Samsung MWC 2019: Galaxy Book 2 with Windows 10 and LTE lands in Australia

Samsung MWC 2019 announcements confirm that the Samsung Galaxy Book 2, the successor to – guess what – the highly successful Galaxy Book 12 that was the successor to the very successful Galaxy Tab Pro S is coming soon to Australia.

Is the Galaxy Book 2 the successor? Well, yes and no – read on.

The Samsung Galaxy Book 12 was launched in February 2017, and it is still a highly competent Intel Core i5 successor to the Intel Core m3 Galaxy Tab Pro S.

At that time, I said, “Samsung’s Galaxy Book 12 is an ideal travel companion with an amazing 12” AMOLED display, S Pen, detachable keyboard, Windows 10, and available with 4G LTE as well. I am going to rate it for what it is – a travel companion with Windows 10 thrown in for productivity.”

Disclosure: My brother loved the Galaxy Book 12 so much he bought a suite for him, his wife and three student ‘kidults’. My wife bought one, and it ended up as her daily PC, and it drives dual 27” monitors via a Kensington USB-C SD4500 dock. And I use the Galaxy Tab Pro S with an Intel Core m3 as a travelling companion. All are doing very well!

My only complaint about an otherwise Surface Pro substitute was it does not have a kickstand. Guess what – the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 does – halleluiah!

But there is more – Galaxy Book 2 is one of the first of a new breed.

It uses the Qualcomm 850 Windows on ARM platform (WOA) for amazing battery life.

More about the hybrid 2-in-1

It is closest to a 10-inch Surface Go with a 12-inch screen. Unlike Microsoft, it includes the S Pen and keyboard/cover at no extra cost making it even better value.

And it has a fantastic 2K AMOLED screen for incredible colours and black blacks.

We are yet to see a WOA in action so we cannot comment on speed or performance. We expect that it will handle productivity apps (Office 365), browsing and video playback with ease. In other words, it will do everything Jo and Jane Average need to and be a light-weight travel companion with the best battery life of any similar hybrid.

Otherwise most 32-bit (not 64-bit) apps should run under the x86 emulation of the Qualcomm 850 SoC. GeekBench gives it a 3,945 rating so if you are a power user go for Intel Core i5/i7 hybrids that are from 10-15,000 ratings from Surface Pro, HP, Asus, Acer, Lenovo etc.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Expanded Specifications:

DISPLAY	12-inch sAMOLED FHD+ (2160×1440), 350 nits Full touch and SPen support Supports scaled 4K playback and onboard encoding/decoding
CHIPSET	Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 (Quad 2.96GHZ + Quad 1.7 GHz) Features always on/instant start like a smartphone Fanless for 100% quiet operation
LTE SUPPORT	Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem Cat.18 5CA, up to 4X4 MIMO Theoretical speed is up to 1.2Gbps download, but practically it’s a maximum of 70MBps half duplex Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7,8,13, 17, 20, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41 Single nano-sim for 3 and 4G Calling and messaging features not supported but may be available via an app or from a specific Telco
MEMORY / STORAGE	4GB/128GB/microSD
CAMERA	8MP, AF, 2K@fps 5MP Front (no Windows Hello)
PORT	2 x USB-C 3.1, 5Gbps, supports PD 2.0 and DisplayPort/HDMI microSD 3.5mm combo audio
SENSORS	Accelerometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor GPS (and most varieties) with full turn-by-turn capabilities
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4+5GHz, VHT80 MIMO, Wi-Di Bluetooth 5.0 2Mbps (should support aptX) (No NFC)
DIMENSION / WEIGHT	287mm x 200mm x 7.6mm x 800g
BATTERY LIFE	6120mAh (47Wh) up to 20 hours (S Mode) video playback test Supports Qualcomm Fast Charge 3.0 Supplied with Samsung USB-C 25W Fast Charger and will handle up to 65W USB-C PD 2.0 chargers
OS / UPGRADE	Windows 10 in S Mode can – upgrade at no cost to Windows 10 Home
INCLUDED ACCESSORIES	S Pen with 4096 levels of pressure and a fine tip – full Windows Ink support Keyboard with 1.5mm throw (good) and trackpad Kickstand (Surface Pro Style) Samsung Flow software to seamlessly link a Galaxy Smartphone Fingerprint recognition button
VIDEO	MP4, M4V,3GP, WMV, ASF, AVI, MKV
AUDIO	MP3, M4A, AAC, WAV, WMA, FLAC Dual speaker Dolby Atmos/AKG tuned sound Two microphones
Website	https://www.samsung.com/au/windows-tablets/galaxy-book2-sm-w737y/
Price	RRP is $1799, but there is an introductory offer for $1599 including a free Multiport adaptor (that you need)

Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy Book 2 is available now from Telstra and Vodafone for $1599 (a bargain), and if you buy before 8 March, you get a Multiport Adaptor.

Being an WOA, LTE device Telstra offers 24-monthly data plans