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Article updated on February 20, 2022 at 4:00 AM PST

Samsung Galaxy Book Laptop Review: A Touch of Class at a Lower Price

Samsung's more budget-friendly laptop line has a thin-and-light design and strong performance, but the cut corners are obvious.

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Samsung Galaxy Book (15-inch, 2021)

• Good overall performance
• Thin, light full-metal chassis
• Plenty of connection options
• Disappointing display
• Keyboard not backlit
• No fingerprint reader

Samsung knows how to make a premium device. Just take a look at the Galaxy S22 phones or Galaxy Tab S8 tablets : Elegant designs matched with the best tech. Samsung also knows how to make good budget phones and tablets , like its Galaxy A-series devices, using the right combo of materials and components to cover the essentials at a fair price. This balance between premium features and affordability carries over to the company's current laptop lineup, too.

The Galaxy Book Pro and Pro 360 models have all the bells and whistles like AMOLED displays, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports and premium keyboards and touchpads. The non-Pro version of the Galaxy Book is the more middle-of-the-road option. It has an all-metal chassis for a higher-end look and feel, and the same 11th-gen Core i5 and i7 processors as the Pro models. Samsung also includes better-than-integrated Intel Iris Xe Max discrete graphics in the Galaxy Book, even at its $750 starting price. But it also has one big knock against it compared to the Pro models, and it's one that some will find too difficult to ignore. 

Everything but the display.

The Galaxy Book I tested is the $1,000 configuration with an 11th-gen Intel Core i7, 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD, plus Iris Xe Max discrete graphics. The $750 version drops down to a Core i5 and has half the memory and storage of the pricier model, but those are the only differences. (In the end, it's also the one I would recommend of the two.) The base configuration is £699 in the UK . It's not currently available in Australia, but the price converts to roughly AU$1,300. 

The $1,000 price for my configuration might sound high, but it is competitive with similar 14- and 15-inch laptops like the Asus Vivobook 15 and Acer Swift 3X . The Swift 3X is the only other laptop we've tested with Iris Xe Max graphics and, if you don't mind the smaller 14-inch display and don't have other Galaxy devices, is arguably the better deal. 

The  Iris Xe Max GPU  is a step up from the integrated graphics you'd typically find in a thin-and-light laptop like the Galaxy Book and competes with Nvidia's entry-level discrete graphics options, like the GeForce MX350. It's not designed for really demanding graphics tasks, but can speed up things like video encoding and raw photo editing. In other words, it's not going to help with gaming. With demanding games, you may get playable frame rates at low settings, but set on high you'll be lucky to break 30 frames per second. 

The Galaxy Book has a simple, characterless design.

Not a display for creatives or creators

Despite the extra graphics performance, the Galaxy Book's display is a big disappointment. Part of the issue is my own expectations, which are likely those of other Galaxy device owners. Samsung is known for its high-quality displays, and the one on the Galaxy Book Pro is fantastic. But this isn't the Pro and, as a Samsung representative pointed out to me, the display in the $1,000 configuration is the same as in the cheaper $750 model. It's one of the corners that's been cut to get the price down. 

On paper, the display sounds like a bargain for the price, too: 15.6-inch 1080p matte touchscreen LCD with 300-nit brightness. In reality, it has poor color and contrast and only gets worse when you look at it off-angle. For color gamut coverage, it tested at 58% sRGB, 41% NTSC, 43% AdobeRGB and 43% P3. The brightness on my display was 241 nits at 100%. It is a matte touchscreen and full HD, though, so those specs are correct. 

The keys aren't backlit on the Galaxy Book. 

If you're looking directly at it and you have the angle just right, the display is OK. Especially if you're considering the Galaxy Book mainly for productivity more than for watching movies or editing photos and video. At least it does have an HDMI output so it's easy enough to connect an external monitor for those times you do need a better display for work or entertainment. And overall performance is strong, and battery life actually ran nearly an hour longer than Samsung's eight-hour rating, getting 8 hours, 53 minutes on our video streaming test. 

A hub for your Galaxy ecosystem

It's pretty typical for laptop makers to use a lower-end display to balance out the cost of higher build quality and better internal components. The keyboard and touchpad usually take a hit, too. For the Galaxy Book, it means there's no fingerprint sensor built into the power button, the keycaps have more of a rough plastic texture than the soft-touch feel of the Pro's keyboard and, probably the worst part, it's not backlit. The touchpad is also plastic instead of glass. 

The Galaxy Book has more ports than the Pro.

The Galaxy Book is otherwise a good midrange 15.6-inch touchscreen laptop, particularly if you value ports over things like a fingerprint reader. Plus, it has all the same Galaxy Book Experience software that you get with the Pro models so that all your Galaxy devices can easily work together. You can do things like send files between your Galaxy phone and the laptop, sync photos and notes and quickly switch your Galaxy Buds connection from your phone to the laptop. And if you have a Galaxy Tab S7 or later, you can use that as a wireless second display. 

If you need the best display, the Galaxy Book Pro is what you want. (And the Pro is currently only $150 more for the Core i7 configuration.) The Galaxy Book makes more sense if you're looking for a general-purpose machine with a big screen that's light and slim enough for a commute or carrying around campus. In that case, the $750 configuration, which is $650 at the moment , is the best deal. 

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Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 review

A thin and stylish 2-in-1 from samsung.

TechRadar Verdict

The Galaxy Book Pro 360 is a compact, light and premium 2-in-1 which impresses on a number of fronts. It doesn't quite match some rivals in terms of performance, but Samsung does a lot right with this long-awaited laptop.

Good screen

Really good sound

Fantastic keyboard

Mediocre webcam

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Two-minute review

Samsung 's Galaxy Book Pro 360 is one of the first products that is a collaboration between Samsung and Intel which aims to create the same kind of relationship between laptops and mobile phones that you get with Apple 's ecosystem.

