Samsung Galaxy Book Pro, Pro 360 laptops promise the best Galaxy experience starting at $999
Available in 13- and 15-inch sizes in both clamshell and two-in-one designs, the Pro models will let you seamlessly sync between your Galaxy devices like never before.
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At Samsung's third Unpacked event of 2021 on Wednesday, the company officially unveiled the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360, a premium laptop and two-in-one convertible. With hardware co-engineered with Intel and software improvements developed in partnership with Microsoft, the premium PCs are built to be the center of a Galaxy ecosystem for "mobile-first consumers."
"These are consumers used to being always connected on their phone. And so they want to also be always connected on their PC, and they want all of their devices to sync and work seamlessly together," said Danielle Moten, senior product manager for Samsung. The idea is to have fluidity between devices so you can start something on your phone and continue it on a laptop.
The Galaxy ecosystem isn't just about integration with Samsung's phones, though. These new PCs will be able to be connected with Galaxy tablets, Galaxy Buds, SmartThings smart home devices and SmartThings Find tags in a way that hasn't happened before. Essentially, Samsung is doing whatever it can to have all of its Galaxy products seamlessly work together, similar to the experience you get with Apple's devices. This is where the close work with Intel and Microsoft comes into play.
The new Galaxy Pro laptops are designed to work seamlessly with Samsung's other devices.
The Galaxy Book Pro and Pro 360 have a custom Bluetooth enablement developed with Intel, for example, that allows Galaxy Buds to instantly connect without the process of going into settings and selecting them. "It really helps pick up the interaction between the laptops and peripherals like the earbuds," said Gregory Bryant, EVP of the Client Computing Group at Intel. "You have the basic Bluetooth protocol but we've actually built on top of that with Samsung to enable a better peripheral experience and a better device experience."
Other features such as Quick Share allows for near-instant transferring of files and content between Galaxy devices, or you can use SmartThings Find on the Pro models to locate a Galaxy phone, tablet or wearables. You'll also be able to quickly expand your display onto your Galaxy tablet for easier multitasking. Deeper integration with Windows will let you do everything from taking calls and checking notifications to running up to five apps simultaneously directly on the laptops from your Galaxy phone.
The Galaxy Book Pro 360 is a two-in-one with S Pen support.
Available in 13.3- and 15.6-inch sizes, the Galaxy Book Pro and Pro 360 are Intel Evo-verified PCs, which basically means they meet certain marks for performance, responsiveness and battery life. "They're actually the world's thinnest Evo systems," Bryant said. "It's the best of the mobile and PC ecosystems together."
These laptops are also the first Samsung Windows PCs with AMOLED full-HD displays and use an intelligent color engine to automatically tune your color space depending on what you're doing. AKG speakers with Dolby Atmos support complement the display, and its built-in microphones have intelligent noise canceling to help with ambient noise. However, despite all the premium features, it has an industry-standard 720p webcam.
Both the Pro and Pro 360 run on 11th-gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processors with integrated Iris Xe graphics, up to 16GB of memory and up to 512GB of storage (up to 1TB for the Galaxy Book Pro 360 15). Wi-Fi 6E support is also baked in for access to ultrawide 6GHz band networks.
The new Pro keyboard has a scissor mechanism to increase speed and comfort with 1mm of travel. The touchpad is 23% larger than the Galaxy Book Flex and Ion.
Wi-Fi versions for the US market are available for preorders today and they will go on sale on May 14. Although the 13-inch Book Pro 360 will be available with optional 5G, that option won't immediately be available in the US, Samsung said. The 13-inch Galaxy Book Pro will start at $1,000 with the 15-inch version starting at $1,100. Going with the two-in-one Pro 360 adds $200 to the price: $1,200 for the 13-inch and $1,300 for the 15-inch. UK and Australia pricing wasn't available, but the price for the base 13-inch Pro converts to £725 and AU$1,295.
Those who preorder between April 28 and May 13 can get $150 in future credit if ordered through Amazon; a $150 gift certificate through Best Buy; and either up to $150 eCertificate or free Galaxy Buds Pro through Samsung.com and Samsung Experience Stores. From May 14 to May 30, you can get $100 in future credit from those stores.