At CES 2016, Samsung makes an aggressive come back onto the PC laptop scene. This can be explained by a revival of the PC Market, with individual segments doing rather well. The Notebook 9 laptops that come in 15-inch and 13.3-inch have been built to be extremely competitive with two things that people love: speed and light weight.
At 1.85 lbs (13.3″) and 2.9 lbs (15″) respectively, both models offer an impressively light chassis. Although it may look like metal on the photos, the material of choice here is magnesium. This is a very classic choice that has been made to look like metal as much as possible. Upon holding it, you will immediately notice that it is not metal, however.
The 15-inch version has two USB 3.0 and one USB Type-C connectors. The 13.3-inch one has two USB 3.0 connector but lack the Type-C one.
Regarding performance, Samsung is offering the latest (6th Generation) Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processors. This should provide good performance, so we’re looking forward to benchmarking these computers. If confirmed, both models could yield excellent performance/weight ratios – a key factor for any laptop.
The battery capacity of 39Wh (15″) and 30Wh (13.3″) is a bit worrisome and despite the claim from Samsung that there’s an “all-day battery life”, past experiences have shown us that battery capacity remains the single most important factor for battery life. This is why we typically measure the battery capacity relative to the weight.
Both models feature 1080p LCD displays that use the PLS technology, which is similar to the IPS display technology that is predominant in mobiles. Both are comparable on many points, but PLS tends to do better with glare.
In conclusion, I’m very intrigued by these new laptops from Samsung. On one hand, they seem extremely agreeable to carry around and seem fast enough as do-it-all computers. On the other, we’ll have to keep a close eye on the battery life. In any case, the strength of the Notebook 9 Series should not be underestimated.
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