Samsung Galaxy Book Go Brings Snapdragon on the Cheap

Samsung has announced two Snapdragon-powered Galaxy Book Go laptops running Windows 10 on ARM and the starting price is quite affordable.

“Samsung and Qualcomm Technologies continue to collaborate across multiple generations of leading Samsung devices powered by Snapdragon compute platforms.” Qualcomm senior vice president Alex Katouzian said. “Our shared vision for mobile computing inspires our companies to push the industry forward and provide a more connected, intelligent, and productive experience for consumers. We are proud to enable the Galaxy Book Go series and expand the portfolio of 5G PCs that utilize our cutting-edge technology to deliver what users deserve – across multiple price points.”

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The Samsung Galaxy Book Go is the first affordable Snapdragon-based laptop, with a starting price of just $349. That configuration includes a mid-level Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 chipset, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of eUFS storage, a 14-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) TFT display, LTE, Wi-Fi 5, and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, and a 25-watt USB charger. You can get an upgraded configuration with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage as well.

The Galaxy Book Go is almost certainly a better choice for enthusiasts or developers who may have otherwise been interested in the Qualcomm Snapdragon Developer Kit, which has almost identical specs but no keyboard, mouse, or display, and is expected to cost about the same price.

Samsung also announced a higher-end Galaxy Book Go 5G that will be powered by a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 chipset with 5G capabilities. But no pricing or timing is available.

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Conversation 12 comments

  • dallasnorth40

    Premium Member
    03 June, 2021 - 9:24 am

    <p>Very interesting indeed at this price point.</p>

  • bschnatt

    03 June, 2021 - 10:39 am

    <p>This could be a game-changer. People who want a Chromebook-like experience (95% web stuff) but want *some* Windows compatibility will find this ideal. The fact that it’s $50 cheaper than the refurbished HP Envy x2 I bought is amazing.</p><p><br></p><p>I don’t know if Microsoft has set a memory minimum for 64-bit compatibility, but if it’s 6 or 8GB of RAM, this new machine will give them heartburn 😉 If Samsung sold the 8GB version for $549, it’ll sell like hotcakes…</p>

    • anoldamigauser

      Premium Member
      03 June, 2021 - 11:25 am

      <p>They are selling the Galaxy Book Pro 13 with a 256GB drive for $449 right now. It has all the compatibility and will still work fine, even if you are 95% on the web.</p><p><br></p><p>The base configuration seems interesting, at that price point, as a way to test the waters regarding WoA, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A $200 premium for 4GB of RAM seems a bit excessive, though they would probably bump storage as well. </span>A 7C chip with 4 or 8GB of RAM will be slower, have all the incompatibility, and it is still Windows, despite running on ARM…so it has all the complexity as well. </p>

  • thretosix

    03 June, 2021 - 11:25 am

    <p>I don’t know, to some it has that evil Dobly Atmos. Just waiting for that comment where someone throws a fit.</p>

  • chrisltd

    03 June, 2021 - 2:39 pm

    <p>Finally! Samsung is listening to what the WOA ecosystem needs on the hardware side.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      03 June, 2021 - 6:53 pm

      Qualcomm is too. This couldn’t happen without an affordable Snapdragon chipset.

  • Jorge Garcia

    03 June, 2021 - 11:54 pm

    <p>This device should boot up into Samsung DeX at first start-up. More advanced users can then boot into full windows if they choose. This is the future. Apple understands it, which is why they are leaning heavily into iPadOS. Huawei gets it too which is why they have ripped off Apple. Samsung surely gets it too, but some moronic chromebook politics is likely getting in the way. ChromeOS is not the future. Dell, HP, Acer and others desperately need to make their own Android-compatible tablet/light desktop OS if they don’t want Apple to keep running away with the hearts and minds of basic people (who make up the majority of the population).</p>

    • Jorge Garcia

      04 June, 2021 - 12:02 am

      <p>For anyone crazy enough to read my comment and wonder why I think ChromeOS is a mistake, here are the two reasons ChromeOS is not the future to me: 1. It belongs to Google, and I think that will become problematic at some point. 2. ChromeOS has to be explained to people, as in you at some point need to explain WHY there can be two versions of the same app installed. You lose some large swath of potential customers at that point, because iOS/iPadOS will never do that to them.</p>

    • techpineapple

      04 June, 2021 - 12:28 am

      <p>I disagree, I read the article and am interested in the product because it’s Windows. If I have to jump through hoops to use the machine I’m skipping it all together. </p>

      • Jorge Garcia

        04 June, 2021 - 12:39 am

        <p>You and I are readers of Thurrott.com, which by definition makes us different (to put it mildly). I use (and enjoy) Windows too, and probably will till the day I keel over, but I see where Apple is taking the young people (iPadOS) and as long as the non-PC side sticks to the false choice of ChromeOS/Windows (neither of which handle Android apps with the elegance that Apple handles iOS apps) they are going to keep losing mindshare and hearts to Apple. And btw, how large and annoying of a "hoop" would it be for the computer to ask you ONE TIME, at first launch, whether you like the machine to be a Windows machine or not? If you are a noob and press, I don’t know, then it defaults into desktop Android. If you select Windows, it asks you whether the selection is "permanent" or not. It costs a whole 5 seconds of suffering yet opens the computing door to so many. There are many barely intrusive ways to handle a multi-OS system that can keep a much larger percentage of the population happy, not just you and me and similar wonks.</p>

        • Jorge Garcia

          04 June, 2021 - 11:16 pm

          <p>I know I sound like a raving lunatic, but it’s 2021 and companies like Apple exist and are really making the PC side of the house look stubbornly set in its ways. Windows or ChromeOS is NOT the binary choice a lot of people want, even if they don’t realize it. To release a product as nice and well-priced as this one is, but that — only — comes with Windows on board (I don’t hate Windows!) is simply alienating a large swath of the computing population at this point. So many people I know have moved "past" windows because their computing needs, outside of work (or maybe even at work too) just don’t require the heavy-duty chainsaw that is Windows. The beauty of the situation is that it’s all just software, so it never has to be an either-or proposition (anymore). The Galaxy Tab S7 let’s you use it as an Android machine OR a DeX machine, out of the box. And now that WOA exists, Samsung could easily slap W10 on another partition if they ever chose too. This and many other products should have that 3-way choice as well imo, defaulting to the most basic interface/platform.</p>

  • kdjones74

    Premium Member
    15 August, 2021 - 3:38 pm

    <p>I bought one of these yesterday at Best Buy. I’ve been looking for a cheap laptop for a couple of months and finally grabbed one because Best Buy had them on sale for $249 this weekend ($100 off). My use case is rather simple: something to web browse, personal email, when I’m in my living room or traveling on vacation. The expected battery life and 1080p screen were key for me.</p><p><br></p><p>I thought about a Chromebook or iPad or other cheap Windows laptops, but I decided what I really wanted as an "Edge-book". Meaning, I really wanted something simple like a Chromebook but with Edge instead of Chrome.</p><p><br></p><p>I put Windows 11 and Office beta on it, along with Firefox (I know I said Edge, but Paul’s been mentioning Firefox lately) and they are all pretty quick to load and use (they’re all ARM native). </p><p><br></p><p>I know this machine is compromised in a lot of ways, if you’re comparing it to non-ARM Windows, but I’m not.</p>

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