To get the most out of the notebook and phone here, you need a Galaxy smartphone. The Your Phone app also works with other Android phones and iPhones, but the latter was not a great experience. However, if you already have a Galaxy phone,  Galaxy Buds Pro  and a  Galaxy Tab , then the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 is a great call for your next laptop.

Samsung's Galaxy Book Pro 360 is a compact, light and premium machine. The screen can be folded all the way around so it's flat to the back of the keyboard, turning the hardware into a tablet-like device. We still think that a dedicated tablet is better than this, but as an occasional tablet, the device works well enough, and is also much thinner than rival devices that attempt the 360-degree hinge trick.

The Galaxy Book Pro 360 offers a Thunderbolt 4 port, a pair of USB-C connectors, a traditional headphone socket and a microSD slot. Also included is an S-Pen stylus. The pen is black and plastic, and does not feel particularly premium, but it works really well to write and draw with, even if the palm rejection support of Windows could be much better.

What could also be improved is the mediocre webcam, which is a modest 720p effort. The AMOLED display with a Full HD resolution, on the other hand, offers excellent color reproduction and contrast. It's a really nice screen overall, although it doesn't cope so well in full sunlight. The keyboard is also phenomenally good, being large and responsive, plus the speakers sound very impressive, too.

Battery life is sufficient for everyday use, and performance is similarly sufficient, even if not at the same level as the HP Spectre x360 (2021)  (or indeed the  M1-powered MacBook Air ). The Pro 360 is certainly a relatively fast laptop which unlocks and fires up immediately. Even if the device is completely turned off, it only takes 8 seconds for the boot and login process, which is nothing short of excellent. 

In short, the Galaxy Book Pro 360 is a premium and high-quality 2-in-1 device. If you are sold on Samsung and the Galaxy series, it is a great purchase.

Price and availability

Here is the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 configuration sent to TechRadar for review: CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7 Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: 8GB (LPDDR4x) Screen: 13.3-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 AMOLED touchscreen Storage: 512GB (PCIe 3.0 SSD) Ports: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, 1 x USB 4, 1 x Thunderbolt 4, 3.5mm headphone jack Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 Camera: 720p webcam Weight: 1.04kg Size: 302.5 x 202 x 11.5mm

Samsung's Galaxy Book Pro 360 is available in several different configurations and prices. The entry-level model comes with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, and starts at $1,599.99 (around £1,130, or AU$2,070).

There's an option to beef up the CPU to an Intel Core i7-1165G7, and it's also possible to up the screen size to 15.6-inches rather than 13.3-inches.

Perhaps the most obvious alternative to the Galaxy Book Pro 360 is the  HP Spectre x360 (2021) , which is a 2-in-1 with a 360-degree hinge plus touchscreen and similar performance on paper, with prices starting from $1,349 / £1,199 / AU$3,339.

The Galaxy Book Pro 360 will also come in a model with built-in support for 5G (and a SIM card slot), but this version will not be released until later this year.

The first thing that struck us when we unpacked our Galaxy Book Pro 360 review machine is how small and neat - and how fantastically good-looking - it is. The form factor and color ('Mystic Silver') is immediately reminiscent of the MacBook Air, but the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 is a bit smaller and almost 300 grams lighter. This is a portable in the truest sense of the word.

The Galaxy Book Pro 360 comes with a brushed metal chassis in silver if you choose the 13-inch model, and a navy blue color if you step up to the 15-inch model. As with the  HP Spectre x360 (2021), the screen can be folded all the way around so it's flat to the keyboard, turning the notebook into a tablet-like device.

In terms of connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 offers a Thunderbolt 4 port, a pair of USB-C ports, a traditional headphone socket and a microSD slot. Compared to the MacBook Air (M1, 2020), you get slightly better connectivity options, but not the full-size USB port that the HP Spectre x360 (2021) offers, which means that you may still need a dongle for one or two accessories at home.

In addition to the travel adapter and USB-C cable, an S-Pen is also included in the box. The pen is black and plastic, sadly not having the same premium build or feel as the laptop itself. The S-Pen is magnetic and attaches to the notebook, but only on the top, which feels a bit odd. We would rather have seen another solution, or a storage slot the pen could be kept in. The placement of the Apple Pencil on the side of the  iPad Pro  is much more elegant.

Upon opening the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360, you are greeted with a bright and colorful screen. The bezels, however, are large and noticeable, particularly the bottom bezel, and especially when using the device as a tablet in portrait mode, when the black frame on the page is downright ugly. But the overall impression of the laptop is still very modern and contemporary. 

The keyboard is comfortable and responsive, and the keys are large and backlit. It is a full-size keyboard with a fantastic feel, despite the very shallow keys. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader and is also responsive, as is the large trackpad.

Apart from the bezels mentioned above, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 looks very stylish indeed, and is also fantastically comfortable to use. If you fold the screen all the way around and use the device as a tablet, the large touchscreen works well. But despite the seriously slim nature of the Galaxy Book, the overall feeling in this scenario still doesn't compare to using a real tablet, and the Samsung device is a bit heavier and more bulky. That said, compared to other 360-degree hinge 2-in-1 devices, it is definitely in a class of its own for tablet usage.

Despite that less than ideal bottom bezel, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 is without doubt one of the most stylish, lightest and premium feeling laptops on the market right now.

Performance

Here is how the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 performed in our benchmark tests:

Cinebench R20 CPU: Single-Core: 457; Multi-core: 1,769 Geekbench 5: Single-Core: 1,222; Multi-Core: 4,995 Battery Life (TechRadar movie test):  8 hours 13 minutes

Samsung's Galaxy Book Pro 360 (and its sibling Galaxy Book Pro, which lacks the 360-degree folding screen) are the first products that are a collaboration between Samsung and Intel, aiming to create a much tighter relationship between laptops and mobile phones. In other words, this is Samsung's attempt at the equivalent of the almost seamless connection that you get with Apple's ecosystem and the experience of using an iPhone and a MacBook.

