Hands On With the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra: A Fresh Rival for the MacBook Pro

Watch out, MacBook Pro: Samsung just announced several new Galaxy Book laptops alongside its new Galaxy phones, headlined by the Galaxy Book3 Ultra (starting at $2,399.99).

Entering its third generation, Samsung showed off the Book3 Pro and Book3 Pro 360 alongside the Book3 Ultra. The headlining Galaxy Book3 Ultra is a new, powerful device aimed at creators, with the latest parts from Intel and Nvidia and a gorgeous display.

I was able to see the devices in person prior to their announcement, where the Book3 Ultra proved to stand out above the rest, aimed squarely at products like the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Read on for our hands-on of this premium creator laptop and details on the other Book3 laptops.

The Galaxy Book for Professional Creators

While mobility is still the chief selling point, the Galaxy Book line has always offered some potent and performant laptop options. The Book2 Pro 360 we reviewed most recently is a peppy system, but still not a performance-first option at 15 inches. The Ultra doubles down on that effort, ditching the 2-in-1 laptop design for a MacBook Pro-like experience with its size and components.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

To start, the Book3 Ultra is a 16-inch laptop, immediately trending toward that desktop replacement system tier. The panel is a roomy AMOLED display in a 16:10 aspect ratio, with a super-sharp 3K resolution (2,880 by 1,800 pixels). It also boasts a 120Hz refresh rate—useful for a variety of visual workloads as well as gaming—and is DisplayHDR True Black 500 certified.

In person, the screen looks truly crisp and bright—it’s rated for 400 nits, and I don’t think dimness will be an issue. Also like a MacBook, it’s a non-touch display. There’s no converting, folding, or tapping this device’s screen, so touch-first or stylus-wielding users and artists will have to look elsewhere for that purpose. That said, it comes off as a quality-built, traditional-style laptop at first blush.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Samsung's expected Galaxy portability is still present despite the size, measuring 0.64 by 13.9 by 9.8 inches (HWD) and weighing 3.9 pounds. It is certainly slim, and the footprint is manageable, though the weight may catch your eye on paper. It leaves the ultraportable range at that point, which is generally three pounds and under, but it’s actually still nearly a pound less than the 4.8-pound, 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Of course, true portability is a tough ask from a 16-inch machine, though it's still plenty easy to tuck this Galaxy Book under your arm or stuff it in most bags. The larger chassis does allow for plenty of ports, including two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, a USB-A port, an HDMI connection, a microSD slot, and a headphone jack. It charges via USB-C (a 100-watt charger is included), as do the rest of the new Galaxy Books.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

The build quality is also impressive despite those weight savings, with an all-aluminum frame that feels high quality, even if it doesn’t quite hit that MacBook-grade premium feel. I could find little chassis flex, and the keyboard to be mostly comfortable; you could accuse it of being a touch shallow, but it doesn’t ruin the experience. The touchpad, meanwhile, is massive. It may just be the largest I’ve used on a laptop, giving you more than enough room to pan and scroll with abandon.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

The Book3 Ultra comes only in the graphite color and will start at $2,399.99. The components are a big part of both that price tag and living up to the needs of pro creators, so let’s take a closer look at what the system packs inside.

Component Check: Going All-Out With Intel Core i9 and RTX 40 Series Graphics

As far as the internals are concerned, Samsung’s component selections make sense for pitching this device toward that professional crowd, and help make sense of the cost. The Book3 Ultra will come with Intel’s 13th Generation processors, in either Core i7 or Core i9 form, as well as Nvidia’s latest GeForce RTX mobile chips, the RTX 40 Series.

