As rumored since last week, the new Galaxy S23 phones have not arrived alone. Samsung has taken advantage of today’s Unpacked event to present in society its new Galaxy Book 3 laptops —or Galaxy Book3, as the South Koreans style it—, which come with interesting news.
The successors to the Galaxy Book 2 that we met at MWC 2022 not only bring the conventional internal improvements of any evolutionary leap, but also come accompanied by a new model. We are talking about the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, which joins the Pro and Pro 360 variants.
While all members of Samsung’s new family of laptops boast being light and powerful, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra not only comes with the most powerful hardware, but also promises the best integration with the rest of the brand’s ecosystem. For this reason, the Asian firm has placed special emphasis on the benefits of using it in parallel with, for example, the shiny Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The new Galaxy Book 3 Ultra promises to provide an “unrivaled connected experience” with other Samsung devices. It includes using Galaxy tablets as a second laptop screen, or controlling multiple mobile devices with the computer’s keyboard and touchpad.
Although the most attractive is, by far, the Expert RAW Auto Share function. As its name indicates, this allows you to automatically share photos in RAW format taken with a Galaxy S23 with the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, to edit them with professional tools.
The new Galaxy Book 3 Ultra arrives recharged
When it comes to specifications, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra does not disappoint. As you can imagine, the new spearhead among Samsung’s light notebooks comes with a very outstanding selection of hardware. Not only because it incorporates the latest generation Intel processors, but also because it makes an important bet in the graphics section thanks to the most modern NVIDIA GPUs.
These are its most outstanding characteristics:
| Galaxy Book 3 Ultra | |
| Screen | 16-inch 2X Dynamic AMOLED with 16:10 aspect ratio, 3K (2880 x 1800) resolution and up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. |
| Processor | 13th generation Intel Core i7 or i9 (Raptor Lake). |
| GPUs | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU;NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU. |
| RAM | 16 or 32GB LPDDR5. |
| Storage | 512 GB or 1 TB SSD (PCIe), plus one expansion slot. |
| Camera | FHD (1080p). |
| Audio | Dual “studio quality” microphones and quad speakers developed in collaboration with AKG. Includes 3.5mm jack for headphones and microphone. |
| Ports and connectivity | 1 USB-A 3.2 port; 2 USB-C ports with support for Thunderbolt 4; 1 HDMI 2.0 port;microSD card reader.WiFi 6E.Bluetooth 5.1. |
| Battery | 76Wh, with support for 100W fast charging via USB-C charger. |
| Dimensions and weight | 355.4 x 250.4 x 16.5 millimeters; 1.79 kilograms. |
| Colour | Graphite |
| Operating system | Windows 11 |
Samsung refines the Galaxy Book 3 Pro and Pro 360
It is true that the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra takes all the attention in this release, but the Pro and Pro 360 models also have their own. It is true that they follow a well-known trend, but they improve on some key points and that they had been highly criticized in their previous generation. The most notorious case is that of the screen, which in the Galaxy Book 2 Pro and Pro 360 had been severely punished for barely providing a 1080p resolution.
For the new generation of its lightweight laptops, Samsung has chosen to equip them with Dynamic AMOLED 2X panels with 3K resolution, as in the Ultra version, and slightly larger than those of its predecessors. As in the top-of-the-line model, the inclusion of a 120 Hz refresh rate also stands out.
The rest respects much of what is already known, although with subtle differences. The Pro 360 version, which is convertible and can be used as a tablet, this time is available with only one screen size (16 inches). But it does include the S-Pen back in the box, and it’s the only one offered with optional 5G connectivity. While the Pro variant of the Galaxy Book 3 is available in two sizes (14 and 16 inches), so it also offers two battery capacities.
These are its main specifications:
| Galaxy Book 3 Pro | Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 | |
| Screen | 14 and 16-inch 2X Dynamic AMOLED, with 16:10 aspect ratio, 3K (2880 x 1800) resolution and adaptive refresh rate up to 120 Hz. | 16-inch 2X Dynamic AMOLED, 16:10 aspect ratio, 3K (2880 x 1800) resolution, and adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz. Support for S-Pen, included in the box. |
| Processor | 13th generation Intel Core i5 or i7 (Raptor Lake). | 13th generation Intel Core i5 or i7 (Raptor Lake). |
| GPUs | Intel Iris Xe Graphics. | Intel Iris Xe Graphics. |
| RAM | 8, 16 or 32 GB LPDDR5. | 8, 16 or 32 GB LPDDR5. |
| Storage | 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB SSD (PCIe). | 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB SSD (PCIe). |
| Camera | FHD (1080p). | FHD (1080p). |
| Audio | Built-in “studio quality” dual microphone and quad speaker developed in collaboration with AKG. Includes 3.5 mm jack for microphone and headphones. | Built-in “studio quality” dual microphone and quad speaker developed in collaboration with AKG. Includes 3.5 mm jack for microphone and headphones. |
| Ports and connectivity | 1 USB-A 3.2 port; 2 USB-C ports with support for Thunderbolt 4; 1 HDMI 1.4 port; microSD card reader; WiFi 6E; Bluetooth 5.1. | 1 USB-A 3.2 port; 2 USB-C ports with support for Thunderbolt 4; 1 HDMI 1.4 port; microSD card reader; WiFi 6E; Bluetooth 5.1; 5G (optional). |
| Battery | 63Wh in the 14-inch model; 76Wh in the 16-inch model. Both support fast charging up to 65 watts via USB-C charger. | 76Wh, with support for fast charging up to 65 watts via USB-C charger. |
| Dimensions and weight | 14-inch version: 312.3 x 223.8 x 11.3 millimeters / 1.17 kilograms. 16-inch version: 355.4 x 250.4 x 12.5 millimeters / 1.56 kilograms. | 355.4 x 252.2 x 12.8 millimeters;1.66 kilograms;1.71 kilograms (model with 5G). |
| Colour | Graphite. | Graphite and Beige. |
| Operating system | Windows 11. | Windows 11. |
Availability and price
It is worth noting that, in addition to the Galaxy Book 3 Pro, Pro 360 and Ultra, Samsung has mentioned the launch of a “common” 360 model. That is, outside of the Pro versions; but has not provided too many details about it. What is known is that it will be available with 13 and 15-inch screens, and in graphite color.
The Galaxy Book 3 360, Pro and Pro 360 will hit the market starting next February 17. The Ultra version, meanwhile, will do the same from February 22. We are awaiting confirmation of their respective prices.