Samsung added an Ultra model to its flagship smartphone lineup two years ago, but an equivalent version for laptops had never materialized – until now.
As its name suggests, the new Galaxy Book Ultra is Samsung’s most powerful laptop ever. It even beats 2021’s Galaxy Book Odyssey, a device specifically designed for gaming. Samsung says this new model is suitable for gaming and content creation, with specs suggesting both are within reach.
The Galaxy Book Ultra is powered by Intel’s latest 13e-gen H-series chips, with a choice between Core i7 and Core i9 models. They’re not quite the most powerful Intel brands – that award goes to the Core HX series – but they’re not far off. Combined with 16 or 32 GB of RAM and the RTX 4050 or RTX 4070 from Nvidia’s new line of GPUs, performance should be excellent.
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The large laptop features a 16-inch, 2880×1800 OLED display, with Samsung finally switching to a 16:10 aspect ratio after years at 16:9. That gives you a little more room to take advantage of the 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of peak brightness, although the display specs are identical on the cheaper Galaxy Book Pro models launched alongside the Ultra. .
What you give up with the Pro models is performance. Book 3 Pro and Pro 360 both drop to Intel’s less powerful 13e-gen P-Series, with only Core i5 or i7 available here. Rather than a discrete GPU, you’ll have to settle for Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics instead. The trade-off is that the 16-inch Pro models are lighter and thinner than the Ultra, which needs more room to cool its components.
Beyond CPU and GPU options, however, laptops have a lot in common. In fact, the only other feature exclusive to the Galaxy Book Ultra is the more advanced HDMI 2.0 port (as opposed to the HDMI 1.4 port). Galaxy Book 3 Pro (14-inch and 16-inch) and Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 (16-inch) all include 2 Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, 1 USB-A port, microSD card slot and headphone jack 3, 5mm.
Along with a 1080p webcam (with auto-framing, light-correction, and eye-contact features), two ANC mics, and four speakers on all models, most people will be equally happy with the Book 3 Pro or the Book 3 Pro 360. You even get a choice of a graphite or snow finish, while the Ultra is limited to graphite only.
As the name suggests, the Book 3 Pro 360 boasts a touchscreen, convertible functionality, and an integrated S Pen. It’s also the only laptop in the range to include optional 5G support, which even the Ultra lacks.
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Each model runs Windows 11 Home out of the box, but Samsung has added some software features that help Galaxy Book devices work more smoothly with the company’s smartphones and tablets.
These include sharing recent websites and passwords, one-click hotspot connection, and the ability to transfer RAW files directly from a Samsung phone. To help you with the latter, any purchase of a new Galaxy Book 3 laptop includes a free two-month subscription to Adobe Lightroom.
So far we only have UK prices and availability. The Galaxy Book 3 Pro starts at £1,299, while upgrading to the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 will set you back at least £1,549. Both are available for pre-order today, ahead of their February 17 release. There’s also a cheaper Galaxy Book 3,360, which costs £1,099 or more.
However, you’ll have to wait a bit longer for the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, which has a starting price of £2,449. Pre-orders will go live on February 14, ahead of the February 22 release.
