Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360: A new laptop from the well known manufacturer

Galaxy Books from Samsung, the smartphone titan, are improving as it merges its software package into Microsoft’s operating system. The Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is Samsung’s most recent high-end 2-in-1 laptop, with a lot going for it.

The Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 delivers on its promise of outstanding performance and extended battery life. It comes preloaded with software developed by Samsung, whether for the better or for worse. You’re not sure if this laptop is right for you? After putting it through its some tests for the last week, these are our conclusions.

Quick introduction

As a two-in-one laptop, Samsung’s Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is ideal for students or those always on the road. Samsung has a stronghold on preloaded software, but this provides value for people who already own a Galaxy phone or tablet by supporting Android and Windows in a single environment.

With a touchscreen and pen input, the Book 2 Pro 360 is a 2-in-1 laptop that’s light and thin yet still packs a punch. In tablet form, the Book 2 Pro 360 may be used as a tablet, and in tent mode, you can use it as a stand to view videos while you’re resting. While it’s not designed for heavy gaming, it can handle some light games whenever you need time away from work because of its long battery life and good performance.

Samsung’s Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is the company’s most expensive and powerful two-in-one laptop. The Galaxy Book 2 360 begins at the more affordable price of $899, but it has a slower CPU and a smaller display. More traditional in design and price range, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro has a starting price of $1,049 and is configured similarly. Apple’s entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro costs $1,299, but it lacks touchscreen and pen capabilities. The Surface Pro 8 from Microsoft is our top option for a 2-in-1 laptop, but it’s also expensive. An entry-level model starts at $999 and includes a sluggish computer and the additional cost of a keyboard and pencil.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360: Performance

We weren’t expecting much in the way of battery life with a laptop this tiny; however, we were pretty pleased. Samsung claims a battery life of 21 hours in its own tests; however, this is not always the case in the real world.

The Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 can last 11 hours and 11 minutes before shutting down while playing a 4K video repeatedly. Even if it didn’t reach Samsung’s 21-hour threshold, that’s still an excellent battery performance, with only Apple’s MacBook series surpassing that number in our testing.

The 12th generation Intel Core i7 CPU included within the Book 2 Pro 360 was more than capable of handling the strain we put on it. Everything from picture editing in GIMP to video streaming on YouTube and Twitch to drafting lengthy emails and staying on top of things on Slack worked well.

Geekbench 5 gives the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 a multi-core score of 9,178, putting it far ahead of the Galaxy Book Pro 360 from last year (5,509) and the Surface Laptop Studio from Microsoft (5,108). However, it could not beat the score of 12,463 achieved by the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

The Book 2 Pro 360 is an excellent option if you want a laptop that can handle light pictures and video editing while still having enough battery life to get you through the day.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360: Display and pencil

The 15.6-inch Super AMOLED display on the Book 2 Pro 360 greets you with the Samsung logo as soon as you open the lid. Compared to LED displays, this display offers more outstanding color reproduction, deeper blacks, and superior battery life. Standard 1920 x 1080 resolution is a letdown compared to other more expensive laptops with better resolution displays.

That being said, the Super AMOLED display is more than adequate to compensate for the lack of an improved screen resolution. Even though we were operating the Book 2 Pro 360 with a 4K external monitor, we often switched back to the laptop’s display since it looked much better. Colors were richer and brighter, whether we were enjoying a Twitch stream or browsing a slideshow of Apple’s new Mac Studio on iFixit’s website.

You can do more than just press buttons with the included S Pen stylus. When you need to utilize the S Pen, the Book 2 Pro360’s hinges allow the display to fold around almost 360 degrees, converting the machine into a tablet-like device. The S Pen is a pleasure to use, gliding over the screen with little resistance. Compared to an iPad’s Apple Pencil, it doesn’t feel quite as fantastic.

Without Bluetooth for more sophisticated functions like Air Actions, users of the S Pen on the Book 2 Pro 360 may be frustrated. You may still access Air Commands by pushing the S Pen’s single button with the head of the pen floating over the display. Right-clicking on a button will open a menu that includes Samsung Notes and Samsung’s screenshot tool.

The 1080p camera mounted above the screen during video conversations employs particular software trickery to maintain your face in the frame. The camera is acceptable but not exceptional, typical of most laptop webcams. Fortunately, it’s an improvement over last year’s 720p camera on the Galaxy Book Pro 360.

A full-sized keyboard in the chiclet-style can be found on the bottom casing, while the right side of the device features a relatively compact number pad. Despite the keyboard’s ease of use, it required a couple of days to adjust to the keys’ thinness and lack of resistance while pressing them. This is excellent news for touch typists; everyone else must adapt.