And the Galaxy Book Pro models are also very much aimed at those who want a laptop that in many ways gives users the same experience they get from their phone.

The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 has a lot in common with a smartphone in terms of unlocking and starting immediately, being always connected online, and having a smart battery that optimizes performance - not to mention being as portable as possible.

And you really get this feeling with the Galaxy Book Pro 360. Even if the laptop is completely turned off, it only takes 8 seconds to start the computer and log in. That's nothing short of phenomenal. 

In addition to the fast start-up, the fingerprint reader makes logging in extremely quick. That said, if using the Galaxy Book in tablet mode, the fingerprint login is clunkier, and in this case it would have been nice to be able to unlock the portable with face recognition; but unfortunately that's not possible.

Samsung has of course put extra effort into maximizing the experience if you have a  Galaxy smartphone , and provides several ways to work with both devices together.

Your Galaxy phone has the 'Link to Windows' feature and the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 has the Your Phone app, which hooks up with your smartphone so you can send and receive text messages, make calls, browse the photo gallery and even use (up to five of) the phone's apps on the desktop.

The Your Phone app also works with other Android phones and iPhones, but the latter isn't a great experience. The software needed for the iPhone is not yet available in our country, and the solution offered instead is solely focused on being able to send web pages you read in Edge on the phone to the laptop.

In other words, if you want to get the most out of this phone-laptop synergy, you need to have a Samsung Galaxy phone, and it feels like this is the primary target audience for the Galaxy Book Pro 360. And if you have not just a Galaxy phone, but Galaxy Buds Pro and a Galaxy Tab, well, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 is a fantastic potential fit as your next laptop.

That said, the features for the seamless experience between phone and computer are not yet quite on the same level as that of iOS and macOS. Going forward, we can see that Samsung, Intel and Microsoft will be working hard to create a fully unified experience reminiscent of the one that Apple users have now - but there's still a way to go.

For everyday use, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 does well in the performance stakes. There was no noticeable slowdown when running several applications simultaneously, despite the relatively modest 8GB of system RAM. And for everyday computing like web surfing, emailing and using office software (including the increasingly common videoconferencing), the Galaxy Book delivers a really solid experience in an extremely portable form. 

The Full HD AMOLED screen offers excellent color reproduction and contrast. In direct sunlight, however, it falls short, with the screen producing a lot of reflections and suffering a noticeable blue hue. But most laptop screens have similar problems, and the display on the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 is really good overall. It is a pleasure to watch a movie on it. And that's not just a reflection of how good the screen is, either: the speakers are also really, really good.

We were actually amazed at how good the sound of this compact laptop is. It's not quite in the same class as a full-sized MacBook Pro, but for a smaller portable like this, the sound is phenomenally good.

The S-Pen works really well to write and draw with (even if it feels a bit plasticky), but the support in Windows for palm rejection when using the stylus could be much better. It is possible to play with the settings to get better results, but not perfect ones, sadly.

The keyboard is large for such a small laptop, and even though the key height is very low, the keyboard feels fantastically good to type on. The trackpad is also comfortable and responsive. Apart from the plastic S-Pen, the only thing that detracts from the premium feel here is the mediocre webcam at a modest 720p resolution.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 is a premium and high-quality 2-in-1 device, but so is the HP Spectre x360 (2021). However, if you are sold on the Samsung and Galaxy series, and can make the most of that ecosystem synergy with multiple Galaxy devices, then that elevates the Pro 360 to another level.

Battery life

Samsung's Galaxy Book Pro 360 does well in the battery life department, providing a fast charger that gives you 9 hours of juice with only 30 minutes of charging. Samsung claims that a fully charged battery lasts up to 21 hours on a single charge. After using the laptop for a whole morning we had 86% battery left when we had lunch.

In the TechRadar battery test, where a 1080p video is looped with the display at 50% brightness, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 lasted 8 hours and 13 minutes. 

Compare that with the MacBook Air (M1) which lasted 11 hours and 15 minutes, and the HP Spectre x360 (2021) which managed 11 hours and 22 minutes. These rivals are better, then, in our benchmarking, but the question is does this really matter in terms of daily usage?

The long and short of it is that we managed a whole day's work (and more) without having to charge the Galaxy Book Pro 360, and we can't really expect more from such a compact and svelte portable. The battery will, of course, run out faster if you engage in heavier and more demanding tasks.

Buy it if...

You're sold on Samsung Galaxy products If you already have a Galaxy smartphone, Galaxy Buds or Galaxy Tab, this is your next laptop. This is the one you have been waiting for.

You want a thin and light notebook with good battery life The battery life of the Galaxy Book Pro 360 is impressive in such a small form-factor. There are more powerful 2-in-1 portable devices on the market, but they do not come in this slim form.

Don't buy it if...

You don't need a 2-in-1 device We still think that a dedicated tablet is better than a 2-in-1 device. And if you think like us here, and you like the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360, you can always look at its sibling, the Galaxy Book Pro, without the 360-degree hinge.

You don't like Windows Samsung's Galaxy Book Pro 360 is pretty much the closest the PC world has come to the design and aesthetics of a MacBook. And if you like that design but want a Windows machine, that's great. But if you aren't fond of Windows, look at a MacBook Air instead which offers great performance with the M1 chip, and can be had for a good chunk less money (at the entry-level point).

• These are the best laptops in 2023
• See our Samsung promo codes page for this month's best discounts

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Samsung Galaxy Book review

Expert's Rating

• Solid performance
• Attractive display
• Decent port selection
• Underwhelming battery life
• Unreliable trackpad
• No fingerprint or face unlock

Our Verdict

The Galaxy Book has the potential to be a great laptop, but its key weaknesses have a big effect on day-to-day usage. Considering the strength of the competition, most people are better off looking elsewhere.

