Generous trade-in offers from Samsung also make it a good deal.
With the Galaxy Book3 Pro, Samsung is coming into its own.
It pains me to say it makes Microsofts Surface Laptop 5 look dated.
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 14 with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
What else did Samsung get right (and wrong)?
And why should you consider this laptop for your personal use?
Disclaimer:This review was made possible by a review unit provided by Samsung.
The company did not see the contents of the review before publishing.
There are also two color options, graphite or beige.
The 14-inch does not have a number pad and is more traditional.
There is also a16-inch 360 convertible modelcomplete with an S Pen and a starting price of $1,699.
If you want even more power, Samsung has the all-newGalaxy Book3 Ultra.
you could always upgrade the SSD later and save some money.
Like its phones, the company knows how to build excellent premium-feeling hardware.
There is also a full HDMI and two bang out-C Thunderbolt 4 ports.
Overall, thats an exceptional selection considering some laptops only have a few Thunderbolt 4 ports.
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 14 with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
And yes, there is still a headphone/mic jack, too.
Opening the lid is easy thanks to the cut-out notch, and you might do it one-handed with ease.
The graphite color, like a very dark blue/light black, looks great and is more traditional.
Indeed, Samsung did nail the looks and build quality here.
Simply put, the display is gorgeous.
Even the reflectivity is low, making it ideal for long working sessions.
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 14.
Brightness is tricky, but the tl;dr is its great on this laptop.
The reason for the caveat is at 100%, this laptop only gets 395 nits of brightness.
Youd expect nothing less from Samsung, and it delivers.
But thats not the story here at all.
The Galaxy Book 3 Pro has an impressive 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1360P processor.
U-series is made for this laptop, whereas the P-series is a bold move delivering some serious CPU cycles.
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 14 right-side ports with micro-SD.
It even beats out Dells highly toutedXPS 13 Plus(late 2022), with only a 4,739 score.
Same with the multi-core, which scored an impressive 9,703.
Again, this CPU can beat out a 12th gen H-series processor (1,714 and 8,976) for comparison.
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 14 left-side ports including full HDMI.
For the SSD, Samsung doesnt cut corners as, after all, it makes its own.
Its an intriguing and unique option that only Samsung is currently offering.
I found typing to be effortless and didnt require much exertion with high accuracy.
As a result, Id rank the typing experience as very high and satisfying.
The keys pick up shine after days of typing away, but thats not unusual.
It is multi-stage and controlled via the dedicated F9 function key.
Because there is no touch for the display the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro is very thin.
Again, a small message box appears on-screen to let you know where you are at.
A fingerprint reader resides in the power button, which works very well for logging into the laptop.
My educated engineering guess is this display is simply too thin to house the infrared sensor.
The touchpad is enormous and enjoyable to use.
Its smooth, accurate, and has an excellent click.
The latter uses AI to simulate constant eye contact with the camera.
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)
The whole package works quite well and is fun to use.
Its a clever integration that makes getting the Galaxy Book3 Pro online much easier and faster.
Its all very neat and beneficial.
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)
Samsung Gallery mirrors your Samsung phones photo gallery (via OneDrive).
The apps are well-written and look to be 1:1 clones but tailored for Windows.
Some of these features overlap with Microsofts Phone Link andIntel Unison, which are included and pre-installed.
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)
At least users have a choice, with all three being good options.
There are so many Samsung apps it can be overwhelming, and you may never touch many of them.
However, none are as thin and premium as Samsungs offering, which stands on its own.
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)
Microsoft’sSurface Laptop 5comes closest in terms of quality and overall experience.
Microsofts vision is much more minimalist, with few added apps or custom software.
HP Spectre x360 13.5 also falls nicely into this category.
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)
While more challenging to find, theLG Gram 14is also extremely light at just 2.2 lbs (999g).
See our otherbest Windows 11 laptopsfor more ideas.
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro: Should you buy it?
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)
You should buy this if …
You should not buy this if …
Despite being a major electronics brand, I sometimes think Samsung is underappreciated by many in the laptop space.
The 16:10 AMOLED display is now much higher resolution and is simply tantalizing.
Intel Unison is pre-installed and excellent as a phone companion app that works with the Apple iPhone.
Basically, Samsung has addressed all my earlier complaints from previous generations.
The keyboard, touchpad, audio, and the full Samsung software suite are compelling.
Given a choice between this laptop and Surface Laptop 5, I dont even think its close.
The Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro does quite well on battery life.
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro’s keyboard is shallow, but very good.
The fingerprint reader is built into the power button.
This is a ginormous touchpad that is great to use.
Full HD camera sample with Samsung Studio Mode.
One tweet and one subwoofer are included on each side of the Galaxy Book3 Pro.
A Galaxy smartphone (S23 Ultra, here) has some special features that work with Samsung laptops like this one-touch hotspot.
Did someone say apps?
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5.
