Samsung Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely
execs and cons
- Giant OLED touchscreen show
- Excessive-performance laptop computer with discrete GPU
- Unbelievable battery life and effectivity
- Helpful Samsung options (if you need to use them)
- Giant, bodily trackpad results in false inputs
- Noticeable quantity of bloatware/adverts for the worth
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
On the tail finish of spring-season laptop computer releases, Samsung’s Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely shines with among the best shows in the marketplace — now obtainable with touchscreen assist, efficiency configuration choices that ought to fulfill content material creators, work customers, and even players, and battery life that may impress everybody.
The Extremely laptop computer nonetheless suffers from comparable setbacks as its predecessor, which I examined final yr, together with the massive, bodily trackpad that both does not register faucets at occasions or turns into too delicate to inputs (the duality of this trackpad is sort of baffling, I do know), the shortage of a full-size SD card slot, and some too many Samsung-owned apps (learn: bloatware, for those who’re not a Samsung person) and advert pop-ups that should not be a speaking level at this worth.
You possibly can anticipate to pay between $2,400 to $3,000 for the Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely, which is an enormous ask, however the efficiency and {hardware} package deal you are getting in return justifies the worth level. My shopping for recommendation is to attend for considered one of Samsung’s gross sales occasions (often throughout main holidays) and benefit from its trade-in program, which may deduct as much as $600 extra. Working example: you’ll be able to choose up the best configuration, which comes with an Intel Core Extremely 9, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, and 32GB of RAM, for $500 off on the time of writing.
Specs
Show |
16-inch 3K AMOLED (2,800 x 1,800, 16:10) with 120Hz, 400 nits |
Weight |
4.1 kilos |
Processor |
Intel Core Extremely 7 155H, Intel Core Extremely 9 185H |
Graphics |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 |
RAM/Storage |
16GB or 32GB with 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD |
Battery |
76Wh (as much as 21 hours) |
Ports |
2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-A 3.2, 1x MicroSD slot, 3.5m headphone jack |
Worth |
Beginning at $2,399 |
How I examined the Samsung Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely
I’ve used the Samsung Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely as my every day driver for the previous two weeks. My regular utilization contains shopping the online, answering emails, writing articles like this, watching movies on YouTube and Netflix, and enhancing photographs and movies for work and leisure.
More often than not, the laptop computer is both hooked to an exterior monitor (that means I attempt to run as many home windows of apps and companies concurrently attainable) or utilized in tandem with my Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely with the assistance of Fast Share and Second Display screen. Each cross-platform options labored very easily, although they’re primarily appropriate with Samsung gadgets and Samsung gadgets solely.
For efficiency testing, I ran Cinebench 2024 to calculate the one, multi, and GPU scores of the laptop computer, whereas additionally taking notes on day-to-day points like fan velocity and loudness, system temperature, body price drops, and extra.
What are the Samsung Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely’s greatest options?
Huge, touchscreen, OLED show: Want I say extra? Once I reviewed final yr’s Galaxy Guide 3 Extremely, I discussed that “a show that’s each touchscreen-enabled and shiny is a recipe for a visible catastrophe.” With the Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely, Samsung principally stated “Maintain my OLED,” and gave its 16-inch show touchscreen assist and a brand new anti-reflective cowl glass. These two options make interacting with a laptop computer this highly effective one of the intuitive, visually satisfying experiences I’ve examined.
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Stretching out a picture as a way to erase blemishes in Photoshop simply hits completely different when you’ll be able to pinch-zoom along with your fingers. (Now if solely Samsung can add S Pen assist.) Whereas the Galaxy Guide’s new show isn’t as anti-glare as say, Samsung’s S95D TV or Galaxy S24 Extremely, I’ve had no downside utilizing it beside the most important window at ZDNET’s New York workplace. Thoughts you we’re located on the best flooring of the constructing, so daylight is the second most prevalent factor after awkward elevator rides.