After a five-year hiatus, Samsung returned to laptops with a bang in 2020. Alongside Qualcomm and Intel versions of the Galaxy Book S, we also saw a new convertible in the Galaxy Book Flex and regular clamshell Galaxy Book Ion.

The range has been significantly expanded in 2021, with the new Galaxy Book Pro and Flex 2 . However, there’s also evidence that Samsung is catering more to affordable price points than ever before.

The ARM-based Galaxy Book Go has been joined this year by an Intel-powered device known simply as the Samsung Galaxy Book. It offers a lot of what most people are looking for on paper, with the latest Intel chips, a full-size keyboard and a large display.

But how well does it stack up to real-world usage? I spent a few weeks with the device to find out.

Design & Build

• Premium, attractive design
• Terrible trackpad
• No fingerprint scanner or face unlock

When it comes to design, Samsung has played it fairly safe with the Galaxy Book. Its curved edges and sleek aluminium finish have been seen on countless other laptops, including the company’s own Flex 2. In fact, aside from the variation in sizing, it’s hard to tell these two Samsung laptops apart from the outside.

It’s very much a minimalist aesthetic, especially as there’s no alternative to the ‘Mystic Silver’ colourway – a little odd considering Samsung normally likes a splash of colour on Galaxy products. If you want your laptop to stand out or be a conversation starter, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

The Galaxy Book certainly has a more distinctive design once you flip open the lid, something that’s possible with just one finger. The first thing you’ll probably notice is the large 15.6in LCD display – more on how it performs later.

It’s housed within some slim bezels, although there’s still room for a 720p webcam. The quality of this sensor is in line with most you’ll find built into modern laptops; it’s fine for video calls, but streamers or YouTubers will need a separate accessory.

Unfortunately, it’s not compatible with Windows Hello face unlock. Given the absence of a fingerprint sensor, it means you’ll still have to type a PIN or password every time you unlock the device. I can’t understand why Samsung didn’t add support for at least one of these other than to save money.

It’s not like there’s no room on the keyboard, either. That large display means the Galaxy Book has space for both a full-size keyboard and a separate number pad. The keys themselves offer very little travel, but they’re impressively tactile and responsive – I was satisfied with how they performed.

However, the same can’t be said for the trackpad. Samsung has included a huge one the Galaxy Book, but it’d have been better off focusing on its performance. I found it to be very erratic and unreliable, with the cursor frequently moving around the screen at random or not registering my command.

This remained the case even after a software update mid-testing, so I think it’s hardware related. I’d highly recommend connecting a Bluetooth mouse, but it limits the device’s portability somewhat.

That’s a shame because at 1.55kg it’s one of the more lightweight 15in laptops you can buy. Samsung hasn’t tried to make the Galaxy Book ultra-thin for the sake of it, though – at 15.4mm thick, there’s plenty of room for ports.

The device makes the most of it, too, with a selection that you won’t find on many modern laptops. I’m talking 2x USB-C (either of which can be used for charging), 2x USB-A, full-size HDMI and 3.5mm headphone jack.

There’s even a lesser-spotted microSD card slot, so you probably won’t need to carry an adapter around with you.

Screen & Speakers

• Decent LCD display
• No touchscreen or convertible functionality
• Above-average speakers

Let’s talk about that display, then. It’s a 15.6in LCD panel, at a resolution of 1920×1080. Despite not being OLED, I was satisfied with its performance. Colours are rich and vibrant, offering an impressive level of detail for the price. While surfing the web, word processing and watching videos, I can have no complaints.

However, that’s not reflected in the SpyderX display analysis I performed. That suggests it only hits 63% of sRGB color gamut, 47% AdobeRGB and 46% of DCI-P3. This isn’t a big issue for everyday usage, but graphic designers or photo editors will want something much more accurate.

I recorded a maximum brightness of 325 nits using the same tool, so outdoor usage will be a struggle. Unlike the Flex 2 and other Samsung laptops, there’s no option for the ‘Outdoor+’ brightness booster here.

Viewing angles are good though with Samsung’s PLS technology, essentially its own version of IPS.

One feature I really miss here is touch support. Samsung will likely say it’s not needed on a non-convertible device, but I wish it’d introduced both features instead. Considering the navigation problems mentioned above, a touchscreen would have been a useful alternative.

Like the lack of biometrics, it’s a cost-cutting choice to keep the final price as low as possible.

On the audio side, it’s a more impressive story. The Galaxy Book feature features dual 2W speakers, alongside Dolby Atmos support. These specs aren’t revolutionary by any means, but both music and voices are warm and rich, picking out details you won’t hear on some other laptops.

It’s slightly lacking in bass and can distort at higher volumes, but audiophiles can easily connect external speakers or headphones.

Specs & Performance

• 11th-gen Intel processors
• Iris Xe graphics
• Optional 4G support

The Galaxy Book might be one of Samsung’s more affordable laptops, but it hasn’t made big sacrifices under the hood. Like so many 2021 computers, it’s powered by Intel’s latest Tiger Lake chips – the model I tested uses the Core i7-1165G7, but it’s also available with the Core i5-1135G7.

Both use Iris Xe integrated graphics, and feature 8GB of RAM.

Judging from the sample I tested, performance is one of the Galaxy Book’s key strengths. I noticed almost no slowdown across a variety of everyday tasks, including web browsing, word processing and some photo editing. The large display also makes it great for multitasking – using a web browser, Slack and a word processor at the same time is easily achieved.

This great performance doesn’t quite extend to graphically-demanding AAA gaming – a discrete GPU is recommended for that. But casual games are well within reach.

As you can see from the benchmarks below, the Galaxy Book compares favourably with many similarly-priced laptops. These figures will inevitably take a hit if you’re using the i5 model, but everyday performance should still be solid.

The Galaxy Book has both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 on board, but there’s also the option to add 4G LTE connectivity. That wasn’t available on the model I tested, but it’s a great solution for on-the-go productivity.

