The appeal of Microsoft’s Surface Pro laptop-meets-tablet hybrid may not have yet won mass appeal but it has set the bar for what a Windows 10 2-in-1 should be.
An pseudo evolution from Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Pro S, the South Korean tech giant’s Galaxy Book has its sights firmly aimed at knocking the Surface Pro off the top of the Windows 10 hybrid pile.
But that is a lofty goal, so a closer look is needed to see if the Galaxy Book can steal thunder from Redmond’s camp.
Rounded edges that make the tablet comfortable to hold in landscape mode, but a grove at the bottom edge of the device designed for attaching the keyboard doc is not so nice presenting an uncomfortable edge to hold onto when using the tablet in portrait.
Despite making use of plastic the tablet felt solid but also surprisingly weighty, ranging between 635g to 771g; you can still hold the tablet in one hand but it’s not likely to be comfortable to do so for too long.
The 12in Galaxy Book sports a brace of USB-C ports, a microSD card reader and 3.5mm headphone jack, with a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front facing camera.
Overall, I feel that the Galaxy Book’s design is very much tablet lead, rather than having the more ‘hybrid’ feel and look of the Surface Pro.
For a device looking at being the best of both worlds, I’m not sure the Galaxy Book’s design is quite up to scratch when compared to the magnesium alloy and eye-catching chassis of Microsoft’s hybrid.
The 10.6in model sports a Full HD TFT display, while the larger model has a 2160×1440 super AMOLED display. Having seen both in action, there is no doubt that the larger higher resolution display is the winner, offering vibrant colours and deep contrast that’s expected from such display technology.
However, even with inferior panel technology,y the 10.6in model puts in a a solid performance with accurate colours and good levels of brightness and contrast. It can match the vibrancy of its larger sibling but it’s by no means a bad display.
Viewing text on the smaller screen at 1080p resolution is crisp if not as sharp as say the Surface Pro’s PixelSense display. But scrolling through web pages and watching YouTube videos is a pleasant experience.
There’s also no high dynamic range (HDR) or high refresh tech on offer with the 10.6in tablet, though given it undercuts the entry level Surface Pro by around £100, that’s to be expected.
Given the choice, I would prefer the larger higher resolution display of the 12in Galaxy Book, but if budgets are tight the smaller model’s display is still worthy.
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Complete review well done, as the 10.6 is not reviewed often. I don't think the comparison to the surface pro is accurate because of the different screen size. More apt comparison would be surface 3 non pro or any hybrid under 11 inches.