Samsung Enters 2-in-1 Fray with ATIV Book 9 Spin
Following the likes of just about every notebook maker not named Apple, Samsung introduced the ATIV Book 9 Spin, a 13-inch ultraportable with a display that bends back 360 degrees to convert it from a laptop to a tablet. Available in November for $1,399, this Core i7-powered Windows 10 notebook looks to go head-to-head with the likes of Lenovo, HP, and Toshiba. Here's how it compares with others of its ilk.
The ATIV Book 9 Spin's 13.3-inch display has a resolution of 3200 x 1800, which puts it in the same league, pixel-wise, as the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, the Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 (which has a 4K display), and the high-end version of the HP Spectre x360, which has a 2560 x 1440 screen. All those notebooks can also rotate their displays 360 degrees.
MORE: Best 2-in-1s (Laptop/Tablet Hybrids)
In our hands-on time with the ATIV Book 9 Spin, it felt and looked pretty much like previous Samsung notebooks, with the exception of a larger hinge. The Spin has the same aluminum case with polished edges that show off its various ports, which include USB Type-C, full-size HDMI, and USB 3.0. The keyboard, for better or worse, was similar to other ATIV Books; key travel was omn the shallow side, but should still be fairly comfortable to type on for extended periods.
Weighing 2.87 pounds, the ATIV Book 9 is lighter than the Yoga (3 pounds) and Spectre X360 (3.26 pounds), and on a par with the smaller Toshiba (2.9 pounds). The Samsung packs a Core i7-6500U processor, the same as in the HP and Toshiba, and is more powerful than the Core M CPU in the Lenovo. Also standard with the ATIV Book is 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.
As we've seen with a lot of super-slim, super-light notebooks with high-res displays, battery life takes a hit, and it looks like the ATIV Book is no different. Samsung estimates that the ATIV Book 9 will last up to 7.3 hours on a charge (using a MobileMark 2014 test); that's about on a par with the Yoga 3 Pro, which lasted 6:29 on the Laptop Mag Battery Test (Web surfing via Wi-Fi with the screen at 100 nits), but better than the Toshiba (a below-average 5:17). The HP Spectre x360 we tested lasted 9:28, but it had a 1920 x 1080p display.
The ATIV Book 9 Spin wasn't the only new notebook launched by Samsung; the company is also introducing an update to its 15-inch laptop, the ATIV Book 9 Pro, which promises to be a strong MacBook Pro competitor. Available for $1,599 in November, this system has a 15.6-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) display, Core i7-6700HQ processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Additionally, the notebook will have Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M graphics with 2GB of GDDR2 memory. This svelte system (14.72 x 9.83 x 0.7 inches) will weigh 4.45 pounds, and last up to 6.5 hours on a charge.
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However, the Book 9 Pro will face some stiff competition from the redesigned Dell XPS 15, which also features a 4K display in a smaller 14 x 9.3-inch package (that also weighs around 4 pounds), optional Nvidia GeForce 960M graphics, and up to 17 hours of battery life. Both beat out the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina when it comes to resolution (the Mac has a 2880 x 1800-pixel display) as well as price: If you want a MacBook Pro with discrete graphics--in this case, an AMD Radeon R9 M370X GPU--it'll set you back $2,499.
Although Samsung doesn't come out with many notebooks in the U.S., the ones that do make it to our shelves tend to be high-quality, so we're interested to see how they fare in our tests.
Michael was the Reviews Editor at Laptop Mag. During his tenure at Laptop Mag, Michael reviewed some of the best laptops at the time, including notebooks from brands like Acer, Apple, Dell, Lenovo, and Asus. He wrote in-depth, hands-on guides about laptops that defined the world of tech, but he also stepped outside of the laptop world to talk about phones and wearables. He is now the U.S. Editor-in-Chief at our sister site Tom's Guide, where he oversees all evergreen content and the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site..