Samsung’s new Galaxy Book3 Ultra is essentially the most highly effective laptop computer Samsung has ever unveiled, and addresses a content-creation market that the corporate hasn’t broached earlier than. But right here’s the actually attention-grabbing information: You’ll discover one of many Ultra’s most engaging options—a shocking 3K, 120Hz, OLED show—on each the cheaper Galaxy Book3 Pro and Galaxy Book3 Pro 360.

For years, Samsung’s Galaxy Book laptops have usually been synonymous with three phrases: skinny, mild, and OLED. But with an increasing number of manufacturers deploying OLED screens in their laptops, Samsung is now leaning more durable into its personal OLED bona fides and thus we’ve the Galaxy Book3 Ultra, Pro, and 360 laptops, plus a Galaxy Book 360 introduced at launch. All save the Galaxy Book3 360 function a “3K” OLED show, together with upgrades each in image high quality and efficiency.

We had an opportunity to go hands-on with the primary three machines prematurely of their launch and our first impressions are that they stay as much as the hype.

Samsung will ship the 16-inch Galaxy Book3 Ultra for between $2,199.99 and $2,799.99 on Feb. 24. The 16-inch Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 goes for $1,699.99 and ships on Feb. 17. Samsung’s most reasonably priced variations will likely be 14- and 16-inch Galaxy Book3 Pro fashions, promoting for $1,449.99 and up on Feb. 17. All of those new Book3 laptops earn Intel’s Evo premium pocket book badge in case you’re questioning.

Samsung additionally added a fourth household, the Galaxy Book3 360, which they introduced at launch. That laptop computer will likely be out there in both 13.3-inch or 15.5-inch show choices, however solely in a 1080p show possibility.

Beautiful OLEDs, high to backside

While the Galaxy Book3 Ultra stands out because the flagship of the group, it’s Samsung’s lovely new OLED show that basically sells all three laptops. OLED shows trump extra pedestrian LCD shows by providing richer, extra spectacular colours, together with absolute blacks that seem, nicely, completely black. But Samsung’s new show tech goes past what chances are you’ll already find out about OLED laptop computer screens.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The tech that Samsung calls Dynamic AMOLED 2X helps 120 p.c of the DCI-P3 shade gamut and the colour response is visually putting. But that’s not all: The new AMOLED 2X panels can filter out nearly the entire blue mild they produce, with no obvious lack of shade constancy, Samsung says. The show can also be VESA ClearMR and DisplayHDR TRUE BLACK 500 licensed and has acquired SGS Eye Care Display certification for the assured discount of blue mild. But that’s all spec speak. What you have to know is the brand new OLED show is solely attractive and must be simpler in your eyes.

Samsung’s new OLED runs at as much as 120Hz, a efficiency enchancment that can ship smoother inking and mousing, and permit for top frames-per-second gaming on the Galaxy Book3 Ultra (which boasts essentially the most highly effective GPU of the lineup). The new Galaxy Book3 household show is rated for 500 nits of output utilizing HDR, 400 nits with out.

The new OLED show employs an odd 16:10 show ratio of 2880×1800 pixels. This offers an improve previous a 1440p show with out fairly touching the 3840×2160 decision that characterizes a 4K show. It’s value noting that the Galaxy Book2 Pro series options 1080p, 60Hz panels. Thus the bounce to the Book3 is a big improve simply on primary show specs alone.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Samsung’s Galaxy Books have at all times been a pleasure to view content material on because of their attractive OLED screens. This holds true for the latest fashions and the wow-factor of Samsung’s OLEDs is stronger than ever. In one tech demo designed to show the prevalence of its new show tech, Samsung demonstrated how the only backlight utilized in an LCD display imbues even darkish scenes with a “halo” impact, with a smooth glow throughout the picture. That was contrasted with the pristine, unsullied blackness of its personal OLED—an enormous profit for video editors.

And for individuals who are delicate to blue mild, the brand new Galaxy Book would possibly imply customers can work longer hours with out triggering a migraine. That might be an actual plus for creators in addition to anybody who makes use of her laptop computer for primary productiveness work.

