Samsung just had an unpacked event last night and we found it quite odd. We did not expect a major unpacked event to happen at this time of the year. Still, it happened, and they launched something we did not really expect them to launch since a few years ago.
Welcome to Samsung’s first notebook PC product in many years. Welcome to the Samsung Galaxy Book ecosystem. First on the menu, are the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360.
We are going to assume that the Samsung Galaxy Book and Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 is the premium thin and light in their expanding stables of notebook products. The Galaxy Book Pro is light though at less than a kg. Specifically, it weighs just a little under 870g (13.3-inch). The 15.6-inch variant is not that much heavier too at a maximum of 1.15kg.
The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 are Intel EVO certified platforms with some new tricks up their sleeves to make it even more seamless for users than ever; we will talk about this later. Intel EVO also means that it packs Intel’s latest 11th Generation Core i7 (up to) to boot. Alongside Intel’s Core processors also is a very capable Intel Iris Xe Graphics. You can opt for an NVIDIA GeForce MX450 discrete GPU (Galaxy Book Pro 15.6-inch) too if you want to and it is available in your region. The powerful Intel processor can be matched to an ample 32GB (up to) of RAM to make quick work of your tasks on the Galaxy Book Pro. It even packs up to 1TB of SSD space to store all the important documents and even your videos.
There is more inside the Galaxy Book Pro and the Galaxy Book Pro 360 though. All Samsung Galaxy Book Pro models, including the 360, packs WiFi 6E capabilities for smooth, stable network experience anywhere they can find WiFi signals. The Galaxy Book Pro 360 (13.3-inch) even has a SIM tray with 5G capabilities. The Galaxy Book Pro (13.3-inch) only has LTE capable SIM tray at this point, but LTE is plenty useful too when you are constantly on the go.
Both the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 comes with AMOLED (Super AMOLED for Galaxy Book Pro 360) display pushing images at Full HD 1080p resolution. What that means is that you get crisp, saturated, vivid, and very pretty images and videos on your Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 notebooks. Thanks to the added colour accuracy, editing photos and videos on the notebook should be an experience. You can even edit your photos via Samsung’s own Gallery app now ported to Windows on the Samsung Galaxy Book series.
They have redesigned the keyboard as well for a better typing experience. The new Pro Keyboard, as they know it, supposedly features an optimum key travel of up to 1mm and is designed to be quieter and softer than ever before. All that allows for a smooth and comfortable typing experience especially when you are working on long emails. The Pro Keyboard is also a repositioning of the keyboard to maximise your typing position and therefore maximizing the trackpad for a more intuitive navigation through Windows 10.
Both notebooks in the series receive AKG’s treatment for audio with Dolby Atmos certification. That also means immersive sound on both ultrabooks. You even get to immerse yourself in movies even longer with up to 20 hours of video playback time and 16 hours in work/play time from the battery. Of course, that is what is being quoted by Samsung anyway, we have not had our chances to put it through our paces, so we can only take Samsung’s word for it at this time. Both notebooks also come with 65W Fast Charging via USB Type-C ports. The chargers are included of course. You can use the same charger to fast charge your Samsung Galaxy S21 device too.
What’s more impressive is that they managed to fit both the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 with a full-sized HDMI, and a full-sized USB Type-A port into the slim bodies of both notebooks. But that is really not the most impressive part of the notebook. The most impressive part of the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 is how well they seem to integrate Samsung’s own ecosystem into Windows, and how Samsung integrates their Android experience into Windows.
If you are already a Samsung device user, you get to benefit plenty from the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360. For one, you get a very familiar S-Pen on the Galaxy Book Pro 360. It is about as big as the one you get from the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, and it is as brilliant, supposedly. But if you own a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 for example, you get to treat that tablet as a secondary display. It is a secondary touch sensitive display too, so you can naturally draw on the tablet and transfer it to the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro series instantly and seamlessly.
Easy Bluetooth Connection automatically detects other Samsung devices like the Samsung’s Buds earphones line-up for example, or even the Galaxy Watch devices. That also means you do not have to dig through Window’s annoying Bluetooth settings to pair up your earphones and synchronize your Samsung Bluetooth devices. But Samsung’s collaboration with Windows also means that it is now easier than ever to link your Android smartphone to windows with Link to Windows and Your Phone app. You need not download DeX anymore to get your device to seamlessly work on Windows.
You even get access to Smart Things within the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 to control all your smart home products from your notebook instead of your smartphone. Quick Share is now a part of the Windows ecosystem so you can start sharing any files instantly to Android devices in your vicinity quickly and seamlessly. These are truly the next step to integrate your devices into a single ecosystem, a way to access everything anytime, anywhere, every time, everywhere.
The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 will be available May 14th onward in selected markets. The Galaxy Book Pro starts at US$ 999 (MYR 4,098*) and is available in Mystic Silver, Mystic Blue, and Mystic Pink Gold colour options. The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 starts at US$ 1,099 (MYR 4,509*) and is available in Mystic Navy, Mystic Silver, and Mystic Bronze colour options. There are no confirmation or information currently on its availability or official pricing in the local (Malaysia) Market. For more information on the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360, you can head over to Samsung’s website.
* Based on approximate exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.10 as of 29/04/2021
