Samsung has followed up the launch of the Galaxy Note 10 with “a laptop that has the essence of a smartphone” – the LTE-enabled Galaxy Book S.
The ARM-based 13.3-inch laptop, which offers 10-point multitouch, arrives packing Qualcomm’s 7nm octa-core Snapdragon 8cx processors, which have been designed for super-slim fanless laptops.
The laptop runs on the full fat version of Windows 10, is compatible with Windows Hello and offers a fingerprint sensor to unlock the device, bringing it inline with the Touch ID sensor on Apple’s newest MacBook Air.
Samsung is promising a whopping 23-hours of battery life (video playback) for the Galaxy Book S, which means you won’t probably charge the device if you’re going away overnight. Whether those numbers play out in real world testing remains to be seen.
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Helpfully, if the 42Wh battery does need a shot in the arm, you won’t need to cart your brick charger along with you, you’ll be able to use the same USB-C charger that ships with the Galaxy Note 10 range.
Samsung is also promising an “always on, always connected” experience, just like a smartphone or a tablet. All you need to do is press a button on the keyboard – which isn’t detachable unlike other devices in the range – and you’ll be good to go. There’s also full compatibility with Microsoft’s Your Phone app, bringing your smartphone notifications and photo albums into play.
The Galaxy Book S also brings LTE connectivity (via a nano SIM slot) so you’ll be able to work online wherever you roam. Samsung calls it a “new mobile computing category designed for the mobile generation.”
Meet the #GalaxyBookS. Built to be as unstoppable as you. @Windows
Learn more: https://t.co/JY2U0oQ8Fo pic.twitter.com/xOvwONWuHE— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) August 7, 2019
Under the hood there’s 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 512GB of built-in storage, coupled with a microSD slot offering 1TB expansion capacity. There’s also Bluetooth 5.0 within the device, which weighs just 0.96kg and is 11.8mm thin. As you’d expect from a laptop of these dimensions, there’s only a single USB-C port, while the headphone jack cut from the Note 10 endures here.
The Samsung Galaxy Book S will be available in September starting at $999. There’s no word on the UK price just yet. It’ll be available in Earthy Gold and Mercury Gray variants.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.