Samsung Galaxy Book Launch Begins April 21

Samsung Galaxy Book Launch Begins April 21

Creators who are getting tired of waiting on Microsoft to revise its Surface Pro lineup will have an interesting new alternative to consider starting tomorrow: That’s when Samsung begins launching its Galaxy Book 2-in-1 in the United States.

“Today’s young professionals and entrepreneurs require a device that allows them to work without any limitations,” Samsung Electronics America vice president and general manager Alanna Cotton says in a prepared statement. “We are excited to bring to market the Samsung Galaxy Book LTE and Wi-Fi models, offering a 2-in-1 PC portfolio that delivers on power and performance.”

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As hinted at in that statement, Samsung will offer two versions of its new-generation Galaxy Book 2-in-1 PC. A model with LTE capabilities will launch via Verizon Wireless starting tomorrow, April 21. And two models without LTE, and with different screen sizes, will be available for preorder starting tomorrow, and will become available May 21.

Pricing varies across the three models, as you’d imagine:

Galaxy Book 10.6-inch (Wi-Fi) $629.99
Galaxy Book 12-inch (Wi-Fi) $1,129.99
Galaxy Book 12-inch (LTE/Wi-Fi) $1,299.99

As hinted at by the low price of the entry-level 10.6-inch version, that device is a fairly low-end PC with a 7th generation Intel Core m3 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB or 128 GB of eMMC storage, and a 10.6-inch TFT Full HD (1920 x 1280) display. The 12-inch versions sport an Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB or 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB or 256 GB of SSD storage, and a 12-inch Super AMOLED Quad HD (2160 x 1440) display.

That eMMC storage on the low-end version should be a warning sign to anyone, by the way.

But both devices utilize modern USB-C 3.1 ports for both storage and expansion, and the 12-inch models offer two of them. Both also offer microSD expansion. Battery life is rated at 9 hours for the 10.6-inch model and 11 hours for the larger units.

All Samsung Galaxy Book models including a Surface Pro-like Type Cover keyboard and a multifunctional S Pen. And for you Samsung phones, these devices will integrate with modern Samsung smartphones via the firm’s Samsung Flow solution.

 

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Conversation 19 comments

  • Daishi

    Premium Member
    20 April, 2017 - 9:18 am

    <p>So $1300 gets you a system with 4gb of ram and 128gb of storage? Is it just me or are these prices ridiculous?</p>

    • Waethorn

      20 April, 2017 - 9:20 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#99086">In reply to Daishi:</a></em></blockquote><p>It's not just you – these prices should be ridiculed.</p>

      • Daishi

        Premium Member
        20 April, 2017 - 9:33 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#99087">In reply to Waethorn:</a></em></blockquote><p>And to be honest I feel like it's at least partly Microsoft's fault. In their efforts to over price the Surface line to let OEMs under cut them it seems all they have done is set a new benchmark for inflated PC prices that their partners seem only too happy to match</p>

        • skborders

          20 April, 2017 - 10:51 am

          <blockquote>You can also blame the iPad pro $1029 plus $270 for the keyboard cover and pen.<a href="#99090"><em>In reply to Daishi:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p>

        • Waethorn

          20 April, 2017 - 11:50 am

          <blockquote><em><a href="#99090">In reply to Daishi:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yup. Microsoft has been pushing OEM's to produce premium PC's after all. Intel has been cutting production of a lot of their value-segment chips too.</p>

    • Chris_Kez

      Premium Member
      20 April, 2017 - 11:49 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#99086">In reply to Daishi:</a></em></blockquote><p>Pricey indeed, though that $1299 SKU does include LTE, the keyboard case and the stylus (which would be roughly $300 in options). But yeah, still a bit too "premium" for my taste.</p>

  • wolters

    Premium Member
    20 April, 2017 - 9:42 am

    <p>As a Verizon user at work and IT Director, I do welcome the Verizon version as we can no longer get the Surface 3. We have on Surface 3 in use but it seems to be rather quirky for our end user who is always complaining of poor connection or not at all and I've done everything in my power to stop these METERED CONNECTION messages in both Office and in standard alerts (like saying that OneDrive is paused due to metered connection.) It is OK we use data…</p>

  • ozaz

    20 April, 2017 - 9:53 am

    <p>Is the 10.6" version, with m3 processor, likely to be significantly faster than the Atom-based Surface 3?</p><p>Or will the eMMC storage act as a bottleneck and mean there is little benefit from the faster processor? </p>