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra, designed for creators

The 16-inch Galaxy Book Ultra contradicts a few of what makes a Galaxy Book a Galaxy Book as a result of at 16.5 mm thick, it’s received the girth of a extra conventional laptop computer. It’s the hefty weight, although—3.9 kilos—that feels just like the “creator-class” pocket book that it truly is. You’ll have the ability to drop it in a laptop computer bag or backpack, however the weight feels noticeable within the hand. Mind you, it’s not chunky like a gaming laptop computer. It’s only a bit thicker than most laptops and noticeably thicker than the opposite Galaxy Book3 fashions.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The Book3 Ultra not solely consists of the choice of both a Thirteenth-gen Core i7 or i9, however extra importantly, you’ll be able to select between an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 or 4070 laptop computer GPU. While these are on the low finish of the brand new GeForce RTX 4-series mobile GPUs that Nvidia launched at CES, the corporate does declare they’ll ship higher efficiency than the present GeForce 3080 cellular GPUs (although we don’t know if that elements in Nvidia’s frame-rate-easing DLSS 3 know-how).

The Book3 Ultra reminiscence choices embody 16GB or 32GB of LPDDR5, and you may select between 512GB or 1TB of PCIe storage. Samsung says there’s an extra enlargement slot for an extra SSD.

The massive, extensive display accommodates an additional island of quantity keys to the far proper. But the show physique itself remains to be skinny, which has historically meant that Samsung has foregone the usage of a Windows Hello depth digital camera in favor of an embedded fingerprint reader. Sadly, that’s nonetheless the case. Samsung’s keyboards have at all times deftly walked the road between being shallow whereas nonetheless offering a snug typing expertise, and some experimental phrases in Notepad confirmed they’re nonetheless surprisingly usable.

Mark Hachman / IDG

One key distinction between the Galaxy Book3 Ultra and the remainder of the Galaxy Book3 lineup is within the Ultra’s devoted HDMI 2.0 port, which helps sufficient bandwidth to show 4K video and 60 frames per second on an exterior show. Both the Galaxy Book 3 Pro and Pro 360 embody an HDMI 1.4 port, which helps 4K video at 24 frames per second on an exterior show. So that is but extra proof that the Book3 Ultra is designed for content material creation, and the Book3 Pro and Pro 360 are destined for less complicated duties. Regardless, there’s a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports on all three Book3 fashions.

Finally, I’ve to name out Samsung’s completely large touchpad. It won’t have been completely clickable all the way in which to the highest in my temporary hands-on, however make no mistake: It’s huge.

Samsung doesn’t skimp on the Book3 Pro and Pro 360

The Galaxy Book3 Pro and Pro 360 are Samsung’s extra conventional laptops and let’s face it, these are the fashions most individuals will purchase.

An enormous distinction in worth—$1,399 for the 16-inch Pro versus at the least $2,199 for the Book3 Ultra—makes the Pro a gorgeous selection by comparability. The Pro’s small $100 pricing delta between its two choices, the 14- and the 16-inch, can also be intriguing. The Pro 360, in contrast, gives three issues that the opposite Galaxy Book3 fashions don’t: a 360-degree convertible kind issue, an built-in S Pen contained in the field, and optionally available 5G functionality for on-the-go connectivity.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Otherwise, the Galaxy Book3 Pro and Pro 360 are remarkably just like their gaudier cousin, the Ultra. For one, they provide an identical show tech, solely differing in dimension. (The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is obtainable in only a single 16-inch configuration.) You may get the Pro and Pro 360 in the identical reminiscence and storage quantities because the Ultra, together with a smaller 8GB RAM/256GB SSD possibility that helps maintain pricing extra reasonably priced. Samsung additionally gives an an identical port configuration, with two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an HDMI port possibility.

On paper, the 2 Pro fashions additionally differ little or no of their beginning worth. They do differ pretty considerably of their weight, nonetheless. The 16-inch weighs nearly a pound greater than the 14-inch, a svelte 2.42 kilos.

The Pro and Pro 360 fashions are provided in each Graphite and Beige whereas the Ultra ships solely within the Graphite shade scheme.

The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 ships the S Pen in-box, although it have to be saved individually moderately than in a holster. We didn’t have a lot time to check it, however we confirmed that the pen inks as anticipated. Unfortunately, we weren’t capable of take a look at for ink judder.