Spacious keyboard with stunning tactility: I am not as enthusiastic about keyboards as my ZDNET colleague Cesar Cadenas, however I sort sufficient every single day to have a really feel for what’s good and what’s not. That is to say I price the Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely keyboard a 7/10; it is spacious, with a full-on quantity pad for the information crunchers, a devoted Copilot key for fast entry to the Home windows AI assistant, and quiet but tactile suggestions on every key that invitations you to maintain typing and typing.
The one quirk with the laptop computer is that it takes a worrying period of time besides up. I typically discovered myself staring blankly on the display after urgent and holding the ability button, just for the Samsung emblem to look proper as I used to be ready to seek for a charger.
Battery life that lasts and lasts: That’s my flawless segue into charging and battery life, two different points I am an enormous fan of with the Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely. Save for the unwieldy, cheese-slice-sized charger that comes within the field, there’s not a lot for me to complain about in relation to powering the laptop computer and its endurance.
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On common, I bought roughly ten hours of utilization earlier than needing to high up the machine. That is spectacular for a 16-inch, 3K OLED laptop computer that is powered by a discrete graphics card. Once I did have to cost, the proprietary energy brick gave the Galaxy Guide a 55% cost after half-hour.
Intel Core Extremely and discrete GPU make all of the distinction: You are not fallacious to chalk up the improved effectivity of the Galaxy Guide to the brand new Intel Core Extremely 7 or 9 chips powering the unit. I would do the identical. If you mix the backend capabilities of Intel’s NPU with a discrete Nvidia GeForce 4050/4070 GPU that is not the most recent in the marketplace however nonetheless nice, you get a system that runs most apps and companies fluidly, together with Adobe Premiere Professional, Lightroom, and gaming on Steam.
Listed below are the Cinebench scores, in comparison with competing laptops, for reference. Whereas the Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely’s scores will not set any information, they’re according to the trade commonplace and aggressive with Apple’s flagship MacBook, which is nice to see.
Cinebench 2024 |
Samsung Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely (RTX 4070) |
Apple MacBook Professional 16 (M3 Professional) |
Dell XPS 16 (2024) |
CPU (Single) |
105 |
142 |
103 |
CPU (Multi) |
965 |
1,035 |
976 |
GPU |
8,135 |
6,604 |
10,264 |
What I would prefer to see within the subsequent mannequin
Much less bloatware and adverts, extra options for everybody: For a near-$3,000 laptop computer, the quantity of pre-installed apps, pop-up adverts to obtain McAfee’s antivirus service, and Samsung-exclusive options lessens what would in any other case be a premium person expertise. Such issues are widespread on cheaper laptops as a result of they permit producers to dump a lot of the retail value. In Samsung’s case, it is charging extra for a laptop computer that is not shy about promoting you companies you might or could not want. That is a no-no for me.
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A smaller haptic trackpad: If I might repair something hardware-related, it will be the trackpad. Whereas the abnormally giant trackpad on the Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely is helpful in concept, the off-centered placement of it meant I would regularly transfer the mouse or, worse but, register a click on when my palm was merely resting down.
The trackpad can also be a bodily one, that means it presses down as a substitute of mimicking the texture of it through haptic motors like on the MacBook Professional and Dell XPS. Consequently, after I did wish to click on, drag, or faucet on one thing, I needed to discover the “candy spot” on the trackpad to register it correctly. In any other case, urgent too near the corners and edges would oftentimes not register something in any respect.
Closing thought
Whereas it is easy to suggest the Samsung Galaxy Guide 4 Extremely because the “MacBook Professional for Samsung customers,” a number of upgrades this yr, together with the Intel Core Extremely chip for AI purposes, touchscreen show, and improved battery life, make the laptop computer a formidable pickup for almost each Home windows person. Simply notice that for those who’re a content material creator who depends on full-sized SD playing cards to switch photographs and movies, you may wish to choose up a dongle or docking station to work with the Galaxy Guide. There’s additionally no charging port on the laptop computer’s proper facet, so you may wish to assume twice when situating close to an outlet.
Options to contemplate
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