Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review

Our Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Book Flex is a long lasting 2-in-1 with a gorgeous wait and a vivid brandish

For

• Amazing bombardment life
• Hitting blue design
• Born Due south-Pen
• Lighter than XPS 15

Against

• Hinge could exist stronger
• Fingerprint reader disrupts typing
• QLED display pales to OLED panels

Tom'south Guide Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Volume Flex is a long lasting two-in-1 with a gorgeous look and a bright display

Pros

• +

  Astonishing battery life

• +

  Hitting bluish pattern

• +

  Born Due south-Pen

• +

  Lighter than XPS 15

Cons

• -

  Hinge could be stronger

• -

  Fingerprint reader disrupts typing

• -

  QLED display pales to OLED panels

Samsung Galaxy Volume Flex specs

Toll: $one,399
Processor: 10th Gen Intel Cadre i7 (Water ice Lake)
Memory: 12GB of RAM
Storage: 512GB SSD
Display: 15.vi" QLED (1920 x 1080 pixels)
Size: 14 x viii.ix x 0.6 inches
Weight: 3.4 pounds
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt iii, 1x USB-C microSD reader, headphone jack

The Samsung Galaxy Book Flex is the visitor's latest attempt to stand out in a field it'due south had less-than-stellar success with: Windows PCs. Just this 2-in-1 laptop offers a mix of potent performance with some unique features, to mostly successful results.

From its bright xv-inch screen to its potent functioning and striking colour, the Milky way Book Flex is one of the best 2-in-one laptops yous can buy, one that brings Samsung dorsum into the PC conversation. Even further, its swell Qi-charging touchpad offers the kind of unique functionality we'd like to come across other laptop makers use.

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We also dearest the Galaxy Book Flex's fantastic endurance and solid functioning, just there are some asterisks getting in the style. Specifically, its keyboard takes some getting used to, cheers to a questionably-placed fingerprint reader and shallow keys.

Notwithstanding, this Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review will testify why Samsung'due south made i of the best laptops around. In fact, it's so proficient that it won a recommendation for longest-lasting laptop in our Tom'due south Guide Awards 2021.

Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review: Price and configurations

Samsung sells the Galaxy Volume Flex in ii sizes, each available in a atypical configuration. We tested the Galaxy Volume Flex 15-inch, which Samsung at present marks down to $1,114 — down from $1,399. This laptop comes with a 10th Gen Intel Core i7 (Ice Lake) processor, 12GB of RAM and a fifteen.6-inch QLED 1080p display.

Its smaller brother, the Galaxy Book Flex thirteen-inch is commonly $ane,349, but Samsung has information technology on sale for $864. It likewise packs an Ice Lake Cadre i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 13.3-inch QLED 1080p brandish. Both are erstwhile made in the fetching Royal Blueish finish that you see in these photos.

The Milky way Volume Flex arrived in May 2020.

Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review: Design

Samsung is doing wonders with colors (the Fiesta Blood-red Galaxy Chromebook is a highlight) and the Royal Blue Galaxy Book Flex is no exception. But like that Chromebook, the aluminum Galaxy Volume Flex chassis catches the light bouncing off of information technology, and so you go a slope of hues.

(Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

Measuring 0.6 inches thick and weighing 3.four pounds, the Milky way Book Flex is lighter than the Dell XPS fifteen (0.5~0.7 inches thick, 4.five-pounds).

(Image credit: Tom'southward Guide)

Considering it'south a convertible two-in-1, you tin can rotate the Samsung Galaxy Volume Flex's display up to 360 degrees to employ it as a tablet or prop information technology upwards in display or tent mode. Since Samsung throws in its South-Pen stylus, I would accept hoped the Milky way Book Flex's swivel were a bit stronger. Alas, when I tried to gently write against the xv.6-inch screen, I noticed a little wobble. Thankfully, the screen'south heavy plenty for this not to be a problem when you use the Galaxy Book Flex in tablet style.

Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review: Ports and S-Pen

Yous find the Galaxy Book Flex'southward faster Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports on its right side, next to its power button and Due south-Pen dock. The regular USB-C port, headphone jack and microSD reader are on the left side.

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

Samsung also throws in a USB-C to HDMI adapter and a USB-C to USB-A adapter. And while I presume I'd lose both of these relatively small parts, they're better than nil. The Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360 15 both pack USB-A and Thunderbolt 3, plus HDMI.

(Prototype credit: Tom'southward Guide)

The South-Pen, which protrudes ever and so slightly, feels kind of unnecessary for this machine. When I popped it out of the PC, it showed a list of potential commands on screen. These included taking and viewing notes, using the S-Pen to describe a region for a screenshot and even annotating the screen. The creative class, looking to putter or draw or taking notes with handwriting rather than with their keys, will love the choice.

(Epitome credit: Tom's Guide)

The best affair I tin say almost the S-Pen is that I adopt this method of taking a screenshot to how Windows ten's screen capture tricks work.

Samsung Milky way Volume Flex review: Display

Capable of producing High effulgence and vivid colors, the Samsung Galaxy Book Flex's 15.4-inch QLED panel is impressive. Watching the F9 trailer, I saw the glimmering gold of a public statue that the crew sped around, verdant greens in mountainside trees that other cars drove past and a vibrant red in the jitney bus that Vin Diesel fought John Cena on elevation of.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Taking the Galaxy Book Flex outside for a cursory moment in the park, I plant itsOutdoors Mode to show useful. Under the glare of real sunlight, the Galaxy Volume Flex's screen appeared a chip dim. But later hitting Fn + F10 to trigger this mode, the screen regained some of its popular with text condign more legible and colors appearing more than vibrant.

However, Outdoors Style couldn't fight the glare for amusement. When I tried to sentry the F9 trailer outside on a stoop, the added effulgence didn't brand Michelle Rodriguez any clearer, as she was caught in the reflections.

(Prototype credit: Tom'south Guide)

According to our colorimeter, the Samsung Milky way Book Flex produces 158.2% of the sRGB color spectrum and up to 381.2 nits of brightness. That brightness jumps to 536 nits when you plough on Outdoors way. The 4K Spectre x360 OLED (258%, 483 nits), 4K XPS fifteen (210%, 418 nits) and 4K XPS xv OLED (239%, 626 nits) are brighter and more colorful.

Samsung Galaxy Volume Flex review: Audio and cameras

Listening to The Arcade Burn down'due south "Rebellion (Lies)" on the Samsung Galaxy Volume Flex, I noted how information technology filled my medium-sized living room with clear and accurate vocals and crisp violin strings. That same quality came through in Ghostface Killah's "Cherchez La Ghost."

The 0.9-megapixel webcam inside the Galaxy Volume Flex is serviceable for Zooms, merely information technology's too grainy for taking any serious video. It'due south sadly the norm for laptops, and shouldn't be a surprise or thwarting. I tin't wait for some visitor to cadet the trend and put a serious webcam in a laptop, but for now, nosotros recommend checking out one of the all-time webcams for your setup.

Samsung Galaxy Volume Flex review: Keyboard, touchpad and touchscreen

The keys in the Samsung Galaxy Volume Flex aren't the real problem: the layout is. Using the Milky way Book Flex's shallow keys (similar to the MacBook Pro's troubled and generally-retired Butterfly keyboard), I hitting a rate of 65 words per minute on the 10fastfingers typing test, with an 80% accuracy rate.

(Epitome credit: Tom's Guide)

That's a means away from my lxxx wpm and 93% accurateness averages, only I don't arraign the keys. The Galaxy Book Flex's fingerprint reader, which sits right under the return cardinal and takes upward half of the space the right Shift key should, is the culprit. Because of that half of a Shift cardinal, which I oft found myself trying to click before realizing the mistake I made, I made a lot more typos than I ordinarily did.

