Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 review

Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 (2025): a big convertible that bets on reliability, not graphics

The Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 is a $1,275 convertible built around Intel's Lunar Lake generation: a Core Ultra 5 226V with Arc 130V graphics and 32GB of memory. The headline strength is a reliability index of 86 — 75.5 percent above the convertible-class median of 49 — paired with a 2.05kg chassis that is meaningfully heavier than the class median of 1.45kg. This is a machine designed to be trusted, carried occasionally, and used for everything except GPU work.

Where it holds up

The office experience is the core: an office index of 72.91 sits in the high band, overall performance at 45.36 is mid-tier, and the 32GB of memory comfortably clears the comfort bar for heavy multitasking. The convertible form factor adds pen and tent modes on a 16-inch canvas, and the reliability reading is among the stronger ones in this batch's convertible wing. For documents, browsing, calls, and media, it has headroom to spare.

Where it falls short

The weakness the verdict names is graphics performance, and the data behind it is blunt: the best GPU score reads 0 — a coverage gap rather than a measured zero, since the Arc 130V has no matched scoring entry in the catalog and should be verified hands-on rather than trusted as literally absent. The task axes that lean on graphics all follow it down: gaming at 19, 3D modeling at 17, engineering CAD at 22, and photo design at 13, all in the low band. Portability at 35.2 is mid-tier, a direct consequence of the 2.05kg weight — this is a desk-first convertible that converts, rather than a travel machine.

Price and depreciation

The ledger shows no baseline price for this configuration, so the projection is rate-only: a modeled 15 percent per year. On a $1,275 ask that implies roughly $190 of expected value loss in the first year — a mid-pace schedule for a current-generation convertible, and a reason to buy only if the reliability-and-form-factor package is genuinely what the workflow needs.

Alternatives to consider

Within the same batch, the Pro 14 Plus at $765 delivers the same 226V/Arc 130V platform with 64GB of memory and a reliability reading of 92 for a far smaller outlay — if the convertible hinge is not essential. The Inspiron 17 7706 2-in-1 at $566 is the opposite trade: a 2020 machine with a genuine MX350 discrete chip and photo design at 81, older but cheaper and more graphics-capable. And if the 16-inch canvas is the point, the Pro Max 16 Premium at $765 offers a far stronger all-round sheet at a lower price, minus the hinge.

Bottom line

Fairly priced for the class. The 16 Plus 2-in-1 is a reliability-first big convertible with a graphics column the benchmarks cannot read and four low-band task axes as a result. Buy it for the hinge, the screen size, and the trust factor; skip it for anything GPU-shaped, and check the Arc 130V's real-world behavior before committing.