The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro has emerged as a compelling option in the premium laptop market, drawing attention with its sleek design, vibrant display, and capable performance. Available in both 14-inch and 16-inch models, this laptop aims to cater to a wide range of users, from students and mobile professionals to everyday users seeking a high-quality experience. Let's delve into the details of what makes the Galaxy Book5 Pro a noteworthy contender.
Sleek Aesthetics and Robust Build Quality
The design of the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro immediately evokes a sense of premium quality. Its all-aluminum chassis not only contributes to a sophisticated look, available in gray or silver, but also provides a sturdy and durable feel. Many observers have noted its resemblance to MacBooks, highlighting its slim profile and minimalist aesthetic. The wedge-shaped design, particularly on the 16-inch model, has even been compared to previous generation MacBook Airs, a shape lauded by many for its comfort and portability.
Despite its large 16-inch display, the Galaxy Book5 Pro manages to remain relatively portable, not feeling too bulky or heavy for everyday carry. The thin bezels around the display contribute to a modern look and feel, maximizing the screen real estate. The hinge mechanism has been praised for its stability, allowing for easy one-handed opening and closing with minimal screen wobble. While not a 2-in-1 device like its Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 counterpart, the standard model offers a more traditional laptop experience with a hinge that opens to a comfortable viewing angle. The matte finish of the chassis does an excellent job of repelling fingerprints and smudges, keeping the laptop looking clean with minimal effort.
A Visual Treat: The AMOLED Display
One of the standout features of the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro is its stunning AMOLED display. Available in a 3K resolution (2880x1800) with a 120Hz refresh rate, the screen delivers vibrant colours, deep blacks, and smooth visuals. This makes it a pleasure for consuming media, browsing the web, and working on creative tasks. The display also boasts excellent colour accuracy, covering 120% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut.
The inclusion of a touchscreen adds a layer of versatility, allowing for intuitive interaction with the operating system and applications. While the laptop is not a 360-degree convertible, the touchscreen provides a convenient way to navigate, select, and even sign documents. An anti-reflective coating helps to mitigate glare, making the display usable in various lighting conditions, including brightly lit indoor environments and even outdoors. Samsung's Vision Booster technology can further enhance contrast and visibility when using the laptop in bright outdoor settings.
Performance and Productivity
The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors, also known as Lunar Lake. These processors are designed to offer a balance of performance and power efficiency, contributing to both snappy responsiveness for everyday tasks and impressive battery life. The review models typically come equipped with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, with options for up to 32GB available. For storage, users can choose between 512GB or 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSDs.
The integrated Intel Arc graphics represent a significant step up in graphical performance for Intel's integrated solutions. While not a dedicated gaming GPU, it allows for casual gaming and handles multimedia tasks with ease. Some have even reported being able to play modern games at lower settings. The laptop's thermal management has been praised for keeping the device cool and quiet even under moderate loads. Users can also customize performance profiles through Samsung's settings app to optimize for either performance or battery life.
All-Day Power and Convenient Charging
One of the most lauded aspects of the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro is its long battery life. The 76.1 Wh battery combined with the power-efficient Intel Core Ultra processor allows for extended usage on a single charge. While manufacturer claims can sometimes be optimistic, real-world testing suggests that users can expect 10-11 hours of typical usage, including web browsing, document editing, and video playback. Even with more demanding tasks like video editing, the battery life remains respectable.
The laptop charges via USB Type-C (Thunderbolt 4), offering flexibility and convenience. The included compact 65W USB-C power adapter is travel-friendly and can also be used to charge other USB-C devices. While the charging time can be around two hours for a fully drained battery, the long battery life minimizes the need for frequent charging.
Comfortable Input: Keyboard and Trackpad
The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro features a full-size chiclet keyboard with a number pad on the 16-inch model. The keyboard includes white backlighting with adjustable levels for comfortable typing in various lighting conditions. While some users find the key travel to be somewhat shallow, the overall typing experience is generally considered comfortable and accurate after a short adjustment period. The layout is generally well-received, though some might find the number pad slightly cramped on the 16-inch model.
The large trackpad is a prominent feature, providing ample space for gestures and navigation. Tracking is reported to be smooth and responsive, and the click action feels good. While it's not a haptic trackpad, the traditional click mechanism is still satisfying to use. Palm rejection works effectively, preventing accidental cursor movements while typing.
