Eight years after its departure, the giant Samsung is back on the laptop market in France. We were able to test one of its flagship, the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360.
The Samsung brand has established itself on many markets for the general public. It is obviously known for its Galaxy smartphones, but also for its washing machines, refrigerators and all sorts of home appliances. Strangely, the brand has followed a more complex path for a historical market, that of computers. In 2014, Samsung had made the decision to withdraw from the European laptop market. In 2022, the firm made a comeback with the Galaxy Book 2 range composed of 4 machines: the Galaxy Book 2 and Galaxy Book 2 360 for the entry-level, and the Galaxy Book 2 Pro and Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 for the high-end. It is the latter that we have been able to test.
Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 technical sheet
This type of mechanism imposes an extra weight on this kind of machine, 200 grams more on the scale compared to the normal version of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro, as well as some concessions on the design. Despite this extra weight, we remain at only 1.04 kg. Another compromise is that the screen borders are wider than on other premium products in this price range.
Despite these concessions, Samsung offers here everything you would expect from a high-end device. The base of the device rests on four small rubber pads to avoid slipping. It is rather successful, even if one can wonder about the aging of the system over time. The laptop comes with an S Pen, but unfortunately it is impossible to put it inside the PC. So you’ll have to make sure you never forget your stylus.Keyboard and touchpadIf on the design, Samsung can call upon its know-how in the field of smartphones, it is obviously not the case when we talk about a physical keyboard. However, the giant is doing very well in this exercise. We have a keyboard that offers wide and well-spaced keys, with a good occupation of the space left by the PC format. Only the function keys (F1 to F12) are smaller, but this is not a problem for keys that are rarely used. Finally, the stroke is quite long, although a little light for my taste. Anyway, this is a keyboard on which I had no problem to type the text of this test.
The touchpad is also very satisfactory. It is a good size and has the right level of reactivity to allow a simple interaction without false contact.The connectivityThe connectivity will not be long to describe, Samsung does the minimum service or almost on this kind of premium machines. We find a USB-C port, a 3.5 mm jack and a microSD reader on the right side. On the other side, Samsung offers two USB-C ports including a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port.
The manufacturer does not use more traditional connectors such as USB-A or HDMI, which are found on the non-convertible Galaxy Book 2 Pro, too bad. As a result, you’ll need an adapter for most uses with this laptop.
Webcam and audioThe speaker system of an ultraportable PC is usually quite limited. This is again the case here. Consider the speakers as a troubleshooting system for listening to a video very occasionally, but this is not the device where you can best enjoy a soundtrack or movie. The bass lacks presence, and the treble is absent. Good point though: the speakers don’t overload too much.
The Galaxy Book 2 Pro has the particularity of integrating a Full HD camera in a market where most devices offer 720p. Unfortunately, this is not enough to offer a quality image.An Oled screen in half-toneWhen Samsung launched a Galaxy Book tablet running Windows 10 in 2019, the manufacturer could boast of bringing Oled to the Microsoft ecosystem. Since then, Asus has invested heavily in this type of display and has made a specialty of offering Oled displays on its laptops with very aggressive pricing. The integration of an Oled screen on this Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is not a surprise. The 13.3-inch panel is satisfied with a definition of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
To the naked eye, we admit to being slightly disappointed by the rendering offered by the screen. It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly is wrong with it, the writing seems to be very slightly smudged or lacking in sharpness. Is it a problem of pixel density? Is it a problem of calibration of the screen with Windows? It is above all a subjective observation of the tester. Our colorimetric probe paints a different picture.Because in fact, on the criteria that we can test with our probe and the Calman software, the screen of this Galaxy Book does very well. It displays 112% of the DCI-P3 spectrum, which exceeds our criteria (75% of the AdobeRGB spectrum, 166% sRGB) with a well done calibration since the average deltaE is 2.83 for a maximum of 4.42. The average color temperature is 6910K, which is a bit too cold.The only really notable compromise with our probe is the maximum brightness, which is limited to 318 cd/m².Windows 11, touchscreen and Samsung ecosystemSo far, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 looks like a relatively classic ultraportable. One of its differentiating elements from the rest of the market comes from its software. Like its smartphones, Samsung has customized the Windows 11 software experience with its own services. However, just as Samsung does with Google on Android, the manufacturer is staying on track and respecting Microsoft’s specifications from A to Z.
