The Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra is the most powerful version yet, offering a lot of performance in a thin and light package. But it’s quite expensive.
The Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra is the most powerful Galaxy Book the company has created so far. At least, it can be configured that way, and as we’ll see in our testing, even the entry-level machine can make for a solid video-editing laptop.
It’s also a very expensive laptop, currently starting at $2,200 with an eventual starting list price of $2,400. The most expensive model is $3,000, putting it solidly in the premium laptop class. Fortunately, it offers enough to make it a good choice even given the high price.Specs and configurations
Samsung has a few configurations of the Galaxy Book3 Ultra currently available. The entry-level model, currently listed at $2,200, has an Intel Core i7-13700H, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, and the 16.0-inch 3K OLED display that’s the only option. My $2,400 review unit was the low-end model with a 1TB SSD. At the high end, the laptop is configured with a Core i9-13900H, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and an RTX 4070 for $3,000. Note that you can’t mix and match the CPU and GPU.
The Galaxy Book3 Ultra is a premium laptop that’s quite expensive when maxed out. I was a bit disappointed that Samsung sent a lower-end configuration. The Galaxy Book3 Ultra will be a much stronger competitor against some other 16-inch laptops when configured with the Core i9 and RTX 4070, in both gaming and creative applications. Note that prices are subject to change from what’s currently listed on the Samsung website.A reasonably thin and light but conservative design
The all-black Galaxy Book3 Ultra has clean lines and a minimalist design, like so many laptops today. Little stands out aesthetically, but that doesn’t make it an unattractive laptop by any means. It’s quietly and conservatively good-looking, which makes it a suitable fit for any computing environment.
It’s reasonably thin at 0.65 inches, although not as thin as the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 which comes in at an astounding 0.49 inches, and it’s quite a bit heavier at 3.95 pounds compared to 3.3 pounds. But compared to other laptops in its class, like the Dell XPS 15 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5, the Galaxy Book3 Ultra is nicely sized. Its display bezels are thin and modern across the top and sides, but the bottom chin is a bit chunky. Even so, it manages to fit into a chassis that’s compact enough for a 16-inch laptop.
The aluminum chassis feels reasonably solid, with zero flexing or twisting, but the lid is slightly bendable. Dell’s XPS 15 and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 both best it in build quality, but it nevertheless feels premium. The lid opens with one hand but is a bit wobbly during use. That could be tightened up a bit.
The keyboard has comfortable keycaps and plenty of spacing, even with the numeric keypad. The switches are a bit shallow and don’t have quite the precision you’ll find on the XPS 15 or the MacBook Pro 16 (which has the best laptop keyboard), but it’s still comfortable for long-term typing once you get used to the feel. The touchpad is large and precise, with confident clicks that are just the tiniest bit loud.
The Galaxy Book3 Ultra has a good selection of ports, both modern and legacy, and its wireless connectivity is up to date.
