Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is worth the splurge for Samsung followers, despite one big drawback

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the ultrabook that I’ve personally been utilizing for work and play. (And by “play” I imply taking part in with visible results and graphics in Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro. Gaming on the Mac is nonetheless a “would not recommend.”)

But whereas Apple continues to refine its premier laptop computer in incremental but significant methods, it is at all times fascinating to look previous the walled backyard and into the fields of competing laptops.

Samsung’s new Galaxy Book 3 Ultra represents the firm’s better of the finest; one may say it is the pinnacle of the Galaxy laptop computer expertise, with a sequence of ecosystem-enriched options to affirm Samsung’s dedication.

Also: Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra vs. Apple MacBook Pro

I’ve been testing the base $2,200 variant of Galaxy Book 3 Ultra for the previous week, and it is clear to me that Samsung desires it to be at the prime of your laptop computer shopping for checklist, ideally, above Apple’s MacBook Pro. Does it succeed? Sure, however provided that its wins matter extra to you than its losses.

Specifications

Textbook design, interval.

The design of the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra does not transfer the needle; conceal the Samsung emblem on the cowl and it will possibly simply move as simply one other large-screen laptop computer that is stacked up throughout Black Friday. Fortunately, the sturdy aluminum construct of the Galaxy Book feels rather more premium than that of a reduction laptop computer, and because of delicate wedges and seamless curves all through the chassis, the 16-inch measurement provides off a greater impression of portability than a MacBook Pro of comparable measurement. If I needed to lug round a laptop computer all through a workday, I’d choose the Samsung with out hesitation.

Also: I attempted the MSI Stealth 14 Studio, and it is a transportable powerhouse 

It’s not simply the smooth design language that provides the Galaxy Book the edge right here although. The weight of it is simply shy of 4 kilos and noticeably lighter than different massive laptops I’ve held. And with the lid being close to paper skinny, lifting it up with one hand is very a lot doable.

Doing so additionally exposes two flaws of the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra: the wobbliness and shiny end of the show. While the display is completely beautiful to take a look at (extra on that later), it tends to wobble when I’m typing from my lap or any floor with the slightest tilt. The shaking is solely emphasised when the shiny show begins to replicate each ray of sunshine in a room or, worse but, the open air.

Will you discover the shaking whenever you’re laser-focused on what’s being displayed? Probably not. Would a matte show have served higher for viewing consolation? Absolutely.

Live by the show…

Believe it or not, I nonetheless think about the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra’s show to be one of its key promoting factors. You’re taking a look at a 16-inch, 120Hz, 3K, AMOLED show, with most of its tech carried over from the sharp, great-looking panels from Samsung’s high-end smartphones. The colours on the laptop computer are, to say the least, punchy, visually distinctive, and lots brilliant for most environments. Gaming and multimedia consumption are an absolute deal with on the Galaxy Book.

Review: Samsung’s 2-in-1 Galaxy Book is an important however irritating laptop computer

For content material creation and multitasking, the wider 16:10 dimension right here is superb. And whereas the Ultra mannequin does not have a flashy 360-degree hinge or touchscreen show like its customary Pro and 360 siblings, its extra standard, laid-back design means that the laptop computer is all about getting the job completed. Plus, a show that is each touchscreen-enabled and shiny is a recipe for a visible catastrophe.

The finest use of house?

The backside half of the laptop computer options what I can solely describe as beneficiant but questionable add-ons. Things I like embody the full-size quantity pad (even when the keys are narrower than my desktop keyboard’s), the tactile but bouncy keycaps, and the abundance of ports flanking the left and proper sides, together with one for USB-A!

Also: The 7 finest laptop computer docking stations

While I like that Samsung features a wealth of enter/output, I want one of two USB-C ports was located on the proper facet of the laptop computer. That method, I’ve extra flexibility when charging and do not should shuffle a cable round. Also, the firm determined to place a microSD card slot in favor of one for a full-sized SD card which does not make sense to me if its audience consists of creators, people who’re more likely to retailer digital camera images and movies on, you guessed it, an SD card.

Another factor that I do not love is the trackpad. While large, the new trackpad is not solely off-centered however does not register presses on the higher half of it. As a outcome, there have been loads of occasions when the laptop computer would register a double faucet as a single faucet and vice versa. Keep in thoughts that I used to be coming from the MacBook Pro and have been completely spoiled by its Force Touch trackpad.

A devoted graphics card issues

The day-to-day efficiency of the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra has been admirable. My typical workflow revolves round three desktops – one with Slack, Microsoft Outlook, and a few type of media playback, one other consisting of a content material administration system and all the tabs I would like for analysis, and the final being both Adobe Photoshop or Premiere Pro for modifying. Then, there’s the occasional video name.

