Customer Ratings & Reviews

I’ve been using the Dell Plus 16” for a few days now and I’m really impressed. The 2K touchscreen looks amazing—super sharp and great for both work and movies. Performance with the Ryzen AI 7 and 32GB RAM is excellent, I can run multiple programs without any lag. The 1TB SSD makes startup super fast and has plenty of room for everything I need. On top of that, the Ice color design looks sleek and modern. So far, it’s been a great purchase

Awesome laptop with plenty of speed and storage. Looks great also.

For the price and hardware, this is one of the best options. Nice keyboard, big screen, lots of storage and lots of RAM.

The dpeed is fast, the display is nice. So far I love it.

Got to admit, I'm impressed. For a variety of reasons, I have recently had some experience with Windows 11 PC's. I've had two different ones at work, the most recent a much more powerful one due to the nature of my work. I had to set up a new laptop for someone, and I have another one that came with Windows 11 on it (replaced with Linux). Given all of that experience, I can finally say that this Dell 16 Plus laptop is the first one I have used where the computer actually does not feel sluggish running Windows. For this review, I am going to focus mainly on the hardware, as that is what you are receiving when you purchase it. Most users will likely continue on Windows, but as there is a market for Linux users and few Linux-based PC's to choose from (especially in the U.S.). Many others may also decide to dual-boot since getting away from Windows is difficult for gamers, proprietary software users, and legacy software users. Regardless, you are purchasing the hardware and may opt to change the software running on it. BASIC SPECS - AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor - Integrated Radeon 860 M video - 32 GB memory - not upgradeable - 1 TB disk space - upgradeable using QLC PCIE NVME 2230 SSD (CLASS 25) according to the Dell website This is a beefy computer. Whether or not you use, or want to use, AI technologies, the processing power necessary to run them also gives the computer the power to handle more demanding tasks. This is the first Windows 11 computer I have used that has felt "snappy". The 32 GB of memory helps as well, especially when your browser has 11 tabs open and you can't find the one running Spotify so you can quickly skip that song you can't stand! If you tend to run 4-5 applications at a time, you will definitely notice a difference if you are coming 8 GB or less, but even from 16 GB that is common, but should be minimal in today's computers. There is also enough storage to keep your documents on your local drive for when you are not online, a rare treat today. OTHER BASIC FEATURES - Dell - generally a good quality brand, and this one is no exception - Full 10-key number pad with (and I say this with GREAT emphasis) a PROPERLY designed layout! - A calculator button (HALLELUJAH they're finally putting a calculator button on a laptop keyboard!) - Backlit keyboard with 2 levels of brightness, or off - Touchscreen with thin bezels (although I've seen thinner but they're not bad) - Fingerprint reader - Large touchpad - Full-size HDMI port - Large 16" display (1920 x 1200 resolution) In case you couldn't tell, I have a background in Accounting and now work in Analytics. Laptops over the past few years have driven me nuts as manufacturers have been rearranging the keys on the number pad to remove a column of keys. If you can use 10-key typing, you KNOW what I mean. This laptop has a normal layout for the number pad, and includes a button above the Num Lock key to launch the calculator app (this works in Linux as well although you may have to configure it). Too bad I changed careers just in time for them to make an accountant-friendly laptop. *NOTE* The Num Lock key does NOT have an LED light to indicate its status. This is a MAJOR oversight on Dell's part and is a huge annoyance. CAPS Lock does have the indicator light. Someone in quality control was on break when this passed through. The Function Lock (located on the ESC key) is also missing an indicator light. The keyboard backlighting is sufficient and even (all keys lit equally), there's a fingerprint reader built into the power button, and the large touchpad has all the familiar gestures for easy navigation, and you can reverse the scrolling direction if you, like myself, hate the "natural" scrolling that they all keep defaulting to. OTHER THOUGHTS For a 16-inch laptop, the weight of this device is quite reasonable at 4 lbs, 4.7 oz. The chassis is metal on the top (screen) and plastic on the base, and all feel high quality. The plastic casing, however, is slightly rough in texture. By this, I mean that when I first opened up the laptop, I thought that dust or dirt was in the box and even wiped it with a damp cloth. That annoys me because I hate feeling like my laptop is dirty. I have another new laptop from a competing manufacturer and the plastic is so smooth to the touch. Not this device. I'm sure many won't be bothered by that the way I am, but worth pointing out. The keyboard is rather quiet, although the keys are clicky (not a soft touch), but they are low travel with just a little resistance. I am typing this review on the keyboard and find the keys responsive without being overly sensitive. The Print Screen (Prt Sc), Home, End, and Insert keys are, in that order, occupy F10, F11, F12 and one more before the Delete key, in case you are a regular user of those. The Dell Optimizer Console (on the Taskbar initially) allows you to control the thermal management. The default is optimized and I did find the fan ran most of the time while in use. It's a steady fan sound, so if you are sensitive to this, know that it's more like white noise and not a constant throttling up and down with changing volume. It can get rather loud if you are pushing the processor though, but it is noticeable even when running lightly. Ports include a full-size HDMI, a USB-C for charging, along with another USB-C, all on one side, and a USB-A and headphone jack on the other. I would like to have seen an additional USB-A on it as that is still a common standard, especially for wireless receivers. An SD card slot would be nice in place of another USB-A port and might diminish the need for the second one. The screen is HDR and is crisp and clear and makes everything from reading text to photo editing very easy to do. Battery life is average but doesn't drain too much in standby - it's better in Linux (I'm using Manjaro KDE), but with 1-1.5 hours of use per day and sleep mode, I was able to go about 4 days without charging (and about half and half between the two operating systems). Overall, this is a very good computer for the money. It's "up to the task" of what even power users may need it for. With a full-size keyboard and large screen, it's comfortable to use without needing to default to a regular monitor/keyboard/mouse setup. It's thin and relatively light for its size, and has a nice long power cord for when the battery just isn't going to make it. It does have a couple of design flaws (gritty plastic and lack of indicator lights) which can impede functionality (the missing Num Lock light is a huge annoyance for me). Ports are a little lacking in my opinion. I would definitely recommend this computer to just about anyone who can budget for the higher cost.

