SAMSUNG GALAXY BOOK S REVIEW: WINDOWS ON SNAPDRAGON AT ITS PEAK
Samsung has only recently returned to selling notebooks in Italy, after a long period of absence. In this moment, when smart working is coming back to the fore, the demand for laptops is rising, so it is time to return to focus on this type of product, such as the Galaxy Book S laptop, which winks to those looking for a device to use on the go. smarttechnofy
The price is set at 1099 euros on Amazon Italy (Snapdragon,
LTE, 256GB). In recent weeks we have had the opportunity to properly test the
device, which is aimed at a very specific user, in search of maximum autonomy
and a reduced form factor.
Design, unboxing and connectivity
The sales package includes a USB Type-C / USB Type-C cable
with a length of approximately 1.7 meters, a 25W charger, various manuals and a
USB Type-C to USB Type-A adapter. In short, the equipment includes exactly what
the user needs. As soon as you take the notebook out of the sales package, you
immediately notice a high-caliber build quality, as well as an attention to
design that Samsung has always shown to have over the years. If the look is
"premium" from the first contact and praises the transport of a book
("Book"), what is even more surprising is the weight of the laptop: 961
grams .
The device can be safely held with a single hand and is one
of the lightest solutions we have tried in general. The thickness is also very
low: 6.2 - 11.8 mm, but the overall dimensions are compact (305.2 x 203.2 x 6.2
- 11.8 mm). In short, it is a perfect laptop for mobility.
The metal body gives the product a certain constructive
solidity, making it suitable for any type of situation, from public transport
to the office, passing through the comfort of home, from work to recreational
use. The only color on sale in Italy is Maple Gold, able to
"generate" good plays of light and further enhance the design chosen
by Samsung. Onces the lid is open, there is a particularly pleasant to the
touch magnesium alloy finish that surrounds the keyboard and touchpad area.
This choice made us very happy and guarantees that extra
touch of class that demonstrates Samsung's attention to design. Here you also
come into contact with the touchscreen,
The more design-conscious will also notice a different
coating in the power button, highlighted at the top right. This also works as a
fingerprint sensor via Windows Hello and always proved responsive during our
test. At the top, just above the keyboard, there are two microphones. As for
the touchpad, which is "stretched" horizontally, the area is large,
the clicks are audible and the use is precise.
Moving on to the keyboard, the buttons return great
feedback, perfect for those who type a lot. In any case, the ride is
particularly short . Therefore, it may not be a solution suitable for everyone,
but it is the most obvious choice to make for a laptop with this thickness and,
in any case, once you get used to it, you can appreciate everything much more.
There is also no key backlighting, but the latter does not have the same
intensity as other solutions. We would therefore have expected a little more in
terms of keyboard from a product of this type, but all in all, contextualizing
the Galaxy Book S in a context of mobility, there can be.
On the right side there are only a USB Type-C 3.1 port and
the status LED, while on the left there is another USB Type-C 3.1 port and the
3.5 mm audio jack. Some of you may be wondering how to connect a classic USB
Type-A key or accessory: the answer is using the USB Type-C to USB Type-A adapter
included in the package. Connect the adapter to one of the USB Type-C ports and
pass through it to access the key or use the other accessories. At the bottom
there are the classic feet to support the laptop and the slot for inserting the
SIM and microSD.
Pulling the strings of speech, the design of the Samsung
Galaxy Book S winks at portability and lightness , two aspects that those who
move a lot from one context to another will be happy to find. We had already
mentioned it at the beginning: Galaxy Book S is a product that is aimed at a
specific type of user.
Technical features
The Galaxy Book S spec sheet caught our attention right from
the presentation. In fact, in this version we do not find a
"standard" hardware sector, given the presence of a Qualcomm
Snapdragon 8cx octa-core processor with 7nm production process, SoC based on
ARM architecture and operating at the maximum frequency of 2.84 GHz, and a 4G
LTE modem. Be careful not to get confuse with the recently announced Snapdragon
8cx Gen 2, which supports 5G. In any case, Samsung's choice is very interesting
in terms of autonomy, as we will see previously, and it does not affect the
performance too much in everyday life, but it also has some limits.
