Samsung Galaxy Book Ion revealed with striking simplicity, QLED display

By Chris Burns/Oct. 29, 2019 1:00 pm EST

Samsung revealed two new laptop lines today, bringing QLED display panels to laptops for the first time ever. In addition to the Samsung Galaxy Book Flex (which we've spoken of in a separate article), Samsung revealed the Samsung Galaxy Book Ion. The Ion is nearly as striking to see as its Flex brethren, with sharp corners and an "Aura Silver" color – with a hint of some deep, wild cool tones (blues, greens) for accent tones.

Samsung suggested in release materials that the Galaxy Book Ion is an "advanced, agile ultra-lightweight PC." This device is made with "ultralight magnesium" where the other Galaxy notebook revealed today is made with aluminum. Magnesium is in place here because it's significantly lighter than aluminum without sacrificing a massive amount of structural strength.

The thickness of the two models of Samsung Galaxy Book Ion is 12.9/14.9mm thin, and in its smallest edition it weighs less than 1kg. The Galaxy Book Ion 13 is 305.7 x 199.8 x 12.9mm and 0.97kg, while the Galaxy Book Ion 15 comes in at least two builds. Both Galaxy Book Ion 15 models are 356.1 x 228 x 14.9mm and either 1.26 kg (external graphics model) or 1.19 kg (internal graphics model).

The display panels on these devices are very similar. The 13 has a 13.3-inch QLED FHD display (1920 x 1080 pixels), while the 15 has a 15.6-inch QLED FHD display (1920 x 1080 pixels). All versions have a 10th Generation Intel Core Processor (Comet Lake), and all have the option for Intel UHD graphics.

For the Galaxy Book Ion 15 (external graphics model), users get NVIDIA GeForce MX250 graphics with 2GB GDDR5 graphic memory. The 13 has up to 16GB DDR4 RAM and up to 1TB SSD (NVMe), where the 15 has up to 16GB (DDR4) +1 Sodimm, and up to 1TB SSD (NVMe) + 1 SSD expandable slot.

These machines all have Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2x2, 720p over-display cameras and dual-array mic. Both have AKG stereo speakers with smart amp, backlit keyboards, and the same general battery life at a quoted 69.7Wh – but we'll see when we test one out.

Both versions have fingerprint scanners and an array of ports. Both have 1x Thunderbolt 3 port, 2x USB 3.0, one full-sized HDMI port, a single UFS/MicroSD combo card slot, and a standard 3.5mm headphones/mic port.

The Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13 and the Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 15 will both be released in the USA "in early 2020." We'll know more about pricing and availability as we get closer to the release date – we'll see!