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You can choose from a variety of 2-in-1 devices, including Surface Pro 6 and Google Pixel Slate. The form factor is clearly a decisive factor for anyone looking to buy a new device. That 's why Samsung returns to 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 is not your usual PC. But with a superb 12-inch Super AMOLED display, big promises of 20-hour battery life, and gigabyte LTE speeds, it's possible that its competitors will not offer them. We had a little time with the camera to see how it compared to its competitors.
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The original Galaxy Book still shared a bit of DNA with the Surface Pro, but its suite goes even further. This is largely due to the new integrated kickstand that provides a feeling of solidity. No need to tinker with a fragile paper cover to do a job. Of course, you can also completely detach the keyboard for tablet mode.
The device has a solid all-silver aluminum chassis weighing 1.75 kg, which is only a hair heavier than Surface Pro 6 magnesium. an iPad, although it is comfortable to hold like a tablet.
The 12-inch display is one of the highlights of the camera with a resolution of 2160 x 1440 and 216 dpi (pixels per inch). It may be less than the Surface Pro 6 and Pixel Slate, but Samsung uses its exclusive Super AMOLED panel to make the colors really vivid. At the time we were there, we found that the colors of the web pages were dark in black and that the images on the Digital Trends homepage were very bright.
Unfortunately, this size also has large frames surrounding the bright screen, which is not the most attractive. The Galaxy Book 2 is not alone, we have also noticed in the Surface Pro 6 and Pixel Slate.
The keyboard and S Pen included
Unlike the competition, Samsung includes the stylus and keyboard S in the box of Galaxy Book 2. In our brief test, we found that both systems were very responsive. We were told that the specifications of the Pen S pen were the same as those of the Galaxy Note 9, although the design is quite different. It is bigger, thicker and features a new magnet on the side to attach to the left side of the Galaxy Book 2. Just like the mobile version, it makes a good contact with the screen and writes smoothly.
The smooth keys provided ample room for movement when typing at the recording speed, and the noise was not excessive when slamming.
Aside from the fact that it now connects via a POGO connection, the keyboard is pretty much the same as the original Galaxy Book, not to mention the exceptional typing experience and the the way it behaves like a blanket. The smooth keys provided ample room for movement when typing at the recording speed, and the noise was not excessive when slamming. The touchpad under the keyboard, though, is still a bit too small for our taste.
The connectivity is impressive with two USB-C ports and a microSD card slot. This means that you will need to use dongles to enjoy your accessories, but the port selection makes the Galaxy Book 2 more durable than the 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 quickly got back into action. No need to fiddle with Wi-Fi. It's thanks to the super fast LTE gigabit connection, which immediately plunged us back into Slack discussions and emails almost immediately after pressing the power button to exit sleep mode. It may not be a feature everyone needs, but it's a significant improvement over the Surface Pro 6 and Pixel Slate – and does not add any extra cost.
A little faster, a little longer
This year, many devices have been equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, but the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 is the second device to be delivered this year with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 chipset. This modification is expected to improve the performance of 30 % and respond to initial concerns that Windows 10 devices with Snapdragon were too slow.
During our first tests of opening several preloaded apps, as well as websites Digital Trends, YouTube, NotePad and Samsung, the Galaxy Book 2 has not slowed down. Even with only 4 GB of RAM, our latency was low or even zero. Initial web browsing and use of the application with the device.
This brings us to the other great claim of performance of these devices: up to twenty hours of battery. This is not a rare case for Qualcomm-equipped computers, but it's still a big advantage over the Surface Pro 6, which is close to ten hours of standard use. Our practical unit was about 67% loaded when we put it back in the showroom. After an hour and a half of use, it was still stuck at the same percentage. We look forward to new tests in the coming weeks.
Windows 10 in S mode
To get the most out of battery life and performance, the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 uses Windows 10 in S mode. This prevents the system from running applications from the Microsoft Store only, which does not no problem for us in our general browsing tests on the web. For software such as Chrome and Photoshop, the best choice is to upgrade to Windows 10. You can always update the standard version of Windows 10 for free, but this can eventually lead to loss of battery life or performance. .
Samsung also adds apps designed to work with your other Galaxy devices. This includes Samsung Flow, which can be used as sync, mirror and file transfer on your Galaxy phone to display real-time notifications right on your screen. We could not pair our phone to try these apps, but we can not wait to try our last review.
The Galaxy Book 2 starts at $ 1,000, which includes the keyboard and stylus provided. This may seem initially expensive compared to less expensive Qualcomm computers like the Asus NovaGo at $ 700, although the HP Envy x2, priced at $ 1,000 at launch. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 6 starts at $ 900 for the Core i5 version, although it does not come with the Type Cover keyboard or the Surface stylus.
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 at AT & T, Sprint and Verizon stores later. in the month.
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