Samsung has a new Microsoft Surface competitor called the Galaxy Book 12. While last year's attempt on the TabPro S wasn't the wild hit Samsung had hoped for it to be, this year's model could prove opposite.
The Galaxy Book 12 improves upon the Microsoft Surface Pro, while also fixing some of the TabPro S's woes, including its uneven performance. At the same time, however, the Galaxy Book 12 has its own share of problems, ones which might hamper it from beating the Surface Pro at its own game.
Here's what critics are saying about Samsung's new 2-in-1 Surface Pro "killer."
Samsung Galaxy Book 12: Specs At A Glance
First, let's get the specs out of the way. The Galaxy Book 12 packs in a seventh-generation Intel Core i5 Kaby Lake processor, with up to 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of SSD storage, which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD slot. It also has a 5-megapixel front camera and a 13-megapixel rear camera with autofocus.
Samsung Galaxy Book 12: The Display
Notably, the device sports a 12-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,166 x 1,440. It's not every day you find a laptop equipped with a Super AMOLED display. With Samsung being the de facto leader in AMOLED technology, it's easy to imagine for anyone who uses the Galaxy Book to be utterly mesmerized, possibly even dumbfounded at the stark visual oomph it has over LCDs. Couple that with a high-resolution screen is just stunning.
"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," The Verge notes in its review of the 2-in-1.
"[The Galaxy Book 12's] colors are richer and more striking than the traditional LCD screen used on the Surface Pro 4 and most other tablets," says Computerworld.
For all its eye candy, pixel degradation is, of course, one issue that shouldn't be ignored.
After playing around with the laptop for a good while, "[T]he pixels in OLED panels degrade over time. Areas of the screen that are brightly lit grow dimmer more quickly than areas of the screen that stay dark," Ars Technica notes.
Samsung Galaxy Book 12: The 2-In-1 Experience
Using the device on a regular stable surface, Engadget found the keyboard to work as any typical laptop keyboard out there, meaning it's not too impressive, but not disappointing, either. When placed on a lap or any unstable surface, however, renders different results:
"As with most convertibles, it just isn't the most comfortable experience," says Engadget. "The top-heavy tablet and limited angles of the keyboard stand simply make it unpleasant to use. But, more crucially, the keyboard cover flexes like crazy when the Galaxy Book is perched on your lap."
"It makes the whole experience feel cheap and imprecise, and it's a bit of a letdown that Samsung didn't use something with a bit less flex."
The Verge highlights the same complaint:
"[I]t's stable if you're using the Book on a table or desk. It's a completely different story on my lap, where the keyboard case is floppy and extremely awkward."
Samsung Galaxy Book 12: Performance
In terms of performance, the consensus seems to be that the Galaxy Book 12 is an excellent 2-in-1 device, which is easy to grasp especially when considering it comes with a Kaby Lake processor right off that bat.
"Aside from some tab refreshes, the Galaxy Book has handled my typical daily workflow well. I've been running Slack, Twitter, Todoist, Word, Mail and several Chrome windows (one of which is playing tunes constantly through Google Play Music) without incident," says Engadget.
"I've been using ]The Galaxy Book 12] as my main work computer for the past week and I've had zero performance issues... I can switch between apps and virtual desktops with ease and apps and programs launch quickly. " says The Verge.
"The Galaxy Book [12] performed just as well as similar Kaby Lake systems in all of our benchmark tests, and it performed a little better than Skylake devices like Microsoft's Surface Pro 4. However, it did get noticeably warm with consistent use," says Ars Technica.
Samsung Galaxy Book 12: Final Thoughts
It appears that despite the Galaxy Book 12's many merits, it's ultimately bogged by an underwhelming 2-in-1 experience, a steep price point, lack of biometric options, and a potentially lackluster battery life. On its own, however, it's still a pretty good machine. That said, "good," often isn't enough in the field it's trying to win at.
"The PC market marches on, but this one merely stumbles," as The Verge sums it up.
For a list of the best 2-in-1 devices, check out our article.
