Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Pro 360 announced - question of RAM

Windows Convertibles
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Seems like Samsung shifted in high gear to get an announcement of their 4th generation Laptop and convertible series out ahead of schedule. Rumor has it this happened to allow Samsung to claim the badge of the first AI optimized devices, or something to this effect…

As freelance illustrator I am particularly interested in the Pro 360 convertible variant of these devices, and if the news are to be believed, Samsung has finally listened and added a dedicated gpu in the shape of Intel Arc graphics.

While I´m not thrilled it´s Intel Arc, this should be considerably more powerful than Intel Iris X integrated graphics.

But what I´m really curious about is the amount of RAM - and here Samsung has been rather confusing in the past: During the initial introductory phase of the 2nd and 3rd generation devices, it was claimed the Pro 360 variant will be equipped with 32GB Ram as maxed out configuration.

Turns out, the Galaxy Book Pro 360 was never available with more than 16GB RAM so far.

Now, once again, the initial announcements for the 4th generation claim it will have up to 32GB RAM. So, once again I am led to believe this time, too, it won´t be offered with more than 16GB of RAM - were it not for one interesting facet: The Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra is claimed to have up to 64GB RAM this time.

This could, once again, be chalked off to hyperbole, but 64GB RAM makes a lot of sense as it is supposed to be Samsung´s mobile powerhouse, directly competing with Apple MacBook Pro devices. Plus the initial announcements of the 3rd generation Galaxy Book Ultra never mentioned 64GB RAM, they stuck with 32GB, and 32GB were delivered.

So here I am wondering if maybe this time Samsung will really give the Pro 360 variant the desired 32GB RAM in a maxed out configuration, because this number will not potentially rival the Galaxy Book Ultra in it´s maxed out configuration.

Any thoughts and ideas of the esteemed audience are warmly welcomed!

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For at least the past few generations, the Galaxy Book 360 is ought to be considered a different laptop compared to its traditional brethren - doubly so when compared to the Ultra. Samsung has released certain memory and storage configurations that were exclusive to the standard clamshell models. Nevertheless, I’ve rechecked the old newsroom posts, and the 32 GB of RAM was a potential configuration only for the Book3 Ultra, not the 360 (Pro).
Anyhow, this time the Book4 Pro 360 was explicitly mentioned to have a 32 GB variant, in addition to the standard 16 GB option. However, one curious omission of the recent announcements is the absence of a non-Pro 360 line-up; that, and the glaring lack of any smaller 13 or 14 inch convertible.
I’d also like to mention that the Book4 Pro 360 doesn’t actually have a dedicated GPU. With Intel’s launch of Meteor Lake, they have decided to let manufactures use the Arc branding when marketing their laptops if they fulfil a certain set of criteria - namely having an Intel Core Ultra H series processor with at least 8 cores and 16+ GB of dual channel memory. Regardless, all new Meteor Lake processors should (for now) have the new graphics architecture - which trades blows with AMD Phoenix APUs - even if they are said to only have “Intel Graphics”. This certification process isn’t too dissimilar from “Evo” branding, but it’s arguably more scummy since manufacturers can technically say “Intel Arc GPU” without referencing that it is actually an iGPU. The only Galaxy Book4 with an actual dGPU is the Ultra which comes with Nvidia 40 series graphics.

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I think Microsoft beat them to the punch with the NPU in the Laptop Studio, but 14th gen’s integrated NPU will be so widespread, its a pointless claim.

But with Co-Pilot/Ai being Ram hogs, if AI is their focus, then very likely they will up the Ram limit to 32GB or higher (hoping)

My day job which had standardized on 16gb devices, for the sake of Co-pilot is going to now be standardizing everyone on 32GB devices now.

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32GB confirmed

|Galaxy Book4 Pro 360 (16-inch)|
|Dimension 15|355.4 x 252.2 x 12.8mm|
|Weight 16|1.66kg|
|OS 17|Windows 11 Home|
|Display 18|16-inch, 16:10 Touch AMOLED, WQXGA+ (2880×1800), 400nits, 48~120Hz VRR, 120% DCI-P3 Color volume|
|Processor 19|Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 / Core™ Ultra 5 (Intel® Evo™ Edition)|
|Graphic 19|Intel® Arc™ Graphics (Shared)|
|Network 20|Wi-Fi 6E, 802.11 ax 2×2, Bluetooth v5.3|
|Color|Moonstone Gray, Platinum Silver|
|Memory 17|16GB / 32GB (LPDDR5X)|
|Storage 17|512GB / 1TB SSD (PCIe)|
|Camera|2M (1080p FHD)|
|Microphone / Speaker|Studio-quality Dual Microphones / AKG Quad speakers (Woofer Max 5Wx2, Tweeter 2Wx2), Dolby Atmos®|
|Keyboard 21|Pro keyboard with Numeric key (Backlit keyboard)|
|Pen|S Pen (In-box)|
|Battery 26|76Wh​ (Typical)|
|Charging 23|65W USB Type-C Adapter|
|Port 24|Thunderbolt™ 4 (2), USB Type-A, HDMI 2.1 port (Supports 8K@60, 5K@120), Micro SD, Headphone / Microphone|

