Samsung is known for making great phones, but its laptops haven’t quite made the same mark on the market, even though some of them are pretty good.
Samsung’s two most recent laptops are the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Book2 360. Both have the same “Galaxy” brand as the company’s phones and tablets, and we gave both of them four and a half stars in our reviews. We’d love for Samsung’s new line of laptops to take the world by storm, even if they’ll probably never reach the dizzying heights of the MacBook Air.
But the new third generation of Galaxy Books coming out in 2023 (which isn’t really the third generation because Samsung has an old series of Galaxy Book laptops that have been discontinued) could be another chance for Samsung to do well in the laptop market. So let’s compare them to the people who came before them.
Note that we’ll be comparing the new Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro to its direct predecessor, the Book2 Pro, but the new line also includes the 2-in-1 Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 and the new, supercharged Galaxy Book3 Ultra.
GALAXY BOOK2 PRO VS GALAXY BOOK3 PRO: PRICE
The new Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro trips and breaks an ankle as soon as it comes out. When it first came out, the cheapest Galaxy Book2 Pro configuration cost $1,050/£999, while the cheapest Book3 Pro costs $1,150/£1,249.
We can explain the difference in prices in the UK by looking at the economy there right now, but that’s still a price hike we don’t like. But the Galaxy Book3 Pro gives you more for your money because it has an Intel Core i7 CPU instead of the Book2 Pro’s i5 CPU and double the base RAM and storage.
You’re also getting more laptop in this deal. The Book3 Pro has screens that are 14 and 16 inches. Its predecessor, the Book2, only had screens that were 13 and 15 inches.
Some people might like how small the 13-inch Galaxy Book2 Pro is, so it does come down to personal preference to some extent. Given that the internal hardware of the Book3 Pro is better, you could argue that the newer model is a better deal, even though the price has gone up over the years. We’re going to call this a tie.
GALAXY BOOK2 PRO VS GALAXY BOOK3 PRO: DESIGN
At first glance, the photos in the reviews of these two Samsung laptops might make them look very different, but that’s just because they have different colour schemes. If you leave the Galaxy Book3 Pro in its default colour, Graphite, it looks almost exactly like the Book2 Pro.
The Book3 Pro’s larger size makes the touchpad feel a bit smaller, but both laptops have great keyboards, a wide hinge in the middle of the screen, and bezels that are almost invisible around their beautiful OLED screens. Even the ports are almost the same, though the Book3 Pro has two Thunderbolt 4 ports while the Book2 Pro only has one.
With the differences between the two models being so small, it’s hard to say which one is better. The Galaxy Book3 Pro seems to be a bit better in this area, but the difference between generations is so small that we feel confident saying that both laptops have excellent designs.
GALAXY BOOK2 PRO VS GALAXY BOOK3 PRO: PERFORMANCE
| Component | Galaxy Book2 Pro | Galaxy Book3 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Up to 12th-gen Intel Core i5 | Up to 13th-gen Intel Core i7 |
| GPU | Intel Iris Xe Graphics | Intel Iris Xe Graphics |
| Memory | Up to 16GB DDR4 | Up to 16GB DDR5 |
| Storage | Up to 1TB | Up to 1TB |
Even though we haven’t had a chance to put the new Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro through all of our benchmark tests yet (we’ve only had a short hands-on test so far), we’re very confident that it will perform better.
Even just looking at the 13th-generation Intel Core i7 CPU in the Book3 Pro, which should easily beat the 12th-gen i5 chip in the standard Book2 Pro, the new laptop is the clear winner. But there’s more to it than that. The Galaxy Book3 Pro has DDR5 memory instead of DDR4 memory like its predecessor, which will make RAM-intensive tasks run faster.
The Book3 Pro doesn’t even have an 8GB RAM option, so the entry-level Book2 Pro would be very far behind its next-generation replacement in some tasks. Even though both laptops have the same Iris Xe graphics, the Book3 Pro will do better at graphic tasks because it has a better processor.
WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU BUY?
In the end, the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro is the better piece of hardware. This is mostly because it is newer and has better parts inside. The way it looks isn’t too different from the last model, so there’s not a lot to write home about. But the faster processor and more RAM make it much more powerful.
Since the new model has come out, the Galaxy Book2 Pro is likely to go on sale, which is good news for people who need a laptop but don’t have much money. Samsung’s best phones tend to be on the more expensive side, and the Galaxy Book series is no different. When we reviewed the Galaxy Book2 Pro, we pointed out that the higher-end configurations were quite pricey.
But if you’re interested in the Galaxy Book3 Pro, you can pre-order it right now. Samsung is offering deals for people who pre-order right now, like a free upgrade to a 1TB SSD. On February 17, the full line of new Galaxy laptops will be available, so don’t wait!
