Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro: Everything we expect
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The Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro is likely to debut at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event February 1st, and if it does it will establish a new baseline for Samsung's pro-grade ultraportables.
This is right in line with Samsung's business strategy for the last few years, as it has traditionally launched a new Galaxy Book line of laptops in the first quarter of the year. There's typically a base Galaxy Book, a Pro model, and then convertible 2-in-1 versions like the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360, one of the best 2-in-1 laptops of 2022.
This year a new model, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, has been tipped to be unveiled at Samsung Unpacked. This "Ultra" version will likely be a premium version of the base Galaxy Book that otherwise resembles the other Galaxy Books we expect to see debut alongside it, including the Galaxy Book 3 Pro.
The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro will likely look a lot like its predecessor, the Book 2 Pro (pictured above), but under the hood we expect some significant upgrades. Here's what we know so far.
Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro: Rumored price and availability
We haven't yet heard any official information regarding Galaxy Book 3 Pro pricing from Samsung, which is to be expected. However, we can make a pretty educated guess based on how prior models were priced.
Given that both the original Galaxy Book Pro had a starting price of $999 and its successor the Galaxy Book 2 Pro started at $1,049, it seems awfully likely a Galaxy Book 3 Pro will be in roughly the same price range. If it's any more expensive than $1,099 to start, Samsung had better pack in some compelling upgrades.
Like its predecessors, we expect the Galaxy Book 3 Pro will be available in two sizes: 13.5-inch and 15.6-inch. These refer to the size of the display, and the larger size typically costs $100 more. There's also usually an option to upgrade the RAM and storage for an additional premium, and deals and other incentives to encourage you to trade in old Samsung gear or buy new stuff.
Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro: Rumored specs
Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro: Design and display
Samsung has always kept things simple and professional with its Galaxy Book Pro laptops, and we expect a Galaxy Book 3 Pro to be no different.
First and foremost we expect such a laptop to be awfully thin, as its predecessors were as trim as the 0.44-inch-thin MacBook Air 2022. It will also likely be light (earlier Galaxy Book Pros were as little as two pounds light) and sturdy, with a basic clamshell design that won't look out of place in a coffee shop.
Samsung's Galaxy Book laptops have always impressed us with their eye-catching AMOLED touchscreens, and we expect something just as good if not greater will grace the Galaxy Book 3 Pro.
Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro: Ports
If you're excited about the potential of a new Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro, don't get your hopes up about it having a ton of ports.
Samsung has typically kitted these laptops out with minimal port arrays, equipping last year's Book 2 Pro 360 with two USB-C ports, a Thunderbolt 4 port, a microSD card reader and a 3.5mm headphone jack. We expect a similar arrangement on this year's new Galaxy Books.
Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro: Performance
The Galaxy Book Pro has historically been one of the faster laptops in Samsung's lineup, but it's built for work rather than play and is not configurable with a discrete GPU. That looks unlikely to change in 2023 now that the company is reportedly planning to launch a Galaxy Book Ultra that you can order with a discrete Nvidia GPU if you want a contender for a spot on our best gaming laptops list.
Given that, we expect a potential Galaxy Book 3 Pro to remain a productivity-focused machine with all the performance that the new Intel Raptor Lake 13th Gen CPUs can deliver. These chips are reportedly faster and more power-efficient than any Intel laptop CPUs we've seen to date, and hopes are high that such a chip could drive a Galaxy Book 3 Pro to new heights of performance.
Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro: Battery life
We have high hopes for the battery life of a potential Galaxy Book 3 Pro since Samsung's Galaxy Books have typically acquitted themselves well in our in-house battery test, which tasks a laptop with endlessly surfing the web via Wi-Fi (with its screen set to a specific brightness) until it dies.
While we haven't previously tested a Galaxy Book Pro, last year's Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 lasted roughly 12 hours in our Tom's Guide battery test. That's not quite as good as the original Galaxy Book Pro 360, which lasted 13.5 hours in the same test, but anything over 12 hours is top tier in terms of laptop battery performance — it was good enough to make our list of the laptops with the longest battery life.
Of course Intel's reportedly upgraded the power efficiency of its latest crop of laptop CPUs, so hopefully a new Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro will be able to last longer than the 12-14 hours its predecessors managed.
Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro: Outlook
Samsung's Galaxy Book laptops have improved in small but significant ways over the past few years, so we have high hopes that the company will impress us with a new Galaxy Book 3 Pro.
While the design of the Galaxy Book Pro laptops has always kept them a bit farther from the spotlight than their flashier transforming siblings, they've traditionally been dependable ultraportables that are easy to carry and powerful enough for day-to-day work. A new Galaxy Book Pro 3 with the power of Intel's latest 13th Gen CPUs could set a new standard for productivity in the Galaxy Book portfolio, and that's worth getting excited about — especially if you're already enmeshed in Samsung's device ecosystem and are in the market for a new laptop.
