Our Verdict Long battery life and high performance make the

Our Verdict

Long battery life and strong performance make the Dell Latitude 5400 a good business laptop despite its bland design and dim screen.

For

Durable chassis

Very long battery life

Clickable keyboard

Lots of security features

Versus

Tasteless design

Dull and dark screen

After Dell released the sleek

Latitude 7400 2-in-1

, we were hoping to see some big changes to its outdated line of business laptops. Unfortunately, the Latitude 5400 clamshell (starting at $819; rated at $1,625) didn't get the same love. This business laptop has a bland chassis that can't claim to be thinner or lighter than its peers, and its lackluster, lackluster 14-inch, 1080p touchscreen is a disappointment.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

And yet, if you need a new business laptop (or even a fleet of laptops), the Latitude 5400 should be on your radar thanks to its fast performance, stellar battery life, and awesome features. We still recommend other laptops, like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, over the Latitude 5400, which is why this Dell laptop is not one of the

best business laptops

.< /p>

Dell Latitude 5400 pricing and configuration options

The Dell Latitude 5400 starts at $819 for a base model with a 14-inch, 1366x768-pixel screen and an Intel Core i3-8145U processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB 7200-rpm SATA hard drive. You should skip this model and spend at least $1179 for a mid-range model with a 1080p display, Core i5-8265U processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

Our $1625 review unit packs a Core i5-8365U processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, along with a few optional add-ons, like a Thunderbolt 3 port, fingerprint sensor, camera infrared and Wi-Fi 6.

If you need more power, a top-end model with a Core i7-8665U processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD costs $1,819 without any of the extra perks.

Dell Latitude 5400 Design

The Latitude 5400 is the khaki pants and dress shirt of business laptops. His inoffensive appearance will not attract attention in an office, nor will he attract compliments from his colleagues. My problem is that the Latitude 5400 wore the same clothes too long. It's time to change your wardrobe.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

I can't help but see the changes Dell made to the Latitude 7400 2-in-1, and I lament the all-too-familiar design of the Latitude 5400. Until it gets the same facelift, the Latitude will continue to wear a familiar slate gray chassis

plastic

with a chrome Dell logo stamped in the center of the lid.

On the deck, it's more of the same plastic material, which feels solid but far from premium. Dell deserves some accessories to keep the Latitude 5400's bezels relatively thin, although the top edge is thick enough (to accommodate an IR camera). On that top bezel is a small button that slides to cover the webcam. It's an inelegant but effective solution.

There's not much else to say about the Latitude 5400's design except that, at 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches and 3.7 pounds, it's less portable than +1 $000 competitors, including the

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

(12.7 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches, 2.4 lbs) and the

Acer TravelMate P6 P614

(12.8 x 9.1 x 0.7 inches, 2.7 pounds).

Dell Latitude 5400 Durability and Security

It's not made of metal but the Latitude 5400 is a durable machine capable of withstanding extreme conditions. The laptop has passed 17

MIL-STD 810G testing

, which means it can withstand high temperatures, exposure to sand and dust, and multiple drops, among other conditions that would kill a laptop.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

A durable exterior will keep your important files safe from yourself, while the Latitude 5400's security features protect you from others. These start with a

fingerprint sensor

and an optional infrared camera for fast and secure login via

Windows Hello

. There is also a

TPM 2.0

, a microchip that provides hardware security for unencrypted passwords.

Best Laptop Locks for PCs and Macbooks - Cable Locks, Brackets

To better protect the Latitude against cyberattacks, Dell offers a full suite of security software, from the optional security and data management application to Dell Endpoint Security Suite Enterprise and Data Guardian.

The Latitude 5400 comes with all the

ports

you need to charge devices, connect to monitors and transfer files.< /p>

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

On the left side of the Latitude 5400 is an optional port

Thunderbolt 3

and one

USB 3.1 Type-A input

next to a DC power connector. Our review unit didn't come with the optional SmartCard reader.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

On the right side of the laptop is a microSD card reader, a SIM card tray, a headphone jack, two additional USB 3.1 Type-A ports, an HDMI port, an RJ-45 Ethernet port, and a

Noble lock slot

.

Dell Latitude 5400 Monitor

If you're considering buying the Latitude 5400 for your employees, be sure to get them a

monitor

. The laptop's 14-inch, 1080p matte touchscreen is dim and lackluster color, though that's not necessarily necessary. If you fill out spreadsheets or create slides, this detailed screen will do just fine. For anything else - watching videos, editing photos, etc. - look elsewhere.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

In a Sonic the Hedgehog trailer, Sonic's CGI-enhanced body was sharp enough on the Latitude 5400 screen that I could see individual wisps of hair on the speedy hedgehog, but his signature blue fur and emerald eyes didn't pop as I had hoped. The screen's matte finish reduced glare, but the panel looked a little dim even with the brightness turned up.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

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— Dell Outlet Mon Nov 30 23:00:01 +0000 2020

I had no problem tapping the Latitude 5400's touchscreen to browse the web or use the on-screen keyboard to enter URLs. That said, the Latitude 5400 isn't a 2-in-1 and it doesn't come with a stylus, so touchscreen functionality is limited.

According to our colorimeter, the Latitude 5400 screen only covers 62.1% of the sRGB color gamut

, making it duller than the screens of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (109%), the TravelMate P6 P614 (113%) and the average high-end laptop (124%).

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Not only is it less colorful than those rivals, but the Latitude 5400's screen, which peaks at just 228 nits, is also dimmer a lot. ThinkPad X1 Carbon (336 nits), TravelMate P6 (299 nits), and mid-range premium laptop (359 nits) displays get significantly brighter

.

