Stefan Andres
The Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 is an ultra-thin 2-in-1 notebook for people on the go. Especially in the 13.3-inch version that we got for review. Like last year’s Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360, the new model has a gorgeous AMOLED display that’s perfect for media consumption. But thanks to its high performance, it is also ideal for work.
Windows 11 is already running under the hood, but there’s also a fair amount of Samsung software. That can be good or bad, depending on how deep you are in the Samsung ecosystem. Just like the various functions of the convertible, which not every user will need to the same extent. So is the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 a good deal? That clarifies our big review.
Unboxing
There’s a little more included in the retail box than we found in our Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra review – there’s also a charger on board. There is also Samsung’s S Pen and a USB-C-to-C cable that is almost seven feet long. And of course the usual instructions and warranty cards.
Design
At 302.5 x 202 x 11.5mm, the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 is one of the thinnest notebooks we’ve reviewed. The weight of only 1.04 kg is correspondingly record-breaking. Apart from a small, almost imperceptible Samsung logo, the lid of our test device is completely black. The inside is just as slick as the outside, with a full keyboard, large touchpad, and wide display with thin bezels.
The top bezel is about twice as thick as the side bezels to accommodate the webcam. Unfortunately, the lower bezel is much more noticeable, since Samsung uses a wide form factor of 16:9 for the display. The graphite finish feels both smooth and sturdy, but will take any fingerprint it can get.
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard and touchpad offer plenty of space for hours of comfortable typing. The Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 has one of the best keyboards of any notebook we’ve reviewed to date. The keys offer a good pressure point, even if you are used to mechanical keyboards. The backlight can be adjusted to the lighting conditions of the environment.
The large touchpad is just as intuitive and easy to use as the keyboard. It’s responsive and accurate, and correctly recognized virtually every swipe and gesture in the test.
Touchscreen and S Pen
The touchscreen is extremely responsive, whether you’re using your fingers or the included S Pen. Since both Windows 11 and the Samsung apps are optimized for touch controls, the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 can also be used as a tablet. However, as with the huge Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, it can be difficult to use the notebook as a tablet for long periods of time due to its weight. But as long as you have a suitable base, you usually have no problems.
The S Pen works as well as can be expected from a stylus. Creative people and illustrators in particular should be happy about the additional functions.
Connections
There are some connections, but they don’t differ much from each other. Like on its predecessor, there are two USB-C ports and one USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 port. There is also a microSD card reader and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the other hand, you have to do without USB-A.
The ports are on both sides of the Samsung notebook. Because they’re placed near the back of the device, there’s no need to worry about cables getting in the way. Anyone who relies on USB-A connections can currently get a multiport adapter from Samsung free of charge.
Display
The 13.3 inch display of the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 is perfect for mobile work. The AMOLED panel provides strong contrasts and makes colors appear vivid. In the brightness test, the panel achieved average values of 366 nits. That beats both the 264 nits of the previous Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 and the 351 nits of the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7. However, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio sits lonely at the top with an average brightness of 487 nits.
The coverage of the sRGB color space is excellent at 100%. With 99.7% of the DCI-P3 color space and 97.2% of the AdobeRGB color space, the Galaxy Book does not need to hide in this respect either. Quite the opposite – even in this price range you have to search for such values in the competition for quite a long time.
The screen resolution is 1080p, which doesn’t sound like much in today’s world. On the one hand, the very good image quality of the AMOLED panel makes the lower number of pixels negligible. On the other hand, a better resolution always increases power consumption. Therefore, we think 1080p instead of 4K on a limited space like 13.3 inches might even be the better choice.
Software
As on most Samsung smartphones, various Samsung apps are pre-installed on the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360. The vast majority will probably never be needed. However, there are a handful of useful apps for those using even more devices from the Samsung ecosystem.
Apps like Samsung Notes and Smart Switch sync files and photos with other Samsung devices. You can even automatically connect to tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 to use them as secondary monitors. The Microsoft Your Phone app also makes it easy to switch from an Android phone to the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 and vice versa.
Speakers
Laptops don’t always have the best sound quality. However, the speakers of the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 worked surprisingly well in our review. Highs, mids and basses came through well and were still finely separated. However, some users might want more bass and find the low frequencies too inconspicuous.
On the other hand, those who tend to watch shows and movies on YouTube and Netflix will be very satisfied with the sound. Alternatively, you can always grab your favorite headphones. We also recently reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro, which offer very good sound and excellent ANC and also fit perfectly into the Samsung ecosystem.
CPU / performance
The Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 relies on an Intel Core i7-1260P processor with twelve 1.5 – 4.7 GHz cores and 16 GB RAM. This means that the notebook easily copes with all day-to-day tasks. But the processor of the P series (instead of the U series, which is designed for a longer battery life) was also reflected in the CPU-heavy GeekBench benchmark in correspondingly good test results.
GeekBench 5 single core test
However, the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 gets quite warm and ventilates accordingly. It’s easily enough for first place in the GeekBench multi-core test, and both the M1 MacBook Air and the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U chipset have to take a back seat.
GeekBench 5 multi-core test
On the other hand, the integrated Intel Iris Xe GPU is a limiting factor for graphics-intensive applications. The Galaxy Book had to give way to the competition with dedicated graphics cards in the test.
GFXBench Car Chase onscreen
GFXBench Car Chase offscreen
Frequent gamers should therefore consider the purchase carefully. Or consider switching to streaming services like GeForce Now and Xbox Game Pass.
Battery
The Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 lasted 12:22 hours in our battery test when surfing the web via WLAN. That’s less than the 13.5 hours of the predecessor, but still over an hour longer than the Surface Laptop Studio (10:47 h).
Webcam
The 1080p webcam built into the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 is an improvement over last year’s model’s 720p camera. That’s about the only positive thing to say. The quality is ok at best, and only in well-lit rooms. Otherwise the videos will be washed out and the color reproduction more than questionable.
Verdict
Like last year’s model, the 2022 Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 makes a strong case for Samsung notebooks. It offers all the features you would want from a work and everyday notebook, including a large and vibrant display, a large keyboard, and plenty of power.
However, those who already own the original Galaxy Book Pro 360 should wait until next year to upgrade. Last year’s model is still a great machine and the improvements in the successor aren’t worth a new acquisition. Apart from that, the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 can be recommended without a doubt. Especially since a similar amount of performance and features sometimes costs significantly more with the competition.