Software & Features

• Windows 10 Home out of the box
• Some Samsung-specific tweaks
• Eligible for free Windows 11 upgrade

There’s usually very little to talk about when it comes to the software on Windows laptops – it’s usually the same regardless of which device you go for. While that’s still the case, it’s worth mentioning Windows 11 here. Microsoft’s new OS is set to arrive in late 2021, which might make you uneasy about buying a new Windows 10 laptop right now.

However, there’s no need to worry. The Samsung Galaxy Book meets all the new hardware requirements, so it’ll be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 11 Home at some point. You may have to wait until 2022, though.

The version of Windows 10 you get right now is very familiar to anyone who’s used a Windows PC recently. Unlike with its smartphones, Samsung has kept the software tweaks to a minimum. There are a handful of pre-installed apps, such as Samsung Notes and Gallery, but these can be uninstalled if you like.

You also get a relatively basic Samsung settings menu in addition to the regular one, which offers extra functionality you won’t normally find on Windows 10. These include a range of different performance modes and the option to limit the maximum charge to 85%, which is said to extend the lifespan of the built-in battery.

Battery Life & Charging

• Decent battery capacity
• Poor performance in benchmarks
• Relatively fast charging

Talking of battery, the Galaxy Book’s cell comes in at 69.7Wh. That’s a solid capacity, so it’s no surprise to see Samsung claim you can get up to 10.9 hours from a single charge.

Unfortunately, my experience with the device wasn’t as impressive. Despite having the brightness set to a relatively dim 120 nits and looping a 720p video offline while muted, the Galaxy Book only lasted 7 hours and 24 minutes.

Many of the laptops we’ve tested recorded more than double that, so it’s an underwhelming performance.

What’s more, real-world usage depletes the battery significantly more quickly. Bumping up the brightness and having multiple open windows and apps means you’ll struggle to make it through a full workday. Indeed, I found myself reaching for the charger by mid-afternoon.

However, charging speeds are more in line with what you’ll find elsewhere. Samsung advertises fast charging using the 65W adapter in the box, and I recorded a reasonable 39% in 30 minutes from off.

Price & Availability

• Lots of choice
• Doesn’t compare favourably to the competition

There are four variants to choose from when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy Book. These start at £699 for the i5 model with a 256GB SSD, or £799 for the same configuration with 4G support.

Stepping up to i7 and doubling the storage to 512GB will set you back £899 , although you’ll have to pay £1,099 for 4G support. We can’t find anywhere to buy the device in mainland Europe or North America right now, so you’ll probably need to import it.

While you can pay four figures here, that doesn’t quite put the Samsung Galaxy Book in flagship territory, and many people will be happy with one of the cheaper models. Unfortunately, many of the entries in our best laptop chart are available for a similar price, including our current top pick – Huawei’s MateBook 14 .

When you compare these devices side-by-side, the Galaxy Book doesn’t represent great value for money. Some slightly more affordable would have been much more tempting.

Samsung has proven it can make great smartphones that don’t break the bank, but it still has work to do when it comes to laptops.

The regular Galaxy Book gets a lot of things right, with a premium build, excellent performance and decent display. Audio is also very impressive, and there’s a decent port selection.

Unfortunately, Samsung has cut too many corners to get there. Battery life is underwhelming, trackpad navigation is very poor and there’s no fingerprint scanner or face unlock. I also miss the touch support and convertible functionality you get on so many laptops these days.

If you can find the Galaxy Book with a significant discount, it’s probably worth taking the plunge. Otherwise, it’s hard to justify in the ultra-competitive world of modern laptops.

Check out how we test laptops for more information on what goes into one of our reviews.

Samsung Galaxy Book: Specs

• 11th-gen Intel Core i5/i7 processor
• Intel Iris Xe graphics
• 15.6in FHD LCD Display (1920 x 1080)
• 256/512GB SSD
• 69.7Wh battery with 65W USB-C fast charging
• 2x USB-C ports (1x Thunderbolt 4), 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD
• Fingerprint sensor
• 720p webcam
• Bluetooth 5.1
• 15.4 x 356.6 x 229.1 mm

Author: Anyron Copeman , Senior Staff Writer, Tech Advisor

As the resident expert on Windows, Senior Staff Writer Anyron’s main focus is PCs and laptops. Much of the rest of his time is split between smartphones, tablets and audio, with a particular focus on Android devices.

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Samsung Galaxy Book 3 review: a great laptop if the price is right

Samsung's entry-level Galaxy Book is great... for the right price

Samsung’s more affordable style laptop seems made for families and students. At its entry-level spec it feels like a much pricier laptop, which is great. However, its build and display shortcomings stand out more in the higher-spec variants, which make less sense to consider. It's a great laptop if the price is right and a below average one if not.

Classy design

All-day battery life

Comfortable keyboard

No keyboard backlight

Undersaturated screen

Plastic touchpad

Why you can trust T3 Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 is the kind of laptop you might guess Samsung would not make. It's fairly affordable productivity laptop, the kind a family might buy for odd jobs. And it's only a whisker away, in terms of price, from being in a shout as one of the best laptops under £500 . 

The best bit is that it looks almost as smart as the PCs Samsung sells at several times the price. Conversely, however, bad bits include a fairly colour-sapped screen, build quality that doesn't match Samsung's best for rigidity, and a slightly squeaky-feeling plastic touchpad. 

However, the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 can square up to budget titan ranges like HP Envy , Lenovo Yoga 7 and Microsoft Surface Go and hold its own in most categories. And that ain't bad. It might not be one of the best laptops in existence, but does Samsung's more affordable laptop earn a place?

Samsung Galaxy Book 3: Price & Availability

Now that we're in 2024, you might be wondering why this isn't a Samsung Galaxy Book 4 review, as that's since been announced. Well, product availability can be slow and despite the Galaxy Book 3 having been on sale for a long time now, it's a bit of a bargain - which makes it potentially even more worthwhile in tracking down. 

