Early Verdict
Getting our hands on the Galaxy Book3 Pro, we found it to be almost unreal how light and thin it was. And crammed into that nearly impossible form factor is a 13th-gen CPU and a pretty solid port selection.
Pros
- +
Extremely lightweight
- +
Thin and portable
- +
Gorgeous screen
- +
Great keyboard and touchpad
- +
Solid webcam
Cons
- -
No ethernet port
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Before the official reveal of preorders and release dates, we had an opportunity to try out three of the latest in the Samsung Galaxy Book3 line of ultrabooks in person. And so far, what we’ve seen has impressed us, especially the sleek and almost impossibly lightweight Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro.
It’s a gorgeous and sleek addition to the Samsung Book family, the perfect portable machine for those on the go who aren’t able to or can’t carry around a large and heavy machine. Though we won’t know any full details on its performance until we get it in for a proper review, the time we spent with this laptop at least enlightened us on how well it’s designed.
Galaxy Book3 Pro: Price & availability
The Pro starts at at $1,249.99 / £1,349 (about AU$1,810), with options to configure it. Preorders will start on February 1, with a planned release of February 17 and it seems that the ultrabook will only launch in the US and UK, going by the available pricing. The UK pricing on this one is much cheaper than the US, which is good considering that exchange rates will put the cost much closer together.
If pricing information is released for Australia or for any other region, TechRadar will be sure to report on that. So stay tuned to our ongoing coverage, as well as any other Samsung news or product reveals.
Galaxy Book3 Pro: Design
| Component | Spec | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Starting at $1,249.99 / £1,349 | |
| CPU | Up to 13th-gen Intel Core i7 (28W) | |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe | |
| Memory | Up to 32GB LPDDR5 | |
| Storage | Up to 1TB SSD | |
| Display | 14-inch and 16-inch WQXGA+ (2880 x 1800p) Dynamic AMOLED 2X |
The Galaxy Book3 Pro, like the other ones, comes in two flavors of color: black and light silver. Despite the limited palettes, the Pro is still a lovely ultrabook with a beautiful and sleek form factor, with the silver version particularly stunning.
And we have to say that, by far, this is the lightest laptop we have ever lifted up. It’s mind-boggling how lightweight it is, you barely even feel it in your hands. The display is a beautiful AMOLED screen and it comes in two display sizes, 14-inch and 16-inch. Though we previewed the 14-inch, the 16-inch is most likely nearly as light.
The keyboard felt luxurious and despite that, the touchpad was a little on the small side it was still very responsive. We weren’t given specs on the webcam, but after testing it we found it to be a great one with a nice clear image, with options like HDR and auto framing which improves the picture quality and focus.
Port selection is pretty solid with an HDMI port, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a Type-A USB port, an audio jack, and an SD card mini slot. But the fact that there’s no ethernet cable is a bit disappointing. Most buyers would most likely not plug in their ultrabooks to the internet, but having the option is always important.
Galaxy Book3 Pro: Performance
While we weren’t able to personally take the Galaxy Book3 Pro for a spin to test the performance, the specs we do know aren’t too shabby. It sports the latest 13th-gen Intel CPU, either an i5 or i7 depending on the configuration. This makes this an excellent productivity machine that will be sure to get you through the workday as intended.
Of course, GPU wasn’t a priority so it’s given the standard Iris Xe Graphics GPU. But at least it’s able to play lower-end games, so you’re not completely shut out. None of the other specs have been revealed at this time, except for the fact that you can upgrade the configuration.
Galaxy Book3 Pro: Early verdict
So far, this is our favorite of the three ultrabooks we previewed today, thanks to its stunning looks and even more stunning form factor. Though this isn’t some tricked-out beast of a machine, its 13th-gen Intel CPU is more than enough for anyone who needs an excellent work machine.
Pricing is a bit steep but that’s to be expected of a Samsung Galaxy ultrabook. It remains to be seen what actual performance, sound quality, ventilation, and more will look like but if Samsung can stick the landing on this one it’ll have quite the near-perfect portable ultrabook on its hands.
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