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00:00Hey guys, I'm Tom of TechJab, and I am in beautiful Barcelona where Samsung are showing
00:05off the new Galaxy Book 2 Pro and Book 2 Pro 360, with the latter giving you that spinny
00:11tablet touchscreen experience.
00:13And surprisingly for Samsung, who usually take things out of the box, this S Pen actually
00:18comes bundled with it.
00:20The problem is though, there are so many great ultra thin and light premium laptops.
00:25These Galaxy Books have their work cut out if they're going to stand out from the
00:28Dell XPS 13 Plus, or the Acer Swifts, or Suzene Books, or of course the MacBook Air,
00:34which is due a refresh soon.
00:36So what do these offer?
00:38Well building on the terrific Galaxy Books from last year, we once again have an incredibly
00:43thin and light design.
00:44I mean seriously, I'm holding the 15 inch one here one handed just flinging it about.
00:49We're talking LG Gram levels of light weightness, yet somehow without feeling as flimsy or cheap.
00:56Also the stunning AMOLED display makes a return, although this time it is now 33% brighter
01:01and certified display HDR 500.
01:05Although that 500 nits brightness is only when playing HDR content, normally it will
01:09peak at 400 nits, which is still very good, but because the screen is quite reflective,
01:14sometimes if you have bright lights around you or you are using this outside, which you
01:18may well do as these are all about portability, then it can still be a little bit tricky to
01:23see sometimes, but it is certainly a step up from last year.
01:26However, what has remained the same is this 16 by 9 aspect ratio with a relatively chunky
01:32chin at the bottom.
01:33Now I know not everyone agrees, but I much prefer a slightly taller 16 by 10 screen.
01:39And also it is just 60 hertz, there is no extra smooth 120 hertz like we get on say
01:43the Surface Pro 8.
01:45Now on the inside, we're getting new processors in the form of Intel's 12th Gen P Series,
01:50which Samsung say will actually give us a 75% boost in multi-core performance versus
01:55last year.
01:56Of course, I'm going to have to test this myself back in the studio, but these are the
02:00same chips used in the new Dell XPS 13 Plus.
02:03And also according to some early benchmarks that we're seeing, these new P Series chips
02:07can actually outperform Apple's M1, which is great until you realize the M1 has been
02:12out for the best part of two years now and we're about to get a refreshed M2.
02:17And also that's sort of a 1015 watt chip versus the 28 watt P Series from Intel.
02:22So great news that Intel is sort of finally catching up and maybe even going beyond the
02:26M1, but in the scheme of things, I think Apple is still way out ahead.
02:29But for a Windows laptop, good stuff.
02:31And that's paired with faster DDR5 RAM, up to 32 gigs of the stuff, and also up to a
02:37terabyte of storage.
02:39We also now get punchier speakers thanks to a new smart amp, as well as an upgraded 1080p
02:44webcam with a wider field of view, now 87 degrees up from 77, as well as auto framing
02:50to keep you centered.
02:52The new Galaxy Books also get Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, upgraded security features, fast
02:5865 watt charging, which will also quick charge your Galaxy phone and tablet.
03:02And of course, if you do have say a Tab S8, then you can use that as a second screen in
03:06a very similar way to Apple's sidecar with iPads and MacBooks.
03:11I'll tell you who else has been busy here at MWC though.
03:14TCL, who are very kindly sponsoring this video.
03:16They've been showing off an absolute ton of new tech, including the new TCL 30 series
03:21phones with a top of the range TCL 35G costing just 249 euros, with this fiberglass material
03:28on the back which gives it quite a classy look and also it doesn't pick up smudges
03:32or fingerprints.
03:33In fact, the whole 30 series lineup pack in huge batteries and also except for the TCL
03:38306, they all have dual or triple 50 megapixel cameras.
03:43This also caught my eye, it's the new TCL Next Paper 10S and it uses an LCD backlit
03:48screen but with multiple layers on top, giving it a matte papery e-ink aesthetic, which also
03:54reduces blue light, it minimizes reflections.
03:57It's a really unique tablet, but it's TCL's concepts that I'm really excited about.
04:03These are a pair of their new wireless AR holographic glasses.
