First look at Galaxy Book 3: Samsung’s professional laptops are going up a notch

This story is part of samsung eventCNET’s collection of news, tips and advice on the most popular Samsung products.

A Samsung Unpacked event on Wednesdaythe electronics giant announced the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra laptop along with its latest Galaxy S23 flagship phones.

like samsung best Galaxy Ultra phones Y Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Tablet, the Ultra laptop will have the best performance, loads of features and a great screen. But like the other Ultra devices, the Ultra Laptop may be more computer than you need. Samsung also has the Galaxy Book 3 Pro and Pro 360, which fall a bit short of the Ultra’s performance, but have many features in common, along with their own added goodies.

The Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is the star though, and thankfully it fixes two things I didn’t like about the otherwise excellent Galaxy Book 2 Pro models. One problem was the exhibits of him. While they had great-looking AMOLED panels, they were 16:9, 1080p widescreen displays; most premium laptops use higher-resolution 16:10 panels that give you more vertical space. The 16-inch Galaxy Book 3 Ultra makes the leap to 16:10. It’s still an AMOLED panel, too, so you’ll get amazing color and contrast. Plus, it has a 120Hz refresh rate for smoother videos; its resolution is 2,880×1,800 pixels.

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The second problem I had with the Book 2 Pro was that Samsung didn’t offer any option for discrete graphics, and frankly, if you’re going to call something “Pro”, you should offer something stronger than integrated graphics. That doesn’t change with the Book 3 Pro models, but the Ultra will have either an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 or 4070 graphics chip and will be paired with a 13th-gen Intel Core i7 or i9 processor, respectively, giving the Ultra some edge. professional-grade laptop performance.

Those components add to the price considerably, with the Core i7 and RTX 4050 configuration starting at $2,400 and the Core i9 and RTX 4070 pairing going for $3,000. (Price and availability weren’t announced for the UK or Australia, but entry price converts to £1,950 and AU$3,400.) You get plenty of other great features for those prices, like a 1080p webcam, a four-speaker audio system, a fingerprint reader in the power button, and a larger 76-watt-hour battery. The Ultra also has more ports than the Galaxy Book 2 Pro, with a USB-A port and HDMI 2.0 output joining its two Thunderbolt USB-C ports, a microSD card slot, and a headphone jack.

The good news is that almost all of these things make their way to the Pro models, with the big exception being the Core i9 processor and discrete graphics. The nice thing about this is that the 16-inch Galaxy Book 3 Pro laptop is 4 millimeters thinner and weighs about half a pound lighter than the 16.5mm-thick, 4-pound Ultra. The Galaxy Book 3 Pro will also be available in a 14-inch size that weighs just 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilograms).

There’s also a 16-inch Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 two-in-one, which is big for a two-in-one, but since it comes with one of Samsung’s excellent S Pens, you’ll have plenty of room to draw. or take notes, it will also be a good whiteboard for meetings. And again, all the features like the high-res webcam, array of ports, and quad speakers on the Ultra are here, too. It’s also the only model to come with optional wireless 5G.

Plus, like previous Galaxy Books, the new Ultra and Pro laptops are designed to work with other Galaxy devices. Things like sending files back and forth between your phone and laptop are easy. You can, for example, start working on a file on your Galaxy phone and end on your Galaxy Book. Or you can use a Galaxy Tab S8 as a wireless external display to extend your laptop screen. Your Galaxy Buds can also automatically switch between devices. This added layer of interoperability is something Apple does well with its iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, and Samsung is quickly catching up with help from Intel and Microsoft. These laptops also have enterprise-grade security, as they comply with Microsoft Secure Core PC Requirements.

There is one thing that Samsung kept the same as previous generations and that is the overall look. They’re nice and clean, if a little dull, especially compared to Samsung’s phones, which come in various colors – these come in graphite or beige. However, build quality has improved. They are tougher, stiffer, and stronger, which is certainly an advantage, even if they are a bit heavier for it.

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra and Pro and Pro 360 laptops are available to pre-order now through Samsung’s site with the Pro models expected to start shipping on February 17.