Samsung Unveils Galaxy Book2: 12-Inch, Snapdragon 850 with X20 LTE, 20 Hrs
by Anton Shilov on October 18, 2018 11:00 AM EST
Samsung today has introduced the Galaxy Book2, its newest attempt to create an always on, always connected convertible PC. For the new 2-in-1 notebook, Samsung opted to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 supercharged mobile SoC and rates the battery life of the device to 20 hours. Like the rest of the Windows-on-Snapdragon systems, the Galaxy Book2 runs Windows 10 S. Meanwhile, unlike the original model, the Galaxy Book2 will be offered in only one configuration (at least initially).
The Samsung Galaxy Book2 detachable notebook comes with a 12-inch sAMOLED display featuring a 2160×1440 resolution and a 3:2 aspect ratio. The device is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 SoC (four Kryo 385 cores at 2.96 GHz, four Kryo 385 cores at 1.7 GHz, Adreno 630 GPU) which is accompanied by 4 GB of DRAM, and 128 GB of NAND flash storage. The system’s wireless connectivity includes Snapdragon X20 LTE modem (Cat 18, 5CA, 4x4 MIMO, up to 1.2 Gbps DL, up to 150 Mbps UL and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.
On the wired side of things, the Galaxy Book2 is outfitted with two USB Type-C connectors, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5-mm TRRS audio header. When it comes to imaging, the convertible PC uses an 8 MP rear camera, and a 5 MP front-facing sensor. As for audio, the system has a built-in microphone as well as Dolby Atmos-badged stereo speakers. Since the Galaxy Book2 is a convertible machine, it has the same set of sensors as tablets, including an accelerometer, a gyro, a light sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor. In addition, the system has a fingerprint reader for a biometric authentication.
The first-generation Galaxy Book used Intel’s dual-core 7th Gen Core m3 and Core i5 “Kaby Lake” processors along with a standalone LTE Cat 6 modem (up to 300 Mbps DL). The switch to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 boosts both LTE performance and battery life of the laptop. Furthermore, without disclosing capacity of the battery it uses, Samsung rates Galaxy Book2 for up to 20 hours of autonomous work, up from 10 hours in case of the previous-gen convertible. It should be noted that the 256 GB SKU from the previous gen has not carried over.
Moving on to portability of the Galaxy Book2. Samsung claims that the system is 7.62 mm thick (0.3 inch) and weighs 840 grams (1.85 lbs), but does not elaborate whether it mentions the tablet itself, or the tablet with the keyboard.
| Specifications of the Galaxy Book2 | ||
| Model 12-e011nr | ||
| Display | 12-inch, 2160×1440 216 PPI |
|
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 4 x Kryo 385 at 2.96 GHz 4 x Kryo 385 at 1.7 GHz |
|
| Graphics | Adreno 630 GB | |
| RAM | 4 GB | |
| Storage | 128 GB | |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi | |
| Bluetooth | ? | |
| WWAN | Qualcomm X20 Gigabit LTE Cat 18, 5CA, 4x4 MIMO, up to 1.2 Gbps DL, up to 150 Mbps UL |
|
| USB | 3.0 | 2 × Type-C |
| Cameras | Front | 5 MP |
| Rear | 8 MP | |
| Other I/O | Microphone, stereo speakers, audio jack, trackpad, MicroSD card reader, etc. | |
| Battery | ? Wh | |
| Battery Life | 20 hours | |
| Dimensions | Width | 287.5 mm | 11.32" |
| Height | 200.4 mm | 7.89" | |
| Thickness | 7.62 mm | 0.3” (?) | |
| Weight | Tablet | 839 grams | 1.85 lbs (?) |
| Tablet+KB | 839 grams | 1.85 lbs (?) | |
| Price | $1000 with keyboard and stylus | |
Samsung’s Galaxy Book2 will be available online from Samsung, Microsoft, and AT&T, for $1000 starting November 2. Later in November the product will be available in retail from AT&T, Spring, and Verizon. While the price of the convertible laptop does not seem particularly cheap, it should be noted that the Galaxy Book2 bundles both the keyboard and stylus, rather than being sold separately (for up to $250 on competing products).
Related Reading
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- Lenovo’s Miix 630 Snapdragon 835-Based 2-in-1 Now Available
- Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 850: A Second Generation For Windows
- HP’s Snapdragon 835-Based Envy X2 2-in-1 Available for Pre-Order, Starts at $999
- Lenovo Unveils Miix 630 2-in-1: Windows 10 S, Snapdragon 835, Gigabit LTE, 20 Hrs
- ASUS Announces the NovaGo (TP370): A Snapdragon 835 based Windows 10 PC
- Microsoft Launches Windows 10 On ARM: Always Connected PCs
- Microsoft and Qualcomm Collaborate to Bring Windows 10 & x86 Emulation to Snapdragon Processors
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haukionkannel - Saturday, October 20, 2018 - link
True, but this has better screen and keyboard and so on compared to $250 chromebook. $1500 pixelbook is very different device compared to normal $250 Chromebook even if They chare the same os. And even those web based Office tools can be better with beefier hardware.10101010 - Friday, October 19, 2018 - link
Overpriced garbage like this device competes with nothing. No one wants a Qualcomm chip and not many want to run a crippled version of the bloated spyware Microsoft calls Windows. It's plain to see that Microsoft is out of ideas, out of vision.Tams80 - Monday, October 22, 2018 - link
There is a niche for it, but it really isn't that big.It's too expensive for most to check emails and work on documents. It's not powerful enough for basic engineering, video editing or complex art programs to run.
HStewart - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
Is this real, Samsung site has nothing about it - if so this is probably the low end version of - but to be honest Samsung seriously needs to drop the price on this device.. Around $600.HStewart - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
It would be really stupid if Samsung only has a this version of book, it is sure way to kill a product line.PaoDeTech - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
I use the keyboard to type in the weather app all the time!jhoff80 - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
Probably not interested anyway, but out of curiosity, does this support T-Mobile LTE bands, since it's only mentioned as being sold on the other carriers?Dragonstongue - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
1000 bucks for "those specs" blekk, especially when a "neutered" windows 10 (which itself is blekk IMO)on another point of personal contention I WISH these makers that use the "new" style of Big.little core design would have the little cores run at much lower speed, in this case instead of 4 at 1.7Ghz, why not 4 at 700Mhz instead to conserve as much battery life as possible (when not need the performance)
just throwing out there, my "old" phenom II I can "downclock" all cores to 800mhz and run at like 0.435v, if an anything but "optimized" for low voltage x85 cpu can do this, why can an "smartphone" chip not be doing this as well.
4 cores at high speed and 4 cores at very low speed (within reason) like if at 2.96 chop in 1/2 gives you 1.48Ghz which is still "plenty" seeing as many phones shipped with similar "speed" or less for many many years and worked "perfectly fine", hell even at 600-400Mhz should be "good enough" for "simple things" such as calculator, listen to music and the like, especially when they all seem to use smallest battery they possibly can to make them "thin as possible"
anyways....very stupid thing here, decent enough specs no doubt, but, hamstrung in quite a few ways for a bleck chunk of change IMO
Wilco1 - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
Only the maximum frequency is listed as usual, it would be boring to list the minimum frequency of 0MHz. Both the little and big cores will run at lower speeds with reduced voltage to reduce power further (note the little cores are different from the big cores and both slower and more efficient at the same frequency). This has been the case for many years, why on earth do you believe no smartphone does this today???Xex360 - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
Too expensive for what it is, not a real processor, you can get the new surface pro which is way better.