Samsung Galaxy Book S review: Excellent battery, slim design, but just OK keyboard

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Cardinal

The tale of Windows ten on ARM is an ever-evolving one with pocket-size, only significant advancements. The Samsung Galaxy Book S is the second PC to characteristic Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx ARM processor (the other existence Microsoft'south Surface Pro X).

Following a more traditional clamshell design, this always-continued 4G LTE computer brings back one of Qualcomm'due south main advantages over rival Intel: bombardment longevity in a super-slender design.

I've spent the terminal few weeks with the Milky way Volume S, and Samsung has washed an excellent chore on hardware execution. But who should purchase the Galaxy Book S, and what are the downsides to this $1,000 ultra-slim Ultrabook? Let's detect out.

The Galaxy Volume S has remained firmly at its $one,000 RRP since launch, and with Amazon Prime Solar day fast approaching, whatsoever discount on this device may tempt those considering a purchase. While Amazon doesn't currently stock this 8cx-powered Ultrabook, continue an centre out for cost cuts to come up.

Always connected

Samsung Galaxy Book S

$999 at Microsoft

Bottom line: The Samsung Milky way Book S does something Intel-based laptops can't: deliver a super-thin, very low-cal premium laptop with more than 10-hours of battery life and 4G LTE all for $1,000. With excellent audio, a delightful display, information technology is only the shallow keyboard that holds it dorsum from greatness.

Pros:

• Beautiful, slim, all-metal chassis
• 11+ hour battery life
• Fantabulous audio
• Outstanding full-HD brandish
• microSD expansion

Cons:

• The keyboard is very shallow
• ARM64 may be confusing
• No anti-glare display, 16x9 aspect

Know before you lot buy

Samsung Galaxy Volume S who this is for

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central

Similar the Surface Pro X, the Galaxy Book S has a specific demographic in mind: modern, mobile workers who need a premium, ever-continued Windows 10 PC with amend-than-average bombardment life.

Samsung built the Galaxy Volume S, much like its previous Galaxy Book2, for executives and enterprise users who leap between meetings, ride trains, and who desire to be in their work in an instant. That's not to say, students, journalists, writers, and anyone who focuses on office productivity tasks can't do good either.

While Windows 10 on ARM has limitations (such as non being able to run any specialty 64-bit "classic" Windows applications, heavy lifting CAD programs, or exist expert at gaming or video editing), but it nonetheless can do many of the core tasks for modern PC users. Running Microsoft Office, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Skype, web browser, e-mail, maps, and collaborative software is all some people demand (meet the rising of Chromebooks).

Just it comes down to instant-on, ubiquitous 4G LTE connectivity, and all-mean solar day bombardment life that makes this laptop stand up out from the residual.

So sparse, so premium

Samsung Milky way Book S pattern and features

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central

The Milky way Book South is a combination of exquisite, slim, handsome, and a touch of boring. In an age of 2-in-ane convertible laptops, or tablets that accept pens that hide in the keyboard, the Milky way Book Southward falls into the dull "information technology'south but a laptop" category.

The Galaxy Book S's play a trick on is an sometime one: it'due south i of the thinnest and lightest laptops around (rivaled, maybe, by the Acer Swift vii). That'due south not to exist dismissed. In that location is an audition for those who want skinny, but also long bombardment life in a laptop. Up until now, that's been hard to ascertain, especially with an LTE modem.

Category	Samsung Milky way Book S
Operating System	Windows x Home
Display	thirteen.3 inches Total HD TFT (16:9) Touch (no inking)
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
Memory	8GB RAM (LPDDR4X)
Storage	256/512GB
Expandable Storage	MicroSD slot (upwardly to 1TB)
Front Photographic camera	720p Hard disk
Security	Windows Hello with fingerprint sensor
Connectivity	802.eleven Wi-Fi LTE Nano SIM Bluetooth five.0
Ports	2x USB Blazon-C
Sound	Stereo (sound past AKG)
Battery	42Wh Up to 23 hours of video playback)
Dimensions	305.ii 10 203.2 x six.2-11.8 mm
Weight	2.1lbs (0.96 kg)
Colors	Earthy Gilded Mercury Gray
Cost	$999

With an all-metallic, anodized aluminum pattern, tapered edges, and a rounded back, Samsung tin undoubtedly pattern a pleasing laptop. Weighing only 2.1lbs (or 0.96 kg), the Galaxy Book Due south is exceptionally light. Even so, due to that metal chassis, information technology doesn't experience cheap or hollow compared to like designs that rely on polycarbonate for materials.

Two colors are available, including Mercury Gray (used for this review) and a pinkish "Earthy Gilt."

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows PrimalThe ability button doubles as a fingerprint reader.

