Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Pro is a capable everyday laptop that comes in two screen sizes and can give Mac a run for its money. Here's my review.
Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Pro is the latest addition to the company's popular and premium ultrabook laptop range in India. A design that leaves a mark and shows how practical it can be when it comes to everyday productivity. Now, I have tested Galaxy Book laptops and said in my reviews that they are minimalist, everyday machines that prove their mettle day in and day out. Compared to the last few years, the main change in the Galaxy Book range this year is the price band, which is now the new normal. The memory shortage has pushed up laptop prices and made some extremely great packages out of reach for many consumers.
The Galaxy Book 6 series this year offers multiple laptops across screen sizes and price bands, starting at as low as Rs. 112,990 for the base Galaxy Book 6, while the Book 6 Pro sits in the middle and comes in a 14-inch screen size, starting at Rs. 169,990 and going all the way to a 16-inch screen size starting at Rs. 182,990. The top-of-the-line model this year is the Galaxy Book 6 Ultra, designed for raw performance, including hardcore gaming, and comes with a single 16-inch screen at Rs. 242,990.
Features like an AMOLED display, a great speaker setup, an excellent display, and more make the Galaxy Book 6 Pro a smart choice for professionals. So, if you're out in the market for a work laptop with a budget of under Rs. 2 lakh, should you choose the Galaxy Book 6 Pro? Let's find out.
With the Galaxy Book 6 range this year, Samsung is trying to offer something for every user across price segments, and the Galaxy Book 6 Pro, with its fundamentals set right, aims to appeal to professionals. Initially announced at CES this year, the Galaxy Book 6 series is now making its way to India. What goes in favour of the laptop is the incredibly sleek design and a familiar aluminium chassis.
The solid metal frame offers a premium look and reassures that this laptop is designed for everyday use. At 11.9mm, the Galaxy Book 6 Pro is slimmer than many laptops in the same price segment. For a 16-inch laptop, the Book 6 Pro is on the heavier side at 1.59 kilograms and won't fit in every sling bag; however, the 14-inch model is still manageable.
The thin, lightweight profile of the Galaxy Book 6 Pro combines a full-metal body with a slim hinge, creating a clean, sleek look. The lid remains stable even on the move, a trait not many laptops in this price segment maintain for long. Since I've been using the Galaxy Book 6 Pro for almost a month, I haven't noticed any issues with lid stability or the hinge.
If looks could speak, the Galaxy Book 6 Pro, with its minimalist design, shouts that it's designed for professionals on the move. It comes in a single Grey colour option, which makes it look a lot similar to its predecessor. The 16-inch model houses a full keyboard, and because there was plenty of space on the sides, Samsung has packed the speakers next to the keyboard on both sides. I would, however, prefer a dedicated numpad space around the keyboard that provides a nostalgic feel during daily use. The keyboard is backlit. The massive trackpad is the cherry on top and works flawlessly. There's also a fingerprint reader that works smoothly throughout.
Samsung doesn't sacrifice connectivity in the name of a slim profile and offers 2 Thunderbolt USB-C ports, 1 HDMI port, 1 USB-A port, and an audio jack. This makes it superior to most MacBooks in the market that offer just 2 USB-C ports. Long story short, it blends portability and style perfectly.
Jumping to the display, Samsung offers one of the best displays in the laptop category, and the Galaxy Book 6 Pro is no different. It offers extremely bright, sharp text and rich, accurate colours. The Galaxy Book 6 Pro offers a display that's a delight for binge-watchers, and the viewing angles are great, too. The 120Hz refresh rate panel sets the standard for high-end laptops in this price segment, and the touch screen support adds to the overall package. If you're using the laptop without a charger plugged in, you can always drop the refresh rate to 60Hz to reduce strain on the battery and add a few hours to the overall standby time. Overall, the Galaxy Book 6 Pro offers a top-notch display and you wouldn't be left demanding for more.
The Galaxy Book 6 Pro is powered by Intel's Panther Lake chip, part of the Core Ultra Series 3. This one gets the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. In everyday use, the Book 6 Pro is a powerhouse, handling multitasking like a pro with multiple browser tabs and video or music playing in the background. It also comes with the Intel Arc B390 GPU, which means it is not designed for gaming, and I'm not surprised. During my time with the laptop, I regularly used it for photo editing in Adobe Photoshop for Windows for my reviews, and I even edited the Galaxy Book 6 Pro review images on the same machine without stuttering.
In day-to-day use, the laptop handles most tasks efficiently, but at times it gets warm enough that the thick palm rest area becomes hot. This happens usually when using the laptop without the charger plugged in and running slightly heavier tools like OpenAI Codex or Premiere Pro. It can also handle some gaming, including GTA V and Baldur's Gate 3. However, the laptop did get warm enough that I had to shut it down after testing various components. Even while running our suite of benchmark apps, the Galaxy Book 6 Pro got hot, and I could faintly hear the fan.
| Benchmark | Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Pro |
|---|---|
| Cinebench R23 Single Core | 2047 |
| Cinebench R23 Multi Core | 15603 |
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 2860 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 16546 |
| PC Mark 10 | 8713 |
| 3DMark Night Raid | 40,989 |
| 3DMark CPU Profile | 9216 |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Light | 5587 |
| CrystalDiskMark | 7073.64 MB/s (Read)/ 5881.45 MB/s (Write) |
The keyboard on the Galaxy Book 6 Pro isn't fun to type on, which was disappointing, as its predecessors have packed far better keyboards. The key travel also feels shallow. The touchpad, thankfully, is accurate and handles touch inputs quite well. The palm-resting area is large enough to comfortably handle long writing pieces on the Galaxy Book 6 Pro. One concern, however, is the sharp edges of the palm rest, which can dig into your skin after long hours.
If there's one department where Samsung nails it, it's the speakers on the Galaxy Book 6 Pro, which is a huge plus. It is loud, and the clarity is top-notch. For binge-lovers, the Book 6 Pro has plenty of reasons to be loved.
The 78Wh battery on the Galaxy Book 6 Pro delivered a solid 8-10 hours of usage, depending on the apps and tasks running. It ships with a 65W USB Type-C adapter and is almost the same size as your smartphone adapter, so no extra weight from the laptop charger. I used the Galaxy Book 6 Pro without plugging in a charger for almost 9 hours of work, which is an achievement in itself for the Galaxy Book laptop range. So, the battery on the Galaxy Book 6 Pro does impress.
The Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Pro is a capable laptop for your everyday work tasks and more. Of course, if your daily work revolves around presentation slides, pitch decks, Excel work, and multimedia consumption, then the base Galaxy Book 6 is a better option. But if you add more professional tasks, a bit of photo and video editing, and a very little time for casual gaming, then the Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Pro makes much more sense.
With the Galaxy Book 6 range, Samsung has also added a bit of Galaxy AI features that enhance everyday utility. Right from AI cutouts that make screenshots more contextual to Nearby Devices and Quick Share. The Galaxy smartphone integration is my best pick, letting you keep working on the go with your Samsung Galaxy in a metro or on any public transport. During this review, I clicked some photos on a Galaxy smartphone and accessed them directly on the laptop, which made things way simpler for me than other laptops in this price category.
What does the Galaxy Book 6 Pro get right? It's everyday hustle-and-bustle tasks, along with a capable processor that never lets you down, while the battery's standby time ensures you are not always looking for the charger. The display and speaker setup are two more features that will make you fall in love with the Book 6 Pro. Of course, no rewards for guessing that this isn't aimed at gamers or video professionals who love to edit on the go. For this target audience, there's always the Galaxy Book 6 Ultra.
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