What you need to know
- Samsung announced the new Snapdragon X-powered Galaxy Book4 Edge in 14- and 16-inch sizes.
- They're Copilot+ PCs with a Qualcomm Hexagon NPU running at 45 TOPS.
- The laptops feature 2.8K AMOLED touch displays, quad-speaker audio with Dolby Atmos, and the Galaxy AI suite of tools.
- The 14- and 16-inch Galaxy Book4 Edge are now available to preorder through Samsung. Prices start at $1,350 and $1,450, respectively, and Samsung is throwing in a 50-inch Crystal 4K TV for free.
The world of Windows PCs has had a busy day, with seemingly all major manufacturers jumping in to show off new AI laptops powered by Qualcomm's ARM-based Snapdragon X series Systems-on-Chip (SoC).
Samsung joined the fray to unveil its own new Windows on ARM laptops. The Galaxy Book4 Edge is available in 14- and 16-inch sizes and has been "designed from the ground up for AI," according to the company.
The new Galaxy Book4 Edge is already available to pre-order at Samsung's website starting at $1,350 for the 14-inch model. The 16-inch model starts at $1,450. When pre-ordering through Samsung.com or the Samsung Shop App, you'll also receive a free 50-inch Crystal UHD 4K TV. The devices are expected to ship June 18, 2024.
Price: From $1,350
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)
GPU: Qualcomm Adreno
NPU: Qualcomm Hexagon
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 512GB, 1TB
Display: 14 inches, 2880x1800, 16:10, AMOLED, 120Hz VRR, 120% DCI-P3, touch, 400 nits (500 nits HDR)
Webcam: 2MP (1080p)
Audio: Quad speakers (2x 4W woofer, 2x 2.7W tweeter), Dolby Atmos
Wireless: Wi-Fi 7
Ports: Two USB4, HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio
Battery: 55.9Wh
Dimensions: 12.30 x 8.81 x 0.43 inches (312.4mm x 223.7mm x 10.9mm)
Weight: 2.6 pounds (1.18kg)
Price: From $1,450
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100 or X1E-84-100)
GPU: Qualcomm Adreno
NPU: Qualcomm Hexagon
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 512GB, 1TB
Display: 16 inches, 2880x1800, 16:10, AMOLED, 120Hz VRR, 120% DCI-P3, touch, 400 nits (500 nits HDR)
Webcam: 2MP (1080p)
Audio: Quad speakers (2x 5W woofer, 2x 2W tweeter), Dolby Atmos
Wireless: Wi-Fi 7
Ports: Two USB4, USB-A 3.2, HDMI 2.1, microSD card reader, 3.5mm audio
Battery: 61.8Wh
Dimensions: 13.99 x 9.86 x 0.48 inches (355.3mm x 250.4mm x 12.19mm)
Weight: 3.4 pounds (1.54kg)
With 14- and 16-inch sizes, Samsung aims to cater to users who want mobility and those who can't live without enough screen space for heavier multitasking. Both sizes are built to a high standard with a premium feel, which isn't unusual for Samsung laptops.
These new models incorporate recycled plastic, glass, and aluminum and come in a Sapphire Blue finish. The 14-inch model weighs in at 2.6 pounds (1.18kg) and measures 0.43 inches (10.9mm) thin, while the 16-inch model only climbs to 3.4 pounds (1.54kg) while measuring 0.48 inches (12.19mm) thin.
They're both very light and sleek laptops, yet Samsung has four speakers with Dolby Atmos tuning and a decent selection of ports. The smaller model has two USB4, HDMI 2.1, and a 3.5mm audio jack, while the larger PC adds USB-A and a microSD card reader.
The touch AMOLED displays offer the same specs and features, albeit in different sizes. Both have a crisp 2880x1800 resolution, a 120Hz variable refresh rate, 120% DCI-P3 color reproduction, and up to 500 nits brightness with HDR enabled. They otherwise hit 400 nits. Samsung's displays are always impressive, and these look to be no different.
Digging into the performance hardware, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips are the centerpiece. The Galaxy Book4 Edge 14 has the X1E-80-100 version with 12 Oryon CPU cores, 3.4GHz frequency, and 4.0GHz dual-core boost, plus an Adreno GPU with 3.8 TFLOPs. The larger 16-inch model offers the same chip and the more powerful X1E-84-100 with a 3.8GHz frequency, 4.2GHz dual-core boost, and GPU with 4.6 TFLOPs.
All SoCs have a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with 45 TOPS of power for local AI acceleration, which will be used for the new Windows 11 Copilot+ features and Samsung's own Galaxy AI (more on these below). All Galaxy Book4 Edge laptops are listed as having 16GB of RAM and either a 512GB or 1TB SSD. Samsung claims the 14-inch model can run for up to 18 hours on a charge, while the 16-inch model tops out at 22 hours.
It's worth pointing out that the 16-inch Galaxy Book4 Edge has a full number pad, which many users can't live without. Rounding out the specs is a 1080p webcam above the display and a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello.
The Samsung Galaxy AI difference
The new Galaxy Book4 Edge makes the cut as a Copilot+ PC thanks to its Qualcomm Hexagon NPU with 45 TOPS of power, but Samsung wasn't satisfied with stopping there. Its own Galaxy AI is also included as a suite of tools best used between Galaxy devices. Although I recently switched from a Galaxy phone, this new cross-platform AI compatibility makes me reconsider my decision.
Samsung says that you'll now be able to connect your Galaxy phone to a Book4 Edge with Link to Windows to get all the AI features on a bigger screen. For example, using the Mirror Circle to Search with Google feature will have the results pop up on your PC for easy copy-pasting. Chat Assist and Live Translate, two of the most popular Galaxy AI tools, will also be available on the Book4 Edge.
According to Samsung, Copilot voice can also be used to send messages, set reminders and alarms, and more on your mobile device when it's connected to your Book4 Edge. That's going to make this one great laptop for those invested in the Galaxy ecosystem.
A quick look at AI PCs and Copilot+
We'll be talking a lot more about AI PCs and Copilot+ in the foreseeable future, and it's worth explaining what these terms actually mean.
An AI PC has an NPU inside to handle local AI tasks, freeing up the CPU and GPU for other work. While some great AI PCs are on the market sporting Intel Core Ultra and AMD Ryzen chips, Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X series chips have taken things to another level. That's where the Copilot+ term comes into play.
Microsoft has created a new umbrella term to identify certain next-gen AI features coming to Windows. Only PCs with an NPU capable of at least 40 TOPS will be named Copilot+ PCs, and for now, that means only laptops with the Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus.
Copilot+ features have me rather excited about the future of Windows 11, something I can't say is always the case. Most notable is a Recall feature that runs in the background, allowing you to search for anything you've seen or done on the PC in any app. Microsoft says this data is stored locally without sending info to the cloud, which eases some privacy concerns.
Live Captions can translate more than 40 languages to English when viewing or listening to pre-recorded and live video or audio, and Windows Studio Effects is also getting some new lighting and styling features. Auto Super Resolution will be particularly useful for gamers who want to upscale in real time. Not all features will be available immediately, but they are expected this year.