Just like Apple didn't have to try and reinvent keyboards with the Butterfly switch, Samsung didn't demand to break up the Shift central to requite the fingerprint reader a new home. Admittedly, this new location makes information technology really easy to find the fingerprint reader. Only it would have been merely equally easy to utilise in the meridian right corner where the Asterisk push is, much like information technology is on the Samsung Milky way Chromebook Flex.

(Image credit: Tom'southward Guide)

The Galaxy Volume Flex has a pretty big touchpad at 4.7 x iii.ane inches, and it offers smooth and responsive navigations. The frosted-red rectangle (which offsets the ruddy red keyboard deck) speedily registered my two-finger scrolling and three-finger gestures in Chrome. I wish this touchpad weren't so wide, as I kept accidentally right-clicking it. But information technology seems easy plenty to go used to with time.

Similarly, the Galaxy Volume Flex'south xv.6-inch touchscreen chop-chop and accurately registered my taps and swipes as I used the Start card and opened the Activeness Eye. Page scrolling in Google Docs also went smoothly.

Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review: Performance

The 10th Gen Intel Cadre i7-1065G7 CPU and 12GB of RAM the Milky way Book Flex allow for speedy multitasking. I saw no stutter when I split my screen betwixt 12 Chrome tabs, including Google Docs and Giphy alongside a 1080p YouTube video (with Slack open in the background as well).

On the Geekbench 4.3 full general performance benchmark, the Milky way Book Flex netted a 19,137 on the multi-core test. And while information technology falls under the 28,882 from the XPS 15 (Intel Cadre i9-9980HK processor and 32GB of RAM), that doesn't reverberate poorly on the Galaxy Book Flex, as the XPS 15 model we tested packs a beefier CPU and more memory.

(Paradigm credit: Tom'southward Guide)

The 512GB SSD in the Galaxy Book Flex duplicated iv.97 GB of files in 26.54 seconds, which is notably slower than the 10-second and 12-second transfer times from the XPS fifteen (1TB SSD) and Spectre x360 (1TB SSD), respectively.

On the Clay 3 racing game, Galaxy Book Flex ran at 52 frames per second on Medium graphics at 1080p, only the Spectre x360 (Intel Core i7-8565U CPU, Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU, 16GB of RAM) beat that with a rate of 118 fps.

Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review: Battery life and Qi-charging touchpad

Talk about a flex. The Samsung Milky way Book Flex thrived on our laptop bombardment test (web surfing at 150 nits of brightness), posting a lengthy time of xv hours and 44 minutes — and 13 hours and 14 minutes with Outdoors mode enabled. The XPS 15 (4K not-OLED: eight:48, 4K OLED: eight:07) and the Spectre x360 OLED (7:46) lasted much less time.

Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review: Heat

The Galaxy Book Flex stays absurd under force per unit area. Subsequently streaming xv minutes of HD video on Samsung'southward notebook, our heat gun picked upwards temperatures that brutal nether our 95 degree condolement threshold. Its underside (the laptop'southward hottest spot) ranged from 84 degrees Fahrenheit to 92 degrees by the exhaust vent, and its touchpad (74 degrees) and keyboard (82 degrees) were less warm.

Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review: Verdict

Throughout this Samsung Galaxy Book Flex review, I've been impressed by and large. Amazing battery life and decent 10th Gen Core i7 performance combine for a fifteen-inch laptop that is made for piece of work, while its congenital-in S-Pen is a boon for the artistic form.

That being said, while Outdoors style helps the Galaxy Book Flex become brighter, you'll find an even brighter and more colorful screen on the e OLED XPS xv. However, you lot'll be paying at least $345 more for Dell'due south laptop , and you besides lose battery life. And compared to the $2,547 super-fast XPS xv mentioned above, the $1,399 Samsung Galaxy Book Flex looks like a deal.

Overall, the Galaxy Book Flex is one of the all-time laptops for creatives who want a big canvas for their side by side project.

Henry is a senior editor at Tom'due south Guide roofing streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past half dozen-plus years. Prior to joining Tom'south Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He'south besides covered the wild world of professional person wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-book-flex

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