I like the product, light in weight and gives a very premium feel. First thing I watched after buying this was watching stranger things in it and I had the best experience. It's also perfect multitasking wise, can do so many things at once without being hung or getting slow. Keyboard, screen touchpad everything is good :)

I love this laptop Apple has always let me down and now I’m never going back!!

It was the best option price vs quality, the computer is perfect for me. The 64 gb +1T were the best characteristics that fits my needs. Also the attention and attitude from the guy that helped me chose it, was kind and accurate.

-=> Outside <=- One good thing about Dell laptops is that they are consistent. They generally don't present any surprises in their design. They are, dare I say, boring. But that is not a bad thing. The design is very plain and neutral, which I find to be a good thing. I don’t like the design elements that are “edgy” and “gamer.” The looks of this laptop are plain, but very functional. It measures at under 0.8 inches thick, making it perfect for travel. Note that this is a laptop only; the hinge does not go past 180 degrees to form a tablet mode. The packaging is also minimal but functional, and seems to be almost completely recyclable. I would much rather my money go towards specifications and build quality, instead of fancy packaging and useless RGB lights It features minimal but functional ports. The left has two USB-C, both of which feature video out as well as charging. They had no problems driving a 3440 x 1440 display at 120 Hz. There is also a full-sized HDMI output on the left side. While Dell claims it only supports 1920x1080 @ 60Hz, I had no problems driving 3440 x 1440 @ 100 Hz, so it delivers more than it promises. The right side simply features a USB-A jack and an audio jack. Yes, only one single USB-A is included. Somewhat unfortunate, but understandable. More unforgivable is the complete lack of any sort of SD card reader at all. There is plenty of room for a card reader, and its lack is puzzling. Of less concern, but still notable is the lack of a slot for a cable lock. Dell has switched to the “Noble” style cable locks for their higher-end gear, but consumer-level gear still could use this. People working in a public coffee shop could still use a way to attach a cable to their laptop to keep it from “walking off” if they have to use the toilet. Dell, if you are reading this, please include cable lock attachments on all future laptops. The bottom features air intakes, and the speaker outputs. The air is sucked in from the bottom and exhausts on the rear. The speakers work, but are not particularly loud or balanced. The sound is somewhat tinny, with absolutely no bass at all. Still, this is expected for a machine of this price and size. The speakers are not ideal, but they will be adequate for many use cases. The top of the monitor also features a rather pleasing camera, with a physical privacy shutter. The picture quality is certainly more than adequate for online meetings, and was sharp and clear. -=> Opening Up <=- Opening up the laptop yields a nicely-sized display, a keyboard with a numeric keypad on the right, and a very sizable touch pad. If you have used a Dell laptop keyboard recently, then you know what to expect. The key touch is decent, but not outstanding. No mechanical key switches here, as the laptop has a price point to meet. But the keyboard is of good quality and usable once you get used to it. So, no surprises at all here. The power button also features a fingerprint reader, which is a nice touch for easily getting into Windows. The display is 1920 x 1200. Although not OLED, it is a very good LCD display. HDR seems to be available for video, but not for gaming. But this is not marketed as a gaming machine, and I have never found HDR to add that much to gaming either. The display is capped at 60 Hz, but for a productivity machine, this is