First of all, there is an excellent integration of Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets with Windows through the “link with Windows” which will allow you to follow your PC SMS, photos and even applications (in mirror mode) of your smartphone.There is also a set of applications developed by Samsung in the Galaxy Book Experience application. They all synchronize with their equivalents on Galaxy smartphones: Samsung Notes for note taking or File Tracker to manage files. Finally, there is Quick Share, which allows you to quickly share a file over Wi-Fi Direct between two Samsung devices, and Private Share to share a file with a contact in an encrypted way over the Internet. All these applications are to be updated through the Microsoft Store, a good integration to the system from Samsung.
It’s a pity however to find among the pre-installed applications on the PC, the McAfee antivirus in trial version. This results in an intrusive and anxiety-inducing advertisement for the paid version of the software, which can take up a good chunk of the screen. On a PC at this price, we would like to do without this kind of software to be uninstalled as soon as the box is opened.Do you accept the risk?
Ca fait peur tout ça !
The Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 also has the ability to transform into a tablet, and with the included stylus it becomes a real work companion for taking notes or drawing. Windows 11 has made great strides in improving the quality of the touch experience, although the Microsoft Store continues to lack apps. Remember that Android applications are not yet available in France.
Mastered but limited performance
With its great thinness and light weight, it’s not a big surprise to learn that Samsung has made compromises on the raw performance of its machine. Thus, despite the integration of an Intel Core i7-1260P processor, the same one we already tested in the Asus Zenbook 14 Oled UX3402Z, the performance of this Samsung is limited. Mind you, this is not to say that it is a slow PC. With a high-end ultraportable like this, the machine remains perfectly fluid for most uses: web browsing, video playback or light photo editing. It’s when you get up to speed on more complex tasks that it shows its limits. You won’t be editing your next YouTube video or compiling an operating system on this PC.
The benchmarks
Our series of benchmarks illustrate the performance level of this ultraportable. We start with the PCMark 10 test, which evaluates the overall performance of the machine in versatile tasks. It gets a score of 5077 points, a respectable score where it manages to surpass the ZenBook 14 which got 4714 points.
On the other hand, when we look more precisely at the performance of the processor on Cinebench R23, we note a limitation of the performance of the Galaxy Book, probably to limit the heat released and optimize the autonomy. The score of 1372 and 5890 points for the single-core and multi-core are well below the same processor in the Zenbook, 1501 and 8713 points respectively.
Unsurprisingly, Samsung uses an NVMe SSD from Samsung for its laptop. The performance is up to par this time, as the CrystalDiskMark test results show.
Heat dissipation and noise
If the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 limits its performance, it is to better manage the heat released and thus the noise of the ventilation. The PC remains very quiet in all circumstances, even when it is pushed to the limit.
Not so great autonomy
With its 68 Wh battery and its slim profile, we imagined the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 to be a champion of autonomy. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Throughout this test, I was able to use it during the day without worrying too much about my battery with a versatile use mixing some tabs on Microsoft Edge, some music on Spotify and some photo editing. The brand can partly blame Intel which increased the power consumption of its chips to reach a new level of performance with its P series. A bug with PC Mark 10 did not allow us to run the autonomy test for this test, making an objective comparison with other machines impossible. In our experience the PC is in the average range of ultraportables, without standing out.
Fortunately, the PC is easily charged with a USB-C Power Delivery charger. Samsung offers a particularly compact 65W charger. Here again, we see that the manufacturer has gone for its mobile know-how. Competitors usually integrate larger chargers.
Price and release date
The Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is sold at 1599 euros in France. Until May 15, 2022, Samsung is offering a pair of Galaxy Buds Pro headphones with the purchase of a PC.
At this price, we find the ROG Flow Z13, which will offer a compromise rather in favor of performance, or the MSI Summit E16 Flip Evo, just as convertible, more powerful, but heavier.
| Model | Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 (2022) |
|---|---|
| Screen size | (15.6 inches |
| Definition | 1920 x 1080 pixels |