The best 2-in-1 notebooks have come a long way since their first steps on the market a few years ago, and Samsung is perhaps the best example. The Notebook 9 Pro from the legendary manufacturer is a fantastic example of lightning-fast improvement. Available in 13- and 15-inch variants, the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro is a 2-in-1 notebook far removed from the features of traditional notebooks. Rather, the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro simplifies things with a single configuration for both models, focusing on the S Pen and Air Command software.
The Samsung Notebook 9 Pro is a real gem, the S Pen, and it is really nice to look at. It’s the notebook maker’s answer to the Wacom EMR pen on the Acer Chromebook 13 Spin and the Surface Pen on Microsoft’s Surface line, but that’s not the only thing that stands out. There’s an AMD Radeon 540 graphics card to provide good gaming capability, an 8th generation Core i7 processor to handle home-to-office computing tasks, and a durable battery. Since this is a convertible, usually some concessions have to be made to fit powerful hardware into a limited space.
But this notebook makes very few compromises, which is reflected in the quality of the system components it presents. This approach has its downsides, however, as this notebook is not capable of anything spectacular. In some areas it is even average, such as audio, while weight is another sore point. But as good and spectacular as it can be, there is more to it than that, which is the ability to get the job done, and the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro is quite good at it.
Design
Samsung’s Notebook 9 Pro builds on the tech giant’s modern design in a way that is more consistent and closer to smartphone construction. The result is a laptop that is more curved than ever, both in lid and keyboard, with a silver sheen on the outside and carbon-colored metal on the inside. The keyboard top of the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro is spacious and comfortable, with ample room for the huge trackpad.
Despite its size, Samsung opted for more space between the well-lit keys than the numeric keypad. Instead, more space has been given to the side control buttons and arrow keys, while the speakers have been relegated to the base. The rounded keys and minimal concavity of their surface are very punchy. Samsung has managed to achieve delightfully thin bezels on the sides of the display, compressing a 15-inch diagonal screen into a 13.67-inch wide frame.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The keys on the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro are quite bouncy. Although the keyboard does not satisfy us, those who like the butterfly switches of the MacBook will appreciate the typing experience of the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro. The keys are well spaced but have a dull backlight. In 10fastfingers.com’s typing test, we achieved 65 words per minute, an average just below mine of 66 words per minute. The Notebook 9 Pro’s keys have a key travel of 0.9 millimeters and require an actuation force of 63 grams. We prefer a key travel of 1.5 mm and a force of at least 60 grams.
We drew a poor rendering of eggs and waffles with the supplied Active Pen, but the digital ink glided smoothly across the panel of the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro. The pen has 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. The button closest to the tip acts as the eraser, while the other acts as the right button and selection function. Unfortunately, they are not reprogrammable and there is no space in the box to house the stylus. The 4.7 x 2.5-inch touchpad is remarkably smooth and comfortable to use. It also responds to Windows 10 gestures, such as two-finger scrolling and three-finger tabbing.
Display
The Samsung Notebook 9 Pro’s 13.3-inch glossy panel (1920 x 1080) is colorful and sharp, but weaker than we would have liked. In the Aladdin trailer, Jasmine’s pink dress with gold and green accents appeared on the display of the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro, while the threads of Aladdin’s clothes became visible in the next scene. However, due to the increased reflections on the display, it was difficult to see the darker scenes, such as the one in the Cave of Wonders.
Our colorimeter measured the screen of the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro at 118% of the sRGB spectrum, which is average for high-end laptops. It beat the Yoga C930 (100%), but the Specter x360 (150%) and the Huawei MateBook 13 (122%) were more vivid. At 254 cd/m², the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro’s screen is frustratingly weak, well below the category average of 328 cd/m². The Specter x360, MateBook 13 (318 nits) and Yoga C930 (273 nits) were also below average, but brighter.
S-Pen
The inclusion of the S Pen is quite clever, with a stylus slot built into the right side of the base at the lip. Unlike digital pens, it does not need to be recharged and still offers up to 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt control. This stylus rivals even Microsoft’s latest Surface Pen, which weighs twice as much and requires a battery for the same basic functions, apart from a software eraser and deeper Windows controls.
Pulling the S Pen out of its case will automatically open a radial menu of options, from which the Action Center will appear. The available options are Create Note, Show All Notes, Smart Selection, Screen, and Show Window. The first option is a note-taking application (opens in a new tab) similar to OneNote, called Samsung Notes, although much simpler than Microsoft’s version. It offers different types of ink and colors–and not much more. At least you can save and share notes and draw on existing image files.
