The Galaxy Book S is Samsung's latest bet on Windows laptop in ultralight format and with Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm. Although Samsung does not market it worldwide, we analyze this equipment that you can buy online.
Samsung Galaxy Book S: is it worth your purchase?
If your preferences for a Windows laptop include an ultralight computer that is extremely light, with an extraordinary display screen and comfortable keyboard, Samsung seems to hit the mark with its new Book S.
Now, the commitment to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon chip guarantees great energy efficiency but in return, you will find some reluctance in the power and performance section.
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Retail Price (RRP)
$ 999
Review Samsung Galaxy Book S
The Galaxy Book S is launched with the aim of being one of the best in combining design, performance, and autonomy, taking into account that it chooses to base its configuration on a Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm instead of Intel.
Design and construction
The first thing you notice when you have it in hand is how light it is for your trips. Its thickness ranges between 6.2 and 11.8 mm because the use of this processor allows the team to do without using active fans. Obviously, it is also silent.
Cut similar to the MacBook Air, its design remains minimalist and elegant. The frames of your screen have now been reduced to a minimum, with anodized aluminum in its finishes. The top cap curves at the rear edge to protect the hinge.
Both the keyboard keys and the touchpad area are spacious with a generous size. However, they are of little travel which causes it to feel somewhat flat and with little travel if you use it regularly to write.
The three levels of backlighting are appreciated, although all of them of low luminosity, so you will only appreciate that it is active when you work in very dark situations.
Such a modern style implies certain cuts in the area of connectivity, with just two physical ports of type USB C. It may be enough for many, but if you are one of those who use many USB A devices, you will have to resort to external adapters.
Here Samsung provides an adapter inside the box, but it is a bit bulky and there will only be the other one that may be being used to charge the laptop battery. In this way, the best solution will be to accompany your Galaxy Book S with a hub.
Autonomy and battery
The battery life of these laptops is usually one of the strong points that we look at since in addition to mobility, we also demand time of use. The Galaxy Book S is special here, with the most efficient processor in the Windows area.
It is something that we could already see in the HP Envy x2 notebook based on the Snapdragon processor and working with Windows, with a duration of just over 20 hours of video playback.
In this area, we have to say that the Galaxy Book S breaks all records despite the fact that its battery is still somewhat small at 42 Wh.
When charging with the Samsung C Super Fast Charging USB charger, the laptop reaches 26% charge in just half an hour. As we have seen, a quarter of its capacity can grant us an infinity of hours of use.
In this way, we can affirm that if what you are looking for is autonomy in this ultralight above any other aspect, the Galaxy Book S is unrivaled, beating any other Windows laptop with Intel or AMD processors, and more at this price.
Performance
Qualcomm has made great strides since announcing the first generation of desktop processors, not only in autonomy but also in performance. It is still inferior to its competitors, but it begins to measure up.
That the potential of the Galaxy Book S is enough for you, will depend on the use you make of it. But even if your work relies heavily on web browsing, responding to emails, and basic office tasks, you will feel a little behind in point situations.
Receiving feedback from a laptop with a Snapdragon chip is not easy, but we do affirm that there are improvements compared to the previous generation Snapdragon 835.
Qualcomm mentions that the 8cx is comparable to a tenth-generation Core i5 processor, plus the Book S comes with 8GB of RAM.
There are also compatibility issues to be aware of, as unlike HP's Envy x2, the Galaxy Book S comes with Windows 10 Home, not the limited S version (despite the laptop's name). It can be confusing for the user.
In a way, that's good, but there's nothing stopping you from downloading and installing software that won't run on ARM-based Snapdragon. It is the same situation as the Surface Pro X, which runs on a modified version of the Snapdragon 8cx.
You will not be able to run traditional Windows applications natively, nor will you be able to run traditional 64-bit applications.
That lack of x64 application support is critical for some environments, even though the situation is much better than it was a few years ago. ARM support is improving, regardless of which, be sure to check support before buying a Windows with Snapdragon.
The rest of the specifications are quite simple with 256 GB of storage (there is the option of increasing the figure to 512 GB in some markets). We have an additional microSD card slot to expand this capacity up to 1 TB.
There is no wi-fi 6 yet in this model (wifi 5 or 802.11ac instead), but you have a nano-SIM card to guarantee full connectivity wherever you go without depending on the search for wifi connections.
Despite the small frames displayed around the screen, the reasonably-quality webcam sits above the screen. The fingerprint scanner for login, embedded in the power button itself, works very well.
Screen ok, but without being AMOLED
The size of the laptop is given by the panel that is 13.3 inches, a fairly balanced value to guarantee portability along with productivity. Now, it is not an AMOLED panel and not even it is IPS.
Instead, it uses TFT technology, although we can say that it is one of the best we have seen to date within what this technology offers us. It's nothing special, but the viewing angles are still good, as is the contrast and brightness.
Aided by Spyder X Pro, we verified that the Galaxy Book S achieves a decent maximum screen brightness of 377 cd / m2 with 97% sRGB. With AdobeRGB, things drop to a 76% rate.
We suspect that the reason for using this low-end technology is to guarantee the laptop's longest range, along with Full HD resolution. It seems like a great decision since the screen is not of poor quality, in addition to contemplating touch operation.
Price and where to buy
The Galaxy Book S laptop has been announced in various markets at a recommended price of $ 999, so it is not a crazy figure for the type of ultralight laptop we are dealing with.
The basic model, as we have anticipated, comes with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, somewhat basic to tell the truth. In the absence of its commercialization in various countries, you must go to the international market for its official purchase.
The configuration is very close since a single type of processor is offered within its specifications. The good part is that it offers 4G connectivity as standard with mercury gray finishes.
Final verdict
There is no doubt that the Galaxy Book S is an incredible laptop in many ways. When it comes to design, it's one of the best, and it's extremely compact and lightweight.
Qualcomm has clearly made performance gains with the Snapdragon 8cx compared to previous efforts, especially when it comes to battery life - the Book S is the most durable laptop we've tested by far.
Performance still does not seem to be sufficient for the vast majority of situations and uses, with certain delays that may be associated with compatibility issues when running certain applications in ARM.
Other minor issues include a not-so-comfortable keyboard with an almost useless backlight and the limitations of having only two USB-C ports. Still, if you're looking for a sleek laptop for basic use, the Galaxy Book S may be the most appropriate device.
Do not lose sight of Microsoft's proposal for Windows with its Surface Pro X, a team also based on the use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor at a very similar price of € 1095 and with greater component customization.
Specifications
- Windows 10 Home
- 13.3 inch TFT screen
- 1920 x 1280 resolution with a 10-point touchscreen
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx processor (2.84 GHz + 1.8GHz, 8 cores)
- 8 GB RAM (LPDDR4X)
- 256/512 GB storage
- Micro-SD card slot (up to 1TB)
- 2 USB-C ports
- Dual-band 11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, 4G LTE (Nano-SIM)
- AKG stereo speakers with the headphone jack
- Fingerprint scanner (on the power button)
- 720p webcam
- 42 Wh battery
- Dimensions 305 x 203 x 6.2–11.8 mm
- Weight of 960 grams
Tags:
Laptops