Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra Review: An Unmatched Windows Laptop Experience

8.8/ 10
SCORE

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra

$2,400 at Samsung

Pros

• Seamless integration with other Galaxy devices
• Excellent performance, battery life
• Big, beautiful display
• Relatively lightweight

Cons

• Disappointing audio
• Off-center touchpad may bother some

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is as close to a MacBook Pro experience as you'll get with Windows and Android. The headline might be hyperbolic (what isn't on the web?), but the fact is there are no other Windows laptops that integrate Android devices quite like the Galaxy Book 3 does. 

As an Android user, I've certainly felt a twinge of jealousy watching my Apple-loving friends AirDrop photos from an iPhone to a MacBook, use an iPad as a second wireless display or seamlessly copy and paste files from one Apple device to another. These Apple Continuity features are fantastic and a huge bonus for staying within the Apple device ecosystem. Galaxy Book Ultra and Pro laptops reward Samsung Galaxy device owners in the same way with comparable features -- remarkable considering Samsung doesn't own Windows or Android. 

But even if you don't use a Galaxy phone, tablet or watch, or even a Samsung smart appliance, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is still an excellent premium laptop with a big, beautiful AMOLED display, competitive performance and an elegant design that's light enough at just 4 pounds to make it your everyday carry.  

The Galaxy Book 3 Ultra (hereafter referred to as the Ultra) starts at $2,200 or £2,449 in the UK. It's not available in Australia, but the UK price converts to AU$4,575. The Ultra I tested is $2,400 and doubles the storage of the base model from 512GB to 1TB but is otherwise the same: 13th-gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of memory and GeForce RTX 4050 discrete graphics. The processing performance is enough to keep up with its competition, while the entry-level graphics chip gives the Ultra a boost to smoothly handle undemanding content creation and gaming. 

However, there is one place the Ultra (or any other Windows laptop) can't keep up with the MacBook Pro: battery life. Reaching 10 hours and 34 minutes on our streaming video test, the Samsung lasted pretty long considering its higher-performance components and AMOLED display, which draw more power than those designed to sip power. The latest 16-inch MacBook Pro ran for an incredible 24 hours and 34 minutes, benefitting from Apple making both its hardware and software. (You can see more of our test results at the end of this review.)

For those with more challenging content-creation needs, the Ultra can be configured with a faster Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM and a midrange 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 for faster graphics performance. Of course, the 4070 improves its gaming capabilities, too. This configuration is more expensive, starting at $2,800 with 512GB of storage or $3,000 with 1TB. This is still $500 less than the top MacBook Pro, with the same amount of memory and storage.

Regardless of what's inside, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra has the same great display, a 16-inch AMOLED panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 2,880x1,800-pixel resolution. I measured the color gamut coverage at 100% DCI-P3, 100% sRGB, 98% Adobe RGB and 96% NTSC, so it's suitable for content creators. At 100% brightness, the panel measured 414.8 nits with a peak brightness of 566 nits with HDR on. The display also has a max refresh rate of 120Hz for a smoother video and gaming experience. The refresh rate is dynamic, too, only using 120Hz when it's needed, and dropping to 60Hz when it's not. It can also be fixed to 60Hz or 120Hz.

Above the display, Samsung put in a 1080p webcam that delivered crisp results in good lighting. Samsung's Studio Mode camera software includes auto-framing so you stay in the frame if you move around some, as well as background effects, including blur. The auto-framing works pretty well, digitally panning and zooming to keep the shot on you and others in the frame.  

The laptop's backlit keyboard is comfortable to type on, with good travel and a pleasing tactile response. It's a full-size keyboard with a number pad. The power button in the top right corner is also a fingerprint reader. Samsung centered the Ultra's giant touchpad on the main keyboard instead of the entire keyboard, so it is off-center. This is not uncommon, but the result is asymmetrical palm rests, which really bothers some people. I'm indifferent, especially when it doesn't affect my typing experience; it doesn't with the Ultra since the touchpad's palm rejection is solid. I do wish Samsung used a haptic touchpad, though, since there is a dead zone along the top of the Ultra's touchpad where you can't click. 

To go with the laptop's stellar display is a quad-speaker sound system. The audio is loud and clear, but it lacks a bottom end, so it's a bit thin overall. Turning on Dolby Atmos helps fill out the sound some, though. The Ultra also has an excellent port assortment with a USB-A port and HDMI 2.0 output joining its two Thunderbolt USB-C ports, microSD card slot and headphone jack. My one nitpick here is that the Ultra's two USB-C ports are on the left side, so charging is less flexible than it could be had Samsung put one on each side. (Also, Samsung, please put folding prongs on your power adapters.)

The Galaxy experience

The Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is an excellent laptop on its own, but it really shines when you pair it with other Galaxy devices. I tested with my Pixel 6 Pro and a Galaxy S23 Ultra, and while you get some of the connected features with the Pixel, you get a lot more functionality with the Galaxy S23 Ultra. 

The continuity experience is handled by a combination of Samsung software and a version of Microsoft Phone Link with features developed for Galaxy phones. In the past, getting set up was somewhat clunky, and getting Galaxy devices to reconnect after you've left the laptop for some time could be frustrating. I'm happy to report everything is smoother. 

Samsung's separate Settings app, launched with the F1 key, puts all the setup options in one place. Connect your phone, Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Buds and other devices to take advantage of things like easy file sharing with Quick Share, using your keyboard and mouse to control your phone or tablet and turning on the Easy Bluetooth connection for my Galaxy Buds Pro wireless earbuds. Settings sync to your Samsung account, so as soon as I signed into the Ultra, it picked up my Buds Pro and slid out a screen notification in the bottom right asking if I wanted to pair. 

The other phone-related features are done with the Phone Link app. Once you connect a Galaxy phone to it, which is as simple as scanning a QR code, you'll have access to your calls, messages, notifications, photos and apps. That last one is the big difference between connecting with a Galaxy phone or another Android device. As soon as I synced my Pixel to the laptop, the option to launch apps was gone. 

With the S23 Ultra connected, you can launch apps on the device on the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra's screen and use them. And if you use Samsung's browser on the phone, your recent sites will appear in Phone Link so you can pick up where you left off. Plus, every time I lifted the Ultra's lid, it immediately found the Galaxy S23 Ultra and reconnected. One other really nice feature: If you have an S23 Ultra, you can use Samsung's Expert Raw app to capture photos and automatically download them to the laptop. That makes it really easy to shoot, edit and post photos fast. Samsung includes two months of Adobe Lightroom, but Samsung's Gallery app can also handle simple raw editing. 

Basically, if you're in the market for a Windows laptop for content creation and some gaming on the side, the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is an excellent choice. But if you want a powerful laptop and you're also a Galaxy fan -- if you have Galaxy Buds, a Galaxy Tab, a Galaxy Watch, web-connected Samsung appliances or other SmartThings devices -- the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is a no-brainer recommendation.