Samsung Galaxy Book and Flex2 Alpha balance style and price
Samsung didn't just bring the Galaxy Book Pro series out to play at Unpacked today, but confirmed US launch details for the new Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha and affordable Galaxy Book as well. Available with a 13.3-inch screen, the 2-in-1 Flex2 Alpha measures as little as 14 mm thick, though swaps its siblings OLED display for a QLED touchscreen panel instead.
That runs at Full HD resolution with 400 nits of brightness normally or 600 nits in Outdoor Mode, while inside there's a choice of either Core i5-1135G7 or Core i7-1165G7 chips from the 11th Gen Intel Core processor line-up. For graphics, it's an integrated Intel Iris Xe GPU.
There's 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR4x memory, and up to 512GB of storage. Samsung throws in twin 1.5W stereo speakers, a backlit keyboard, and a 720p HD webcam with a dual microphone array. Connectivity includes two USB 3.0 and a USB-C, HDMI, and a microSD card reader, plus WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, and there's a fingerprint reader as well.
The 54 Wh battery can last for up to 18.5 hours, Samsung says, with a full charge taking 105 minutes with the supplied 40W adapter. As you'd expect you get the usual suite of Samsung software, including support for accessing Android apps on your Galaxy smartphone from the Windows desktop.
Selected configurations of the Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha are up for preorder now. The range starts from $849.99 for the Core i5, with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage, in Samsung's Mystic Silver finish. From $1,049.99, meanwhile, is the Core i7, with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It'll ship in Mystic Black from May 14.
Samsung Galaxy Book 2021
Promising to be even more affordable, the Galaxy Book is expected to kick off from around $800 in the second half of this year. Like its siblings it'll have a Full HD touchscreen, and include an 11th Gen Intel Core processor.
Despite the price, there's no shortage of ports. You'll get HDMI, plus two USB-C and two USB 3.0. There's also a microSD card reader and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. Samsung even finds space for a full numeric keypad alongside the keyboard.
Samsung hasn't confirmed full specifications for the new Galaxy Book yet; we'll find those out later in 2021. It'll be offered in both Mystic Blue and Mystic Silver finishes.
