Samsung’s Surface competitor still doesn’t quite match up
Every company that makes PCs has been chasing Microsoft in the race to create a tablet that can work as a laptop. Samsung’s first real effort at this was last year’s TabPro S, which introduced a number of good ideas, but ultimately was underpowered and fell short of beating the Surface Pro at its own game.
Now Samsung has launched its second attempt at making this do-all device, the Windows 10-powered Galaxy Book. The Book also adds a number of improvements over Microsoft’s Surface Pro, and addresses some of the issues that the TabPro S had, such as its uneven performance. But at the same time, the Book has problems of its own that prevent it from being the ultimate tablet-slash-laptop.
There are two versions of the Book: a 10-inch Wi-Fi-only model that starts at $629.99 and a 12-inch version that comes in Wi-Fi and LTE flavors for $1,129.99 and $1,299.99, respectively. Both models come with a pen and keyboard in the box, which is something Microsoft and Apple charge extra for with their tablets. I’ve been testing the 12-inch LTE model, which has an Intel Core i5 processor (seventh-generation, Kaby Lake), 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. For this price, I’d have expected more RAM and storage, but I appreciate the built-in connectivity. (The Wi-Fi-only Book 12 can be equipped with more RAM and storage, but only one option is available for the LTE version.)
THE BEST PART OF THE BOOK 12 IS ITS DISPLAY
As with most Samsung devices, the best part of the Book is its display. The 12-inch model has a HDR-capable Super AMOLED touchscreen that’s sharp and vibrant with good contrast and lovely black levels. It’s a 3:2 aspect ratio with 2160 x 1440 pixels, which make it better suited for doing work in a landscape orientation than reading in portrait mode. I don’t really have any complaints with the display, other than the brightness adjustment goes from fully bright to unreadably dim in just a few steps. I ended up using it a notch or two higher than the default setting most of the time as a result. There’s also Samsung’s comically dated spinning 3D text screensaver that kicks in after just a few minutes and can’t be disabled.
The included keyboard acts as an input method, stand, and case for the tablet. The full-size, plastic, chiclet keys are closer to a standard laptop keyboard than Apple’s fabric-covered Smart Keyboard or the Surface’s slimmer design. It attaches to the tablet via pogo pins, so there’s no pairing necessary, and the keyboard doesn’t ever need to be charged.
It’s clear that Samsung designed the Book with the idea that it would always live in this case, as it’s too big and cumbersome to really use as a dedicated tablet most of the time. Fortunately, the keys are surprisingly nice to type on, with good travel, spacing, and feedback; they even come with a backlight. The trackpad is also responsive and easy to use — it supports Microsoft’s Precision drivers, so scrolling and multitouch gestures work quite well.
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