Two Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 2 (x Gbps) ports flank the sides of the Galaxy Book Due south, which is all you become for input/output. Samsung does toss in a Type-C to Blazon-A converter for those who require the usage of a traditional pollex drive or wired mouse. Unlike the Surface Pro X, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack too.

Underneath the chassis is a simple pullout drawer for the physical SIM (no eSIM, unfortunately) and microSD expansion.

The power button too houses an excellent fingerprint reader. While information technology doesn't read at the BIOS level (requiring to presses: one to power on, one to log in), it is very accurate and fast with no failures.

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows CentralThe SIM/microSD slot, Type-C port, & headphone jack.

Either of those Type-C ports can exist used for charging with the minuscule wall charger. A small-scale LED light up on the right-paw side to allow you know the device's charging status, which is a dainty affect.

Excellent viewing

Samsung Milky way Book S brandish and camera

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central

Samsung uses a full Hd (1920 x 1080) 13.three-inch TFT ten-point impact display with an aspect of 16x9. Pen and inking are non supported, unfortunately, though it makes little sense on a clamshell anyway.

It'southward a sharp brandish with excellent contrast, but there is a visible banding that tin can be seen in photos (not in real life). Even though it is "but" total Hard disk, this is i of those screens that could laissez passer for a college resolution as it looks better than it should.

The display tin can get quite brilliant, falling just below 380 nits of brightness. It is glossy, just not the worst I've seen.

There are 3 sparse bezels (top and sides) with a larger ~0.75-inch bezel on the lesser, which also has the Samsung logo. Such a blueprint is a consequence of using the 16x9 aspect where a taller 16x10 would accept looked improve and more modern.

Samsung managed to squeeze in a very tiny 720P web camera on the top bezel too. Information technology's surprisingly adept, considering how pocket-size it is compared to others, though it leans on reds for colors a fleck much. A little blue LED lets you lot know the camera is active.

There is no physical privacy shutter, nor is Windows Hi facial recognition supported.

Typing is a challenge

Samsung Galaxy Book S keyboard and trackpad

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central

If there is one expanse that gives me pause on the Galaxy Book South, it is the keyboard. Primal travel is exceptionally shallow, hovering near the 1mm mark.

I hesitate to call the keyboard bad because if you spend enough time with it, you practise become used to information technology, but that adjustment curve is longer than whatever other laptop I have used recently (even the XPS thirteen two-in-one). There is an uptick to shallow keyboards then long as yous can get used to them: you can type very fast due to less movement.

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central

The keyboard backlight is besides tricky. It technically has three stages, and Samsung uses this absurd light green color scheme, which contrasts nicely with the greyness keys. But to call it dim is an understatement. You'll but see the key illumination in the darkest of scenarios. While information technology'southward non articulate why Samsung opts for such dim keys, my hunch is it plays into their focus on extended battery life, which is a big part of this laptop'south story.

The trackpad is big, polish, and has a satisfying (albeit shallow) click. Samsung uses Microsoft Precision drivers, and it is overall excellent.

top-tier sounds

Samsung Galaxy Book Southward surprisingly excellent audio

Source: Windows Central

Usually, when one talks most super-sparse Ultrabooks, the speakers go the ax in terms of quality. That's non the example here.

Samsung uses ii speakers on the bottom edges (side) that, due to the slight curve, will articulate your lap or desk. The sound profile is tweaked by Samsung'southward get-to subsidiary AKG.

I'll be blunt and but say that Samsung did a remarkable job with the audio. Information technology's loud, clear, and has perfect stereo separation and space. There's even some bass and resonance from the chassis, which is something larger laptops ofttimes omit but is found here. Information technology's some of the best aural operation I have heard in the 13-inch class, and Samsung deserves commendation.

For conference calls, ii microphones on the top deck as well work very well.

OK CPU, first-class battery

Samsung Galaxy Book Due south benchmarks and battery

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central

Windows 10 on ARM PCs are a scrap tricky to describe, and therein lies the trouble. A laptop like the Galaxy Volume Due south is perfect for using apps from the Microsoft Shop, or using the new Edge browser's ability to install spider web-apps similar Disney+, Kindle Cloud Reader, Twitter, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more than.

Other apps like Microsoft Office, Skype, and other productivity-based programs that are Win32 (x86) based also work quite well. The caveat is 64-bit x86 applications like from Adobe don't run at all on the Galaxy Book S, though I'd argue this is not the kind of laptop for that job.

Read more: How to get the most out of your Windows 10 on ARM device

The Galaxy Book Southward won't win awards for beingness the fastest laptop due to the 8-cadre Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx processor (2.84GHz), but it's a solid footstep up from previous Snapdragon PC chips. Microsoft uses the "SQ1", which is just a fancy name for a ramped-up Snapdragon 8cx (iii.0GHz), simply information technology does reveal itself as the more powerful of the two PCs.

