The recently-launched 12.9″ iPad Pro may have an M1 chip under the hood, but Samsung appears to be trying to outdo Apple’s laptop replacement (what’s a computer?) with an actual, Intel-powered laptop—or two. The South Korean company has announced the new Galaxy Book devices: the Galaxy Book Pro, and the Galaxy Book Pro 360.
Both are available in 13/15 variants, and you’ll be able to choose between a more conventional clamshell laptop form-factor with the Galaxy Book Pro, or the convertible 360 model. Both use AMOLED displays—one of the highlights of the new models—and Samsung says that they work “seamlessly” with the rest of your Galaxy ecosystem devices.
“Easy Bluetooth connection connects your Galaxy Buds to your Galaxy Book Pro series immediately so you don’t have to change Bluetooth settings back and forth between devices. With Galaxy Book Smart Switch, quickly transfer your favorite photos, movies, files, apps and even settings from your existing Windows PC to your Galaxy Book Pro series so you can get back to creating and connecting faster. Quick Share for the Galaxy Book Pro series allows you to share content between your Galaxy devices or with classmates and coworkers in just a few clicks.”
Samsung has also put a lot of work into ensuring that the new laptops are lightweight, with the WiFi model for the Galaxy Book Pro 13 weighing in at just 0.87kg. Add in an LTE modem, and this goes up to 0.88kg, while the larger 15″ variant is 1.15kg—still relatively light for a 15″ laptop. All of that is made possible with 6000-series aluminium, which supposedly offers “military-grade durability”.
Samsung has also provided a couple of useful infographics to differentiate between the various models in the series:
A couple of things you should note (beyond differing form-factors). Support for 5G and the upgraded S Pen appears to be limited to the Galaxy Book 360, as well as the Super AMOLED display (which comes with an integrated touch panel). Strangely, there doesn’t appear to be a silo to store the S Pen in, so you might have to dedicate a little slot in your laptop bag (or throw it in a pencil case… if you still carry one around). Still, the S Pen is bundled in your purchase for the Galaxy Book Pro 360, so there’s that.
Beyond that, both models are powered by 11th Gen Intel Core processors, ranging from i3 variants all the way to i7 chips at the top end. Those are mated to Intel UHD graphics for the i3 models, or Irix Xe integrated GPUs for the i5 and i7 models. However, the Galaxy Book Pro 15 also comes with an option for the a GeForce MX450—which means that you might get away with a tad bit of gaming on the move, if that’s your thing.
The larger, 15.6″ models have support for WiFi 6E, but the Galaxy Book Pro 360 13 has 5G support on top of that, while the Galaxy Book Pro 13 has LTE support. All models push FHD resolutions of 1920×1080 pixels. along with storage of up to 1TB (NVMe SSD) and memory configurations of up to 32GB of LPDDR4x RAM. However, the Galaxy Book Pro 360 misses out on a 32GB RAM option, so you’ll have to settle for 16GB (which should be enough, to be frank).
Other specs include fingerprint scanners on the power key, along with Thunderbolt 4 ports, and USB-C charging (65W). Samsung didn’t release specific battery life figures yet, but the company promises that both models are “built to keep you going through the day”.
Pre-orders for both the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 are open in select markets, with pricing starting at USD 999.99 (~RM4,104) for the Pro and USD 1,199.99 (~RM4,925) for the Pro 360. We’ve yet to receive word from Samsung Malaysia on potential local availability, but given Malaysia’s status as a key market for the company, we do expect to hear something sooner rather than later.
So, what are your thoughts? This or the iPad Pro? Or the M1-powered MacBook Pro? Or… just a thought—another Windows laptop?
