The Galaxy Book Flex 2 5G.
SamsungDespite the fact I prefer Android over iPhones when it comes to smartphones, my portable on-the-go work machine is still an iPad Pro, because of its light weight and versatility—it functions like a laptop when connected to a keyboard case, and can be a tablet or sketch pad.
Samsung began to challenge that last fall with the excellent Galaxy Tab S7, and it adds to that with the Galaxy Book Flex 2, a convertible 2-in-1 laptop with a 360-degree hinge that allows it to double as a tablet.
The Galaxy Book Flex 2’s release in Hong Kong gives it the unique distinction of being Hong Kong’s first ever 5G laptop.
But honestly, 5G in the city, like most parts of the world, is still nascent tech that needs massive improvement before it can go mainstream; so I’m more impressed by the Galaxy Book Flex 2’s gorgeous screen and seamless software connectivity with other Samsung devices. The latter is important, because a big reason people use Apple products is because of the Apple ecosystem. It took Samsung several tries, but it’s starting to craft a solid one of its own.
Hardware and design
The Galaxy Book Flex 2 looks like a typical clamshell laptop at first glance, with an aluminum body and a glass screen. But as mentioned, the hinge offers far wider range of motion than traditional laptops, allowing the screen, which comes in either 13.3 or 15.6 inches, to fold all the way back so it becomes a flat piece.
The hinge opens up wide.
Ben Sin
The Galaxy Book Flex 2
Ben SinThe smaller 13.3-inch model is relatively thin and light at 12.9mm/2.5 lbs, so folding the screen back still allows it to pass for a tablet. The larger model, however, measures 14.9mm thick and nearly 3 lbs in heft, so it’s not a tablet you can hold with one hand easily.
In tablet mode
ben SinThe display uses Samsung’s OLED technology, and while resolution is pedestrian at just 1,920 x 1,080, it does get quite bright at 600 nits of brightness. It also supports multi-touch from fingers, and Samsung’s S-Pen stylus, which is included with the package.
There are lots of ports (compared to modern day laptops and tablets), including a pair of USB-A 3.0, a HDMI, a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, and a MicroSD card reader.
The machine runs on either Intel’s 11th gen Core i5 or i7 processors, paired with either 8GB or 16GB of DDR4x RAM. These components aren’t world-beating, but they’re definitely good enough for office tasks. The highest end model, with an i7-1165G7 and an integrated NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics card, should be able to handle video editing too.
The hinge is sturdy, allowing the machine to stand on its own in “tent mode,” and the 69.7Wh battery is enough to power the machine for 19 hours, according to Samsung. I’m a bit dubious on that claim, however. I suspect the 19-hour result was conducted in a control environment running light tasks. Nonetheless, charging the laptop is easy via a 65W USB-C charging brick.
The screen’s colors and viewing angles look gorgeous as expected from a Samsung device.
Software
The laptop runs on Windows 10 Home, which is fine as a computer but lackluster as a tablet, as buttons and icons are too small for human fingers. (This is a Microsoft problem, not Samsung’s). However, Samsung’s built in some software tricks that allow this Windows machine to interact with a recent Samsung smartphone or the Galaxy Tab S7. For example, users can wirelessly mirror their phone screen directly on the Galaxy Book Flex 2 (so you can answer WhatsApp without taking your eyes and fingers off the main work machine); and you can use the Galaxy Tab S7 tablet as a second monitor for the laptop. I only had brief time with the device, but connectivity seems seamless.
Using a Galaxy Tab S7 as a second monitor for the Galaxy Book Flex 2
Ben SinPricing, availability, early thoughts
The 13.3-inch model of the Samsung Galaxy Book Flex 2 goes on sale in Hong Kong starting February 10 at a price of HK$13,480 for the base i5/8GB RAM/512GB storage, without 5G support. The 5G model only comes in i7/16GB RAM/512GB storage configuration and sells for HK$16,480.
The Galaxy Book Flex 2
Ben SInThe larger 15.6-ich model gets double the storage at 1TB, and the price jumps to HK$18,280, and hits the market a week later on February 18.
These prices seem fair considering they run on Intel’s latest processors and double as a laptop computer and a tablet in one, with an included stylus. Similarly spec’ed iPad Pro, plus a keyboard case and an Apple Pencil well surpasses the prices listed here.
As I mentioned, Samsung knows it needs its own seamless ecosystem to compete with Apple, and so far I like what I’m seeing.
The Link LonkFebruary 09, 2021 at 06:00PM
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Samsung Launches Hong Kong’s First 5G Laptop - Forbes
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