Geekbench 5 Geekbench 4 PCMark ten SSD

Geekbench five

Geekbench 5.0 (CPU) (Higher is meliorate)

Device	CPU	Single core	Multi core
Galaxy Volume S	SD 8cx	685	2,681
Surface Pro X	SQ1	725	2,819
Lenovo Flex 5G	SD 8cx	713	2,828
Acer Swift seven	i7-8500Y	732	1,106
Surface Laptop iii 13.v	i5-1035G7	1,177	4,413
Surface Laptop 2	i5-8250U	909	3,372
Surface Pro seven	i5-1035G4	ane,191	four,441
Surface Pro 6	i7-8650U	1,113	3,519
Surface Pro six	i5-8250U	904	iii,440
Dell XPS 13 2-in-ane 7390	i7-1065G7	1,209	3,571

Geekbench 4

Geekbench four.0 (CPU) (Higher is amend)

Device	CPU	Unmarried core	Multi core
Galaxy Book Southward (ARM)	SD 8cx	3,271	11,096
Surface Pro 10 (ARM)	SQ1	3,505	11,727
Galaxy Volume S (x86)	SD 8cx	2,032	6,371
Surface Pro X (x86)	SQ1	2,182	6,822
Acer Swift 7	i7-8500Y	two,281	four,905
Samsung Galaxy Book2 (ARM)	SD850	2,262	7,405
Samsung Galaxy Book2 (x86)	SD850	ane,345	4,164
HP Envy x2 (ARM)	SD835	two,111	6,314
Surface Go	Pentium	2,078	3,934
Surface 3	Cantlet x7	1,078	two,777
Surface Laptop 3 13.5	i5-1035G7	5,265	17,345
Surface Laptop 2	i5-8250U	four,203	13,233
Surface Laptop	i5-7200U	3,725	7,523
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390	i7-1065G7	v,459	19,097

PCMark ten

Applications (College is better)

Device	CPU	Score
Galaxy Book S	SD 8cx	four,308
Surface Pro Ten	Microsoft SQ1	4,617

SSD

CrystalDiskMark (Higher is better)

Device	Read	Write
Milky way Book South	1,912 MB/s	425 MB/southward
Surface Pro X	2,023 MB/due south	832 MB/s
Samsung Galaxy Book2	722 MB/due south	205 MB/s
HP Envy x2	513 MB/south	197 MB/s
Surface Become (SSD)	ane,185 MB/s	133 MB/s
Surface Become (eMMC)	260 MB/southward	145 MB/southward
Surface 3	149 MB/s	33 MB/due south
Surface Laptop iii 13.v	two,338 MB/due south	one,583 MB/s
Surface Laptop 3 15	ii,028 MB/s	806 MB/s
Surface Laptop two	1,509 MB/s	811 MB/southward
Surface Laptop	486 MB/s	244 MB/due south
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390	ii,400 MB/due south	1,228 MB/s

.

Samsung looked to reduce system costs by using its ain UFS 256GB storage solution (KLUEG8UHDB-C2D1). Read speeds are respectable near 1,900 MB/s, merely writes are just beneath 500 MB/s. While this isn't terrible, the Microsoft Surface Pro Ten uses a PCIe NMe SSD with slightly better read and write results.

RAM is stock-still at 8GB LPDDR4x on either the 256GB or 512GB models.

For overall performance, the Galaxy Book S felt solid when sticking to productivity-based tasks. Gaming is a no-go if venturing beyond simple platformers or 2nd titles. The 8cx can beat the Intel 8th Gen i7-8500Y, which is a dual-core depression-power bit and speaks in favor of Qualcomm (which likewise costs less).

Case of the apps that I ran on the Galaxy Book S for my normal workload during this review period:

• Microsoft Part (Word, OneNote, Excel)
• Microsoft Edge (ARM64)
• Hulu
• Netflix
• Spotify
• VUDU
• Disney+
• Twitter
• Microsoft Teams
• Slack
• Mail (Outlook.com)
• Flow Mail (Gmail)
• Polarr Photograph Editor Pro
• Microsoft News
• GroupMe
• OneDrive
• Skype
• Microsoft To Do
• myTube! (YouTube)
• MobileDiscord PTB (Discord)
• Unigram (Telegram)
• ExpressVPN using manual configuration

Considering ARM PCs run and so efficiently, there are no fans or even vents for cooling, ergo no dissonance (and no coil whine, either). Like other ARM-based PCs, this one never as well gets warm.

