If the success of Microsoft’s Surface Book and Surface Pro lines of tablet two-in-ones told us anything, it’s that the middle ground between a laptop and a tablet is a lucrative one. Swinging between the two is something that a lot of people clearly want to do with their hardware, so it’s no wonder that other manufacturers are latching on to that band wagon. Manufacturers like Samsung, which has just announced its new Galaxy TabPro S.
The Galaxy TabPro S combines the best of a Galaxy Tab with a Windows Laptop, we’re told by a Samsung spokesperson at CES. It’s designed to be thin and light, with ergonomic styling for increased comfort over longer periods of usage. It also has a full size keyboard and trackpad for improved functionality over traditional two-in-ones.
Internally it has 4GB of RAM and a total of 128GB of storage space provided by a solid state drive. Everything is displayed on a 12-inch Super AMOLED screen running at a resolution of 2,160 x 1,440 pixels. The device supports Samsung’s adaptive display technology, which offers vivid colors regardless of the environment you find yourself.
Perhaps the biggest selling feature of the Galaxy TabPro S is its battery life. Having an average of 10 hours of usage on a full charge, and the fast-charge ability to get back to full power within 2.5 hours, you’ll spend much more time using this device than you will charging it – which isn’t always something you can say for PC tablets.
Samsung also brought a couple more traditional computers to show off. They are both refreshes of laptops in the ATIV range. The 13 inch Book 9 weighs in at just 1.85 pounds, making it a supremely lightweight and portable notebook. You of course don’t get a monstrous display with a weight like that, but 13.3 inches should be more than enough for those looking for a small-form-factor laptop.
The Book 9 is designed to look stylish without sacrificing function. Along with its long-lasting battery, its (smallish) display is 1080p, with a bright, colorful screen that features wide viewing angles and a specialized anti-glare coating for use in brightly lit areas.
Connectivity wise, the Book 9 hooks up wirelessly with Samsung’s ecosystem, letting you link up various devices from the same manufacturer. Have a Samsung smartphone or tablet? Twin them all together and you have added functionality in a variety of places around your home or while out and about.
You can even mirror your smartphone straight to the Book 9 using Samsung SideSync.
If you are looking for something a little bigger, the 15-inch Book 9 might be more your speed. It offers the same features as the 13.3 inch version, but with a larger, more immersive display.
Despite its size bump, the 15-incher is much slimmer than your average laptop of that size, thanks to its small form-factor bezel. The display is full HD and the battery can last upwards of a full day, charging back to maximum in just 1.5 hours thanks to fast-charging.
Thanks to the inclusion of a USB Type-C port on the side, users can expand their functionality beyond the system itself. As well as the laptop’s wide-viewing angle display, users can output to a secondary monitor at up to 4K resolution if required, or a fast five gigabit per second data rate for transferring large files and folders.
