Dell's Latitude 9510 shakes up corporate laptops with 5G, machine learning, and thin bezels

The Dell Latitude 9510 is a new breed of corporate laptop. Inspired in part by the company’s powerful and much-loved Dell XPS 15, it’s the first model in an ultra-premium business line packed with the best of the best, tuned for business users.

Announced January 2 and unveiled Monday at CES in Las Vegas, the Latitude 9510 weighs just 3.2 pounds and promises up to 30 hours of battery life. PCWorld had a chance to delve into the guts of the Latitude 9510, learning more about what’s in it and how it was built. Here are the coolest things we saw:

dell latitude 9510 disassembled parts — The Dell Latitude 9510 is shown disassembled, with (top, left to right) the magnesium bottom panel, the aluminum display lid, and the internals; and (bottom) the array of ports, speaker chambers, keyboard, and other small parts.

Look at those thin bezels

The thin bezels around the 15.6-inch screen (see top of story) are the biggest hint that the Latitude 9510 took inspiration from its cousin, the XPS 15. Despite the size of the screen, the Latitude 9510 is amazingly compact. And yet, Dell managed to squeeze in a camera above the display—thanks to a teeny, tiny sliver of a module.

How Dell built 5G into the Latitude 9510

dell latitude 9510 motherboard and battery pack — A closer look at the motherboard of the Dell Latitude 9510 shows the 52Wh battery and the areas around the periphery where Dell put the 5G antennas.

The Latitude 9510 is one of the first laptops we’ve seen with integrated 5G networking. The challenge of 5G in laptops is integrating all the antennas you need within a metal chassis that’s decidedly radio-unfriendly.

Dell made some careful choices, arraying the antennas around the edges of the laptop and inserting plastic pieces strategically to improve reception. Two of the antennas, for instance, are placed underneath the plastic speaker components and plastic speaker grille.

dell latitude 9510 speaker grille — The Dell Latitude 9510 incorporated plastic speaker panels to allow reception for the 5G antennas underneath.

Not ready for 5G? No worries. Dell also offers the Latitude 9510 with Wi-Fi 6, the latest wireless networking standard.

Dell Optimizer software really, really gets you

You are constantly asking your PC to do things for you, usually the same things, over and over. Dell’s Optimizer software, which debuts on the Latitude 9510, analyzes your usage patterns and tries to save you time with routine tasks.

For instance, the Express SignIn feature logs you in faster. The ExpressResponse feature learns which applications you fire up first and loads them faster for you. Express Charge watches your battery usage and will adjust settings to save bettery, or step in with faster charging when you need some juice, pronto. Intelligent Audio will try to block out background noise so you can videoconference with less distraction.

The Dell Latitude 9510’s advanced features and great looks should elevate corporate laptops in performance as well as style. It will come in clamshell and 2-in-1 versions, and is due to ship March 26. Pricing is not yet available.