04:08I also got to try these, the TCL Next Wear Air, which give you a huge 140 inch immersive
04:14screen right in front of your eyes.
04:17And finally, these guys.
04:19TCL are showing off every kind of flipping, folding, and even rolling devices.
04:24This is the very aptly named Fold & Roll, which I've never seen before, but the screen
04:29folds and it can roll out.
04:32TCL are also working on a new foldable concept, so stay tuned to hear more about that, but
04:36for now, click the link in the description below to check out all their latest tech.
04:41Now Samsung claim up to 21 hours of video playback on the Galaxy Books, which is about
04:46the same as last year.
04:47There's no real battery upgrade there, although the efficiency improvements with the new Intel
04:52chips may have an impact, that's something I'll have to test myself.
04:55But either way, last year's Galaxy Books easily lasted me a full day, so I'm not worried.
05:00It is worth bearing in mind though that both the Book 2 Pro and the 360 come in 13 and
05:0515-inch sizes, although the specs are a little bit different.
05:08For example, on the Book 2 Pro, only the 15-inch model has a 5G option.
05:13Samsung told me that adding 5G to the 13-inch Book 2 Pro would have added to its weight
05:17and thickness, which they didn't want to do.
05:19However, more importantly, only the 15-inch Book 2 Pro comes with the option for dedicated
05:24graphics in the form of Intel's new ARC GPU on the higher-end models.
05:29Plus the 15 manages to squeeze in a full-size HDMI port and also a numpad beside the keyboard,
05:34and I think, on paper at least, it's the 15-inch Book 2 Pro that is the most interesting.
05:40I'm really keen to see what the ARC graphics can do and also how much faster it is over
05:44the standard Intel Iris Xe graphics that we get on the other models.
05:48This could end up being a really nice balance between performance and portability, which
05:53of course is the holy grail of thin and light laptops.
05:56So there's a lot to like here, but I do have a few thoughts.
06:00Firstly, the lack of a Quad HD or 4K option for the screens, particularly on the larger
06:0515-inch, which is a bit of a shame, although I'm told the decision was made to stick to
06:09Full HD as battery life is a big priority, which is understandable, and of course you
06:14can always output to a higher-res monitor, but maybe a 1440p option would have been nice.
06:19I also really do love the look of these Galaxy Books, particularly this white colour, although
06:23it does come in a more businessy graphite if you need to keep things a bit more toned
06:27down.
06:28If this is something like the new Dell XPS 13+, that, well, love or hate it, looks like
06:32a properly futuristic next-gen laptop, I wouldn't have minded a bit of a refresh here, but I
06:38guess the real magic is just how lightweight this is.
06:41I'm also really keen to check out the standard Galaxy Book, the non-pro model, which Samsung
06:46wasn't really that keen to show off, but it has been refreshed, and actually if it's anything
06:50like last year's Galaxy Book, it ended up being probably my favourite laptop just for
06:55the sheer value for money.
06:56However, the combination of a 500-nit AMOLED screen, so we're getting that incredible contrast
07:02and deep inky blacks, the ridiculously thin and light chassis, I mean the 13-inch weighs
07:08just 870g and is 11mm thick, with the 15 still only 1.11kg and 11.7mm, although the Intel
07:17Arc graphics option does add a little bit to the size, then with the 12th-gen chips,
07:21the super-fast RAM, a great webcam, top-notch connectivity and security, and if you're in
07:26the Samsung ecosystem, some nice multi-device features.
07:30The Book 2 Pro and the Book 2 Pro 360 are looking pretty exciting, actually.
07:35I can't wait to get home and test it and review it properly, and of course also the standard
07:38Galaxy Book, which I haven't had hands-on with just yet, and the best bit is if you do fancy
07:43one, they're actually coming out to even more regions, more countries, according to Samsung
07:47this year, which is great news.
07:49But what do you reckon?
07:50Would you be tempted to buy one of them?
07:51Let me know in the comments below, and also don't forget to check out the latest TCL tech
07:55as well in the little link in the description below.
07:57Thank you so much for watching, guys, and I'll see you next time right here on The Tech Jam.