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Interesting! Didn´t know Intel Arc is actually iGPU. If this is so it stands to reason that it´ll take a bigger bite out of the available RAM than the 2GB max. reportedly reserved for Intel Iris X. Just the more reason for 32GB RAM.

Regarding the announcements for 2nd and 3rd gen Galaxy Book Pro 360: I wasn´t familiar with Samsung newsroom and hence didn´t check there in the past, but there were several tech related websites (and also channels on YT) that reported 32GB versions that never materialized. I´d be hard pressed to name a specific one, but distinctly remember this having been the case. Unfortunately, I didn´t copy links back then, and cannot be more specific than this.

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Your word in god´s ear - I still think it´s entirely possible Samsung will not offer the 32GB variant in Europe…

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How reliably are the hinges on the Pro 360 line? Can you safely switch often between laptop and tablet mode for years or is it like HP Envy where you have a fairly big chance on a nasty surprise after 2 - 3 years?

(I have to say spec wise this looks pretty amazing: large 16:10 screen, ports with microsd, low weight for size, pen etc)

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@Daddyfish:
Can´t really answer the question specifically, but built quality has improved noticeably. Gen 1 and 2 used to have a lot of screen wobble, which has been fixed in gen 3. Maybe gen 4 will continue the trend, but I wouldn´t be surprised if external appearance and built quality remain more or less unchanged.

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Thanks for letting me know, sounds like solid hinges.

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@Daddyfish
To expound on this issue: The 1st gen SBG Pro 360 was very light, but in consequence had a wobbly display. There were people complaining about spontaneous display cracks (and about Samsung not treating this as a warranty issue) and claiming this was caused by insufficient rigidity of the display, but I also remember at least one person fairly familiar with everything Samsung (though it must be said that person was a youtuber covering only Samsung products…) claiming that there were only very few of those cases and the issue being blown out of proportion.

About 2 years ago I rented a 1st gen device for a month and can attest to that - but there was a simple way to protect the display from bending: In tablet mode I pushed a few small sheets of paper between the chassis and the display, thus eliminating any bending of the display while sketching on it.

BTW: On many review videos you can see the person testing it using it in tablet mode such that the reviewer was facing the side with the hinges and was reaching over the hinges with his/her hand holding the S Pen. When I rented the device, I was sketching on it reaching from the side without hinges, because once folded, the side with hinges was higher and thicker than the side without. It seemed anti-intuitive to me to have the hinges in your way while sketching on it. Interestingly, the side without hinges was the sturdy side, the side with hinges allowed for noticeable screen flex between the hinges. Accordingly, I pushed the paper between screen and chassis in coming from the side with hinges, and screen flex was gone.

The 2nd gen device, as far as I remember it from electronics stores, had less screen wobble, and the reviewers noted that as well. But there were still cases of people claiming cracked displays because of a flexing display.

Then came the 3rd gen device, and even though the display was larger, you could clearly tell that it was embedded in a once again more sturdy frame. To my recollection, there were no more claims about display cracks, and the same person who claimed the issue of display cracks was blown out of proportion now said that Samsung having once again increased the rigidity of the display amounted to an admission that a flexing display was causing problems for them.

Even though the built quality has been improved noticeably and the device has probably matured a lot over initial generations, I don´t think it is as solidly built as everything Microsoft Surface. Still, I wouldn´t hesitate to use it as a daily workhorse, even though I, personally, believe we won´t see changes in the way this is assembled and built in the 4th generation. But I´d be more than happy to be proven wrong on this issue, because now that Samsung has finally ticked all the right boxes (more RAM and better iGPU), I´m definitely in the market for one, and would therefore welcome all improvements in built quality.

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Yeah you are doing it the logical way :slightly_smiling_face: . Maybe if someone wants to use the hinge side to let their hand palm rest on it it can perhaps make sense(?) but it sounds like the reviewer does not use tablet mode + pen often.

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Shouldn’t they just scale up the hinge from the Fold phone?