In the UK the Galaxy Book 3 is listed on Samsung's site as £649 in its lowest configuration, but is actually available for even less at the time of writing. In the US it's listed starting from $999 but, again, is available for much less. In Australia, meanwhile, Samsung doesn't sell laptops so you're not likely to ever see one of these.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 review: Design

The shallower aspects of design are among the Samsung Galaxy Book 3's highlights. I started using this laptop before I'd looked into its pricing. And if you had said it started at £1000-odd, no suspicious eyebrows would have been raised. 

It's because Samsung hasn't obviously downgraded the look of the Galaxy Book 3 just to ensure it's viewed as the budget model in this family. You get Samsung's signature sharp keyboard keys, and an almost purplish finish to the casing. 

The lid, underside and keyboard plate are all aluminium too, which looks great and feels swish. Lots of metal and a 15.6-inch screen should signal this isn't going to be a super-light laptop. And, at 1.6kg, it isn't. However, it does have reasonably small screen borders and is only 16mm thick. 

Screen size versus bulk is solid here. However, you might not be bowled over by one aspect of the build quality considering this is a metal laptop: put any significant pressure on the keyboard and this entire panel flexes up and down like a trampoline. The screen part is stiff enough, but the main part of the chassis? Not so much. 

I had thought this was a result of the hinge design, which lifts the rear of the keyboard up slightly when opened enough. But, no, the keyboard still flexes quite a bit even when it rests solidly on a flat surface. 

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 review: Display

The display provides the clearest signs you're not dealing with Galaxy Book 3 Pro and Ultra models further up the range. This is a 16:9 aspect LCD screen. It's not the more popular 16:10 shape, which generally feels more roomy in apps. And it does not have one of the OLED panels Samsung had a big hand in popularising. 

Most of the classic image quality aspects are okay at best here. Colour is noticeably undersaturated, covering just 60% of the sRGB colour gamut and a dismal 43% of the DCI P3 (which a lot of the best phones and laptops aim for these days). 

Samsung has made the most of the Galaxy Book 3's weak panel, as after calibrating the screen colour the basically didn't change at all. But this laptop is simply incapable of rendering those deep reds, greens and blues.

Contrast isn't great either, at 900:1. And these days, 1920 x 1080 pixels spread across 15.6-inches of real-estate does look quite pixellated. This is where Samsung’s relatively pricey upgrade becomes an issue. 

Dodgy display colour at £599 isn't necessarily a deal-breaker. At £949? Now we have an issue. That's the original recommended price of our Galaxy Book 3 spec.

Maximum brightness of 362 nits is decent enough, though. I found you can still use the Galaxy Book 3 in direct sunlight when doing jobs like writing documents, because the laptop has an anti-glare screen finish. 

This is also why the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 has a slightly raised screen border. Its display surface is plastic, and the additional plastic acts like a rigidity-boosting exoskeleton. Typical of this style, this is not a touchscreen. But you can open it up a full 180 degrees, which is a very 'Samsung' touch.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 review: Keyboard & Touchpad

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 has decent inputs for an affordable laptop. Its keyboard is not all that different to Apple's MacBook Magic keyboard. 

It is not ultra-shallow like some previous Samsung designs, and the depress action has a nice snap to it. It's a mellower-feeling keyboard than Apple's though, and the roughened plastic surface of each key looks a little cheap. 

There's also no backlight here, a feature you can get from the Lenovo Yoga 7 or HP Envy 15 ranges. 

Similarly, while you might assume that the blank button in the top-right is a combi power button and finger scanner, in reality it's just a power button. The whole reason these blank ones came into existence was to avoid impinging on finger scanner hardware. 

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 touchpad is also not quite on the same level as that of a top-tier laptop either. It's a plastic pad, not a textured glass one, and therefore can feel a bit "squeaky" with faster finger motions. 

However, this is one of the better plastic pads out there. Its clicker feels refined, high quality, and goes some way to forgiving the use of plastic. This is another case where a plastic pad doesn't stand out if you're shopping at the lower-end price spectrum, but becomes more of an issue with internal spec boosts that cost more and don't match that with all the external features. 

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 review: Performance

You can buy the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 with either an Intel Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 13th Gen processor. While the bottom-rung Core i3 only has about half the processor power of this top-end review model, Samsung has managed to make all specs here viable options.

Buying the cheapest Galaxy Book 3 won't require masses of patience because all versions have 8GB RAM and fast SSD storage. As long as you don't want to do anything too taxing, like playing complicated games or doing CPU-melting jobs like video editing, you should be happy with any model of the Book 3. 

They all come with at least 256GB storage. Samsung earns big kudos points for not making the lowest-end version a short route to regret. 

Our top-end Galaxy Book 3 has a 512GB SSD, an Intel Core i7-1355U and 16GB RAM. It has the chops to make Windows 11 really sing. Despite my complaints elsewhere, working on this laptop for the last few days whilst writing this review has been a real pleasure. 

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 review: Battery Life

Longer battery life is one of the benefits of the use of a lower-voltage CPU. The Galaxy Book 3 has a 54Wh battery, similar capacity to a smaller ultraportable like the 51Wh Dell XPS 13 . 

In PC Mark 10's Modern Office battery benchmark, the Galaxy Book 3 lasted 9 hours and 41 minutes. Using it to write articles out in the blazing sunshine, including part of this review, we found a charge can last around 7 hours at maximum brightness. 

Used indoors, again with just some word processing and web browsing, a more moderate brightness allows it last 9-10 hours. As long as you keep your tasks light, all-day battery life is very achievable. 

Carrying the charger around with you is less of a chore than with most other laptops too. Samsung uses an adapter design much closer to that of a phone than a classic brick. It's lighter, and it takes up less space. 

I'm also a fan of Samsung's “no port adapter required" approach. The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 has two USB-Cs, two larger USB-As, an HDMI port, a headphone jack and a microSD slot. 

