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Samsung spins the Notebook 7 with added GPU power and upgraded display tech

Samsung continues to flesh out its US offerings with new and interesting laptops, and today’s addition is the Notebook 7 Spin. Like its name suggests, the system has a 360-degree hinge with a touchscreen, but that’s not the only fun part of this budget-friendly system.

It’s actually two systems, in 13.3 and 15.6-inch flavors. The 13-inch model features an Intel Core i5-6200U, a dual-core chip with a 2.6GHz base clock and Hyper-Threading, with 8GB of DDR4 memory. The 13.3-inch panel is just a 1,920 x 1,080 touch panel, which isn’t out of the ordinary in the sub-$1,000 price point. A one terabyte spinning disk drive rounds out the internals. Outside, even the smaller system sports HDMI and four USB ports – two 2.0, one 3.0, and a Type-C port, plus a MicroSD reader for good measure.

Upgrading to the 15-inch version bumps the processor to an Intel Core i7-6500U, a decent step up considering the $200 price jump, but there’s more too. The larger Notebook 7 Spin swaps Intel IGP for Nvidia’s GeForce 940MX with 2GB of GDDR3 memory. That means it’s the slower version of that chip than the model that opts for GDDR5, but should still perform much better than Intel’s IGP. The more basic 15-inch version also opts for 12GB of RAM, while the upgraded model sports a 128GB SSD on top of the 1TB data drive, plus a full 16GB of RAM. To top it off, the 15.6-inch version is rocking a full numpad, plus a LAN port and full-sized SD card reader.

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All the systems boast more user-upgrade features than is normal in mid-range laptops. The two models that ship without an SSD have room to add one later, and users can install additional RAM later, as well.

Samsung has also included a few features that will sound familiar to mobile customers. The battery supports fast charging, for up to two hours of extended battery with just 20 minutes plugged in, and the 13-inch system fully charges in 100 minutes, while the 15.6-inch charges in just 90. Samsung claims the displays have an “Ultra HDR Mode” to help improve movie and music viewing.

While the 13.3-inch system costs just $800, each step up is only $200 more, capping out at $1,200 for the fully equipped Notebook 7 Spin. All three systems will be available starting on June 26

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Brad Bourque
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad Bourque is a native Portlander, devout nerd, and craft beer enthusiast. He studied creative writing at Willamette…
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