We will explore the subject further in the course of the
review. In any case, alongside the CPU we find an Adreno 680 GPU and 8GB of
LPDDR4X RAM, as well as 256GB of internal memory, which is expandable via
microSD up to 1TB.
The screen is 13.3 inches with Full HD resolution (1920 x
1080 pixels) produced by BOE. Here there is really nothing to criticize: the
brightness is good, the viewing angles are wide, the colors are perfectly
balanced and the presence of the touchscreen makes using the laptop even more
comfortable, especially in contexts in which to use the keyboard. it might not
be that easy. Taking the Galaxy Book S outside, the reflections certainly stand
out.
Despite this, we are on normal levels, but since it is a
product that particularly winks at mobility it is fair to say. For the rest,
the panel is really excellent and also allows you to keep consumption levels
not too high, without exaggerating with the resolution. Really good work. Note
the fact that, just above the display, there is a particularly small 720p
webcam. There is also a small LED that indicates whether it is activated or
not.
Coming to the connectivity sector, the latter includes Wi-Fi
802.11 a / b / g / n / ac and Bluetooth 5.0, as well as support for 4G LTE
through the SIM card to be inserted in the appropriate slot. The battery is 42
Wh: Samsung has done a flawless job here . The choices we mentioned previously
allow exceptional autonomy, which can last even for two full days with an
office use under Wi-Fi. In any case, even making use of it under the 4G network
and stressing it a little, obviously always with a use suited to the product,
we have always managed to bring home the classic working day.
Good but not exceptional charging at 25W, which takes about
two hours to bring the battery to 100%. Little to say about temperatures: we
have never had any problems in this regard. The operating system is Windows 10
in its 64-bit Home version. There are some Samsung apps pre-installed, such as
DeX, Glow, and Notes. The stereo audio sector created in collaboration with AKG
is excellent, thanks also to the bass well present in the sound scene.
Experience of use
Samsung Galaxy Book S is a handset that is aimed at those
who work on the go . It is no coincidence that there is support for 4G LTE via
nanoSIM, which allows you to always stay connected. For a use of that type, the
South Korean company's proposal is excellent and has everything that is needed
for that type of person. The performance is more than enough for the classic
office use, there is the convenience of the touch screen, the autonomy is
exceptional and the rather low weight is a godsend when you want to carry the
device.
However, the choice to adopt a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
processor has its limitations. In fact, Galaxy Book S is not compatible with
all software like a common laptop, given the architecture. This is not a
problem for those who usually use the classic office programs, perhaps
downloading them from the Windows Store. However, one must rely on 32-bit
versions of the programs and this can be a major limitation
To give you a concrete example, it is not possible to
install some software from the Adobe suite, if not through "old"
versions, not to mention the use on the gaming side. We installed the Steam and
Epic Games Store clients just to see the situation and, as you can imagine,
we're still a long way from good compatibility. The mosts striking example is
that of the Epic Games Store, where none of the titles in our library are
installable.
The situation changes slightly on Steam, from which various
titles can be downloaded, but everything is very confusing and the user has to
check game by game. For example, we managed to download titles like The Elder
Scrolls V: Skyrim and Tomb Raider (2013), but many others are not even
installable . These include Spyro Reignited Trilogy, PUBG, Monster Hunter
World, eFootball PES 2020, Middle-earth: Shadow of War and The Awesome
Adventures of Captain Spirit. In short, many possibilities are precluded and it
is clearly not the most suitable device for gaming, just as it is not advisable
to aim for video editing.
Despite this, out of pure curiosity, we couldn't stop
ourselves from carrying out some tests with Skyrim: by staying on the
"Low" preset, the less demanding user can be able to play discreetly,
perhaps by connecting a mouse / pad. Instead, it will be much more interesting
to see in the future what can be done with 5G (here we get to 4G LTE) at the
level of streaming gaming services such as Google Stadia , which could actually
fix one of the few flaws of these devices.