Neither of the USBs is an ultra-fast Thunderbolt connector, but this is arguably less of an issue when you already have a dedicated video output right there. It does mean you won't be able to connect an external GPU enclosure here, though. None of the connectors are fast enough. 

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3's speakers are okay for this class of laptop. They don't have any real bass, but the mids are clear enough to make voices sound clear. This review laptop came with the pre-installed Dolby processing software disabled as standard, but you can switch this on to make the sound appear louder and wider. 

Unsurprisingly for a more affordable laptop, the Galaxy Book 3 does not benefit from the webcam resolution upgrade revolution we've seen elsewhere over the last year or so. It uses a bog-standard 720p webcam that produces quite a dull, dithered-looking image indoors. 

It's not the model I'd recommend to folks who are out for a larger-screen laptop becuase they want workstation-style performance, though. This is a low-power system, with a processor made for slim-and-light portable models. You should look for a laptop with at least an Intel Core i5-1340p or Core i7-1360p if raw performance is a bit concern. Or one of the just-announced Intel Ultra processors, which have better built-in graphics and AI chops. 

This version of the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 and the mid-tier Core i5 one have Intel Xe graphics, powerful enough to run some games you might have played on PS4 or Xbox One. But, again, if gaming is a priority you should buy a laptop with a dedicated graphics card. 

I'm also pretty happy with the amount of noise the Galaxy Book 3 produces. It does have a fan system, but never gets too loud. And if you find the fans distracting, you can change the mode to quieten it down. 

Hitting the Fn and F11 keys cycles between High Performance, Optimised, Quiet and Silent modes. The quieter it is, the more the maximum power of the laptop is limited. It's not going to have a hugely noticeable effect a lot of the time, but does mean you probably don't want to use the most limited modes all that often. 

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 review: Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 is less consistent than we'd like in areas, but the lower-end models sure do provide a classy experience on a tighter budget. It has the Samsung style we associate with more expensive laptops, and for many folks the basic spec will do the job just fine. That's where this laptop is a winner.

Thanks to higher upgrade costs than you'd usually see from Lenovo or Acer, however, the shortcomings do start to stick out more if you pay for a specced-up model. That's where this laptop loses, as that includes poor colour saturation, a highly flexible keyboard plate, and a plastic touchpad surface. 

In summary, therefore, if you can find the Galaxy Book 3 in its entry-level spec for a bargain price then it's got the style to punch well above the competition. Just don't pay extra for the step-up models which then fall down in various areas where Samsung's other models in the range would do a better job – as would the competition.

Also consider

If you're looking for a laptop with a fully flexible 360-degree hinge then the Lenovo Yoga 7 is a great shout. Otherwise one of the best Chromebooks might be a decent and affordable alternative.

Are you taking on your first HYROX? Here’s what I wish I'd known

By Bryony Firth-Bernard Published 14 April 24

I spoke to Ben Grace, founder of concentrated skincare brand SBTRCT, to find out more

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First Impressions: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro Review

First impressions: samsung galaxy book pro.

Samsung's latest laptop is a lightweight marvel

First Impressions

The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro has an outstanding design, being so light and slim that you can comfortably pick it up with one hand. It comes with an impressive spec sheet, too, including the latest Intel processor options, an AMOLED display and optional LTE support. However, Samsung's desire to create such a lightweight laptop has resulted in compromises to the build quality, which can't be ignored.

Key Specifications

• Review Price: £1099
• 13/15in 1920 x 1080 AMOLED
• 11th-Gen Intel Core processors
• Up to 16GB RAM
• Up to 512GB SSD
• Dimensions: 355 x 226 x 11.7mm
• Weight: 1.05kg

The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro is one of three laptops in Samsung’s new range, with an astonishingly slim and lightweight design that makes it an ideal option for those who champion portability. 

Samsung is clearly challenging the likes of the Acer Swift 5 and LG Gram laptop ranges with the Galaxy Book Pro, while also seeing similar high-end specs as the Dell XPS 13 – it comes packing Intel’s 11th-generation processors. 

However, it’s the glorious AMOLED display that’s the special sauce feature here, with Samsung using its TV expertise to leapfrog its laptop competitors. 

But that’s enough about the specs; how does the laptop look in the flesh? Samsung invited me to its Unpacked event for a sneak-peek. Check out my early impressions below. 

Price and availability

Prices for the 13.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Book Pro start at £1099, climbing thereafter once you start upgrading the processor and storage. For those with a more generous budget, there’s a 15.6-inch model available with a £1199 starting price.

The Galaxy Book Pro will hit stores on 14 May 2021, with pre-orders open right now. Those who pre-order will also receive a free pair of Galaxy Buds Pro in the bundle. 

Galaxy Book Pro preview – First look at Samsung’s ultraportable marvel

The most exciting feature of the Galaxy Book Pro is its ultraportable design. Even though Samsung had already divulged that the 15.6-inch model weighs a dainty 1.05kg before the Unpacked event, I still couldn’t help but gawp when lifting up the device with one hand. It’s hard to believe Samsung hasn’t forced Harry Potter to hide behind the curtain and cast a levitation spell. 

The 13.3-inch model weighs even less at 870g, which undercuts the 965g LG Gram. Samsung has achieved this by making its new laptop super-skinny. The 13-inch model measures in at 11.2mm, while the 15.6-inch model is only 11.7mm tall when closed. For comparison, the Dell XPS 13 has a height of 14.8mm – and is considered one of the slimmest laptops around. 

I’m a big fan of slim laptops, which are dead-easy to slot into a bag or even carry around the office in one hand. While I didn’t dare fit the Galaxy Book Pro into my bag and risk being tackled by security, I’m confident this will be one of the best laptops at its price point for on-the-go work. There’s nothing really like it available right now. 