Audio
The Notebook 9 Pro’s lower speakers are loud enough to cover System of A Down’s “Chop Suey!” on a small office, but they are not the best sounding. The sound of the guitar and drums during the intro was high-pitched and raucous, as if someone had turned up the treble a bit too much. The vocals were prominent throughout the song, but the electric guitar and bass sounded hollow. You can customize the audio with some presets, such as Music and Movies, in the Samsung Settings app, but I would leave the default one because it is the most balanced.
Graphic and Gaming
The AMD Radeon 540 graphics card in this laptop is not a heavyweight, so it will struggle with heavy workloads. If you intend to use this laptop for light graphics tasks, such as B. for CAD projects, photo editing and some video editing, then it will run smoothly most of the time. When it comes to gaming, however, the situation is a little less simple. This laptop can hold its own against less demanding games such as Rocket League and Hearthstone.
Frame rates don’t max out and you’ll mostly have to settle for graphics settings that are too high with Full HD, but your gaming sessions won’t be plagued by lag and crashes. But if you aim for the maximum, as in titles such as Red Dead Redemption or Control, you risk overdoing it. Overall, this laptop performs decently when it comes to graphically demanding activities, as long as you can stay away from activities that demand too much.
Performance
Powered by an 8th generation Intel Core i7-8550U processor, the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro is well endowed with firepower. It is backed by 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and although the basic storage capacity of the 256 GB SSD drive in our test model is not exactly large, it will not dampen the laptop’s normal workload.
For streaming high-definition video content at home, Web browsing and light gaming, or doing all of the above at once, the laptop will not back down. Sketch, draw and ink with the S Pen on the 15-inch surface, or use the Radeon 540 GPU to work with graphic designs via Photoshop and you’ll be amazed at the quality of the result.
Take the laptop on a productivity trip, take notes from team meetings, prepare documents with Google Docs, and keep it running. Lags show up only when gaming in earnest or when multitasking tasks have covered almost every corner of the 15-inch screen. But if you limit Chrome tabs to just over two dozen and stay away from so-called triple-A games, you’ll be able to make the most of this laptop’s potential.
Battery Life
The 54Wh lithium-ion battery in this laptop is one of its most valuable assets, and the manufacturer is very proud of it. It promises about 11.5 hours of use, if we go by the official numbers, and it delivers on that promise judging by the evidence we received.
Thanks to the USB Type-C port, you can quickly charge the laptop even on the go, with enough power for a day. This battery is superior to other laptops of its size and price range. And it probably contributes in no small measure to the tolerable power consumption of its hardware components, none excluded, such as the AMD GPU.
Heat
This sleek, ultraportable device runs surprisingly cool. After streaming a 15-minute HD video, the bottom of the device measured only 88 degrees Fahrenheit, well below our comfort threshold of 95 degrees. Meanwhile, the middle of the keyboard and touchpad reached 85 and 82 degrees, respectively. The maximum temperature was 91 degrees near the bottom hinge.
Configuration Options
Samsung has cleverly specified and priced the Notebook 9 Pro in a way that makes it affordable. The 15-inch version we tested-its only configuration-costs $1,299 (about £1,000, Australian $1,720). This is a high price compared to the HP Specter x360 15, for example. However, it offers half the RAM to start with, but is still competitive with Nvidia GTX 940MX graphics, which has a sharper 4K touchscreen for $1,279 (about $1,279). However, it does include the HP Active Pen, although it is not built into the Spectre’s chassis and requires an AAAA battery.
Meanwhile, the $2,399 (£2,349, AU$3,499) 15-inch MacBook Pro costs nearly twice as much for a sharper screen, the 2,880 x 1,800 Retina display, supported by slightly more powerful Radeon Pro 555 graphics. Notably, the Notebook 9 Pro’s 16 GB DDR4 memory is superior to the MacBook Pro’s 16 GB DDR3 memory. In addition, the Samsung hybrid’s facial login and touchscreen replace Apple’s Touch ID and Touch Bar, respectively.
Conclusion
The Samsung Notebook 9 Pro (13 inches, 2019) offers solid performance and productivity at an affordable price. Its super-thin aluminum body features an 8th generation Core i7 CPU and reliable battery life for only $1,099, which is $200 less than the competition. However, you will have to contend with a weak display and scratchy speakers.
If you have extra money to spend, we recommend buying the HP Specter x360 ($1,349), which offers longer battery life and a brighter, more colorful display, as well as more powerful graphics. But for its price, the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro is a solid choice if you are looking for a 2-in-1 ultraportable laptop.
