Exclusive Review: Testing All Latest Artificial Intelligence Enhancements in Copilot+ for Desktops - Are They Worth the Buzz?

Unveiling the Latest Upgrades in Samsung’s Copilot+ PC: How Artificial Intelligence Enhances Performance

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

IFA 2024 in Berlin saw a host of new laptops with novel features, like Lenovo’s auto-rotating screens and phone-tapping share features , I was most excited to see Samsung’s Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 , the first in the Book 5 series and the newest addition to Samsung’s Copilot+ PC line.

When I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge , I praised its gorgeous display and ultralight form factor, noting that it was one of the best-performing (and best-looking) laptops from the first batch of Copilot+ PCs, despite some buying concerns of its own.

Also: 5 most interesting Copilot+ laptops revealed at IFA 2024 (including one for gaming)

The next in the lineup certainly follows suit, with some added versatility in the 2-in-1 convertible form factor and an Intel processor swapped into this model instead of the Windows-on-ARM Snapdragon X Elite on the Galaxy Book 5 Edge.

One of the themes we saw on new laptops announced at this year’s IFA was a diversification of AI features across new platforms and hardware. The Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 supports that trend with Intel’s new Series 2 Core Ultra 7 processor with a 47-TOPs NPU that Samsung says powers over 300 different AI features across 100 apps, including Google’s Circle to Search , Chat Assist, and Live Translate.

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I had a chance to go hands-on with the Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 on Samsung’s massive show floor at IFA and it’s a device that looks immediately impressive with a bright, 16-inch display and surprisingly thin and light body.

The AMOLED WQXGA+ touch display on this is just as gorgeous as the Book 4 Edge, with 500 nits of brightness, 2880 x 1800 resolution, and a smooth 120Hz variable refresh rate.

Also: Lenovo’s newest laptops have a clever solution for iPhone file transferring that you have to see for yourself

Popping it into tablet mode instantly makes it the kind of device you want to watch movies on or use creatively with Samsung’s S Pen, and first looks with the Intel Arc GPU made for smooth, responsive graphics. Additionally, the screen mitigated glare quite well under harsh lighting.

I didn’t get to run any games, but I’m curious to see how this Intel-powered machine handles gaming in comparison to the Snapdragon chip, and if it can run as cool, especially with its ultra-thin form factor (and with 16GB of RAM).

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

One of the other elements of the Galaxy Book 4 Edge was its football field-sized trackpad, which some users (me included) said was a little too unwieldy. Samsung seems to have listened to the complaints, as it added adaptive palm rejection to the touchpad in the Book 5 Pro 360.

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on this new machine, as it’s one of the most visually striking of all the new Copilot+ PCs, but similar to its Book 4 sibling, there are likely to be some buying factors to consider with the different configurations, exclusivity with Samsung devices, and most importantly – the price.

The Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 is available for pre-order now for $1,700 , with general availability expected later in September.