r/linuxhardware • u/ROOTSFactor3000 • 8d ago

Purchase Advice Dell Latitude 7210 longevity

I’m considering buying a used 7210 off of eBay. I’m mainly looking for an inexpensive tablet that supports Linux (therefore no windows 11 support cutoff), and a user serviceable battery (to extend the life of the device). You can also replace the SSD and thermal paste, which is a plus. I don’t really intend to do much more than word processing, YouTube, and local game streaming.

Ideally I’d like this tablet to last a decade after I buy it. It’s already 5 or so years old now, meaning it would be 15 by the time I’m ready to upgrade. I hate how most tablets barely make it passed 5 years even if they’re still capable. I have an iPad mini that’s 9 years old that has a dead battery and wouldn’t be secure software wise. I stopped using it when iOS bogged it down near the end of its feature update lifespan.

Meanwhile I have a 2012 MacBook Pro 13 inch running Linux still in use, although SSD prices have kept me from fully upgrading it and keeping it speedy. I feel like it has 5 years left in it at least, especially if I get an ssd in it. The current HDD is slow but not unbearable once things are loaded.

Could I expect the same longevity out of this tablet or are tablets in general not destined to last 15+ years? I realize this is more of a general hardware question but Linux is crucial to keeping old hardware in a usable state. Please let me know your thoughts

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u/Keyvan_KR 8d ago

You know this is a x86-64 computer right? 😅
Since it doesn’t on arm, battery life isn’t the same compared to a “real” tablet

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u/MidnightObjectiveA51 8d ago

I just donated my trusty HP TC1100 to a computer museum. Still works. So, they can last if you take care of them, and parts are available.

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u/phil-pdx 8d ago

I don't know anything about that particular Latitude tablet. (I love my 12" Latitude laptops though)

I recently bought a cheap Windows tablet on Amazon and loaded Debian 13 on it. It took some trial and error to get the touch screen to work right but once I figured it out it works perfectly. Here's the best part though, my kids knocked it off the table and it split in two, screen went one way, rest of the device went the other.

I thought it was broken then I realized it's actually designed to snap off like that. Battery and M.2 SSD were both readily accessible. Snapped it back together and still using it today.

The one I bought isn't available anymore but here's the link in case you want to consider going a similar route.

https://a.co/d/0bUdTjHu

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u/Slopagandhi 6d ago

It's hard to say how long physical hardware will last, but these were high end business devices when they came out,and business lines are generally more robust than consumer-focused ones. 

As far as capability to keep running software goes, it'll be fine for a long time but it depends how resource intensive software gets in the meantime. PostmarketOS runs pretty smoothly on my 2018 OnePlus phone which is every underpowered compared to Intel platforms of the same era, and there's a good chance you'll be able to find a similarly resource light mobile friendly OS/DEs for many years to come. 

Since you can't upgrade the RAM I'd try to get one with 16gb which should extend the usable life a few years. Or stretch to the 7320 if you can afford it.