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Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 13-inch review: An ultra-light and versatile convertible PC

In terms of build quality, Samsung succeeds with a sleek design, an anodized aluminum chassis and impeccable finishes. Please note, the hood holds a lot of fingerprints. As the name of the PC suggests, the hinges rotate 360°, allowing it to be used as a display stand or as a touchpad. A stylus (S Pen) is also included with this model, which is very nice when other brands sell theirs separately.

The S Pen in action.

Efficient and sensitive to pressure, it has the advantage of not requiring charging as it has no Bluetooth connection and consumes almost no energy. However, its functionalities are very limited and the side button is only used in drawing applications, especially to use the eraser. Magnetized, it sticks to the computer cover easily.

The PC in mode

The touchpad is very fluid, but sags a little too much at the front under pressure; as for the keyboard, it prides itself on its good responsiveness, although the finesse of the keys is a bit confusing at first. The backlight is powerful and adjustable to four levels and on the top right of the keyboard is a fingerprint reader that acts as a power button, which is very useful for quickly unlocking the computer. However, because the webcam does not have an infrared module, it cannot provide this functionality of Windows Hello.

PC keyboard with fingerprint reader.

PC keyboard with fingerprint reader.

This one films in 1080p, a good thing in theory, but the picture quality is frankly average, very noisy even when there is enough light. In the dark, the result is – as always – much worse.



In a dimly lit office.


In good lighting conditions.

On the connector side, the PC is so thin that Samsung has integrated only three USB-C ports: a Thunderbolt 4, a microSD card reader and a mini-jack connection. So it will be necessary to purchase a hub to add USB-A or HDMI in particular. The Wi-Fi is in 6E, the latest and fastest standard, and the Bluetooth in 5.1.

Connectivity is limited by the finesse of the PC.

Connectivity is limited by the finesse of the PC.

The four Phillips-head chassis screws are hidden under rubber feet. Unlike other manufacturers who glue the feet of their PCs, Samsung came up with the idea of ​​installing removable models, which are very practical to access the components. However, if the RAM is soldered, we can replace the M.2 SSD, simply covered with an adhesive, as well as the battery fixed with a few screws.

The good idea of ​​detachable feet.

The good idea of ​​detachable feet.

The ventilation occasionally blows, especially with demanding software, but remains very light: we found barely 33 dB under Cinebench. So the single fan runs quite slowly, but in combination with the thinness of the chassis, this causes the computer to heat up noticeably. Above the keyboard, the metal is raised to 44°C, while the center of the keyboard exceeds 39°C. Nothing dangerous of course, and this only applies with intensive use.

The PC gets especially warm at the top of the keyboard.

The PC gets especially warm at the top of the keyboard.

Our test model is equipped with a 1TB SSD (even if the retail version is 512GB), 16GB DDR5 RAM and the brand new Intel Core i7-1260P processor that we are testing for the first time. Clocked at 3.4GHz and 4.7GHz turbo, it features the Alder Lake generation hybrid architecture with a total of 12 cores: four performance cores and eight efficient cores.

It scored a performance rating of 91, higher than the Core i7-1165G7 found in many ultrabooks, but ultimately on par with an AMD Ryzen 5600U. More than enough for office automation and most tasks, but nothing dazzling. The chip also does not seem to express itself completely, other laptops equipped with the same processor are, for example, 18% faster – we are thinking in particular of the Asus ZenBook Oled 14.

This is explained by the choice of a rather limited thermal envelope (TDP) in the present case: if it is 28 W, we notice that during long treatments (more than 28 s) the TDP is limited to only 20 W, which is at the Asus not the case. Samsung has therefore deliberately limited the processor so that it does not heat up too much, which is understandable in a particularly thin chassis. An assumed choice.

We also tested the SSD, which achieved 2.3 GB/s sequential read and 1.2 GB/s write. Nothing great. Finally something about the capabilities of the iGPU: it allowed us to play Diablo III graphics on “high” at 26 fps and at overwatch set to low quality at 37 fps. Something to have fun with old titles or indie games that aren’t very greedy, but not much more.

We’ve rarely seen a computer so thin (barely 11.5mm) and so light. The 1.04kg is barely noticeable in a backpack, and the charger doesn’t really weigh in on the charger: at 163g on the scales, it’s also one of the lightest and most compact blocks we’ve had a chance to test. From this point of view, the PC is a model of compactness for those who have to carry their computer regularly.

The charger is particularly compact.

The charger is particularly compact.

Demand autonomy, it lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes when playing video on Netflix, screen set to 200 cd / m2, headphones connected and volume at 50%, Bluetooth deactivated. This result is a bit disappointing for a 13.3-inch model, the flaw of a battery of only 63 Wh (probably to save space in the chassis) and the increased consumption of the 12th generation Intel processors.

Strengths

  • Neat finishes.

  • Versatility of the 2-in-1 format.

  • Ultra-compact and lightweight.

  • OLED panel.

  • Small charger.

  • Quiet.

  • Stylus provided.

Weak points

  • Processor performance reduced.

  • Plate sensitive to reflections.

  • Heating at the top of the keyboard.

  • Average autonomy.

Conclusion

we tested, we liked it

How does the assessment work?

With its Galaxy Book2 Pro 360, Samsung returns to the laptop market with a bang. This 13-inch version that converts into a tablet is a model of lightness and versatility, even if the performance isn’t quite there. The S Pen stylus is included and we appreciate the PC’s well-calibrated OLED display, but its somewhat weak autonomy means it misses the top step of the podium. The computer will therefore please mobile users, but not necessarily those who need high performance.

subnotes

  • Build

  • Performance

  • Screen

  • audio

  • Mobility / Autonomy

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