The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro is a new laptop from the South Korean tech giant that promises speedy performance in an extremely portable package, with the first AMOLED display ever seen on a Samsung Windows laptop.
Unveiled today alongside the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360, these machines pack 11th Gen Intel CPUs and AMOLED screens (a first for Samsung Windows laptops), making both strong competitors for a spot among our best laptops on the market.
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With these new notebooks Samsung is making a bold push to be more dominant in the premium laptop market, and we're eager to get some in for testing and review. Here's what we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro, which is available for pre-order today at a starting price of $999 for the 13-inch and $1,099 for the 15-inch.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro: Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro is available for pre-order starting today (April 28th), and it's expected to go on sale May 14th.
The price starts at $999 for the 13-inch Galaxy Book Pro and $1,099 for the 15-inch, and it can go up by several hundred dollars if you configure the laptop with increased storage or improved hardware.
Samsung claims it's also offering deals through Amazon, Best Buy, and its own website that will let customers who pre-order before May 14th claim $150 in future credit (or the choice of a free pair of Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds, if you buy through Samsung); anyone who buys a laptop between May 14th and May 30th through Amazon, Best Buy, or Samsung's website will instead be eligible for $100 in future credit.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro: Specs
| Header Cell - Column 0 | 13-inch Galaxy Book Pro | 15-inch Galaxy Book Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $999 | $1,099 |
| Screen | 13.3-inch AMOLED (1920 x 1080) | 15.6-inch AMOLED (1920 x 1080) |
| Processor | 11th Gen Intel i5/i7 | 11th Gen Intel i5/i7 |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe graphics | Intel Iris Xe graphics |
| Storage | 256GB to 512GB NVMe SSD | 256GB to 512GB NVMe SSD |
| Memory | 8GB LPDDR4x | 8GB, 16GB LPDDR4x |
| Ports | 1 Thunderbolt 4, 1 USB-C, 1 USB 3.2, MicroSD reader, headphone/mic jack | 1 Thunderbolt 4, 1 USB-C, 1 USB 3.2, MicroSD reader, headphone/mic jack |
| Battery life | 16 hours (Samsung claims) | 16 hours (Samsung claims) |
| Security | Fingerprint reader on power button | Fingerprint reader on power button |
| Audio | Sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos support | Sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos support |
| Connectivity | LTE (in select regions, not including US at launch) Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), Wi-Fi 6E ready, Bluetooth 5.1, 802.11 ax | Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), Wi-Fi 6E ready, Bluetooth 5.1, 802.11 ax |
| Dimensions | 12 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches | 14 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches |
| Weight | 1.9 pounds | 2.3 pounds |
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro: Design
The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro is shaping up to be a remarkably thin and light laptop, weighing in at 1.9 pounds for the 13-inch and 2.3 pounds for the 15-inch. To give you a sense of comparison, the specs suggest the 13-inch Galaxy Book Pro will be just a bit smaller and lighter than both the Dell XPS 13 and the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The Galaxy Book Pro chassis is made of magnesium and aluminum and comes in two dual-tone matte color options: Mystic Silver or Mystic Blue.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro: Display
Both the 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch models of Galaxy Book Pro have Full HD AMOLED screens with a native 1920 x 1080 resolution. AMOLED displays are typically vibrant and gorgeous, with excellent contrast, thanks to the use of LEDs rather than LCDs.
The Galaxy Book Pro is Samsung's first Windows PC with an AMOLED display, and we're eager to get one in for testing so we can see how it performs in person. Samsung says the laptops also ship with a built-in Intelligent Color Engine utility that can dynamically change the screen's color space to complement whatever you're doing (think: gaming, watching movies, editing photos). This will work as long as the app you're using is optimized to work with the Engine.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro: Keyboard and touchpad
Samsung claims the keyboard on the new Galaxy Book Pro uses a scissor mechanism to offer 1mm of near-silent travel. The touchpad is designed to be a bit larger than those on the Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion, with Samsung claiming a 23% larger touchpad on the 15-inch Galaxy Book Pro compared to those earlier models.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro: Battery life and charging
Samsung has been a bit cagey about what it expects from the Galaxy Book Pro in terms of battery life, stating in its presentation that owners of Galaxy Book Pro series laptops should expect up to 20 hours of video playback or 16 hours of standard usage.
We're still trying to nail down specifics for each laptop in the lineup, since the Galaxy Book Pro series covers both sizes of the Galaxy Book Pro and the Galaxy Book Pro 360, which would seem to have significantly different power resources.
As far as charging goes, Samsung claims the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro laptops support 65W fast charging and can deliver 8 hours of video playback after 30 minutes of charging.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro: Connectivity
Samsung is touting connectivity as a key selling point of the Galaxy Book Pro. The tech giant is claiming to have integrated its expertise in smartphone design (specifically, its Galaxy smartphones) into the design of these new laptops.
If you already have a Samsung smartphone or tablet, you'll find the Galaxy Book Pro laptop comes with a suite of options for connecting to them and sharing information, displays, and phone calls across devices. The Galaxy Book Pro will also ship with Samsung's SmartThings app, which lets the laptop interface with SmartThings-compatible smarthome devices like lights, appliances, and thermostats.
Also, the 13-inch model of the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro can be configured for LTE support — but that depends heavily on which region you're in and what carriers are available. As of launch, LTE support for the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro is not available in the US, putting a big damper on the product's promise of offering "true mobile computing," at least for now.
The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro also supports Wi-Fi 6 (and is Wi-Fi 6E ready) and Bluetooth 5.1.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro: Outlook
Samsung has earned a reputation for making quality smartphones and tablets, but its laptops have never made a big splash in the global market.
Now that appears to be changing; we appreciated the premium touches Samsung brought to its Galaxy Chromebook, and we liked how the company adapted that pricey design for more efficient daily use with its Galaxy Chromebook 2.
The new Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 laptops appear likely to continue that trend, given that they pack the latest Intel CPUs into slim, attractive machines sporting AMOLED displays. The price isn't too bad, either; all that remains is to get some in for testing so we can see how well they measure up against the competition.
