ARM-powered laptops that run Windows 10 are rarely seen in the wild, but the new Samsung Galaxy Book Go could change things. Similar to M1 MacBooks, this notebook bypasses Intel and similar processors in favor of ARM. While there will arguably be some downsides of choosing this laptop, the benefits will likely outweigh them, thanks to a very low price tag, long battery life, and the list goes on. Priced from $350, the latest Samsung laptop goes head-to-head with Chromebooks and significantly undercuts the cost of MacBooks. Continue reading to learn more.
Samsung Galaxy Book Go picks a fight with Chromebooks, MacBooks, and more
The latest from Samsung is an aggressively priced Windows 10 laptop that is ready to compete with Google, Apple, and other PC manufacturers. It wields a 14-inch display, 180-degree hinge, military-grade durability, up to 18-hour battery life, and is powered by Windows 10. All of these specifications tacked onto one another typically adds up to a much more than Samsung’s asking price.
Now that you’ve heard about many of the great specifications, you may be curious what the catch could be. In short: RAM and storage. The new Samsung Galaxy Book Go is only available with 4GB of memory and 128GB of storage. Thankfully, there’s quite a bit of I/O versatility with two USB-C ports, one USB-A, a headphone input, and microSD card slot that should come in handy for affordably tacking on quite a bit of extra storage.
“The Galaxy Book Go series is built for today’s mobile-first users, who expect seamless communication, sustained productivity, and immersive entertainment — all in one device. With the new addition to the Galaxy Book, Samsung offers wider options to our consumers to choose a device that best fits their needs,” said Woncheol Chai, SVP and Head of Experience Planning Team, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics.
Availability
The new Samsung Galaxy Book Go is available starting today. The new laptop has an official price of $349 (current listings show $349.99), making it a fierce competitor in the PC, Mac, and even Chromebook arena. It can be ordered from Amazon and Samsung with configurations limited to 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Samsung has promised that a 5G-equipped edition “will be available later this year.”
9to5Toys’ Take
As I happily type away on an M1-powered MacBook Air, I have little reason to want to try anything else at this time. That being said, if I was in need of a new laptop now, it would be hard to overlook the sheer affordability of Samsung Galaxy Book Go.
The biggest disappointment of Samsung’s new laptop is that RAM seems to be very limited. That being said, I couldn’t tell the difference between 8GB and 16GB of RAM with heavy usage on an ARM-powered MacBook when the same tasks on a 16GB Intel-powered unit would constantly need to reload web browser tabs. Bearing this in mind, I’ll be interested to see how well 4GB of RAM works on Galaxy Book Go.
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