Review of Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360. Following its return to the laptop market in 2020, Samsung is truly getting back in the game. It provided incredibly light notebooks with the Galaxy Book 2 Pro and Galaxy Book 2 360 from a year ago, but they fell short on a few crucial requirements.
Samsung is increasing its spec levels for the class of 2023. Yes, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 is a portable laptop/tablet that is very lightweight and has a remarkably flexible display hinge.
Review of Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360:
However, it also features 13th-generation Intel Core processors, a 120Hz 3K 16-inch AMOLED panel, and an S Pen stylus as standard equipment.
All of this suggests that Samsung may have created an all-around champion who can be most things to most people if not all things to all people.
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Design & Build:
- 12.8mm
- From 1.66kg
- Aluminum build
The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 measures 12.8mm thick, which is slightly less appealingly thin than the 11.9mm Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 from the previous year. The reward is that it feels quite solid. It seems like a “normal” laptop even though the main design element is that you can turn the display straight around from a closed position to being back-to-back with the keyboard.
Speaking of the hinge, it’s another ingenious design from a business that has become an expert in this field thanks to its range of laptops and foldable phones. This year’s model reportedly has increased durability, which would clearly require months or years to evaluate instead of a few weeks. However, as I previously stated, Its ability to mimic a typical laptop is a tribute to Samsung’s work.
The one-thumb test is not passed by this hinge, thus I had to use the other hand to steady the chassis while it was opening in order to prevent it from sliding over the back of my desk. However, given the 360-degree accomplishments, it is capable of, I’m inclined to give Samsung a pass – particularly in light of the fact that many high-end non-convertible laptops also fall short of the test.
To be clear, even when completely opened, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 screen leaves a small space between it and the keyboard, which is maintained by either the S Pen’s slack attachment to the rubber feet or by the rubber feet themselves. But even when used as a large tablet, it still has a solid feel about it. Additionally, the hinge provides adequate resistance when propped at a 135-degree angle, however any flatter and you risk falling.
It’s noticeably light for a full-sized laptop at 1.66kg for the Wi-Fi-only model (which I tested) and 1.71kg for the 5G model. Few laptops are as lightweight as the 1.16kg non-convertible Galaxy Book 2 Pro, but it isn’t even close. You won’t be using the galaxy book 3 pro 360 like an iPad when it is fully spread out, at least not for very long, because it is also rather heavy for a tablet.
Both the Graphite and Beige versions of the Book 3 Pro 360 are made of high-quality aluminum. The latter hue may not sound all that enticing, but if you dislike having greasy fingerprints all over your technology, it might be something to think about. A few days after handling this Graphite model for several days, I noticed a grease stain that appeared to be there forever.
In comparison to its thin competitors, the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 has more connectivity options, starting with two USB-C ports on the left side (at least give us one on each, Samsung). But at least they have full Thunderbolt 4 ports.
The only other ports are a single USB-A port, an HDMI port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD slot (a standard SD slot would have been more useful). It’s a good option for a 2-in-1, but not so good for a 16-inch laptop on the market as a whole.
Additionally, there is a 1080p webcam directly above that monitor, which is always welcome.
Screen & Speakers:
- 16in AMOLED
- 120Hz
- 3K resolution
Samsung has been accustomed to providing OLED panels on its laptops. A 120Hz refresh rate is something we’re not used to, and it’s perhaps this generation’s largest contribution.
By default, it is configured to scale dynamically between 60 and 120 Hz, but when set to 120 Hz solely, scrolling is silky smooth. The option is most nice when you’re plugged into the mains, but it will have a significant negative impact on your battery life, as I’ll explain later.
Although the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 display’s refresh rate is the most striking feature, it’s not the only item that makes an impression. With a 16:10 aspect ratio, this huge 16-inch panel offers a sizable canvas for everything from image processing to drawing.
With a 2880 x 1800 or 3K resolution, it is also incredibly sharp, which is a significant upgrade from the 1080p Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360.
Because this is an AMOLED panel, you can anticipate intense blacks and bright colors that explode. In the default Auto color profile, I measured a gamut coverage of 99.9% sRGB, 95.3% Adobe RGB, and 99.4% DCI P3, which is very high and sufficient for the majority of creative work.
This laptop isn’t the one to acquire if you’re intending on working outside a lot in the summer because its maximum brightness of 358 nits isn’t anything to get excited about. However, it’s perfect for indoor use.
There is an AKG-tuned quad-speaker system with two 5W woofers and two 2W tweeters, as well as Dolby Atmos capability, for sound output. Although it has more audio capabilities than many laptops, the sound is clean and clear but lacks the bass and deep spaciousness of a MacBook Pro. As a result, I didn’t feel tempted to listen to any music on it without first connecting a pair of headphones.
Keyboard, Trackpad & S Pen:
- Limited travel chiclet keyboard
- Large but off-center trackpad
- Bundled S Pen stylus
The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 has a full-sized keyboard with a numerical pad and clearly marked arrow keys, making typing on it a very accomplished experience. It’s off to a beautiful start.
Regarding the keys themselves, these chiclet keys aren’t the greatest in the industry due to their limited level of travel. My MacBook Pro and the Dell XPS 13 Plus, a non-chiclet, offer a superior typing experience that results in fewer mistakes. Even for a 2-in-1, it’s still a respectable provision.
In addition, the physical power button in the upper right corner has a respectable fingerprint sensor that, in my experience with the laptop, worked flawlessly.
However, I’m not fully satisfied with the trackpad on Book 3. Although it is sufficiently large, the fact that it is somewhat offset from the center made it difficult for me to distinguish between left and right clicks. It’s technically in line with the QWERTY keyboard (blame that asymmetrical numerical pad), and I’m sure I could get used to it given more time, but it’s not a completely comfortable experience right out of the box.