plenty. The touchpad is quite large, and it feels very usable. However, I am much more of a “mouse” guy and will always be using this with a mouse. -=> Performance <=- This computer features the latest Ryzen 7 processor. Part of designing a laptop is balancing power usage. More power gives more performance, but at the cost of shorter battery life, and a thicker machine with more fans, fins, and heat pipes. Dell went for minimal power usage. When running at 100% CPU usage, this laptop only drew 28 watts from a USB power supply. This means that some performance is left on the table, but the result is a laptop that is well under an inch thick, and has an all-day battery. But even limited to 28W, the performance is still impressive. It got a multicore Cinebench 2004 score of 595. While an Apple M1 Max chip does get 32% more performance in this benchmark, you are looking at two to three times the price for a Mac laptop with this much RAM and hard drive space. I have attached pictures of some benchmarks that I ran. Note that McAfee anti-virus came preinstalled, which will slow down performance a bit. But that is how it shipped, so that is how I tested it. This computer also has the ability to do some light gaming. It is not a powerhouse, but even some previous AAA titles can be run if you turn the settings down to medium or low. Definitely not bad for a machine this size and price. Running the CyberPunk benchmark at 1920x1200 medium settings gives 28.2 FPS. The Shadow of the TombRaider benchmark at 1900x1200 medium settings gave 34 FPS. The processor promises “AI” performance, but that is a bit difficult to test at this particular time. Most applications won’t make use of the NPU included in the processor. The NPU was used to good effectiveness in blurring the background while using the camera (once the appropriate settings were changed in the system settings). I also tried software such as LMStudio and Ollama, and neither one actually seemed to take advantage of the NPU at all. But these applications can use the GPU, and since the GPU shares RAM with the CPU, it has access to more memory than many graphics cards. I was able to get models running that took almost 18G GB. It ran rather slowly at around one token per second, but it did run. I also performed a “YouTube” test where I played a video continuously for several hours while the screen was on medium brightness. I estimate that the realistic battery life under light usage will be in the neighborhood of eight to ten hours. Of course, harder tasks and a brighter screen will shorten this time, but I found it to be very impressive. -=> Inside <=- This computer was somewhat difficult to get into. There are several screws on the bottom that are easily removed. However, the back is also held on by plastic clips that simply did not want to let go. But after prying the back off, it is clear that the memory cannot be replaced or upgraded. Still, with 32 GB of memory (running at 7.2 GT/s), most people will not need more memory than this. 16 GB is adequate these days, and having double that is downright spacious. The battery is easily replaceable should the need arise. The only other parts that are easily replaceable are the WiFi card and the SSD. It comes with a 1TB M.2 SSD, which should be enough for most people. For my own needs, however, 1 TB of storage is a bit limiting, so I easily installed a 2TB model. The drive that is included is a 2230 size, and it comes attached with an extender to allow it to fit in the 2280 socket. So this machine can use a 2280 or a 2230 should you feel the need to replace the storage. While the WiFi card is technically replaceable, the card offers excellent performance, so a replacement is not likely to be needed. I achieved speeds in the neighborhood of 1.5 Gb/s, which should be fast enough for nearly anybody. -=> Conclusion <=- Overall, this is an extremely capable machine for most people, with good performance and construction.