While my Galaxy Book 3 Ultra evaluate unit was the base mannequin (Thirteenth-gen Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050), and it dealt with all of that with none noticeable stuttering, it is protected to credit score the integration of a devoted graphics card and reasonably intense followers for the laptop computer’s fluidity. 

With a discrete GPU, the Galaxy Book completely breezes by means of my normal picture and video edits, which encompass high-resolution, uncooked photos and photographs. My normal stress check consists of making use of a number of layers of gaussian blur on a timeline and seeing if the laptop computer struggles in any respect with playback. The Galaxy Book confirmed indicators of weak point solely after its battery dipped below the 40 p.c vary and commenced to throttle itself. Naturally, the cooling followers get loud sufficient to function a continuing reminder each time I’m pushing the laptop computer’s internals and inevitably draining its battery life.

Also: The 12 finest laptops for each price range

On an ordinary workday, I averaged about six and a half hours of utilization per cost, which is not unhealthy however not nice both. On days that concerned extra video modifying, downloading recordsdata, and a little bit of gaming (as a result of that is what you do when you could have a devoted GPU in a laptop computer), I watched as the battery share dropped 20% each hour.

The benchmark outcomes are in…

For those that stay by benchmarks, here is how the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra fared in Geekbench 6 and Cinebench R23 exams in comparison with 16-inch MacBook Pros (M1 Pro and M2 Max).

By the numbers, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is neck and neck with Apple’s older M1 Pro-equipped MacBook, however the M2 Max variant is nonetheless ranges above the competitors on the subject of multi-core efficiency. 

While your Twitter feed is not going to load any sooner as a result of one laptop computer scored larger than the different, we’re taking a look at seconds (and even minutes) of sooner speeds on the subject of graphics-intensive purposes like exporting 4K movies and loading AAA video games.

An ecosystem of its personal

Much like Apple’s deep integration throughout units, Samsung’s been constructing out an ecosystem of its personal. This, for my part, is the largest purpose anybody ought to think about the Galaxy Book, not to mention the Ultra. With the newest laptops, Galaxy customers can sync their smartphones and tablets to make the most of options like Multi Control, which lets you navigate and management a number of units by means of the Galaxy Book’s keyboard and trackpad, Quick Share for wi-fi knowledge transferring, and extra.

In reality, all the product images on this evaluate have been captured by the Galaxy S23 that I’ve been testing, transferred over to the Galaxy Book Ultra by way of Quick Share, and edited from the laptop computer. The course of was pleasantly seamless and took lower than a minute for the two units to first acknowledge one another. It nearly felt incorrect to have the ability to transfer 4K movies from the cellphone to the laptop computer in lower than a minute. 

Bottom line

Ultimately, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra begins at $2,200 for the Intel Core i7, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage configuration. That’s a big value for a big laptop computer, but when we’re evaluating it with its closest Apple various, then Samsung is undercutting the 16-inch MacBook Pro (M2) by about $300. And in Samsung’s protection, it is giving you a large number for the cash, together with a devoted graphics card, one of the best-looking laptop computer shows on the market, and an uncompromising keyboard expertise. The solely notable shortcomings are the shiny display, the obnoxiously massive trackpad, and the reasonable battery life.

Should I purchase one?

For content material creators {and professional} customers, particularly should you already personal a Samsung smartphone or pill, I may see the Ultra laptop computer being worth the splurge. It’s additionally one of the few non-gaming laptops that I’d genuinely suggest for those that play.

But at a beginning value of $2,200, there are many different, extra reasonably priced but simply as highly effective laptops that you need to be contemplating, together with the last-gen MacBook Pro (M1 Pro). I’d additionally look elsewhere should you rely closely on an SD card for file transferring. In my case, I’m at all times taking photos and movies with a mirrorless digital camera, and having the ability to transfer my recordsdata regionally, with no worry of wonky wi-fi connections getting in the method, is a should.

Alternatives to think about

Besides the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, listed below are the options that I’d suggest:

Like the Ultra, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 has a 16-inch display, as much as 1TB of storage, and the similar association of ports. While it runs on an Intel Iris Xe as an alternative of an Nvidia GPU, the laptop computer is nonetheless dependable for day-to-day duties and {most professional} software program and prices $500 much less.

2021’s MacBook Pros are nonetheless a few of the most succesful laptops out there immediately, as demonstrated by the benchmark outcomes earlier, and so they’re extra reasonably priced now because of Apple’s new M2 fashions. That makes each the 14-inch and 16-inch variants nice pick-ups should you’re in the market for new {hardware}.

While the two options above are extra delicate by design, the Asus ZenBook 14 is clearly a creator’s laptop computer, with two shows — a 14.5-inch display on prime and a 12.7-inch ScreenPad Plus on the backside — that can help you multitask with ease. There’s additionally a discrete RTX 3050 GPU and 1TB of storage.