Samsung launches Galaxy Book5 Pro without truly professional specifications

Samsung launches Galaxy Book5 Pro without truly professional specifications

Samsung is introducing two new laptops: the Galaxy Book5 Pro and the Book5 360. To no one’s surprise, this manufacturer is also marketing its devices as AI PCs. Despite the Pro label, a professional approach is missing.

Samsung is launching two new laptops: Galaxy Book5 Pro and Galaxy Book5 360. Actually, Samsung announced those devices back in September, but on the fringes of CES, the Korean company finds it interesting to redo the launch without too much additional information, except for a recommended retail price.

All devices are still built around Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors. Like all other laptops with those chips, with equivalents from AMD or even with ARM CPUs from Qualcomm, these devices also have an NPU on board that can accelerate (rare) AI workloads. Samsung is trying to stand out from the crowd by adding some of its own AI capabilities to the devices.

AI applications

For example, there is AI Select. That’s essentially the Windows version of Circle To Search for Android, where you can select an area on your screen, after which relevant search results appear. To what extent this solution effectively uses the NPU is not entirely clear. The added value of local processing is small anyway, since this is an online search.

Photo Remaster can update bad photos, according to Samsung. The tool does use local AI computing power. That’s handy because then you don’t have to share the photos with the cloud. The feature sounds nice, but still feels more like a gimmick than a professional tool. Otherwise, these Galaxy Book5 laptops are compatible with the same AI functionality as all other Windows laptops.

Not So Pro

As for the laptops, Samsung provides several variants. The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 has a 16-inch screen diagonal (16:10, OLED, 2,880 x 1,800 pixels) and weighs 1.56 kg. Despite the Pro label, Samsung somewhat misleadingly ships this device with Windows 11 Home. Inside, you can opt for an Intel Core Ultra 5 or Ultra 7 processor. As for memory, Samsung provides configurations with 16 GB and 32 GB of RAM. Storage amounts to 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB.

The webcam does have very sparse specifications, with an image sensor of barely 2 MP. Again, that’s not too much for a device marketed as a “Pro. HP, for example, does a lot better at a lower price tag with 5 MP as the standard sensor. The battery does promise solid endurance, with a capacity of 76.7 Wh. Charging is via USB Type-C at 65 watts.

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro will be available in the Benelux from this month for 2,099 euros including VAT. That’s not minus, which makes the low webcam resolution and Windows 11 Home immediately (theoretically) emerge as downsides anyway.

Other devices

The Galaxy Book5 360 is also said to be coming to our market soon. That device has slightly more modest specifications. For example, the screen has a diagonal of 15.6 inches and a classic 16:9 aspect ratio that is ideal for media consumption. The resolution is limited to Full HD. The interior, however, is similar. This laptop will cost 1,599 euros including VAT.

Finally, there are the Galaxy Book5 Pro 16-inch and 14-inch, with easy-to-guess screen diagonals, respectively. These more classic clamshell laptops both have a 16:10 screen ratio and again share similar internals. The devices carry a suggested retail price of 2,099 euros and 1,899 euros including VAT, but availability in Belgium is unclear at the moment.