Dell 16 Plus vs. Inspiron 16 Plus: Older option is both faster and cheaper with the exact same display
The 2025 Dell 16 Plus is now shipping to replace the 2024 Inspiron 16 series of old. It currently retails between $1250 and $1650 whereas last year's Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 currently retails for $1200 with discrete GeForce RTX 4060 graphics.
Though their names are quite different, the Dell 16 Plus inherits many physical features from its predecessor to the point where they share almost the same dimensions and chassis materials. Because of the processor swap from the Core Ultra-H series to the more efficient Core Ultra-V series with just integrated graphics, however, the newer model is noticeably lighter by about 400 grams. This change alone makes the Dell 16 Plus feel like a different machine for a broader audience whereas the older Inspiron 16 Plus catered more towards power users even though both machines share the same AU Optronics 1600p IPS display.
The performance delta between the two machines is not insignificant. As shown by our full review on the Dell 16 Plus and the charts below, the Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and RTX 4060 GPU in the Inspiron 16 Plus can be almost 2x and 2.5x to 3x faster than the Core Ultra 7 256V and Arc 140V, respectively. Battery life is expectedly longer on the Dell 16 Plus, but the Inspiron 16 Plus includes a larger 99 Wh battery pack to narrow the gap.
Users who don't mind the extra weight should consider the heavier Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 over the Dell 16 Plus as the older machine is more capable when it comes to gaming and other demanding scenarios.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
| 3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 | |
| Dell 16 Plus | |
| 3DMark | |
| 1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 | |
| Dell 16 Plus | |
| 2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 | |
| Dell 16 Plus | |
| 2560x1440 Speed Way Score | |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 | |
| Dell 16 Plus | |
| Dell 16 Plus Core Ultra 7 256V, Arc 140V, 64 Wh | Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, 90 Wh | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 844 | 799 -5% |
| Dell 16 Plus AU Optronics B160QAN, IPS, 2560x1600, 16", 120 Hz | Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 AU Optronics B160QAN, IPS, 2560x1600, 16", 120 Hz | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | -1% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 76.6 | 76 -1% |
| sRGB Coverage | 99.8 | 99.8 0% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 78.4 | 76.7 -2% |
| Response Times | 24% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 32.8 ? | 25.6 ? 22% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 23.4 ? | 17.6 ? 25% |
| PWM Frequency | ||
| Screen | 0% | |
| Brightness middle | 335.6 | 314.7 -6% |
| Brightness | 308 | 291 -6% |
| Brightness Distribution | 88 | 89 1% |
| Black Level * | 0.22 | 0.28 -27% |
| Contrast | 1525 | 1124 -26% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.15 | 1.62 61% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 9.8 | 2.94 70% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 0.44 | 1.08 -145% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.7 | 1.3 81% |
| Gamma | 2.25 98% | 2.26 97% |
| CCT | 6260 104% | 6385 102% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 8% /
3% |
* ... smaller is better
Source(s)
