Here at TechRadar, we've covered a lot of laptops over the years – and it's strange to say, but Samsung isn't really a brand that we spend a whole lot of time thinking about.
Samsung makes some incredible products, obviously, from the best TVs to some of the best phones on the planet, but laptops generally are something of an after-thought.
The Galaxy line of laptops has definitely charmed us in the past, like the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro, but then devices like the Galaxy Chromebook Go come around and knock us out of love with the brand.
Now, not every brand produces winner after winner, but brands like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are regulars on our best laptop list for a reason: they consistently put out high-quality products across their portfolio, and they're much more focused on getting mobile computing hardware right in a way that Samsung simply isn't, which is strange for a company with such a strong tech pedigree.
After the latest Samsung Unpacked event though, it's clear that Samsung has a chance to reset expectations, and there are a lot of reasons why Samsung could deliver a fantastic laptop that a lot of people are going to be very interested in buying.
Whatever else it has going for it, Samsung makes a gorgeous device
No matter what Samsung puts its hands to, it's bound to look incredible.
For all the grief people gave the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2, there's no denying that it was incredibly eye-catching, and Samsung's Galaxy S-series phones (as well as its Galaxy Tab S-series tablets) have always looked stellar.
Samsung has a great eye for design that Apple frankly lacks, making it well positioned for a laptop maker to really set itself apart when it isn't in complete control of its specs in the way that Apple is. Even the best Windows laptop is going to have that same problem, so a great design will go a long way to making it competitive against rivals who have been in the laptop market longer, and have a more established presence in that space.
It doesn't matter if Samsung isn't a major laptop player; its name is bigger than anyone else's
Sometimes we computing journalists forget that not everyone knows the ins and outs of the industry the way we do, so we might take Samsung's modest position in the broader computing space as common knowledge.
But that really isn't the case, not when you're out looking for a new laptop and can't tell who's who on the shelf. In many cases, customers are going to be focused on price above all, but they're also going to be looking for brand names they recognize as well; and fairly or not, Samsung's name is just about everywhere.
This is a major plus for Samsung. If you're buying a new computer with little to go on but your gut instinct, Samsung is going to have a major advantage over Lenovo and Acer, despite the latter two being the better laptop makers by dint of industry experience.
Of course, all of this relies on Samsung actually making decent laptops – and given the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360, and Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra, we're certain that these devices can deliver as well as those from rivals who will be relying on the same hardware as Samsung.
Price, performance, and integration will make or break Samsung's push into the laptop market
We already know the prices for Samsung's lineup of Book3 laptops, and we've gotten a sense of the specs they'll come with, all of which bodes well for Samsung's latest laptop push.
One key factor that will absolutely help the company establish itself will be how well it integrates the Galaxy Book3 series into the broader Samsung ecosystem. From smartwatches to phones and tablets, Samsung's Android devices are very well integrated in a way that only Apple can beat.
If Samsung is able to bring its laptops into that ecosystem is a compelling way, it will be able to do something no other laptop maker really can, which is provide a truly Apple-like experience across all of its devices.
Yes, Windows has Android integration, but this is necessarily limited by the fact that it's Windows that's doing all the work, not so much the OEMs putting out the Windows devices. Lenovo doesn't have a smartwatch, a phone, and a tablet that it can pair with its laptops the way Samsung does; and if the company leans into this advantage, and offers the kind of seamless integration between laptop, phone, tablet, and watch that Apple is able to, it could produce something really special in the Windows space that no one else has been able to pull off.
It remains to be seen if Samsung can ultimately do this, but there's no reason why it can't – and it has every reason to try.
