Set to land on February 18, Samsung’s 2018 lineup of general use laptops have been priced at last. Of course, having known about these laptops since December, we already knew that they’d go for a kingly sum.
However, Samsung has kept it simple this year, with sole configurations for the Notebook 7 Spin and Notebook 9 Pen, and three specs for the Notebook 9 proper, including a 15-inch option.
Starting with the most affordable of the bunch, the Samsung Notebook 7 Spin for 2018 (seen above) brings the size down to 13.3 inches (from 15 inches) for the 2-in-1 laptop, but starts at the same price of $899 (about £649, AU$1,139). In addition to bringing down the size, the laptop loses its discrete graphics chip, but gains a fingerprint sensor and a top-notch keyboard (stay tuned for our full review).
Rounding out its spec sheet is an 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor backed by 8GB of RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive behind a 13.3-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) PLS touchscreen. PLS, Plane to Line Switching, is a screen technology produced by Samsung as an IPS competitor, with even wider viewing angles and more brightness.
As for ports, it’s got USB-C 3.1, one USB 3.1 and one USB 2.1 in addition to HDMI. However, that price does not include a bundled stylus – not cool.
The 2018 Samsung Notebook 9.
The Notebook 9’s cometh
Now, Samsung’s fleet of Notebook 9 laptops ups the starting price of entry considerably, with the 13.3-inch Notebook 9 proper coming in at $1,199 (about £859, AU$1,519) for the 8th-gen Intel Core i5 model or $1,299 (about £929, AU$1,639) for one with an Intel Core i7 processor. Otherwise, both models house 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage behind a 13.3-inch, 1080p display sans touch control.
All of that comes in a frame built from Samsung’s new Metal12 composite material and with one USB-C 3.1 port and two USB 3.0 ports.
The 15-inch model starts at $1,299 (about £929, AU$1,639) for an 8th-gen Intel Core i7 processor inside, with an option to upgrade to a discrete Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics chip for $1,499 (about £1,069, AU$1,899). Otherwise, the laptop’s parts remain the same as above – even the display remains at 1080p.
The extra size also adds Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) and USB 2.0 ports to the mix for expanded connectivity. All of these laptops include fingerprint sensors for Windows Hello login as well.
And, the Samsung Notebook 9 Pen.
Finally, the Notebook 9 Pen comes in a single configuration for its 13.3-inch, 2-in-1 chassis: 8GB of memory and 256GB of solid-state storage paired with an 8th-gen Intel Core i7 processor – all behind a 1080p touch display – for $1,399 (about £1,000, AU$1,700). That price also includes Windows Hello login via an infrared camera and a built-in S Pen stylus that needs no charging.
That’s all coupled with one USB-C 3.1 and USB 3.0 port each. While we’ve yet to evaluate these laptops, save for the Notebook 7 Spin, we’ll say that these are definitely priced to compete with the top-end Windows 10 laptops of the day. Without beyond-HD screen options, that’s going to be difficult.
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