Michael Crider
Samsung announced an interesting laptop way back at the Galaxy Note 10 launch in August. The Galaxy Book S combines the premium materials of the Galaxy line with the mobile ARM hardware and LTE connections of…well, the Galaxy phone line. Galaxy Galaxy Galaxy. The laptop missed its launch date last year but is finally going on sale on February 13th.
The combination of Qualcomm Snapdragon hardware and Windows-on-ARM software isn’t often seen, though it’s getting more frequent—Microsoft’s Surface Pro X is probably the most high-profile laptop at the moment, and we’ve had the chance to test out some similar models. All of these designs are equipped with built-in LTE connections, making them attractive additions to mobile carrier retail lineups. The Galaxy Book S is using a Snapdragon 8cx, designed for laptops and carrying an Adreno 860 integrated GPU.
The Galaxy Book S is interesting for a few other factors, though: its curvy, ultra-thin body is undeniably appealing, and it crams everything into a chassis that weighs a hair over two pounds. The rest of the specs beyond the LTE connection are a bit unremarkable; while the Galaxy Chromebook announced at CES gets an AMOLED 4K screen, this one has to make do with a 13-inch 1080p LCD. RAM is limited to 8GB, with 256GB of storage. Two USB-C ports, a MicroSD card slot, and a headphone jack are the only physical connections. At those specs, the Galaxy Book S seems a little pricey with a starting cost of $1000. At least it includes a fingerprint sensor and a backlit keyboard.
You can pre-order the laptop from Samsung later today, and it’ll also be sold by Verizon, Sprint, and the Microsoft Store in the US. If you’re tempted by this svelte little number, check out our review of the Lenovo Yoga 630. It uses a similar Windows-on-ARM setup, and the review breaks down the positives (incredible battery life) and negatives (poor performance on some un-optimized Windows programs) of the platform.
via The Verge
