Samsung’s Galaxy Book2 Pro Debuts With Intel Arc Graphics

Samsung’s Galaxy Book2 Pro Debuts With Intel Arc Graphics

Samsung announced Sunday a new fleet of premium Galaxy laptops led by the Galaxy Book2 Pro and Galaxy Book2 Pro 360. The leading Android phone maker has a mixed track record in the notebook market but the Galaxy Book Pro 360 impressed us last year and these two additions bring several nice upgrades to the table, including Intel’s long-awaited discrete Arc graphics.

The Galaxy Book2 Pro and Book2 Pro 360 will be available in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch versions. Whichever you choose, it will come with a 1080p AMOLED display with a max brightness of 500 nits (a 33% increase from the previous model). If you’ve kept tabs on the laptop space in recent years, these specs are a bit old school.

Image: Samsung
Image: Samsung

While everyone moves to 13.4, 14, and 16 inches with 16:10 and 3:2 aspect ratios, Samsung is keeping things traditional with a standard 16:9, 1080p display. I prefer a slightly taller screen, though I don’t blame Samsung for sticking with something that works best for multimedia considering the AMOLED panel should look fantastic (as it did on the Book 360).

Samsung sticks with a simple, understated design with these systems, which are available in Silver and Graphite. The convertible model has a Burgundy option. At 12 x 7.68 x 0.44 inches and 1 kg, the Book2 Pro is an extremely lightweight laptop, even for a 13 incher (the MacBook Air weighs 1 kg). The 15-inch Book2 Pro, at 0.48 inches thick and 1 kg, is also among the most portable devices in its class.

Image: Samsung
Image: Samsung

Both systems will be powered by 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1240P or Core i7-1260P processors with Iris Xe Graphics and can be equipped with up to 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to a 1TB NVMe SSD. These are portable systems, not big gaming rigs so Samsung has opted for Intel’s mid-tier P-series chips, which are designed to offer high performance for ultra-mobile devices. One spec we’re keeping a close eye on is the Book2 Pro’s Intel Arc Graphics; this system will be among the first batch to use the chipmaker’s highly anticipated discrete GPU. Unfortunately, Samsung didn’t set any performance expectations.

Port selection on the convertible is limited to a Thunderbolt 4, two USB-C, and a microSD card slot while the more generous clamshell model has a Thunderbolt 4, a USB-C, a USB-a, an HDMI, and a microSD card. Connectivity support includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1. I’m particularly eager to test these laptops’ upgraded 1080p webcams and the new Auto Framing feature, which uses fancy algorithms to keep you centered within the frame.

Samsung is touting the security of these devices, which are the first consumer devices to meet Microsoft’s secure-core requirements, meaning the two companies collaborated to ensure certain security benchmarks were met. Samsung vaguely states it has “integrated hardware, firmware, and software” to protect these systems.

Image: Samsung
Image: Samsung

“Working with Samsung on the Galaxy Book2 Pro series is the next chapter in our proud collaboration to remove barriers between different operating systems and bring the best of Microsoft apps and services to the Galaxy Ecosystem,” said David Weston, the director of Enterprise and OS Security at Microsoft. “Delivering the first consumer PC with Microsoft’s secured-core PC designation is a crucial step in this effort as today’s consumers deserve the same security protections they get in the office as they do while working remotely.”

The Galaxy Book2 Pro and Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 will go on pre-order on March 18 before hitting stores on April 1. The convertible Pro 360 will cost $US1,2499 ($17,351) while the Book2 Pro goes for $US1,049 ($1,456). Another base model, a 13.3-inch Galaxy Book2 360, will cost $US899 ($1,248) when it’s available, also on April 1.