X

Toss the power brick: The Latitude 7285 is Dell's first hybrid with a wireless charging base

This high-end business 2-in-1 can charge by sitting on its own wireless base.

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
Dan Ackerman

Dell's newest premium detachable laptop/tablet hybrid is the Latitude 7285. Because it's from the Latitude line, it's meant for business users, but there are enough cool features that it'll be interesting for anyone looking at a high-end hybrid.

Like popular hybrids such as the Surface line, this starts as a standalone tablet. But while the Surface, and some other Dell hybrids, have slim clip-on keyboard covers, this model connects to a more traditional keyboard dock. That means when the two parts are together, it looks and feels a lot more like a regular clamshell laptop.

dell-latitude-7285-2-in-1-010.jpg
Sarah Tew/CNET

Unlike some other detachables, there isn't a second battery in the keyboard base, but it still plays a big role in charging the battery. This is the first Dell product to work with its own charging base and the sold-separately accessory works similarly to charging bases available for a handful of phones . The company behind the base is called WiTricity, and its magnetic resonance technology (part of the AirFuel Alliance standard) powers the wireless charging.

Dell Latitude 7285 2-in-1

See all photos

You simply place the tablet and base on the large, square charging pad, and the system gets power, without having to plug directly in. This is the only Dell system that supports this for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see it expand to more products later on.

dell-latitude-7285-2-in-1-002.jpg

This charging base only works with the Latitude 7285 for now, but Dell says future systems will also be compatible.

Sarah Tew/CNET

There's no price for this one yet, for either the system or the sold-separately charging base, but Dell expects this will be available at the end of May.