Samsung Galaxy Book Intel Core i5 with Windows 10 Home 15.6 Inch 4G Laptop 8GB RAM 256GB Storage Mystic Silver (UK Version) - FREE Upgrade to Windows 11

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Samsung Galaxy BookThis is not a laptop for business although it may be OK for student.The Samsung web site indicated the S7 series could be used as second screen with Galaxy Book and Galaxy Book Pro series of laptops. An online search on technical reviews gave praise to these and also said there are more ports on this base model of Galaxy Book than the Galaxy Book Pro.Went on Samsung Product Support. First attempt was via their Chat. Support person did not know what I was asking when I asked which version of Windows 10 the Book came with ? Apparently this person never heard of Windows 10 Home, Pro or Enterprise varieties ????? Then I asked how does the tablet hook up to the main laptop to be used as second screen, does it need extra hardware and cables for instance ? The answer came back that IT DOESN’T !!Thinking I was unlucky to get a trainee on the end of their Chat, next morning I phoned them. This support person actually read out from a script “Let me apologise first that I am working from home and there may be intermittent outages during this support session, …. blah, blah” or words to that effect, Fine the first time but she actually read it out TWICE ! Unbelievable. Then she too did not know what I was asking about which Windows; “Windows 10” she kept saying. I asked if she heard of Windows Pro because companies such as HP can offer many laptops with Windows 10 Pro as the operating system. I gave up; waste of time talking as Samsung may actually give out the WRONG information, which is worse than No information at all.Anyway I bought the Book (as computer reviewer said it has more ports then the Book Pro) and sure enough the S7+ works can be configured as extended monitor. I thought this combination would save me carrying these below when on job assignments, a reduction in weight and bulk :-HP 840 ElitebookHP 820 Elite BookLenovo 14 inch external screenHow wrong I was. The Galaxy does not have a RJ45 port for hooking up to clients’ network when working at their locations around the globe. You could not order it with Windows 10 Pro. With some clients’ networks it is at least the Pro version of Windows on the computer to hook up. OK so it too doesn’t have a full size SD card slot (so I was thinking to use microSDXC in an adaptor card to put inside the camera which I use for inspections and auditing) but the card tray is exactly like on their (Samsung) phones. On a computer I would be wanting to slide a card in and out at least once a day I can’t be using a tiny pin to push into a tiny hole ! On a phone you may not need to change the card every day but on a laptop this is just a bad design. It is also so flimsy it will break off before many months goes by. It doesn’t have VGA and it doesn’t have backlit keyboard. The first think you will know when you are working for clients is that they put you into which ever cubby hole (yes I have had to work in a cupboard in the past) and only provide you with hand-me-downs as second screen (yes I have had to use a VGA screen on the very last job before the pandemic).So yes, it is possible to buy a docking station + extension cable (because these docking station is built to a cost which doesn’t seem to have long enough cable to allow you to have set up the laptop at eye level and the dock on the desk surface) but then everything will be routed through one port and starts to blow the idea of saving weight and bulk.Yes I like the Tab S7+ as second screen but I very much regret buying this Galaxy Book. Other things I don’t like include the keyboard; it will do but the keys do not have enough travel and the click for tactile feedback is not great. I hate the track pad which does not offer separate buttons. Many times I click on (the left one), there were the feedback clicks but it has done nothing, no action. Conclude you would need to hit the key just right for it do act. Again, it would necessitate a mouse to be carried and further blows the idea of saving weight and bulk.The only redeeming feature of the laptop is the screen. It is decent with a matte surface and narrow bezel. Even with Samsung Cashback I regret buying it for it is just not up to the job. Wish I bought a HP Pro Book for £50 more (also available on Amazon). HP, like Toshiba and Sony which I have used for decades before their demise, have proper support web sites. There are drivers you could download yourself. On a very modern piece of kit, if and when connected online, the support page could even detect which model of equipment you have and suggest which drivers you need to update. No such availability on Samsung site. If you are home user, a novice or basic user, then don’t think you could rely on their Support Chat or Phone calls either; it will be a struggle.In conclusion, this is OK for students who have access to other IT brains at uni. Samsung do great cell phones, great tablet computers, but mediocre laptops and have poor Product Support.. In the photo you see it pitched against a 5 year old HP laptop bought New on Amazon for £605.45 with 8Gb RAM, 256 Gb storage and since upgraded to 4 Tb (four Terabytes of SSD) and 12 Gb RAM but could accept more. Even with inflation taken into account, the Samsung was found wanting. (You also see the Tab S7+ which is great (but it costs even more than the Book).)

