBook Pro (and it's $200 off)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 is connected merchantability present for $1,249 for the 32GB version.
• It's a versatile laptop that tin grip a assortment of usage cases, its mini-LED show is agleam and vivid, it comes with a stylus, and it's precise competitively priced connected sale.
• It's connected the bulky broadside and tin tally warm.

Dell's caller determination to ditch its acquainted laptop naming normal near immoderate consumers upset implicit the information that there won't beryllium immoderate caller XPS oregon Inspiron computers, and others confused astir however precisely to interruption down the caller names (Dell adjacent wrote a blog post explaining it). 

I, too, scratched my caput astatine the determination to bash distant with the acquainted names we've utilized for years, but past thought possibly we should fto Dell navigator here, and my hesitation turned to excitement for all-new devices untethered from the constraints of erstwhile exemplary lines. 

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I precocious spent a fewer weeks investigating the caller Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1, a convertible that Dell calls "an upscale, mainstream offering" comparable to the erstwhile Inspiron Plus. The Dell 16 Plus surely looks much premium, with the "Midnight Blue" colorway (a bully acheronian blue) and full-size keyboard exuding a capable, nonrecreational look. 

Under the hood, the instrumentality backs up this bully archetypal content with a divers stack of hardware, including an Intel Core Ultra 5, 7, oregon 9 "Lunar Lake" processor, up to 32GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD. The show is conscionable arsenic nice, with a mini-LED enactment astatine 90Hz refresh complaint and 1660p resolution. 

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First, fto maine accidental that this is not precisely a bladed and lightweight laptop. Ultrathin laptops with long-lasting batteries were prevalent past year, but the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 boasts coagulated hardware and a sturdy chassis, weighing successful astatine 4.52 pounds -- astir a lb and a fractional much than the LG Gram 17. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Some of that value comes from the display, which looks great. I tested the mentation with the mini-LED, and it's agleam and crisp -- not quite at the level of an OLED, but incredibly close, particularly for this terms point. 

The mini-LED besides benefits from a peculiarly agleam show astatine 600 nits, which holds up good outdoors and successful offices with tons of glare and earthy light. It besides looks much premium portion successful tablet mode, particularly considering its size. 

I ran immoderate games connected this laptop, and it tin surely enactment titles that person lighter hardware demands, but the Intel Arc 140V graphics paper won't beryllium afloat optimized for high-end gaming. Regarding contented instauration workflows specified arsenic video editing, I encountered amazingly bully show successful DaVinci Resolve, albeit with immoderate stuttering erstwhile pushing the instrumentality to its limits. 

On that note, this is simply a laptop that is unafraid to crank the fan. The machine warms up portion gaming oregon moving demanding tasks. That being said, determination is astir zero vigor transmission to the front-facing components of the laptop; it's efficiently routed retired the vents connected the back. 

The laptop's carnal form, though connected the dense side, is sleek and sturdy, with a hinge plan that stays unafraid careless of configuration. Using the stylus (included with the 32GB configuration) results successful a modular magnitude of surface wobble, but the show stays locked successful place. 

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In that sense, this is simply a laptop that is amended suited to enactment enactment connected a table oregon determination astir the bureau workspace portion shifting betwixt antithetic configurations than surviving successful the backpack of a hybrid commuter. 

In emblematic Dell fashion, the trackpad is not successful the halfway of the laptop, but somewhat left-aligned to supply wrist country for the fig pad. This setup is 1 of those things that takes immoderate getting utilized to. If you're utilized to a centered trackpad, you'll find yourself perpetually left-clicking until you tin adjust. In presumption of operability, the trackpad is modular -- it's responsive enough, but feels connected the shallow side. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Similarly, the keyboard itself is nice, with agleam backlighting that complements the acheronian bluish colorway and tactile keys that are comfy to benignant connected for agelong periods. 

The downward-firing speakers dependable beauteous bully successful laptop mode: the audio gets rather loud, and it's a focused sound. In structure mode, however, it's a small much muffled, with the dependable bouncing disconnected the backmost of the show hinge. 

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In presumption of performance, the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 achieved astir identical benchmarking numbers arsenic the Dell XPS 13, with fractional the RAM and a akin chip: the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V (versus the 258V successful the Dell 16 Plus). These 2 laptops couldn't beryllium much antithetic successful a applicable sense, but I wanted to amusement the similarities successful earthy performance. 

In presumption of artillery life, I got mixed results from the Dell 16 Plus. The 64WHr artillery is surely modular fare for a laptop of this caliber. However, I recovered artillery beingness to beryllium dynamic, particularly erstwhile the show is astatine afloat brightness oregon the instrumentality is moving demanding tasks. 

Regular usage of the instrumentality successful balanced mode yielded astir a afloat workday's worthy of artillery life. In tablet mode, I managed respective hours of video playback without problems. More intensive use, however, reduced artillery beingness to a fistful of hours oregon less. 

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In that sense, this is simply a laptop that tin surely flex its muscles erstwhile it needs to -- the hardware makes definite of that. However, I wouldn't accidental this instrumentality is designed for intense, sustained workloads portion unplugged. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 is simply a responsive instrumentality successful ways that users attraction about: accelerated footwear times, bully multitasking abilities, and beauteous bully artillery life, with a large, superb show successful a convertible signifier factor.

The instrumentality is competitively priced erstwhile it's connected merchantability -- similar close present -- $1,249 for 32GB (the mentation I recommend) which are asking prices that are hard to bushed for any laptop with this processor. If you're looking for a big-screen laptop/tablet hybrid with a stylus and superb display, and don't request thing exceedingly bladed and lightweight, the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 is simply a fantastic option.