Today, Samsung is announcing its latest Windows 10 laptops, the Galaxy Book Pro and the convertible Galaxy Book Pro 360. As seen in various leaks, they both come in 13.3- and 15.6-inch flavors.
In fact, all four configurations have FHD AMOLED displays. That means that although they don’t have the highest resolutions, you’ll get vibrant colors and true blacks. What’s more interesting is that FHD OLED displays are somewhat rare in laptops. An OLED display on a laptop is more commonly 4K, so it comes with battery life compromises. This shouldn’t have that issue.
“We at Samsung have pioneered countless exciting mobile experiences-new hardware, software, and new ways to help you stay connected and give you the freedom to live your life to the fullest,” said Dr. TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “The new Galaxy Book Pro series offers true mobile computing for the connected world, enabling ultra-light, yet mighty portability, boundless connectivity and a window into your wider Galaxy ecosystem.”
Samsung says that the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 are designed for portability. The clamshell weighs in at 0.87kg for the Wi-Fi model, and the 360 is 1.04kg. They’re 11.2mm and 11.5mm thin, respectively. Portability also means they have cellular connectivity, which is exclusive to the 13.3-inch configurations. On the convertible, it has optional 5G, while the clamshell offers 4G LTE.
Naturally, it has Intel’s 11th-gen processors, also known as Tiger Lake. They come with Iris Xe graphics, which is good for a boost in power. If you want even more, you can get the 15.6-inch clamshell, which comes with an NVIDIA MX450. Being Intel Evo certified, they also come with Thunderbolt 4. That means that you can use a single port to power dual 4K displays.
To be clear, these are using full UP3 processors, such as the Core i5-1135G7 and the Core i7-1165G7. With laptops that are this thin and light, it’s easier to assume that they’d be using the lower-powered UP4 chips – which are the successor to the Y-series – but they’re not. These laptops have the same level of power as any ultrabook with the 11th-gen branding.
You can also use it for charging, and Samsung has a brand new charger for you. The Korean firm says that the charger is smaller than a car key yet it still delivers 65W power. You can use it to charge anything from your Galaxy Book Pro to your Galaxy Buds, with the Galaxy S21 in-between. The charger actually weighs in at 167g.
“We’re excited to take the next step forward in our partnership with Samsung,” said Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer at Microsoft. “This exciting Windows PC portfolio builds on Samsung’s strength in highly mobile and connected devices and solutions. Together, we’re integrating Windows even deeper within the Galaxy ecosystem to create experiences that are simple, smooth, and stunning. I’m proud to be working together to help our customers stay connected, be more productive, more creative, and discover brand-new possibilities with Samsung and Microsoft.”
Of course, Samsung is also continuing to work on better integration with the rest of its ecosystem. It still has its partnership with Microsoft for Link to Windows. That’s meant to make your phone and PC work seamlessly together. What’s new is a way to make your PC and tablet work well together.
It’s called Second Screen, and it’s similar to Apple Sidecar. You can cast your screen to a Galaxy Tab tablet, extending your workspace. This works particularly well if you have a non-touch PC like the Galaxy Book Pro. That way, it adds things like S Pen support and touch.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro
- This is Samsung’s newest series of thin and light laptops. It comes in clamshell and convertible form factors.
You can pre-order the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 beginning today, and they’ll ship on May 14. The 13-inch Galaxy Book Pro starts at $999.99, while the 15-inch model comes in at $1,099.99. For the Galaxy Book Pro 360, the 13-inch model starts at $1,199.99 while the 15-inch model starts at $1,299.99.
As always, Samsung has some perks for pre-ordering. If you get it through Amazon, you get $150 in future credit. If you go the Best Buy route, you get a $150 gift card. Finally, if you go through Samsung.com, you can either get a $150 eCertificate or a free Galaxy Buds Pro.
One thing missing from today’s announcement is the rumored Galaxy Book Go. The laptop has been rumored to be in the works since February, with the latest leak arriving last week. It’s expected to start at just $349 with a Snapdragon 7c, making it one of the most inexpensive 4G LTE laptops around. As it would seem, Samsung is likely to unpack that device some other time.
The post Samsung’s new thin and light Galaxy Book Pro family has AMOLED screens and more appeared first on xda-developers.