The latter processor option is the Core i9-13900H, which should be a blistering fast chip for media workloads that demand maximum mobile performance. The Core i9 series is Intel’s many-threaded solution (14 cores and 20 threads in this case) in each generation for the most demanding users—the average user doesn’t need this much speed for everyday tasks. We haven’t yet tested the 13th Generation laptop chips, but they show extremely capable performance on desktops, and our first preview of their speed on laptops is very promising.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Virtually all editing and creative workloads need processing power, but there’s another subset reliant on graphics performance. Some slim systems forgo a dedicated GPU, but the Book3 Ultra can come with either an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 or RTX 4070 GPU. As with the Intel CPUs, we haven’t yet been able to test the RTX 40 Series GPUs yet, but can draw reasonably sound conclusions based on the usual Nvidia hierarchy.

The RTX 4050 should be an effective entry-level option, if the 30 Series and the RTX 3050 are anything to go by. This isn’t a powerhouse, but should provide significantly more power than integrated graphics—that gulf has still not closed much. The RTX 4070, meanwhile, sits toward the top of the stack in Nvidia’s newest generation, and it should provide more than enough graphics power for most professionals. It’s also in line to be a top gaming GPU, if you’d like to play after work.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Alongside those core components, the Book3 Ultra comes with 16GB or 32GB of memory and a 512GB SSD or a 1TB SSD. Exact configuration options aren’t clear at this time and will likely vary by region. It may be the case that you can’t mix and match either GPU and CPU, and have to opt for the higher or lower option as a bundle (i.e., the Core i7 system is tied to the RTX 4050).

All told, this machine comes off like a viable MacBook Pro alternative—price included. Most shoppers simply don’t need a machine this expensive or potent, but Samsung has clearly aimed it at creative professionals with demanding workloads. Editors, artists, animators, and similar professionals should look to this machine. For everyone else, there are the new, less expensive options…

Books of a Different Cover: The Galaxy Book3 Pro and Book3 Pro 360

The other two systems Samsung announced recently are more mainstream affairs, though this product line maintains premium price points throughout. The Book3 Pro starts at $1,449.99, and the Book3 Pro 360 is at $1,899.99 to start.

The 14-inch Galaxy Book3 Pro
(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro

Also billed as a traditional clamshell laptop, Samsung's Book3 Pro comes in both 14- and 16-inch sizes, available in graphite and beige color options. This laptop bears the same aluminum chassis as the Ultra, but (particularly the 14-inch) it’s much lighter. The smaller model weighs 2.58 pounds, and the 16-inch option weighs 3.4 pounds.

As you may expect, the power is essentially a step-down version of the Ultra for more mainstream users. The 13th Gen Intel CPU options are Core i5 or Core i7 chips, and there is no dedicated GPU—just the integrated Iris Xe graphics. Samsung starts the memory at 8GB, and the storage at 256GB, but it can ramp up to 32GB or 1TB, respectively.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

The display, at least, is equally advanced, with the same AMOLED technology, resolution, refresh rate, and brightness rating as the Ultra at both screen sizes. The Book3 Pro is rounded out with Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth, and a full HD webcam. Ports are the same between the sizes: Both include two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, a USB-A port, an HDMI output, a headphone jack, and a microSD slot.

The convertible Book3 Pro 360
(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360

As the name suggests, the Book3 Pro 360 is the convertible option in the family. That means its flexible hinges can rotate the keyboard back behind the display, and as such it’s the only one with a touch screen. The 16-inch panel (no smaller option here) otherwise features the same display technology, but with touch capability and stylus compatibility. The S Pen is included, and can magnetically hang onto a strip on the lid.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Differences in the touch display and 2-in-1 designs do change the weight slightly: The Pro 360 is between the other models at 3.7 pounds. This chassis includes two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, a USB-A port, an HDMI output, a microSD slot, a headphone jack, and an optional nano SIM slot.

The component offerings are the same as the Book3 Pro: Core i5 and Core i7 options, with no dedicated GPU. All told, these two systems are quite similar, and it’s down to whether the convertible design and touch display are useful to you.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Other features that persist across all three laptop models include various synergies with Galaxy phones and tablets, including use as a second screen, transferring data, and more. Check back for a full review of these systems as they become available starting February 17—preorders are live right now.