Despite its slender form, Samsung has been able to squeeze in a generous number of ports, including HDMI, USB-A and a microSD card slot, as well as the versatile Thunderbolt 4 . Dell has previously suggested it can’t fit a USB-A port on its skinny XPS 13 laptop, but Samsung has proven it’s very much possible here. 

The laptop looks appealing, too. Samsung is offering the Galaxy Book Pro in both Mystic Blue and Mystic White, which helps it to stand out from the wave of black and silver laptops on the market. The keyboard feels good, too, with a satisfying click to each key-press, while a fingerprint scanner allows for speedy logins. 

However, as I’ve found with the LG Gram series, there are drawbacks to making a laptop so slender. Rather than use only aluminium for the laptop’s chassis, Samsung has also thrown in some magnesium to ensure the laptop is as light as possible. Magnesium isn’t quite as sturdy as aluminium, and this is noticeable when you push down on the chassis and see it flex inwards. 

This makes me slightly hesitant about the build quality, and whether it will be able to withstand as many knocks and shocks as laptops from Dell and Microsoft, for example. Magnesium constructions can also result in a bouncy typing experience, although I didn’t spend enough time with the Galaxy Book Pro to see if this issue was prevalent here. Is this a deal-breaker? Personally, I say no – but it’s still a trade-off you’d need to consider if you want such a lightweight laptop. 

The second major drawback is the performance. Samsung has fitted in 11th-generation Intel Core processors here, offering both i5 and i7 options. Those are the best Intel chips you can currently get for lightweight laptops, and are far more reliable than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx CPU found inside the Galaxy Book S . 

However, if the Galaxy Book Pro is anything like the LG Gram range, then that slender build is likely to throttle performance – unless Samsung has come up with a breakthrough cooling solution. This would mean that, in terms of performance, the Galaxy Book Pro may not be quite as fast as the Dell XPS 13 or Razer Book 13 , despite Samsung using the exact same chips.

Of course, this is just speculation right now, since I wasn’t allowed to conduct any benchmark tests during the hands-on event. I’m confident you’ll still be getting blazing-fast productivity performance that will happily see the Galaxy Book Pro sail through basic day-to-day tasks. However, you may be better off with the likes of a MacBook Air or Razer Book 13 for content creation or gaming on the side. 

I do think the ‘Pro’ moniker here is misleading – people usually think of the MacBook Pro , which can feature a supremely powerful discrete GPU. The Galaxy Book Pro is limited to Intel’s integrated Iris Xe graphics, which offers  respectable performance but nowhere near the standard of a MacBook Pro or any other laptop aimed at professionals. 

Samsung is also offering models with LTE support, which means you can connect the laptop to the internet away from your Wi-Fi router. However, you’ll need to slot in a SIM card for this to work – which likely means borrowing your smartphone’s card. Although not ideal, it remains a nice-to-have option for getting some work done on the move. 

It’s a shame then that there’s no 5G support here, as included with the Galaxy Book Flex2 5G . I assume this is a decision Samsung made to keep the cost down – but it does mean LTE speeds won’t be in line with modern-day expectations. 

A feature that will likely to result in much excitement is the AMOLED display. Compared to conventional LCD laptop screens, the Galaxy Book Pro’s AMOLED panel offers far higher contrast and punchier colours. Switching between the Pro and the standard Galaxy Book, the difference is immediately obvious, resulting in a superior picture that really gives TV and films a visual boost. 

There are drawbacks to AMOLED displays, however, which were immediately noticeable when trying out the Galaxy Book Pro. AMOLED screens are harder to view in bright lighting conditions, which means you’ll likely struggle to view the screen outdoors on a sunny day. 

The decision to go with AMOLED is a brave one by Samsung, considering it’s pitching the Galaxy Book Pro as a laptop that excels at on-the-go work. That said, I think such shortcomings can be forgiven when you see how good the picture quality is.

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro – Initial verdict

The Galaxy Book Pro impresses. The jaw-droppingly skinny and lightweight build makes it a dream for those who work on the go, while the spec sheet looks competitive enough to challenge the very best laptops. Samsung has also thrown in that gorgeous AMOLED panel and optional LTE support to make the Galaxy Book Pro stand out in a hugely competitive market. 

But I have some reservations. While the use of magnesium alloy helps to reduce the weight, it has impacted the build quality of the Galaxy Book Pro – which could be problematic for a laptop that’s built for working on-the-go. It could also potentially suffer the same issues as the LG Gram when it comes to bottlenecked performance as a result of the limited room for airflow. 

Of course, I can’t comment on the likes of performance and battery life just yet, since I’ve only spent around an hour with the laptop and haven’t been able to conduct any benchmark tests. So, for the full lowdown on this new Samsung laptop, keep your eyes on Trusted Reviews for the incoming review and final verdict. 

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Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.

Formerly the Staff Writer at Stuff Magazine, Ryan's been writing about tech since he graduated from Cardiff University. At Trusted Reviews he is focused on everything computer-related, giving him a va…

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Global smartphone shipments climb nearly 8% in 1st quarter as Samsung retakes the lead

FILE - Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Phones displayed in Seoul, South Korea, July 26, 2023. Global smartphone shipments rose nearly 8% in the first quarter, according to preliminary data from International Data Corp. It’s the third straight quarter of shipment growth and marks the return of Samsung to No. 1. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, file)

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Global smartphone shipments rose nearly 8% in the first quarter, according to preliminary data from International Data Corp. It’s the third straight quarter of shipment growth and marks the return of Samsung to No. 1.

There were 289.4 million units shipped in the period, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

Claiming the top spot was Samsung, with 60.1 million units shipped in the quarter, down about 0.7% from last year. Apple came in second, with 50.1 million units shipped, down 9.6% from last year. Apple was at the top spot in the last quarter of 2023.

The third and fourth smartphone makers, Xiaomi and Transsion, saw their market share leap 34% and 85% respectively year over year.

Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Tracker team, said in a statement that average selling prices continue to improve, with consumers buying more expensive devices because they know they’re going to hold onto them longer.