Dell Pro 16 Plus 2025, Core Ultra 5 235U, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Platinum Silver

The Dell Pro 16 Plus is a 16-inch business laptop with a Core Ultra 5 processor, 16GB RAM, and excellent port selection. It's built for office productivity and IT-managed environments, not gaming or creative work. The display and battery life are underwhelming for the price, but the build quality and connectivity are solid.

The Core Ultra 5 235U is a solid mid-range performer. In our database it lands at the 58th percentile for CPU performance, which means it handles everyday productivity, web browsing, and light multitasking without breaking a sweat. The 12-core design splits between performance and efficiency cores, so it's decent at juggling background tasks while you work. For developers, our scoring puts it at 57.4 out of 100, which is respectable but not exciting. You'll compile code and run containers fine, but heavy virtualization or large builds will make you wait.

The integrated Intel Graphics are the weak link here. Gaming scores drop to 16.1 out of 100, which is rough. This is not a machine for anything beyond casual browser games or very old titles at low settings. The 16GB of DDR5 RAM is adequate for most office work, and the 512GB SSD is about average for this class. The 55Wh battery is smaller than we'd like for a 16-inch laptop, though Dell claims up to 12.6 hours of runtime. Real-world use with the display at reasonable brightness will likely land well short of that.

The Dell Pro 16 Plus is in an awkward spot when you look at the competition. The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max absolutely destroys it in performance, display quality, and battery life, but it also costs significantly more. If you're in the Apple ecosystem and have the budget, the MacBook Pro is the better machine for nearly everything except Windows-specific enterprise software. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and Lenovo Legion Pro 7i are gaming laptops that trade portability for GPU power. They'll run circles around the Dell in any graphics workload, but they're heavier and their business features are weaker.

The HP OMEN Transcend 14 is an interesting alternative if you want something more portable with better graphics. It's a 14-inch machine though, so you lose screen real estate. The MSI Raider is a full desktop replacement class machine, much heavier and more powerful. None of these competitors offer the same combination of vPro management, Ethernet, and business-focused features that the Dell brings. If you're buying for an IT-managed fleet, the Dell makes sense. If you're buying for yourself, the alternatives are more compelling at similar price points.

Value is tricky here because the pricing is genuinely confusing. US listings span from USD 1,395 to USD 2,296 across four vendors, and Canadian pricing ranges from CAD 1,833 to CAD 2,415. That's a CAD 582 spread for what appears to be the same laptop. If you're shopping in the US, the lower end of that range is reasonable for a business laptop with this port selection and build quality. At the high end, you're paying way too much for integrated graphics and a mediocre display. Shop around and don't pay a premium for this config. The affordability percentile sits at 30th, which reflects that this isn't a budget machine, but the specs don't always justify the asking price.

The Dell Pro 16 Plus sits in that business laptop sweet spot, a 16-inch machine aimed at people who need to get work done without hauling around a gaming brick. At 1.84kg it's not ultrabook light, but it's reasonable for a 16-inch chassis. The aluminum top cover and palm rest give it a more premium feel than your average office fleet laptop. Pricing is all over the map though. US listings range from USD 1,395 to USD 2,296, which is a huge spread for the same core config.

Under the hood you get an Intel Core Ultra 5 235U, a 12-core chip with vPro support for IT departments. That's paired with 16GB of DDR5 and a 512GB NVMe SSD. The display is a 16-inch 1920x1200 IPS panel at 60Hz with 300 nits brightness and 45% NTSC color coverage. That's fine for spreadsheets and documents, but don't expect vibrant colors for photo editing.

Dell is pushing the AI angle with the built-in Intel AI Boost NPU rated at 12 TOPS. For most people right now that means Windows Studio Effects for video calls and some local AI features. It's not a Copilot+ PC with the 40+ TOPS requirement, so don't expect the full Windows 11 AI experience. The port selection is genuinely excellent though, with Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and both USB-C and USB-A ports.

Skip the Dell Pro 16 Plus if you need any real graphics performance. Gamers, video editors, and 3D artists should look at the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 or Lenovo Legion Pro 7i instead, both of which offer dedicated GPUs at similar price points. Creative professionals who care about color accuracy should also pass, the 45% NTSC coverage won't cut it for photo or video work. If you're a student or individual buyer who doesn't need vPro or enterprise management features, you're paying for capabilities you'll never use. A consumer laptop at the same price will likely give you a better display and longer battery life. And if portability is your priority, the 1.84kg weight and 16-inch footprint make this a poor choice for frequent travel.

The Dell Pro 16 Plus is a competent business laptop that does exactly what it's designed to do. It's not exciting, it's not flashy, and it won't win any benchmark competitions. But for office work, document editing, video calls, and general productivity, it gets the job done with a solid keyboard, good port selection, and a professional build quality. The vPro support makes it easy for IT departments to manage, and the 16:10 display is genuinely nice for productivity.

Should you buy it? If you're an IT manager outfitting a team and you can get it at the lower end of the price range, yes. If you're an individual buyer looking for a personal laptop, there are better options at this price. The display's color accuracy is disappointing, the battery is undersized, and the integrated graphics limit what you can do. For the same money you could get a laptop with a better screen or a dedicated GPU. This is a fleet machine, not a passion purchase.