Samsung’s Galaxy Book 3 lineup is all about thoughtful refinement, much like its Galaxy S23 series. The Galaxy Book 2 Pro was already a home run. The Galaxy Book 3 Pro, as a result, feels like a solid 2 on 2. The screen size has been bumped up ever so slightly and the aspect ratio is, now, taller than before. Core hardware is naturally getting a refresh, but areas like the speaker setup have also received an overhaul alongside. The touchpad is a bit bigger as well in this generation. All this, and Samsung has still managed to hold on to its laptops’ greatest USPs— portability.
The Galaxy Book 3 Pro comes in 14- and 16-inch size options (versus 13.3- and 15.6-inch in the last-gen models) with the former weighing in at 1.17kg and measuring only 11.3mm (versus 0.87kg and 11.2mm in the 13.3-inch model from last year). The 16-inch Galaxy Book 3 Pro weighs only 1.56kg and measures 12.5mm (versus 1.11kg and 11.7mm in the previous-gen 15.6-inch model). So, basically you’re getting more screen real estate in roughly about the same chassis without any significant increase in overall heft which is to say that the Book 3 Pro is – also— easy to lug around.
The fit and finish are as premium as they get, with copious amounts of sturdy metal all around, and a choice of two colours— graphite and beige.
The Galaxy Book 3 Pro uses a fast 120Hz OLED 16:10 panel with a WQXGA+ or 2880 x 1800p resolution. Samsung calls it Dynamic AMOLED 2X, a branding also seen on its high-end Galaxy S23 phones. While the screen itself is top-shelf, no two aways about that, the taller aspect ratio is definitely a bigger draw— for us— over its predecessor. It means there’s more vertical space, though we feel that there was room for some more of that since the laptop –still –has a noticeable chin (it is a bit smaller than the last model).
Under the hood, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro comes with a choice of either a 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1340P or Core i7-1360P processor paired with Intel Iris XE graphics, up to 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and up to 1TB of M.2 PCIe-NVMe SSD Gen 4. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1, micro-SD card slot, 3.5mm audio jack, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB A 3.2 Gen 1, and HDMI 1.4. Rounding off the package are AKG-powered quad speakers with support for Dolby Atmos, a 1080p webcam, and 63Wh battery (this is 76Wh in the 16-inch model).
We’ve been testing the 14-inch Galaxy Book 3 Pro and while it’s early to comment on performance and battery life, among other things, we like what’ve seen so far. The Galaxy Book 2 Pro was probably the most underrated laptop of 2022 and with the Galaxy Book 3 Pro, Samsung is clearly going for something bigger, better, faster, and smarter. If the Galaxy Book 2 Pro was about testing the waters in India, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro could seal the deal for Samsung as a brand that— also— makes great laptops, something that should make the likes of HP, Dell, and even Apple, very nervous.
The Galaxy Book 3 Pro comes in a total of five configurations. The 14-inch Book 3 Pro with the 13th Gen Intel Core i5 – P (28W) processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage is priced at Rs 1,31,990. The 14-inch Book 3 Pro with the 13th Gen Intel Core i7 – P (28W) processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage is priced at Rs 1,39,990. The 14-inch Book 3 Pro with the 13th Gen Intel Core i7 – P (28W) processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage is priced at Rs 1,55,990. The 16-inch Book 3 Pro with the 13th Gen Intel Core i7 – P (28W) processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage is priced at Rs 1,49,990. The 16-inch Book 3 Pro with the 13th Gen Intel Core i7 – P (28W) processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage is priced at Rs 1,65,990. Watch this space for our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro coming soon.
(Photos credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)