We didn’t have an opportunity to check out the Galaxy Book 360.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Below we’ve summarized the specs of all three Galaxy Book3 laptops:

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra specs:

• Processor: Thirteenth-gen Intel Core i7/i9
• Display: 16-inch (2,880×1800), 120Hz AMOLED 2X, 400 nits, 120% DCI-P3 shade quantity
• Memory: 16GB/32GB LPDDR5
• Storage: 512GB/1TB SSD (1TB as examined) plus enlargement slot
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050/4070 Laptop GPU
• Ports: 2 Thunderbolt 4, USB Type-A, HDMI 2.0, microSD, Headphone/Mic
• Security: Fingerprint reader
• Camera: 1080p (user-facing)
• Battery: 76Wh
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2×2, Bluetooth 5.1
• Audio: KG Quad Speaker (two 5W woofers, two 2W tweeters), Smart Amp, Dolby Atmos
• Operating system: Windows 11
• Dimensions:  14.00 x 9.85 x 0.65in. (16.5mm)
• Weight: 3.99lbs (rated)
• Colors: Graphite
• Prices:  starting at $2,199-$2,799

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro specs:

• Processor: Thirteenth-gen Intel Core i7/i9
• Display: 14-inch/16-inch: (2,880×1800), 120Hz AMOLED 2X, 400 nits, 120% DCI-P3 shade quantity
• Memory: 8GB/16GB/32GB LPDDR5
• Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD (1TB as examined) plus enlargement slot
• Graphics: Iris Xe
• Ports: 2 Thunderbolt 4, USB Type-A, HDMI 2.0, microSD, Headphone/Mic
• Security: Fingerprint reader
• Camera: 1080p (user-facing)
• Battery: 63Wh/76Wh
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2×2, Bluetooth 5.1
• Audio: KG Quad Speaker (two 5W woofers, two 2W tweeters), Smart Amp, Dolby Atmos
• Operating system: Windows 11
• Dimensions:  12.30 x 8.81 x 0.44in. / 14.00 x 9.85 x 0.50in. (12.5mm)
• Weight: 2.42lbs/3.4lbs (rated)
• Colors: Graphite, Beige
• Prices:  starting at $1,449.99

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 specs:

• Processor: Thirteenth-gen Intel Core i7/i9
• Display: 16-inch: (2,880×1800), 120Hz AMOLED 2X, 400 nits, 120% DCI-P3 shade quantity
• Memory: 8GB/16GB/32GB LPDDR5
• Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD (1TB as examined) plus enlargement slot
• Graphics: Iris Xe
• Ports: 2 Thunderbolt 4, USB Type-A , HDMI 2.0, microSD, Headphone/Mic
• Security: Fingerprint reader
• Camera: 1080p (user-facing)
• Battery: 63Wh/76Wh
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2×2, Bluetooth 5.1; 5G Sub6 optionally available
• Audio: KG Quad Speaker (two 5W woofers, two 2W tweeters), Smart Amp, Dolby Atmos
• Operating system: Windows 11
• Dimensions:  12.30 x 9.92 x 0.50in. (12.8mm)
• Weight: 3.7lbs (rated)
• Colors: Graphite, Beige
• Prices:  starting at $1,899

Samsung Galaxy Book3 360 specs:

• Processor: Thirteenth-gen Intel Core i7-1360P
• Display: 13.3-inch/15.6-inch: (1920×1080)
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
• Storage: 512GB/1TB SSD (1TB as examined) plus enlargement slot
• Graphics: Iris Xe
• Ports: 1 Thunderbolt 4, 1 USB-C, 1USB Type-A , HDMI 2.0, microSD, Headphone/Mic
• Security: Fingerprint reader
• Camera: 1080p (user-facing)
• Battery: 61/68Wh
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2×2, Bluetooth 5.1
• Audio: Two 2W audio system, Dolby Atmos
• Operating system: Windows 11
• Dimensions:  11.98 x 7.95x 0.51in. / 13.99 x 8.98 x 0.54in.
• 14.00 x 9.85 x 0.65in. (16.5mm)
• Weight: 2.56/3.22lbs (rated)
• Colors: Graphite
• Prices:  starting at $1,299

Correction: A Samsung consultant gave us incorrect pricing data earlier than launch. Samsung additionally introduced the Galaxy Book3 360 at press time. This story was up to date at 12:07 PM to mirror these modifications.