Dell Inspiron 13 5370 — Features, Specs, Performance & Business Use

The Dell Inspiron 13 5370 is a compact 13.3-inch Ultrabook from Dell’s Inspiron 5000 series that arrived as an 8th-generation Intel-Core based thin-and-light aimed at professionals who want a balance of portability, performance and everyday productivity features without the premium price of XPS or Latitude lines. It’s a classic “work-anywhere” laptop: small footprint and light weight, full-HD IPS display options, sufficient CPU power for office workloads and a configuration mix that lets small businesses and mobile knowledge workers prioritise battery life or responsiveness. Below I break down the hardware, real-world performance, connectivity and the business scenarios where the 5370 still makes sense today.

Quick spec snapshot (typical configurations)

• Display: 13.3″ Full HD (1920×1080) IPS anti-glare.

• Processors (typical): 8th-Gen Intel Core i5-8250U or i7-8550U (quad-core U-series). 

• Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 (some SKUs shipped with an entry discrete GPU option in certain markets).

• Memory: commonly 4–8 GB DDR4 (expandable depending on SKU / region). 

• Storage: SATA / NVMe SSD options — 128 GB / 256 GB and occasionally 512 GB M.2 SSDs in higher SKUs.

• Battery: compact 3-cell battery (~38 Wh) varying by market; typical real-world battery life ~5–6 hours under mixed office use. 

• Weight & dimensions: about 1.40 kg (3.08 lb); thickness ≈ 15.8–17.6 mm (front/rear). 

• Ports: mixture of USB-A, USB-C (model/region dependent), microSD or SD, HDMI (on some configs), combined audio jack. Check your SKU for exact port set. 

• OS: Windows 10 (Home or Pro depending on business SKU).

(Those are representative specs for widely sold 5370 configurations — Dell offered regional SKUs with small differences in RAM, storage and wireless modules.)

Industrial design & build — portability with practical touches

The Inspiron 13 5370 opts for a straightforward aluminium-trimmed chassis that keeps the weight down to ~1.4 kg and the footprint small enough to slip into briefcases and backpacks. Dell tuned the lid and perimeter with brushed or matte finishes depending on colourway; the hinge is compact but firm enough to keep the screen steady for single-hand typing or video calls. The 13.3-inch FHD IPS panel gives wide viewing angles and usable brightness for office lighting, and anti-glare coating reduces reflections during long workdays. If your job involves frequent travel or client visits, the combination of size and build is a practical sweet spot.

Keyboard quality on the 5370 is targeted at typists who need a comfortable deck for document work and e-mail: key travel is modest but firm, layout is standard (with full-size arrow keys) and the backlit option is available on many SKUs — a convenience for low-light work. The trackpad is roomy and supports Windows Precision drivers for reliable gestures.

Display — business-friendly panel

Dell equipped the 5370 with a 13.3″ Full HD IPS panel on most configurations, which balances crisp text rendering with battery economy. The panel is anti-glare (non-touch on many models), so it suits long spreadsheet and document sessions where reduced glare improves comfort. If your work requires colour-critical tasks you’ll notice consumer-grade colour gamut limitations compared to higher-end displays — the 5370 is tuned for office productivity rather than photography or design proofing. 

CPU, memory & storage — performance where it matters

The 8th-generation quad-core Intel U-series chips used in the 5370 (i5-8250U / i7-8550U) brought a significant uplift over earlier dual-core Ultrabook parts: more threads and better turbo headroom for multitasking. That makes the 5370 capable of handling complex spreadsheets, web-heavy workflows (many browser tabs), light virtual machines and typical office suites without bottlenecks — especially when configured with 8 GB of RAM and an NVMe SSD. Real-world responsiveness typically shows quick app launches, fast resume from sleep and low waiting times for file indexing or search.

If your business workflows include heavier workloads (data analysis with large datasets, heavy photo editing, software development with many local containers), consider configuring the 5370 with the maximum RAM offered or choosing a more powerful 15″ workstation class device. For typical office work the 5370 hits the right balance of power and battery life. 

