Samsung has expanded its Galaxy family with four new Galaxy Book "mobile PCs", each of which can be used in laptop or tablet form.
The new Galaxy Books - the Galaxy Book, Galaxy Book Pro (pictured, top) and Galaxy Book Pro 360 - aim to be as powerful as a laptop but as portable as a tablet, and with the promise of an all-day battery. Prices start from £699, rising to £1499 (full details below).
But there are reasons to consider them whether you're part of the Galaxy family already: all three Galaxy Books feature Dolby Atmos support, while the Pro and Pro 360 also have VESA-certified DisplayHDR 500 screens, which bodes well for picture performance.
While the Galaxy Book (pictured, above) makes do with a full HD LCD screen, you can jump to a full HD AMOLED with the Galaxy Book Pro or a full HD Super AMOLED on the Pro 360.
Inside are the 11th-gen Intel Core processors and Intel Iris X garphics, plus USB-C and HDMI connections, and a microSD card slot. An upgraded S Pen stylus, as seen on the Galaxy Note phones, is also included on the Galaxy Book Pro 360 (pictured, below), though there's no storage integrated inside the laptop, which seems a shame.
Only the Pro 360 includes 5G connectivity, with the Pro settling for LTE. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 are across all three models. All the Galaxy Books use the Windows 10 Home/Pro OS, so expect all the associated Microsoft features including Link to Windows/Microsoft Your Phone mobile connectivity. In fact, Samsung is promising seamless Android and Windows compatibility for something of a world first.
The real draw is the form factor, with the most compact model (the 13-inch Galaxy Book Pro) coming in at just 11.2mm - "thin like a phone" - and weighing just 870g. And of course you can fold the laptop on itself for a flat tablet experience or to use as a second screen.
The Pro and Pro 360 are also available in a 15.6-inch screen size, while the Galaxy Book is limited to a 15.6-inch display model.
There's Samsung's finger print authentication on each of the laptop-tablet combos, plus support for USB-C 65-watt fast charging.
Built from aluminium, the Galaxy Books continue the 'Mystic' colour palette of Samsung's Galaxy phones, with a choice of mystic navy, silver, blue, pink gold and bronze.
Also launching are a range of accessories, including a neoprene pouch with pen holder (£24.99), a Galaxy Book Leather Sleeve (from £149.99), the Smart Keyboard Trio 500 (£39.99) and the Bluetooth Mouse Slim (£52.99).
Can it beat the best tablets and the best laptops? That remains to be seen.
If you're already smitten you can pre-order now and you'll get a free pair of Galaxy Buds Pro true wireless earbuds.
On sale from 14th May, full price details are as follows:
Samsung Galaxy Book
• 15.6" Wi-Fi (i5) 8GB/ 256GB RAM – RRP £699
• 15.6" LTE (i5) 8GB/ 256GB RAM – RRP £799
• 15.6" Wi-Fi (i7) 8GB/512GB RAM – RRP 899
• 15.6" LTE (i7) 16GB/512GB RAM – RRP £1,099
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro
• 13.3" Wi-Fi (i5) 8GB/512GB RAM – RRP £1099
• 13.3" LTE (i5) 8GB/256GB RAM – RRP £1099
• 15.6" Wi-Fi (i5) 8GB/512GB RAM – RRP £1199
• 15.6" Wi-Fi (i7) 16GB/512GB RAM – RRP £1499
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360
• 13.3" Wi-Fi (i5) 8GB/512GB RAM – RRP £1199
• 15.6" Wi-Fi (i5) 8GB/512GB RAM – RRP £1249
• 15.6" Wi-Fi (i7) 16GB/512GB RAM – RRP £1499
