Galaxy Ebook 3 Collection Proves Samsung’s Professional Laptops Are Leveling Up

At Samsung’s Unpacked occasion on Feb. 4, the electronics big introduced the brand new Galaxy Ebook 3 Extremely laptop computer alongside its newest flagship Galaxy S23 telephones. 

Like Samsung’s high Galaxy Extremely telephones and Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely pill, the Extremely laptop computer can have highly effective efficiency, a ton of options and a killer show. However like the opposite Extremely gadgets, the Extremely laptop computer may be extra pc than you want. Samsung additionally has the Galaxy Ebook 3 Professional and Professional 360, that are a notch under the Extremely in efficiency, however have quite a lot of options in widespread, together with their very own added extras. 

The Galaxy Ebook 3 Extremely is undeniably the star, although, and fortunately it fixes two issues I did not like in regards to the in any other case wonderful Galaxy Ebook 2 Professional fashions. One concern was their shows. Whereas they’d great-looking AMOLED panels, they have been 16:9, 1080p widescreens; most premium laptops use higher-resolution 16:10 panels that provide you with extra vertical area. The 16-inch Galaxy Ebook 3 Extremely makes the bounce to 16:10. It is nonetheless an AMOLED panel, too, so you are going to get wonderful shade and distinction. Plus it has a 120Hz refresh fee for smoother-looking video; its decision is 2,880×1,800 pixels.

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Samsung’s Galaxy Book 3 Ultra Fixes Two Things I Didn’t…

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The second issue I had with the Book 2 Pro was that Samsung didn’t offer a strong discrete graphics option for its laptop and none at all for the Galaxy Book Pro options 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 they’ll be paired with a 13th-gen Intel Core i7 or i9 processor, respectively, giving the Ultra some pro-level laptop performance. 

Those components drive the price up considerably, with the Core i7 and RTX 4050 configuration starting at $2,200 and the Core i9 and RTX 4070 pairing going for $2,800. (Pricing and availability weren’t announced for the UK or Australia, but the entry price converts to £1,950 and AU$3,400.) You get a lot of other great features for those prices like a 1080p webcam, a quad-speaker audio system, a fingerprint reader on 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, microSD card slot and headphone jack. 

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The good news is almost all of these things trickle down to the Pro models, with the big exceptions being the Core i9 processor and the discrete graphics. The nice thing about that is the 16-inch Galaxy Book 3 Pro laptop is 4 millimeters thinner and it’s about a half pound lighter than the 16.5-mm thick, 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) Ultra. The Galaxy Book 3 Pro will also be available in a 14-inch size that’s just 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilograms). The 14-inch Pro laptop starts at $1,450 and it’s $1,550 for the 16-inch model. 

There’s also a 16-inch Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 two-in-one, which is large for a two-in-one, but since it comes with one of Samsung’s excellent S Pens, you’ll have a lot of room to draw or take notes, plus it’ll make a nice digital whiteboard for meetings. And again, all of the features like the high-res webcam, port assortment and quad speakers on the Ultra are here, too. It starts at $1,700. 

Also, just like earlier Galaxy Books, the new Ultra and Pro laptops are made to work with other Galaxy devices. Things like sending files back and forth between your phone and laptop are easy. You can, for instance, start working on a file on your Galaxy phone and finish up on the Galaxy Book. Or you can use a Galaxy Tab S8 as a wireless external display to extend the laptop’s screen. Your Galaxy Buds can automatically switch between devices as well. This extra 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 have enterprise-level security, too, since they meet Microsoft’s secured-core PC requirements.

There is one thing that Samsung kept the same as the previous generations and that’s the overall look. They’re nice and clean, if a bit unexciting, especially compared to Samsung’s phones, which come in several colors — these come in graphite or beige. Build quality is improved, though. They’re sturdier, stiffer and stronger, which is certainly a plus even if they’re a bit heavier because of it.

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra and Pro and Pro 360 laptops are available to preorder now through Samsung’s site and the Pro models are expected to start shipping on Feb. 22. Samsung is offering a free storage upgrade from 512GB to 1TB if you preorder. 

Samsung also has a Galaxy Book 3 360, which is essentially the 15.6-inch Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 (which was great) but with a new 13th-gen Intel Core i7 processor. Though it’s S Pen compatible, it’s not included like it is with the Book 3 Pro 360 (or the Book 2 Pro 360 for that matter). The Galaxy Book 3 360 is also available for preorder with a storage upgrade and starts at $1,350.