Audio Dell Latitude 5400

The Latitude 5400's bottom-firing speakers aren't great, but they're loud enough to fill an average-sized room. When I listened to The Killers' single "Rut," Brandon Flower's vocals were crisp and clear until the instruments kicked in. Drum thumps and splashy cymbals bleed into the mids and clouded the vocals. If you listen to indie or classical music this won't be a problem, but the Latitude 5400 struggles with more complex arrangements in rock and techno music.

Dell Latitude 5400 Keyboard, Touchpad and Pointing Device p>

A vivid backlit keyboard is one of my favorite things about the Latitude 5400. The bouncy keys with decent travel made writing this review comfortable for my fingers. Not only did I never bottom out, but there was a prominent tactile click with every keypress that I really appreciated.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

I still prefer the larger, curved keys and lower actuation force of Lenovo's ThinkPad keyboards, but Dell isn't too far behind.

I typed at 113 words per minute at a 95% rate on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which is a bit slower but just as accurate as my typical average of 119 words per minute.

The Latitude 5400's 4 x 2.2-inch touchpad responded quickly to swipes and gestures, including pinch-to-zoom and two-finger scrolling. Just below the surface are unobtrusive left and right click buttons that feel good, although it would be nice to have buttons integrated as well.

In the center of the keyboard is a small black pointing stick for those who prefer to use a rubber button instead of a touchpad. Although I don't normally use the pointing stick, I found the feature to work well. I had no problem using it to move my cursor while keeping my hands on the home row keys.

Dell Latitude 5400 performance

I was impressed with how quickly the Latitude 5400 performed in day-to-day testing. The laptop had no problem charging 15

Google Chrome

tabs, two of which played 1080p videos while another pair streamed Full HD downloads on

p>

and

Blender

. With all that, I've put together some reviews of

The Mandalorian

and I've read the generally positive reception with no lag.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

This solid real-world performance was backed up by our benchmark tests. With a score of 15,307 in the Geekbench 4 overall performance test

, the Latitude 5400 nearly matched the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (15,649, Core i5, 8265U) and the premium laptop average (15,726) but edged out the TravelMate P6 (13,402).

It took the Latitude 5400 18 minutes and 13 seconds to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution, less time than the TravelMate P6 (19:52) and average premium laptop (22:10) needed. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon (16:52), however, outperformed the competition on this test.

Laptops with the best productivity performance

the

512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Class 35 SSD

inside our Latitude 5400 showed its speed by duplicating 4.97 GB of media files in 12 seconds at a rate of 424.1 megabytes per second. That's a decent result, but the hard drives of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (424.1 Mbps, 256 GB SSD), TravelMate P6 (462.7 Mbps, 512 GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD), and laptop top mid-range (762.4 Mbps) are just as fast or even faster.

Dell Latitude 5400 Graphics

With integrated graphics

Intel UHD 620

, the Latitude 5400 is not designed for playing games at high graphics settings or running heavy animation programs. On the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited benchmark, the Latitude 5400 scored 84,709, which puts it just ahead of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (81,350) but far behind the TravelMate P6 (98,034) and the premium laptop average (93,525).

Dell Latitude 5400 Battery Life

Sign up to the Latitude 5400 for the marathon, because this laptop has some serious endurance. With a battery life of 13 hours and 19 minutes on the

Mag laptop battery test

(which involves continuous web browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits), the Latitude 5400 lasted longer on a charge than the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (9:30), TravelMate P6 (7:34) and the category average ( 8:25 a.m.).

Dell Latitude 5400 webcam

A The selfie I took in our dimly lit office using the Latitude 5400's 720p webcam was very grainy. There was so much visual noise that the three half domes of the North Face logo on my jacket looked like a rounded blob.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

The overhead desk lights were also overexposed. The only advantage of the webcam is that it captures accurate and punchy colors; the desk drawer behind me was the right shade of olive green while my t-shirt was an appropriate forest tone.

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

But as we so often advise, spending a little more for a

external webcam

makes all the difference.

Dell Latitude 5400 heat

Don't worry about running a heavy workload on the Latitude 5400; The laptop stays cool even when pushed to its limits. After playing a 15-minute 1080p video, the Latitude 5400's touchpad warmed up to 78 degrees Fahrenheit while the center of the keyboard (87 degrees) and bottom panel (95 degrees) also remained at or below our threshold of 95 degree comfort. p>

Dell Latitude 5400 Software and Warranty

Dell has loaded the Latitude 5400 with software designed specifically for business laptops. These include Data Free Fall Data Protection, which protects your hard drive from damage caused by unexpected drops by placing it in a “safe” state. There is also an app to adjust the pointing device and a power manager. Dell's Command Center app is where all the magic happens: here you can check for the latest BIOS updates and view your system information.

Microsoft added a few unnecessary apps — Farm Heroes Saga and Microsoft Solitaire Collection — to Windows 10 Pro, but

bloatware

on the Latitude 5400 is otherwise kept to a minimum.

The Latitude 5400 comes with a one-year limited warranty that can be extended up to five years. Find out how Dell fared with our

Best and Worst Laptop Brands

and

Technical support techniques

special reports.

Summary

With a durable chassis, fast performance and a plethora of security features, the Latitude 5400 is ideal for business use. The laptop even offers a comfortable keyboard and long battery life for those who travel frequently. But a dark, dull screen and bland chassis prevent the laptop from being a recommended device for out-of-office uses.

For a better overall laptop, we recommend the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, which takes everything we love from the Latitude 5400 and packs them into a slim chassis, then adds a great screen on top.

Overall, the Latitude 5400 is a solid business laptop that doesn't do much to stand out from the pack.