I’ve been using this laptop for a few weeks, and I’m really happy with it. It’s fast, light, and perfect for school and work. The screen is clear, and the battery lasts a good amount of time. The design looks modern and professional. I gave it 4 stars because the fan can get a little noisy sometimes, but overall it’s a great value for the price.

It’s a very great deal as with this specifications and at this low price but just battery life is little beat bad

So far it's been great. Had one random time where the Internet connection just flat out stopped working, but maybe that was just due to a system or software update. Has not happened again. Fingers crossed.

This is a 10 out of 10 Sleep finish the Intel is great I highly recommend this computer

Very nice laptop. It is exactly what I wanted but nicer than I expected.

I love this laptop very user-friendly.it has sleek design, got all that I need.

This laptop is in a good price range for its specs.

Laptop is amazing and it’s my first one and haven’t had any issues with it! No complaints!

Perfect for going back to school! Works quickly and efficiently

[ TL;DR / Summary ] The Dell Plus DB16255 with Windows 11 Home edition is a speedy and well-designed laptop that focuses on the essential features you expect to see in an all-around laptop for folks who appreciate convenience and a vibrant 16:10 (1920x1200, "Full HD+") touch display. It comes with two USB-C (10 Gbps) ports, one USB-A (5 Gbps) port, one HDMI 1.4 port, and a headphone/microphone combo jack. Though no Ethernet port is provided, it supports all existing Wi-Fi standards, including Wi-Fi 7. The laptop features two speakers, left & right, at 2 Watts, each, a keyboard that feels quite nice, and a rather large touchpad. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor with a built-in Radeon 860M Graphics Card, a 1-TB SSD, and 32 GB RAM makes the everyday computing experience complete. The laptop is more than fast enough to not only support AI tools but also enjoy using them, such as Copilot (see screen capture) and four other AI tools described in a section below. The laptop is foldable by 180 degrees, so you can use it as a tablet, thanks to its touchscreen. But then, the keyboard might be in the way (see photo). Verdict: 4 stars, recommended for everyday use (e.g., creating presentations, writing documents, working with spreadsheets, or web browsing). I would not recommend this laptop for hardcore software development and/or gaming, as it would result in a very audible high-speed fan to cool the laptop. It might not be the best choice for UI Design either. [ Other thoughts ] Setting up the laptop was overall a very smooth process, and you will be prompted to join your Wi-Fi network early on. However, it took almost 2 hours to complete the setup due to various Windows 11 updates that were downloaded during setup, and then also, after setup was completed through [Settings--Windows Updates]. There was also a new Dell System BIOS part of the overall update process, and in my case, it resulted in a blue "BitLocker Recovery" screen prompting for a recovery key because the "SecureBoot policy has unexpectedly changed". Since part of the setup process included registering your Windows 11 device with your Microsoft account, the recovery key was retrievable from the Microsoft account website, aka.ms/myrecoverykey . I found the battery is good for about 10 hours of continuous use through the "Optimized" Thermal Management setting; other settings are "Cool" (cooler system surface, may reduce system performance and increase fan noise), "Quiet" (reduced processor speed and fan noise), and "Ultra Performance" (higher processor and fan speed, resulting in a higher system surface temperature). As such, it is possible to make it through a day on battery use, which is fantastic. Though there are enough ports supplied with the laptop, I had to wonder why the two USB-C ports only support 10 