When it comes to Windows laptops, particularly thin and light laptops designed to handle everyday work while remaining light, portable, and powerful, there are few options. Most have poor battery life, and some are simply not powerful enough to perform the everyday hard duties that consumers put at them. Samsung set out to do just that with the Galaxy Book 3 Pro, and in some ways, it has succeeded.
The laptop screams premium, is ultralight, has strong internals, and battery life isn’t an issue. This concludes our thorough review of the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro. Our model includes a 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1360P processor running at 2.20 GHz and 16GB of RAM. With a starting price of Rs 1,55,990, it offers a premium Windows experience that only a few others can match. Read on to find out if the new Galaxy Book 3 Pro is worth your money.
Display
Prior to the Galaxy Book 3 Pro review period, I was testing the ASUS ROG M16, that had a 16-inch mini LED panel, but once I switched to the Galaxy Book 3 Pro, I noticed how good Samsung’s 14-inch panel was with its inky deep blacks, accurate colour reproduction, and being super sharp with a 3K (2880 x 1800) resolution. The Galaxy Book 3 Pro, like the previous two generations of MacBook Pros, has a 120 Hz refresh rate, and boy, is it smooth.
It’s fun to browse the web, watch YouTube, and OTT on the 14-inch AMOLED panel. Although OLED panels are notorious for burn-in, I tested the panel for burn-in and even retained an idle image for nearly 12 hours at a stretch overnight for numerous days, but I’m happy to report that the display has yet to exhibit signs of burn-in. You’ll also have no trouble working on the laptop in direct sunlight, say, when sitting at a café because it’s fairly bright.
Performance
As previously said, our device has the 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1360P processor, while you may also choose the less expensive Core i5 variant, which is less powerful. On paper, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro’s P series processor would seem to limit its capabilities, but this is not the case. While it cannot play the latest AAA titles or handle many layers of 4K LOG footage in Adobe Premiere Pro, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro excels in programmes like Photoshop, Lightroom, and basic editing in DaVinci Resolve 18.
I checked all the apps, and thanks to the laptop’s 16GB DDR5 memory, it handles everything perfectly and barely skips a beat until after an hour or so. I did find that it became uncomfortably hot after a while when in high-performance mode, but that is to be anticipated with a metal chassis, and it does cool down. After an hour of hard effort, you can expect it to throttle, lowering performance.
In addition, just for kicks, I installed Xbox GamePass and Death’s Door on it. Dropping the resolution to 1080P will give you a completely playable experience. As a result, you can anticipate it to power through most indie games that don’t demand a lot of horsepower.
Design
Let me start with the build quality, and it’s safe to say it rivals the greatest, including MacBooks. The Galaxy Book 3 Pro screams premium, with an all-metal body, a huge glass trackpad, a well-designed hinge, and being lightweight.
To be fair, the design and form factor are the primary reasons why anyone should consider purchasing this laptop in the first place. Not only does it appear basic and just the appropriate amount of professional for a business atmosphere, but it is also fairly portable, weighing only 1.17KG (14-inch variant). Yes, it looks a lot like a MacBook, but that’s fine, and I’m glad Samsung went that path.
Keyboard
Now, I’m equally impressed with the keyboard. Not only is it enjoyable to type on, but I can see that it has just barely worn out as I write this review on the same keyboard. I type a lot, and my MacBook Air M1 was already showing signs of wear after a month of use, with a shiny sheen replacing the smooth texture of the keys. But I have yet to witness it with the Galaxy Book 3 Pro. It’s been over a month since I’ve used it, and it still looks brand new.
Connectivity
The Galaxy Book 3 Pro has a limited number of connections for I/O, including one full-size HDMI, one microSD card slot, a USB 3.2 Type-A connector, and two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4. I would have preferred an SD card connector over a microSD port, but I’ll take what I can get.
Battery
The Galaxy Book 3 is a huge improvement over most ultrathin Windows laptops, but it falls far short of Samsung’s advertised stats. While doing light work like browsing the web or typing a Word document, the 63Wh battery will last you about 3-4.5 hours at 50% brightness. Samsung has included a 65W charger in the box, which can charge the laptop from zero to full in under two hours. The block itself is small and should easily fit inside most backpacks.
As previously said, the laptop gets warm, and the heat radiates down to and alongside the trackpad, making it uncomfortable leaving your palms sweaty if you are not in an air-conditioned environment.
Verdict
As amazing as the laptop is with its class-leading 3K AMOLED panel, excellent build quality, keyboard, and multimedia experience it’s difficult to suggest the Galaxy Book 3 Pro for the price unless you absolutely need a Windows laptop. The Galaxy Book 3 Pro’s use case is unclear, and at Rs 1,55,990, the laptop falls in between the high-end MacBook Pro with Apple hardware and the equally excellent entry-level MacBook Air M1 and M2. Not to mention, if you are a power user, you have options such as the ASUS ROG gaming laptops.