Connectivity and Ports
The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro offers a decent selection of ports to cater to various connectivity needs. On the left side, you'll find two Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) ports and an HDMI 2.1 port. The Thunderbolt 4 ports support charging, data transfer, and display output. The inclusion of a full-size HDMI port is convenient for connecting to external displays without the need for adapters.
On the right side, the laptop features a USB 3.2 Type-A port, a headphone/microphone combo jack, and a microSD card reader. The USB-A port is particularly useful for connecting legacy peripherals. However, the decision to include a microSD card slot instead of a full-size SD card slot has been a point of criticism for some, particularly content creators who frequently work with full-size SD cards. The laptop also supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 standards for high-speed wireless connectivity.
Multimedia Experience: Webcam, Microphone, and Speakers
The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro is equipped with a 1080p webcam, which delivers adequate image quality for online meetings and video calls. While not the best webcam available on a laptop, it performs reasonably well, especially in good lighting conditions. Being a Copilot+ PC, it also offers access to Windows Studio Effects, including background blur, eye contact correction, and automatic framing. The dual "studio-quality" microphones provide clear audio capture for online communication and voice recordings.
The quad-speaker setup with AKG tuning and Dolby Atmos support delivers a solid audio experience for a laptop. While it may not match the deep bass of dedicated speakers or high-end headphones, the sound is generally clear and loud enough for enjoying videos, music, and podcasts. Some comparisons have noted that the bass and overall fullness of the sound might not be on par with MacBooks, but the speakers are still considered respectable for a thin and light Windows laptop.
Software and the Samsung Ecosystem
The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro runs on Windows, offering a familiar and versatile operating system. While some older Windows machines were known for bloatware, the Galaxy Book5 Pro comes with a relatively minimal amount of pre-installed software, with the exception of some Samsung apps. These Samsung ecosystem apps can be beneficial for users who own other Samsung devices, such as Galaxy phones and tablets, enabling seamless integration for file sharing, messaging, and screen mirroring. Features like Quick Share (Samsung's alternative to AirDrop) and Phone Link facilitate easy data transfer and phone integration.
The laptop also incorporates AI-powered features, leveraging the integrated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). These features include AI-based photo remastering, custom image generation, and real-time translation. However, some AI-powered search functionalities rely on Bing, which some users have found to be less effective than Google-based alternatives.
Pros and Cons at a Glance
Pros:
- Stunning AMOLED display with vibrant colours and a 120Hz refresh rate.
- Long battery life for all-day productivity.
- Slim and lightweight design with a premium build quality.
- Capable performance for everyday tasks and some creative workloads.
- Touchscreen functionality for added versatility.
- Good selection of ports, including Thunderbolt 4 and USB-A.
- Integration with the Samsung ecosystem for seamless connectivity with other Samsung devices.
- Quiet operation even under moderate load.
Cons:
- MicroSD card slot instead of a full-size SD card slot.
- Shallow key travel on the keyboard may take some getting used to.
- Speakers, while decent, may not match the audio quality of some competitors.
- Webcam, while adequate, is not exceptional.
- AI search functionality relies on Bing, which can be less effective than Google.
- Can be considered expensive compared to some other laptops.
Who is the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro For?
The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro is well-suited for individuals seeking a premium Windows laptop with a focus on portability, a stunning display, and long battery life. It's an excellent choice for students, mobile professionals, and everyday users who value a sleek design and a vibrant visual experience. Those already invested in the Samsung ecosystem will appreciate the seamless integration with their other devices. While not a dedicated gaming laptop or a workstation for heavy-duty content creation, it offers enough performance for everyday productivity and even some light gaming and creative tasks.
Final Thoughts
The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro stands out as a well-rounded and impressive laptop. Its beautiful AMOLED display and long-lasting battery life are significant advantages, making it a pleasure to use for both work and entertainment. While it has a few minor drawbacks, such as the microSD card slot and the shallow keyboard, its strengths in design, display, and battery performance make it a strong contender in the premium laptop market. If you're looking for a stylish, capable, and long-lasting Windows laptop, the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro is definitely worth considering.