AI laptops are going to be the saviour of the fledgling PC industry and we have heard this from various industry experts and analysts in 2024. We have reviewed a few AI laptops already but none of them were long enough for us to justify the hype around these PCs and what are these supposed AI features that make the machines tick and work really long.
Intel is at the forefront of this AI era and the company gave us a chance to use one AI machine for a few months and see how it performs, behaves over a longer period. We got the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Pro to test with Intel Core Ultra 7 processor that we put to test like any other daily machine but this time our use case had a heavy AI hand as well. Here’s what we found during our time with the system and get a glimpse of what the AI PC future might look like.
The AMOLED Spunk
The moment you open the lid of the Galaxy Book 4 Pro you realise the signature AMOLED quality from Samsung. The crisp colours and contrast, the deep blacks mean you see everything on the 16-inch screen with a glee in your eyes and face.
It comes really close to the quality of the Macs and this premium segment deserves that level of quality and display performance from the Windows lineup as well.
Premium Looks All Around
The other premium aspect of laptops in this range is design and Samsung seems to have nailed it on all accounts. The Galaxy Book 4 Pro weighs 1.23 kg (14-inch) and slightly hefty at 15.6 kg for the 16-inch model which makes it extremely light but the aluminium-grade finish brings the needed durability for its size.
The simplicity might not work for some people but we like laptops that don’t go overboard on design with graphics and other elements. The classic MacBook style is the way to go and Samsung has followed these traits.
Let’s Talk About Performance
The Galaxy Book 4 Pro variant we tested comes with Intel Core Ultra 7 processor with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage. It is priced at over Rs 1,70,000 which seems to have become the range for most premium Windows/macOS laptops these days. With this AI-centric processor, the Intel strategy for the future seems clear: build reliable machines that can easily handle AI tasks and let the major cores work on the bigger activities.
During our time with the Galaxy Book 4 Pro we made the best use of the device and also put it through the rigours of AI tools where the NPU comes to the forefront. Intel’s development has been encouraging and its future lineup of AI processors instils confidence even though the competition is heating up.
The regular tasks like browsing the web with over 50 Chrome tabs open, YouTube videos playing in the background and heavy editing tools being used, we didn’t notice the Galaxy Book 4 Pro feel the strain.
AI tools like Midjourney, Dall-E 3 and even Copilot through the Windows 11 integrated tab were behaving normally and we tracked its trace through the task manager where the NPU needle was moving swiftly while the main cores did take a break in the background. You have the option to switch the AI tools to the NPU in the settings which ensures the latency in exporting or rendering is lower and gives you quicker results.
Intel has been working extensively with developers to bring more AI-centric apps to the platform and we’ll probably see a better use case and purpose for upgrading to AI laptops in the next few years.
Other Features That Make It Tick
The Galaxy Book 4 Pro makes no compromise on the other essentials like connectivity. You have the regular USB 3.2 port, HDMI 2.1, Thunderbolt 4, microSD card reader and the 3.5mm headphone jack. The list also includes quad speakers powered by AKG and a 1080p webcam with a wide-angle frame.
The keyboard layout along with the trackpad can take some time getting used to but once you do, the experience is good, the travel on the keys isn’t too cumbersome and the trackpad is truly magic. The USB C port also doubles up as a charging unit, which is a big plus over the MagSafe that you have to live with the latest Macs.
Long Way To Go
Well, the good news about the Intel-powered Galaxy Book 4 Pro is that the battery life is good and most people would be happy to make it work. However, the new Snapdragon X series is delivering better power efficiency, especially when you put the machine to sleep and the idle time loss with the Intel variant needs to improve, which we do hope the next-gen Intel Core Ultra fixes.
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