Where the Galaxy Book S shines is battery life. Though it has a slightly larger 42WHr bombardment compared to the Surface Pro X's 38Whr, the existent power savings come from that marginally slower processor and lower resolution display, both of which add together hours of longevity to the Galaxy Book South.

Source: Windows CentralSurface Pro X vs. Milky way Book S bombardment life test.

Using Microsoft'due south battery study feature, the Milky way Book S ranged between eight and sixteen hours, averaging just over 11 hours for usage during testing.

Turning to synthetic tests, specifically PCMark 10, which loops betwixt Microsoft Role Win32 apps, the Galaxy Volume S pulls in just over eleven hours. That test was run with the display brightness set to 35 percent, which was more than than acceptable for working under overhead lights. The Surface Pro Ten yielded just 8.5 hours on the aforementioned test in the same scenario. Both results are with 20 percent battery remaining, which ways both laptops could go some other hour or ii on top of that.

Note: The biggest bombardment draw on these devices is display effulgence. Running them higher and brighter will consequence in reduced battery life, so your results may vary.

PCMark 10 Battery (Applications)

Device	Time	Battery
Galaxy Book S	xi hours, 11 mins	21 percent left
Surface Pro X	eight hours, 31 minutes	20 percent left

Finally, turning to the 4G LTE, Samsung is using the Qualcomm X24 modem, which supports CAT20 LTE and up to 2 gigabits download speeds. Samsung sells the Galaxy Book S in partnership with Sprint and Verizon in the U.s.a.. Data performance and reception were fantabulous, with threescore Mbps accomplished easily even without full-bar status, though private results will vary. The modem never failed to connect and was extremely reliable.

Although the Milky way Volume S is sold through US carriers, the laptop is non SIM-locked. Dropping in a SIM from T-Mobile, for instance, worked merely fine. Unfortunately, there is no eSIM back up.

Filling a specific function

Determination: Samsung Galaxy Book S does some firsts, has one major oddity

Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Cardinal

The Galaxy Book S is one of the nicest looking Ultrabooks around that pushes various extremes. It is very calorie-free, super thin, all-metal, and solidly built with premium parts.

Its strengths are hands very long battery life that has specially good standby time lasting days (or even weeks) and is e'er connected to the net through Wi-Fi or LTE. Although the brandish is just full HD, it'due south a very evenly lit panel and matches Samsung's exceptional reputation for screen technology. Audio is as well manner better than expected, making this a fun laptop for watching Netflix in between piece of work sessions.

Compared to the Surface Pro X, it has slightly worse performance, but information technology's not substantial. You could argue that the extra 2.5+ hours of bombardment life favoring the Milky way Book S makes up for that slight performance hitting. There'southward also the shorter 16x9 brandish (versus the 3x2) of the Galaxy Book S, and no pen support. Price-wise the Galaxy Book S costs less ($1,000) versus Surface Pro X at $1,250 with the keyboard.

My only main gripe is the keyboard. Typing can be frustrating due to the easygoing travel, and it takes a while to arrange to the design. The keyboard backlight is also much too dim.

There aren't many laptops in this class that straight compete with the Milky way Book S. There is a like 2022 Acer Swift 7, which is nearly the same size and fifty-fifty slightly lighter. Build quality and audio is nowhere near as good, and the performance is worse due to dual-core Y-serial Core processor. That Acer laptop is also $700 more than expensive, lacks a touchscreen, a 4G LTE modem, and it has effectually one-half the battery life of the Galaxy Book S.

Another pick is the best-value HP Spectre x360 13t. That laptop as well gets very adept battery life, has a more than powerful 10th Gen i7 processor, double the storage, and it supports inking all for the aforementioned $ane,000 price. HP, in theory, offers optional 4G LTE, but its availability is striking-and-miss, and that laptop is more a one-half-pound heavier.

The question then comes down to how much y'all value one of the lightest, thinnest laptops on the market place with quite remarkable battery life and 4G LTE? For nigh consumers, they will be better served with something like the HP Spectre x360. But for individual mobile workers who need an always-continued PC that effectively never hibernates and has instant-on that weighs just 2.1lbs, well, at that place are no other options I tin can recommend. That makes the Galaxy Volume S a tool for a specific user, but a pretty peachy i for a friendly $1,000 price. That is if Samsung can only set that keyboard.

Long battery, all 4G LTE

Samsung Milky way Book S

Crazy thin, all-day battery and e'er-connected

The Samsung Galaxy Book Due south does something Intel-based laptops tin can't: deliver a super-thin, very light premium laptop with more than 11+ hours of battery life and 4G LTE all for $1,000. With splendid sound, a delightful display, it is only the shallow keyboard that holds it back from greatness.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/samsung-galaxy-book-s-review

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