    • Chris_Kez

      Premium Member
      20 April, 2017 - 11:42 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#99096">In reply to ozaz:</a></em></blockquote><p>It's not yet clear which version eMMC they're using, and performance can vary. If they use 5.0 (likely) then read/write speeds might be roughly twice as fast as the Surface 3, though still notably slower than a decent SSD. And obviously the Kaby Lake Core M3 will be noticeably faster than the Atom X7 in the Surface 3. </p><p>Personally I was quite interested in this GB10, especially when it became clear that there was no Surface 4 on the horizon. But after seeing I could get a Surface 3 for half the price on eBay I went for the Surface. I'm now looking ahead to see what happens with Windows on ARM. I imagine Microsoft will offer an ARM-based Surface to lead the charge, and that should be an all-around improvement over Surface 3 and also come with LTE.</p>

      • ozaz

        21 April, 2017 - 8:24 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#99150">In reply to Chris_Kez:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Thanks.</p><p><br></p><p>I think I'll also get S3 until ARM tablets become available. As you say, ebay prices are appealing and I also like that it has a kick stand.</p>

    • Waethorn

      20 April, 2017 - 11:48 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#99096">In reply to ozaz:</a></em></blockquote><p>The Surface 3 used eMMC also.</p><p><br></p><p>SoC's just use eMMC because the controller can be built directly into the SoC, which reduces power and manufacturing costs. SSD's have to have separate controllers.</p><p><br></p><p>eMMC's aren't really that slow. They're still faster than the fastest hard drives on the market, but far cheaper than SSD's. The newest eMMC standard supports speeds of up to 400MB/s, which is much closer in speed to a standard SATA SSD than a traditional hard drive or even an SSHD.</p>

      • Chris_Kez

        Premium Member
        20 April, 2017 - 11:54 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#99153">In reply to Waethorn:</a></em></blockquote><p>I know the Surface 3 used eMMC storage. I was simply pointing out that the GB10 might not use <em>the same </em>storage. It may be faster. We'll have to wait until reviewers get their hands on it and actually run some tests.</p>

      • ozaz

        21 April, 2017 - 8:29 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#99153">In reply to Waethorn:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Thanks. I know S3 has eMMC. My question was that if both devices have eMMC, will the difference in processor have much real world benefit. My assumption has been that the eMMC storage, rather than the processor, is the main factor limiting performance in typical usage.</p>

  • sharpsone

    20 April, 2017 - 11:33 am

    <p>No Thanks… At that price point and spec its worth the wait for a next gen Surface. </p>

  • Waethorn

    20 April, 2017 - 11:39 am

    <p>I have yet to find a good convertible laptop (or tablet) with decent ISV-certified workstation-class graphics chipsets that isn't a Yoga P40. Anybody know of any?</p>

  • nbplopes

    20 April, 2017 - 11:54 am

    <p>Personally I think its bad play for Samsung to get into the PC space. Clearly they do not speak to the Windows community as it needs to cope with the MS tech spyglass. If instead focused on providing their own stance to Chromebooks and Androidbooks like they do with the Galaxy S8 … They cannot change Windows 10 enough to innovate along with their hardware skills.</p>

  • SvenJ

    20 April, 2017 - 7:45 pm

    <p>Galaxy Book 12 inch (<strong>LTE</strong>/WiFi), Yea!, Verizon, bleech. </p>

  • Jorge Garcia

    24 April, 2017 - 6:09 pm

    <p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Why even bother putting Windows on this beautiful piece of hardware? I personally LOVE my windows PC's, but recognize that normal people have completely ditched the windows (they've always secretly hated). Samsung NEEDS needs to start implementing their DeX OS on devices like this, and many others. People don't hate laptops and PC's, they hate Microsoft Windows, because it feels like a dinosaur compared to mobile, and lacks the apps people actually want. There is not much Microsoft can do about that anymore, so Samsung is well advised to ditch them in the consumer space and start bolstering DeX. DeX looks and feels as comfortable as Windows, but is Android under the hood and therefore has unlimited potential. Love or hate Android, it's the World's OS now, and "real" PC's deserve to have desktop-like access to it.</span></p>

  • drbohner

    11 July, 2017 - 11:18 am

    <p>Just a note regarding the Samsung Galaxy Book 12 / LTE (VZW).&nbsp; It may be a bit diminished for Memory (Ram / SSD) – for the price, but I've had an excellent experience over the last month.&nbsp; Everything 'just works' like it is supposed to.</p><p><br></p><p>(db)</p>

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