Key Takeaways
1. High Starting Price: The Galaxy Book5 Pro 14 starts at €1,699, which is €250 more than a similarly equipped MacBook Air M4.
2. Performance Comparison: The MacBook Air offers better performance with a faster processor, longer battery life, and passive cooling compared to the Galaxy Book5 Pro.
3. Display and Connectivity: The Galaxy Book5 Pro features a 120 Hz OLED display and superior connectivity options like Wi-Fi 7.
4. Price vs. Upgrades: Upgrading to a more powerful variant with Core Ultra 7 258V, 32 GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD costs an additional €600, which seems unjustifiable.
5. Market Pricing Trends: Prices for the Galaxy Book5 Pro have started to drop, with some units available for under €1,500, indicating a need for Samsung to improve the product or lower prices to increase sales.
Samsung’s Galaxy Book5 Pro 14 is a sleek ultrabook designed for daily use. With a starting price of €1,699, the entry-level model is rather pricey, especially given its hardware specs that include the compact Intel Core Ultra 5 226V (Lunar Lake), 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. This price tag is €250 higher than a similarly equipped Apple MacBook Air M4. In a head-to-head comparison, the MacBook Air offers a superior overall package, featuring a faster processor, passive cooling, and a longer battery life. Nevertheless, the Galaxy Book5 Pro does have some perks like a 120 Hz OLED display and superior connectivity options such as Wi-Fi 7.
Pricing Concerns
For those looking for more power, there’s a variant with the Core Ultra 7 258V that comes with 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD, but this bumps the price up to €2,299. Paying an extra €600 for just 16 GB more RAM and an additional 512 GB of SSD storage seems unreasonable and is hard to justify.
Performance and Competition
While the Galaxy Book5 Pro 14 isn’t a poor device, it still falls short compared to its competitors. We’ve previously reported on some drawbacks of the OLED screen, such as its relatively low brightness and low-frequency PWM flickering. Competing models, like the more affordable Yoga series from Lenovo, perform better in this area. Additionally, the Galaxy Book5 Pro lags behind in battery life. Although the Lunar Lake processor has enhanced performance, many rivals can last several hours longer, particularly when brightness is optimized.
The market has already begun to lower prices somewhat, and our review unit is currently available for under €1,500. While this is still a significant amount of money, Samsung needs to either improve their laptop or lower the price to boost sales. For more details, check out our full review of the Galaxy Book5 Pro 14.
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