Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra review: Should Windows users consider anything else?

Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra

advantages and disadvantages

Advantage

• Large OLED touch screen
• High-performance laptop with discrete GPU
• Excellent battery life and efficiency
• Useful Samsung features (if you can use them)

Defect

• Large physical touchpad leads to wrong inputs
• The amount of bloatware/ads is notable for the price

ZDNET Buying Tips

At the end of the spring laptop release, Samsung’s Galaxy Book 4 Ultra shine with one of the best displays on the market — now with touchscreen support, performance configuration options that will satisfy content creators, work users, and even gamers The performance as well as the battery life will impress everyone.

The Ultra laptop still faces the same obstacles as its predecessor, which I tested last yearincluding a large physical touchpad that sometimes doesn’t register touches or becomes too sensitive to input (I know that the duality of this touchpad is quite confusing), lacks a full-sized SD card slot full and a few too many Samsung-owned apps (read: bloatware, if you’re not a Samsung user) and ad pop-ups shouldn’t be a talking point at this price point.

You can expect to pay between $2,400 and $3,000 for the Galaxy Book 4 Ultra, which is a big ask, but the performance and hardware package you get in return justify the price. My buying advice is to wait for one of Samsung’s sales events (usually during major holidays) and take advantage of its trade-in program, which can add up to $600 off. Case in point: you can choose the highest configuration that comes with Intel Core Ultra 9, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 and 32GB RAM, for $500 off at the time of writing.

Specifications

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra

I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra as my daily driver for the past two weeks. My typical usage includes browsing the web, answering emails, writing articles like this, watching videos on YouTube and Netflix, and editing photos and videos for work and play.

Most of the time, the laptop is hooked up to an external display (meaning I try to run as many application windows and services at the same time as possible) or used in parallel with my display. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with the help of Quick Share and Second Screen. Both cross-platform features work very smoothly, although they are mainly compatible with Samsung devices and only Samsung devices.

To test performance, I ran Cinebench 2024 to score the laptop’s single, multi, and GPU scores, while also taking notes on day-to-day aspects like fan speed and volume, system temperature, and speed. frame rate drops, etc

What is the best feature of the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra?

Large OLED display, touch screen: Need I say more? When I reviewed the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra last year, I mentioned that “a display that’s both touch-enabled and glossy is a recipe for visual disaster.” With the Galaxy Book 4 Ultra, Samsung essentially said “Keep my OLED screen” and supported a 16-inch touchscreen And a new type of anti-reflective coated glass. These two features make interacting with the laptop one of the most intuitive, visually satisfying experiences I’ve tested.

Also: I tested Dell’s lowest-rated laptop and it has smart features at an accessible price

Stretching an image to remove blemishes in Photoshop is only different when you can pinch-zoom with your fingers. (Now if only Samsung could add S Pen support.) While the Galaxy Book’s new screen isn’t as anti-glare as claimed, Samsung’s screen S95D TV or Galaxy S24 Ultra, I had no problem using it next to the largest window at ZDNET’s New York office. Please note that we are located on the top floor of the building, so sunlight is the second most popular thing after inconvenient elevator rides.

Spacious keyboard with incredible sensitivity: I’m not as passionate about the keyboard as my ZDNET colleagues Cesar Cadenas, but I type enough every day to get a feel for what’s good and what’s not. That said, I rate the Galaxy Book 4 Ultra’s keyboard a 7/10; it’s spacious, has a full numeric keypad for data processing, a dedicated Copilot key for quick access to the Windows AI assistant, and gentle yet tactile feedback on each key that invites you to keep typing and typing .

One gripe with laptops is that it takes an alarming amount of time to boot up. I often found myself staring at the screen after pressing and holding the power button, only for the Samsung logo to appear just as I was about to look for the charger.

Long and lasting battery life: That’s mine perfect Separate to charging and battery life, two other aspects I really love about the Galaxy Book 4 Ultra. Other than the bulky, cheese-slice-sized charger that comes in the box, I don’t have much to complain about in terms of the laptop’s power delivery and its durability.

Also: I tested LG’s 17-inch Gram Pro and it’s the light, big-screen laptop to beat

On average, I get about 10 hours of use before needing to charge the device. That’s impressive for a 16-inch, 3K OLED laptop equipped with a discrete graphics card. When I needed to charge, the proprietary power adapter helped the Galaxy Book charge to 55% in 30 minutes.

Intel Core Ultra and discrete GPU make it all possible difference: You wouldn’t be wrong to chalk up the Galaxy Book’s improved performance to the new Intel Core Ultra 7 or 9 chip powering the device. I will do the same. When you combine the backend capabilities of Intel’s NPU with the separate Nvidia GeForce 4050/4070 GPUs that are no longer the newest on the market but are still excellent, you get a system that runs most applications and services. services smoothly, including Adobe Premiere Pro, Lightroom, and Steam gaming.

Below are Cinebench scores compared to competing laptops for reference. While the Galaxy Book 4 Ultra’s scores aren’t record-setting, they’re in line with industry standards and competitive with Apple’s flagship MacBook, which is great to see.

What I want to see in the next model

Less bloatware and ads, more features for everyone: For a laptop that costs nearly $3,000, the number of pre-installed apps, pop-up ads to download McAfee’s antivirus service, and Samsung-exclusive features detract from the experience. Advanced user experience. Such things often happen on cheaper laptops because they allow manufacturers to shave off much of their retail costs. In Samsung’s case, they will charge more for a laptop that doesn’t hesitate to sell you services that you may or may not need. That’s a no-go for me.

Also: Best laptops of 2024: Tested and reviewed by experts

Smaller tactile touchpad: If I could fix anything hardware-related it would be the trackpad. While the unusually large touchpad on the Galaxy Book 4 Ultra is useful in theory, its off-center position meant I had to frequently move the mouse or, worse, register a click when My palms are simply laid down.

The touchpad is also a physical touchpad, meaning it presses down instead of mimicking the feeling through haptic motors like above MacBook Pro And Dell XPS. As a result, when I want to click, drag, or tap something, I have to find the “sweet spot” on the touchpad to register it properly. Otherwise, pressing too close to the corners and edges will sometimes not record anything.

Final thoughts

Although it’s easy to recommend Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra As the “MacBook Pro for Samsung users,” several upgrades this year, including Intel Core Ultra chips for AI applications, a touchscreen, and improved battery life, make the laptop a a formidable choice for every Windows user. Just keep in mind that if you’re a content creator who uses full-sized SD cards to transfer photos and videos, you’ll want to choose a dongle or docking station to work with Galaxy Book. There’s also no charging port on the right side of the laptop, so you’ll have to think twice about placing it near an outlet.

Alternatives to consider

See at HPSee at LgSee at Apple