Battery life & thermals — real-world behavior

Because the Inspiron 13 5370 is a thin Ultrabook with a relatively small battery (around 38 Wh in many SKUs), expect real-world battery life of around 4–7 hours depending on brightness, workload and wireless usage. In mixed-use office scenarios (web, email, document editing) many reviewers and spec pages reported roughly 5–6 hours of usable runtime — enough for short workdays but you may want the charger for longer travel days. Thermal behaviour is reasonable: the chassis vents and fan ramp quietly under load, but sustained CPU-bound workloads will cause the fan to run and the surface to warm near the keyboard area.

For business deployments, that means planning a charging strategy — a spare USB-C or small barrel charger in the bag can prevent downtime. Some users opt to tune power profiles (Dell Power Manager / Windows power plans) to prioritise battery life over peak performance.

Connectivity & ports — what to expect in practice

The 5370 offers the essentials: Wi-Fi 802.11ac for fast wireless, Bluetooth for peripherals, and a selection of physical ports that may include USB-C (some SKUs), USB-A, HDMI (micro/standard depending on region), and a micro/SD card reader. Small business users like the inclusion of a USB-C port (where present) because it enables single-cable docking solutions and faster external storage. However, exact port sets vary by SKU and region, so confirm the SKU’s port map before ordering for integration with docks or existing peripherals.

Security features are standard consumer/business level: a fingerprint reader is available on some models, and Windows Hello support is often included on configurations with fingerprint or IR camera. For stricter corporate fleets you may layer on Microsoft BitLocker, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and MDM policies.

Manageability & support for IT

Dell’s support ecosystem makes the Inspiron manageable for small business IT. The 5370 appears in Dell’s manuals and support portal with driver bundles, BIOS updates and user guides — typical of Dell’s consumer/business crossover models. For larger roll-outs you can use Dell’s ProSupport and imaging tools, but enterprise features like vPro (for out-of-band management) are not standard on Inspiron models — if you require vPro, choose Latitude/OptiPlex/Precision lines. 

Real-world performance — summary of reviewer findings

Independent reviews of the Inspiron 13 5370 highlight its strengths: thin & light portability, solid day-to-day responsiveness (with SSD + 8 GB RAM), and good display for productivity. Criticisms commonly focus on battery endurance versus ultraportables with bigger cells and the limited upgrade path on some SKUs (soldered RAM in certain configurations). For typical office tasks — Word/Excel, email, videoconferencing, light multitasking — the 5370 is performant and portable.

Business use cases — where the 5370 fits best

1. Mobile knowledge workers & consultants: The weight and size make it ideal for frequent travel and client meetings — light enough to carry all day. 

2. Sales and field staff: Good battery life for half-day outdoor or on-site usage, with full-HD screen for presentations and reliable wireless. 

3. Small business desktops for hybrid workers: Paired with a USB-C dock (on compatible SKUs) the 5370 works well as a portable laptop that docks cleanly at the office. 

4. Executives and managers: Comfortable keyboard, light weight, and solid performance make it a practical executive laptop without a heavy price tag.

5. Education & training staff: Portable, robust enough for presentations and workshops, and simple to image/manage for small IT teams.

Not a great fit if your workflows require heavy GPU compute, long all-day battery runtime without charging, or enterprise-grade remote management (vPro) — for those needs pick a business-class line or a 15″ workstation. 

Buying advice & configuration tips

• Choose an SSD + 8 GB RAM minimum for responsive business use. NVMe SSDs noticeably improve boot and app-load times. 

• Confirm the port set (USB-C, HDMI, card reader) on the exact SKU — docking and peripheral compatibility depend on it.

• Consider an i7 + 16 GB only if you need heavier multitasking or local VMs; otherwise an i5 + 8 GB is a balanced pick. 

• If travel is frequent, test battery life with your workflow — real world can differ from marketing claims; carry a spare charger if you need a full day offline.

Conclusion

The Dell Inspiron 13 5370 is an attractive, practical ultrabook for small businesses and mobile professionals who need a thin, light device with enough CPU, RAM and SSD performance to run modern office workloads. It isn’t a full enterprise rig — it lacks vPro management and enterprise docking guarantees — but for freelancers, consultants, salespeople and small-company staff it’s a cost-effective laptop that balances portability and everyday productivity. If you value light weight, a crisp FHD screen and SSD responsiveness in a compact chassis, the 5370 remains a sensible option — just pick the configuration that matches your balance of battery runtime vs performance. 

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Key sources

Representative spec pages, reviews and Dell support documentation used to compile this overview.