Gbps speed (power supply would use one of the USB-C ports). It might be sufficient for most users, but if you plan on using high-speed external SSDs, 10 Gbps will not provide the infrastructure to support higher SSD speeds. Nowadays, in my opinion, current laptop USB-C speeds should be 40 Gbps or higher. As for Wi-Fi, this laptop supports all current wireless modules: 2.4 GHz/5 GHz/6 GHz and wireless standards: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be (802.11 be represents Wifi 7) The built-in camera (really cool: it has a built-in privacy shutter that opens/closes the camera lens) supports 2 megapixels for still pictures and 1920x1080 (Full HD) at 30 fps video. There are two microphones left and right of the camera. The supplied power adapter supports 65 Watts for international use (100–240 VAC, 50 Hz-60 Hz). According to the manual, alternatively, the minimum power that is required from a power adapter to operate this laptop and charge the battery is 45 Watts. The integrated fingerprint reader provides an easy way to skip the PIN code entry, and it works flawlessly. According to the manual, regarding external display support, two external displays are supported with the laptop display enabled; otherwise, three external displays are supported with the laptop display disabled. Last, but not least, the Anti-Virus discussion: This laptop came preinstalled with a free 30-day trial of McAfee, so "you can enjoy a carefree digital life", which you can extend to a full-year coverage for a fee. There are lots of great Anti-Virus options available for purchase (e.g., Norton, Bitdefender, etc.). Make sure you settle for one tool that fits your needs. Never go online without active Anti-Virus protection. [ Microsoft's four AI components in Windows 11 ] As I am new to Microsoft Windows 11 AI features, I thought I'd consult with Google to find out more about what AI tools come with Windows 11 and what they do: (1) AI Content Extraction, (2) AI Image Search, (3) AI Phi Silica, and (4) AI Semantic Analysis. They are designed to enhance various aspects of the user experience through enabling intelligent content processing, visual search, on-device language understanding, and context-aware search capabilities, built into clickable AI actions from context menus (typically opened through right clicks on an object). - AI Content Extraction -- This component focuses on intelligently identifying and extracting specific information from various types of content, like text, objects, or data points within documents, images, and other files. It can be used for tasks like automated data entry, document processing, and more. - AI Image Search -- This feature allows users to search for images based on their content rather than just file names or tags. It leverages AI to understand the visual elements within images and match them with search queries, enabling users to find similar images or images containing specific objects or scenes using natural language. - AI Phi Silica -- This is a small language model (SLM) developed by Microsoft, specifically optimized to run efficiently on the Neural Processing Units (NPUs) of Copilot+ PCs. Phi Silica is designed for on-device language understanding and generation tasks, such as text summarization, rewriting, and more. It's a key component in enabling features like "Click to Do" and other AI-powered experiences on these devices. - AI Semantic Analysis -- This component focuses on understanding the meaning and context of user input, particularly in search queries. It goes beyond simple keyword matching, using AI to interpret the user's intent and provide more relevant search results. This is related to the Semantic Indexing feature in Windows 11, which helps the system understand the relationships between different pieces of information. Microsoft showcases its Windows 11 AI tools on its website at: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ai-features

