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Dell Latitude 7424 Rugged Extreme

 & Eric Grevstad Contributing Editor

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Dell Latitude 7424 Rugged Extreme

From its jutting front handle to its rubberized-bumper corners (not to mention its two-inch thickness and near-nine-pound weight), the 7424 is an imposing machine.

Camera Shutter

A sliding privacy shutter lets you cover the face-recognition webcam. There are also fingerprint and SmartCard readers for users who prefer those log-in technologies.

A Look at the Left Ports, Doors Closed...

Press the doors firmly shut and move the latches up and to the side, and the Latitude's ports are securely locked away.

...and Doors Open

One USB-C port, two USB-A ports, and an audio jack reside behind the doors on the Dell's left side.

The Passive Stylus

The supplied stylus is more accurate than a finger at navigating the Dell's resistive touch screen.

Peering at the Right-Side Ports

Along with a garage for the tethered stylus, you'll find a Blu-ray drive, SmartCard and SD card slots, and a USB 3.0 Type-A port on the Rugged Extreme's right.

More Ports Around the Back

Two Ethernet ports, two video outputs, a serial port, and the power connector occupy the rear panel.

Interfaces on the Underside

Two hot-swappable 51-watt-hour batteries and a plate for in-vehicle and desktop docks are found on the Dell's bottom.

Keyboard

The backlit keyboard offers adequate travel and a bouncy typing feel, though the Escape and Delete keys are small.

A Tricky Touchpad

Like the rest of the Rugged Extreme, the touchpad shrugs off raindrops and spills. Unfortunately, it also shrugs off precise mouse maneuvers.

Overhead View

Touchpad aside, its snappy keyboard and extra-bright screen make the Latitude a pleasure to work on.

Bring on the Elements

The Latitude 7424 Rugged Extreme is built like a tank from every angle.

About Our Expert

Eric Grevstad

Eric Grevstad

Contributing Editor

My Experience

I was picked to write PCMag's 40th Anniversary "Most Influential PCs" feature because I'm the geezer who remembers them all—I worked on TRS-80 and Apple II monthlies starting in 1982 and served as editor of Computer Shopper when it was a 700-page monthly rivaled only by Brides as America's fattest magazine. I was later the editor in chief of Home Office Computing, a magazine about using tech to work from home two decades before a pandemic made it standard practice. Even in semi-retirement, I can't stop playing with toys and telling people what gear to buy.

The Technology I Use

I wish I still had my TRS-80 Model 4P, Laser 128 (educational toymaker VTech's Apple IIc clone), Psion Series 5, and ThinkPad 701C with the fold-out "butterfly" keyboard.

My main machine is a Lenovo Yoga 9i all-in-one desktop with a 13th Gen Core i9 and 32-inch 4K display running Windows 11 Home, Microsoft 365 Family, and Norton 360 with LifeLock. My wife and I get 400Mbps Spectrum internet as part of our homeowners' association fee, but I pay a fortune for streaming services.

I also have a Google Pixel 7 Android phone and pay Mint Mobile $15 a month. We share a Volvo XC60 Recharge plug-in hybrid; I'd have a car of my own, but it seems wasteful to buy a Corvette E-Ray to drive 10 miles a week.

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