I really like this laptop. It is my first one with a SSD and it is mega-fast! 10 seconds to be in a usable state, including logging in to it. My previous one took about ten minutes before I could use a browser so this is a great improvement.The screen is very clear. The detail on video is fantastic.The battery lasts for hours. I only charge it to 85% to preserve battery life but I can still use it for hours of actually doing stuff on it. Very very good.It is very light. I've never had a laptop that weighs so little.As I got it for almost half the price that it was on sale for elsewhere, I feel very happy with the purchase.Niggles:Sometimes the right-click on the mouse pad does not seem to work for a while.When looking at the gap between the screen and keyboard, it looks slightly curved. I did wonder if it was a defect at first but everything seems ok so I can live with it.

Let's be honest, a large number of people have a laptop. They are no longer the preserve of workers. They have, for many, become an important daily item. Which is why I am surprised that trying to choose one is still hard, and overly complicated. So many things to consider. Screen size, memory size, hard disk size. The list goes on. Some sellers, and makers have tried to make it easy, labelling them as, home, office, or gaming. But even within that, oh the choice is still bewildering beyond belief.So, I decided, after hours of looking at different one, on the Samsung Galaxy Book i5. I have to say I am disappointed that it seems near on impossible to get a 17 inch screen model without paying through the nose. Which is the first surprise with this machine. The 15.6 inch screen, doesn't seem that much smaller, and I am getting on with it quite well. The fact it claims a 16 inch view may have something to do with it. It is silver, and metal cased. This makes it feel sturdy, and chunky to hold, which is no bad thing. Now, I will say I did not buy this for portability as it is replacing an aged Samsung I bought in October 2008, yes, that long ago. The keyboard is really good, with solid keys that do not make too much noise and are not clunky. The fact that it is a metal case means if you rest your wrists on the area in front of the keyboard, it does have a cold feel. I can imagine if you used it for any length of time in bright hot sunlight it mught actually get hot too.Star up was quick. I am guessing that a period of time has elapsed between Windows 10 being loaded, and me getting it. With loads of updates to do, it was the best part of 90 minutes before I could actually use it in any meaningful way. It seemed fast at loading what it had to load. I do have a reasonably good broadband connection, but, if you suffer slow speeds, this could be an issue. The 256 Gb SSD drive is ery responsive and Apps, as Microsoft now calls them opened quickly, This machine has 8 Gb of RAM, more than enough for my modest needs of emails, letter writing and playing music with my music playout system. I am not a power user then. The downside, and there are a couple, for my money, not enough USB slots. And the memory card slot is not exactly easy to access either as you have to use some little metal thing which is actually missing, but I have one with my phone so may well use that. It has, 2 X USB 3.2, 2 X USB-C, though one is mains power in, HDMI and the memory slot. There is a headphone socket too.Not a bad laptop. I will see how I get on with it. It feels and looks good and I am mostly happy with what I have bought.

pro:1. good looking, sliver colour looks clean and premium2. good weight, not too heavy or too light.3. great size screen. the best thing of the laptop4. good price, after a 20% discount, it's a good price for this figuration(I 7+526G+16G Ram). if you are also limited budget, it is the great choice.con:the battery is too poor: only lasting for 5 hours, not enough for a whole day's work without the plug. during testing, I only used to watch the youtube videos while taking notes on Onenote, so I wasn't heavy use it.luckily, the plug is not as big as apple's,it's not heavy, and it can charge my Andro phone too.