**** Summary **** The Dell Plus 16 is a well-rounded and performant upper-midrange laptop that will make most people quite satisfied and happy. The 16" display is vibrant, bright, and crisp, which is good for both media consumption and multitasking productivity apps. The speakers are a bit lacking in terms of sound stage and bass but that's to be expected from a laptop. The keyboard is spaciously laid out with a numpad (!), and the keys are quiet in operation. The touchpad is relatively large and it's very responsive to the touch. Thanks to an 8-core/16-thread AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 APU with the AMD Radeon 860M graphics, 32GB of DDR5 memory, and 1TB Micron NVME drive, the performance is very strong and very good, as is the battery life. ____ *Pros: -Vibrant & crisp 16" display with slim bezels. -Good fit and finish and build quality. -Large and responsive touchpad area. -Keyboard keys are well-spaced out. There is a number pad! -Almost no third-party bloatware. -The Dell apps are actually useful. -The touchscreen works well and has Windows Ink and Pen support. -Excellent battery life. -Good value. ____ *Neutral: -So-so speakers. -The touchpad makes hollow, plastiky sounds when left- and right-clicking. -The keyboard keys feel a bit heavy. ____ *Cons: -None **** Design and Build Quality **** The Dell Plus 16 is a clean and simple-looking laptop that doesn't stand out to grab my attention but it also doesn't offend either with any glaringly bad design or ergonomic choices. I got the Ice Blue model but under most lighting conditions, I see more gray and not much of the blue. The fit and finish is spot on, and I find handling to be comfortable and nice. Despite its 16" screen size, it doesn't weigh too much at 4.45lbs, and the corners are rounded and doesn't dig into my flesh. The display bezels are relatively thin, and I really appreciate the expanded viewing space compared to 13", 14" and 15.5" displays - 16" is now my bare minimum and 18" is my preferred size for a laptop. The 1920 x 1200 Full HD+ resolution (120 dpi) is rated at 60Hz refresh rate and 300 nits brightness, which is what I would expect at this price point and product placement. I find the display to be bright enough, clear and crisp, evenly-lit, and with a good color spectrum and saturation. Dell gives users the option to play around with different color profiles via its Dell Optimizer app where one can toggle among Movie, ComfortView, Sports, and Animation modes. You can select a mode first then play around with the Saturation, Temperature, and Contrast sliders to fine-tune the display to your liking which is nice. The display lacks an infrared sensor for Windows Hello facial recognition but it is touchscreen and Windows Ink and Pen is supported. Having both options would be the best, of course, but if I had to choose between Windows Hello or touchscreen and Ink, I prefer the latter because it improves my productivity and convenience. Moving down from the display to the keyboard and touchpad area, I discovered more things I like about the Dell Plus 16. Thanks to the larger 16" formfactor, the keys on the keyboard are comfortably spaced out, and there is even a number pad on the right, which I LOVE. When I first began typing on the keyboard, they felt a bit heavy to me, probably due to a combination of a longer key travel distance as well as higher key actuation force requirement. Less resistance and a more tactile feel would've been appreciated. In other words, the typing experience and feel was initially not very pleasant, and this part took me the longest time to get used to. Still, I did get used to it eventually and adjusted my typing rhythm, and everything was fine after a while. I go through similar adjustment periods whenever I change my gaming keyboards for my gaming desktop so I won't knock any points from the Dell Plus 16. Further down from the keyboard is that big and lovely touchpad area. I'm so glad more and more manufacturers are making touchpads bigger and more expansive as having a large area really improves one's quality of life when using a laptop daily for multiple hours. It's a Microsoft Precision touchpad, meaning custom gestures and taps are offered for those power users who like to tinker with advanced settings. The touchpad surface is not glass and thus not super smooth and slick but the finger still glides and moves smoothly and I experienced no issues. Pushing down on the touchpad to left- or right-click generates plasticky noise, which annoys me, so I prefer the tap option instead (single-tap for left click, two-finger tap for right-click). It's not loud and clunky by any means but a bit noisy and clicky for me. In terms of ports, the Dell Plus 16 offers an audio jack and a USB-A port on the right side, and one HDMI and two USB-C ports on the left. If you need to keep the laptop plugged in, then the effective number of USB-C ports available to you reduces to just one. I think for most