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Samsung Galaxy Book 2
There are plenty of 2-in-1 devices to choose from, including now the Surface Pro 6 and the Google Pixel Slate. The form factor is clearly a big deciding factor for anyone looking to buy a new device, why is why Samsung is again getting back in the action with the launch of the new Galaxy Book 2.
Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 rather than an Intel chip, the Galaxy Book 2 isn’t your average PC. But with a beautiful 12-inch Super AMOLED display, big promises for up to 20 hours of battery life, and gigabit LTE speeds, it just might have something the competitors don’t offer. We had some hands-on time with the device to see how it compared.
Kicking into action
The original Galaxy Book always shared some DNA with the Surface Pro, but its sequel takes it a step further. That’s largely due to the new, built-in kickstand that feels plenty sturdy. No more need to fiddle with a flimsy folio cover just to get some work done. Of course, you can also detach the keyboard completely for tablet mode.
The device has a solid, all-aluminum, silver chassis and a weight of 1.75 pounds, which is just a hair heavier than the magnesium Surface Pro 6. It’s not as light as an iPad, though it felt comfortable to hold as a tablet.
The 12-inch display is a high point of the device with a resolution of 2,160 x 1,440 and 216 PPI (pixels per inch). That might be less than the Surface Pro 6 and Pixel Slate, but Samsung is using its proprietary Super AMOLED panel to make the colors really pop. In our time with it, we noticed black colors in webpages were deep, and images on the Digital Trends homepage were super bright.
Unfortunately, that size also comes with large bezels flanking the bright display, which aren’t the most attractive. The Galaxy Book 2 isn’t alone though — we’ve noticed them in the Surface Pro 6 and Pixel Slate too.
The keyboard and S Pen included
Unlike the competition, Samsung includes the S Pen and Keyboard inside the Galaxy Book 2 box. In our brief testing, we found both to be very responsive. We were told the specs on the S Pen are the same as the one inside the Galaxy Note 9, though the design is quite different. It is larger, thicker, and has a new magnet on the side to attach to the left side of the Galaxy Book 2. Just like the mobile version, it makes good contact with the screen and writes smoothly.
The smooth keycaps provided solid room for travel when speed typing, and it wasn’t overly loud when slammed down.
Asides from the fact that now attaches via a POGO connection, the keyboard is about the same as the original Galaxy Book, down to the great typing experience and the way it doubles as a cover. The smooth keycaps provided solid room for travel when speed typing, and it wasn’t overly loud when slammed down. The touchpad under the keyboard, though, is still a bit too small for our liking.
Connectivity is impressive with two USB-C ports and a microSD card slot. This means you’ll need to embrace dongles to enjoy your accessories, but the port selection makes the Galaxy Book 2 more futureproof than a Surface Pro 6 with its aging mini-DisplayPort and USB-A. It also includes a headphone jack unlike Google’s Pixel Slate.
And after putting the Galaxy Book 2 in sleep mode, we were quickly able to jump back into the action. No need to fiddle with Wi-Fi. That’s thanks to the super fast gigabit LTE connection, which threw us right back into Slack chats and emails almost immediately after pushing the power button to return from sleep mode. It might not be a feature everyone needs, but it’s a significant boost compared to both the Surface Pro 6 and Pixel Slate — and comes at no additional cost.
A bit faster, a bit longer
This year delivered many devices with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, but the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 is the second device this year to ship with the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 chipset. The change should make for 30 percent more performance, and address original concerns which showed that Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 devices were too slow.
In our initial testing of opening up several of the preloaded apps, and the Digital Trends website, YouTube, NotePad, and Samsung’s website there was no slowdown on the Galaxy Book 2. Even with just 4GB RAM, there was little to no latency in our initial web browsing and app usage with the device.
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
That brings us to this devices’ other big performance claim: Up to twenty hours of battery. It’s not an uncommon claim for Qualcomm-powered PCs, but it’s still a big advantage over the Surface Pro 6, which gets closer to ten hours of standard usage. Our hands-on unit was charged up to around 67 percent when we were handed it on the showroom floor. After an hour and a half of use, it was still locked in at the same percentage. We’ll be looking forward to more testing in the coming weeks.
Windows 10 in S Mode
To make the most of the battery life and performance, the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 runs Windows 10 in S mode. That locks the system down to running apps from the Microsoft Store only, which wasn’t a problem for us in our general web browsing tests. For software like Chrome and Photoshop though, switching to regular Windows 10 is the best bet. You can always update to standard Windows 10 for free, but it might possibly come with the cost of decreased battery life or performance.
Samsung also throws in apps which are meant to work with your other Galaxy devices. This includes Samsung Flow, which can be used sync with, mirror, and transfer files to your Galaxy phone to see notifications in real-time, right on your screen. We weren’t able to pair our phone to try these apps out, but look forward to trying in our final review.
The Galaxy Book 2 starts at $1,000, which includes the keyboard and stylus bundled in. That might sound expensive at first when compared to cheaper Qualcomm PCs like the $700 Asus NovaGo, though it’s not far off the HP Envy x2, which was priced at $1,000 at launch. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 6 starts at $900 for the Core i5 version, though it doesn’t come with the Type Cover keyboard or Surface Pen.
Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Compared To
Microsoft Surface Pro 6
Asus NovaGo
HP Spectre x360 13-ae002xx
Lenovo Yoga 730
HP Envy x360 15
Dell Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1
Acer Nitro 5 Spin
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1
HP Envy x2 (2017)
Acer Switch 3
Lenovo Yoga 720 13-inch
Samsung Galaxy Book
Acer Switch Alpha 12
Huawei Matebook
Acer Aspire R7 (late 2013)
The Samsung Galaxy Book 2 will be available online at ATT.com, Microsoft.com and Samsung.com for $1,000 starting November 2, 2018. It will also be available in stores at AT&T, Sprint and Verizon later in the month.