Ever wish you could fold your MacBook Pro in half and use it as a tablet? Well, you'll never get that from an Apple product, but perhaps I can interest you in the next best thing: Samsung's Galaxy Book Pro laptops.
The new devices, announced at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday, come in two models: the Galaxy Book Pro and the Galaxy Book Pro 360. (The "360" simply means you can flip that model's screen back and use it as a tablet.) Both laptop models will be available in 13.3- and 15.6-inch sizes.
The Galaxy Book Pro, which starts at $1,000 for the 13-inch and $1,100 for the 15-inch, features a 1920 x 1080 AMOLED display, built-in 720p HD camera, AKG speakers (with support for Dolby Atmos), dual-array mics, and a fingerprint sensor on the power key. It'll be available in either mystic blue or mystic silver.
Both sizes have the same port arrangement: one Thunderbolt port, two USB-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a MicroSD card slot. The only difference to note is that the 15-inch laptop also comes with an HDMI port.
For both versions, Samsung's offering the choice between an i5 or i7 11th Gen Intel Core processor, and up to 512GB of storage. This will be paired with 8GB of RAM for the 13-inch Book Pro and up to 16GB on the 15-incher. As for graphics, you can opt for the i5 or i7 Intel Iris Xe graphics card.
The Galaxy Book Pro 360, on the other hand, is a 2-in-1 device that allows you to switch between laptop and tablet modes. Its dual-use case makes it slightly more expensive than the standard Book Pro. The 13-inch Book Pro 360 starts at $1,200 and the 15-inch model starts at $1,300.
Both the 13-inch and 15-inch models feature a 1920 x 1080 Super AMOLED display, 720p camera, and an S-Pen that you can use to take notes, edit documents or photos, and more. Both sizes include one Thunderbolt port, two USB-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a MicroSD card. Color options on the Book Pro 360 include mystic navy and mystic bronze.
Like the Galaxy Book Pro, the 2-in-1 Book Pro 360 offers users the choice between the same 11th Gen Intel Core processors and Intel Iris graphics cards. But its memory and storage configurations are slightly different — both sizes offer the choice between 8GB or 16GB of RAM with up to 512GB of storage on the 13-inch Book Pro 360, and up to 1TB on the 15-incher.
The Book Pro 360 will also support 5G, but that functionality won't be available at launch, so you'll have to settle for WiFi. (Samsung says it will provide updates on 5G connectivity later this year.)
Samsung claims its Galaxy Book Pro and Book Pro 360 laptops can get up to 17 hours of battery life. They also support 65W fast charging, which should give you up to 8 hours of battery life on a 30-minute charge.
All four laptops include a Pro Keyboard, which consists of wide keys with rubber domes and 1mm of key travel. Samsung describes it as a near-silent typing experience, which is a discreet way of saying it's not as bad as the MacBook's horrifyingly loud (and recently discontinued) Butterfly keyboard.
It remains to be seen as to whether or not Samsung's Galaxy Book Pro and Book Pro 360 can compete against Apple's MacBook Pro. But hey, we can't fault the company for at least trying.
The Galaxy Book Pro and Book Pro 360 are currently available for pre-order with full availability starting May 14.