casual, non-power users, the number and selection of ports will not be a big issue. If you do need more ports, like Ethernet or micro/SD card support, then there are plenty of quality hubs out there that can connect to a USB-C port. Air gets pulled in from the bottom and gets expelled out the two vent strips on the rear of the chassis. When doing normal browser and office productivity stuff, the fans were very quiet and never called attention to itself. When I played some games, however, the fans kicked in and generated a noticeable but not distracting whooshing sound. It's louder than a hum but not as loud as a whirring or whining sound. To get around this, you can either up the volume or put on some headphones. Speaking of sound, they were just so-so, and I'll go into more detail in the Performance section below. Overall, I find the design and build quality of the Dell Plus 16 to be good and appropriate for its price and placement in the upper-midrange category. It's noticeably more attractive, better built, and powerful than budget-level laptops but not quite as polished or full of features as the next level-up premium category of devices. I think Dell struck a good balance with the Plus 16, and the device is easy to use and live with on a daily basis. **** Performance **** Thanks to the 8-core/16-thread AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 APU, Radeon 860M iGPU, 32GB of DDR5 memory, and 1TB Micron NVME drive, the Plus 16 is quite a fast, snappy, and responsive machine. Multitasking on the Plus 16 is a smooth and lag-free affair, where even Chrome with >30 tabs open, music playing in the background, and Word and Excel open could not slow the machine down. The benchmark scores backed up my impression and feel, where the Ryzen AI 7 350 scored 2860 for single-core and 12,521 for multi-core in Geekbench 6, besting the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU's single-core score of 2722 from my $3200 Asus gaming laptop despite having 24 cores. AMD's integrated graphics - the Radeon 860M - also fared better than the integrated graphics of the Core Ultra 9 275HX - the Plus 16 had a score of 31,714 in Vulkan Compute vs 20,417. Although the Plus 16 isn't a gaming machine, I played Dandy's World in Roblux and it ran very well with nary a stutter or lag. Other games that ran smoothly at the display's Full HD resolution included Minecraft, Fortnite, and Counter Strike 2. As a music player, the Plus 16's two downward-firing speakers proved to be a bit lacking. As you approach higher levels of volume toward 100%, the audio becomes progressively more echoey and the bass is anemic and weak. Connecting to headphones or an external speaker are recommended if you listen to music very often. In terms of networking and hard drive speed, everything was good and peachy. We have a Wi-Fi 7 router so the Plus 16 was able to take advantage of the increased speed and reliability offered by the Wi-Fi 7 standard. The 1TB Micron NVME hard drive, despite being QLC, was still pretty fast and put up some nice benchmark scores (see pic). For the battery life, the Plus 16 had pretty good stamina as well. With Chrome open with >30 tabs, music playing in the background, Windows 11 Performance Mode set to Balanced, and display brightness at 70%, I got consistent screen time between 7.5 to 8.5 hours. I don't like to take down the battery below 20%, and the Plus 16 took about 6.5 to 7 hours to hit 20% from 100% with the usual setup mentioned above. All in all, I find the performance and general responsiveness of the Plus 16 to be very satisfactory and good. **** Windows 11 and Software **** I was pleasantly surprised by a largely absent lack of third-party software preinstalled in the laptop. The first 3rd party app to go was McAfee security software, which only came with a 30-day free trial anyways. Two Dell apps were preinstalled - the Dell Optimizer and Dell SupportAssist - and both of them were keepers due to their usefulness. The Optimizer app, as mentioned above, adjusts the Saturation, Temperature, and Contrast of the display. The Optimizer can also be used to check on battery info and health and select from four different thermal management options (Optimized, Cool, Quiet, Ultra Performance). The SupportAssist, as its name suggests, handles warranty information and system updates such as drivers and BIOS. The Plus 16 arrived with Windows 11 Home with the 24H2 update, and it's been good and reliable. TIP: If you prefer the Windows 10-like Start Menu and Taskbar, then install an app called ExplorerPatcher (by Valinet). I've installed that app on all of my Windows 11 machines, and I love it. **** Is it worth the coin? **** Absolutely. The Plus 16 offers an excellent performance-and-goods for money ratio, and it's very easy to recommend. The 16" formfactor is great for both productivity and media consumption, and the long battery life will ease charge anxiety. Dell did a pretty good job here, and I give it 5 Stars.