Mechanically speaking, the trackpad only provides physical feedback rather than haptic in the lower portion. Additionally, while the touchpad is quick enough for broad-stroke navigation in general, I found it to be a little sluggish when conducting more sensitive tasks like trying to control the position of a cursor in a document precisely. I was relieved to hook up my mouse.
Overall, it falls far short of the subtle beauty of a MacBook touchpad, which is the standard by which Samsung should be evaluated given its legacy and cost.
The S Pen stylus, which is included with every Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, is where Samsung really shines on the input front. When not in use, it stores on the laptop’s lid using magnets, which isn’t the most secure fitting when you’re on the go.
Specs & Performance:
- 13th-gen Intel chips
- No discrete GPU option
- Up to 1TB of storage
A 13th-generation Intel Core CPU powers the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360. The standard model comes with an i5-1340P and 8GB of RAM, but my test model has an i7-1360P and 16GB of RAM.
No, it cannot compete with the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra’s power, but few laptops available today can.
Using the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 for routine business duties was trouble-free for me. It breezed effortlessly through several Chrome tabs, emails, 4K video streaming, and more. The fans were only occasionally audible to me, and when they were, they weren’t very loud.
Since it lacks the discrete GPU options of the Ultra model, it goes without saying that this is not a gaming laptop. Anything remotely new won’t perform optimally, however older 3D games like Portal 2 work quite great. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order ran smoothly on the default Medium settings, although there were a lot of pauses and stutters while different cinematic components were loaded.
The top-tier Book 3 Pro 360 beats over the Dell XPS Plus 13 and the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro with their 12th generation Intel Core i7 CPUs in the CPU-focused Geekbench 5 multi-core test. It also competes with the MacBook Air M2, however, the MacBook Pro M2 Pro destroys it as expected.
Battery Life & Charging:
- 76Wh battery
- 65W charger
The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 has a battery capacity of 76Wh, which is in line with what we’ve come to expect from a contemporary Windows 11 laptop. To put it another way, not terrible, but still not nearly adequate for a whole workday, and certainly nothing to bother an Apple silicon MacBook.
I discovered that the Book 3 Pro 360 would display the critical battery warning (at around 6%) after 7 hours of use, including a lunch break, under light work conditions that mainly involved Chrome-based browsing and Google Doc usage, a few YouTube videos, and regular email and Slack usage.
With the screen brightness set to a rather low 120 nits, our standard looping 720p video test ran for 14 hours and 26 minutes before shutting down. Although that is somewhat less than the LG Gramme 16 and significantly less than the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360 (not to mention those MacBooks), it is still far from the worst outcome we have seen.
When it’s time to recharge, Samsung includes its customary 65W brick. From a powered-down state, I measured the charging rate throughout the first 30 minutes at 37%. Although it isn’t as quick as the Galaxy Book 2 360, that speed is approximately right for the laptop’s size and specifications. It will take just about 1 hour and 45 minutes to charge fully.
In conclusion, this is arguably the key factor keeping the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 from reaching its full potential. Samsung would be in serious business if they were able to design a 2-in-1 that could consistently last a whole workday on a single charge.
software & Apps:
- Windows 11 Pro
- Galaxy Book Experience
Samsung doesn’t mess with the Windows 11 software on its laptops half as much as it tinkers with its smartphones, but you still get a little Samsung bloat.
Samsung Notes, which combines a typical note-taking app with S Pen integration, is one of the most helpful apps. It can also faithfully convert handwritten notes to digital text, which seems almost mystical and is also actually quite helpful. Samsung Noteshelf adds features like automatic shape creation, which puts even more emphasis on using Samsung’s excellent stylus.
Other features include Quick Search, Quick Share, Bixby, and Samsung Gallery, all of which, depending on how committed you are to the larger Samsung ecosystem, are varied degrees of inessential.
There are links to download Adobe Lightroom and Clip Studio Paint among the third-party preinstalled programs, which makes sense given that the device also comes with an S Pen stylus and an exquisite AMOLED display. This is a pretty useful tool for aspiring painters.
Price & Availability:
For the UK market, the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 is offered in a variety of configurations, all of which are available directly from Samsung. The entry-level model, which comes with an i5 processor from the 13th generation, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and Wi-Fi only, costs £1,549.
For an additional £1,849, you can upgrade to a machine with a 13th generation i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, which is what was tested here. For £2,049, you can get a maximum of 1TB of storage.
The standard specification plus mobile network access are included with the 5G option, which costs £1,999. I’m not clear why there isn’t a top-spec version with 5G connectivity that is priceless.
Additionally, to stores like Amazon, AO, Currys, and John Lewis, you can get it via Samsung.
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With an i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage, Samsung offers just one configuration in the US for $1,899.99. The 512GB model is available at BestBuy for $1,699.99, though.
Specs:
- Model tested:
- Windows 11 Pro
- 16in 3K AMOLED display (16:10 aspect ratio, 2880 x 1800, 120Hz)
- Intel Core i7–1360P
- Intel Iris Xe graphics
- 16GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 512GB SSD
- Full-size keyboard with backlighting
- 1080p FHD Camera
- Quad speakers (2 x 5W, 2 x 2W)
- Fingerprint power button
- 1x HDMI
- 2x Thunderbolt 4
- 1x USB 3.2
- MicroSD Multi-media Card Reader
- 3.5mm jack
- 76 Wh battery
- 65W charger
- Wi-Fi 6E
- Bluetooth 5.1
- 355.4 x 252.2 x 12.8mm
- 1.66kg