A fingerprint sensor slightly above the number pad may be used to sign in to your Windows profile and launch compatible apps. You may utilize multi-finger gestures or select objects on the touchpad underneath the keyboard.

Samsung offers the Book 2 Pro 360 in silver, burgundy, and graphite, which we’ve been using. The graphite tint is delicate but doesn’t stand out. We believe that burgundy is probably much more impressive in person, but we didn’t get it for this review.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360: Size matters

After pulling the Book 2 Pro 360 out of its packaging, the first thing that jumped out at us was how surprisingly small and lightweight it is for a laptop with a display that is 15.6 inches in size. The screen size was written on the side of the box, and we had to look it over twice to ensure we weren’t getting the 13-inch version.

The Book 2 Pro 360 is only 11.7 millimeters thick when folded. Compared to Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra, this is only a little bit thicker than that. Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro measures 15.5 millimeters thick compared to 14.8 millimeters for the Dell XPS 13. By comparison, the Book 2 Pro 360 is quite thin.

The Book 2 Pro 360, according to Samsung, weighs 2.45 pounds. This laptop is small enough that we wouldn’t hesitate to carry it around a college campus or on a work trip.

Despite its diminutive size, the Book 2 Pro 360 comes equipped with a few contemporary ports for attaching various accessories and gadgets. A microSD card reader, a USB-C port, and a headphone audio jack are located on the right side of the base. You may find another USB-C port and a Thunderbolt 4 port on the other side (which looks similar to the USB-C port, except it has a Thunderbolt icon next to it). Additionally, a small LED indicator light displays whether the laptop is charging, which can be accomplished by attaching a USB cord to either of the three ports.

While the thought of being without USB-A ports might be alarming, we’ve found that employing an inexpensive USB-C hub such as this 7-in-1 Anker USB-C hub at the desk or a USB-C to USB-A adapter quickly alleviates the problem. The shift from USB-A to USB-C has gradually increased with the number of devices we use to attach to our computers over the last several years.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360: Software

Samsung’s Galaxy Book range of PCs continues the corporation’s drive into computers, as the business continues integrating some of its software and features into Windows. For years, Samsung’s Android phones have followed this strategy.

You’ll discover several Samsung applications, like Bixby, Live Message, Smart Switch, and Live Wallpaper. We found a total of 34 pre-installed programs from Samsung. Generally, most users will never open or use most of these applications.

However, specific applications, such as Smart Switch or Samsung Notes and Gallery, make sense and provide value by synchronizing your data and photographs with your Galaxy phone. The Quick Share software adds a capability that Windows should have. This functionality, like Apple’s AirDrop, allows you to rapidly exchange data between a Galaxy phone and a Galaxy Book over a direct Wi-Fi link instead of using email or a messaging platform.

McAfee LiveSafe antivirus software is also included, which is equivalent to bloatware and should be removed. We have repeatedly been prompted to register for membership throughout our testing. Luckily, you can easily uninstall it from your computer.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360: Configurations

You may choose from various screen sizes and storage and memory capacities. Several variations of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 are available.

The 13.3-inch model with an Intel Core i7 CPU, 256GB of storage, and 8GB of memory cost $1,249 when purchased new. For $1,449, you can have 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. While the standard model is ideal for students who only require a computer for everyday classwork, those who want to edit videos or images will benefit from increasing the RAM and storage capacity.

The 15.6-inch variant that sells for $1,549 and features an Intel Core i7 CPU, one terabyte of storage, and 16 gigabytes of RAM is the one we’ve been reviewing. By halving the storage and RAM, the price decreases to $1,349. Anyone who works on documents or edits images frequently would benefit from either of the 15.6-inch laptops, thanks to their upgraded hardware and a bigger screen.

Final thoughts on Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360

It makes perfect sense to go through Samsung’s product selection for Galaxy-friendly gadgets if you are already a passionate Samsung customer and already own a Galaxy tablet or smartphone. The Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 fulfills its promise of compatibility with Windows 11 and Samsung’s proprietary applications. Long battery life and a capable 2-in-1 laptop are the selling points of this notebook.

Regarding a 2-in-1 laptop, the Surface Pro 8 has a design that appeals to us. Even though the configuration may be more expensive, we’re more likely to lean toward purchasing it. You can simply detach the keyboard to use the Surface Pro 8 as a tablet.

On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is a well-balanced laptop for both Samsung and non-Samsung customers.

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