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Samsung announces a curved-screen all-in-one and its thinnest laptop yet
We hope you like super skinny laptops, because you're going to be seeing a hell of a lot more of them in 2015. Samsung just took the veil off its new ATIV Book 9 Ultrabook, which comes in at just 0.45 inch thick and 2.09 pounds. That's insanely compact for a 12.2-inch machine and indeed, it's the thinnest and lightest notebook Samsung has released yet. (Given Sammy's history with razor-thin laptops, that's saying a lot.) Like so many other slim machines that have come out lately, the Book 9 uses one of Intel's new Core M processors, which were designed specifically to allow for skinnier designs.
Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition review: big screen, even bigger price
So many Ultrabooks in our laptop buyer's guide: Not one with a 15-inch screen. Which is strange, because it seemed for a while that bigger-screen ultraportables were going to become a thing; HP, Sony and ASUS all tried their hand at super-light 15-inch machines. Two years later, though, Samsung is one of the only companies that's still at it. The company recently came out with the ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition, an update to the 15-inch Series 9 laptop from 2012. Like the original, it's insanely thin and light for a machine with this screen size, except now, it graduates to a full HD touchscreen, longer battery life and updated processors. Most notable of all, it features an improved audio setup with a built-in digital-to-analog converter allowing you to play back lossless, or "studio-quality" audio formats. The thing is, even for a flagship it's pretty expensive: At $1,500, it has one of the highest starting prices we've seen, and there are plenty of similarly specced machines that cost less. That raises an interesting question, then: Who should buy this?
Samsung updates its 15-inch ATIV Book 9 Ultrabook with touch, a higher-res screen and lossless audio
Samsung launched its 13-inch ATIV Book 9 Plus Ultrabook with so much fanfare that it was easy to overlook the not-so-good news: The 15-inch Series 9 wasn't getting any updates. In fact, you can still buy it today, but with last year's Ivy Bridge chip and a 1,600 x 900 screen that doesn't support touch. Great deal, right? Finally, though, Samsung is catching up: The company just announced a new version, the ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition, which ushers in an updated design and more current specs. Of note, Samsung made the screen slightly bigger, stretching it from 15 inches to 15.6, and boosted the resolution to 1,920 x 1,080. That might come as a bit of a disappointment to some, given that the 13-inch version has a 3,200 x 1,800 screen, but Samsung notes that ultra-high-res screens in larger sizes aren't exactly easy to come by. So maybe you'll see that in the next-next-gen version. For now, at least, the screen is a bit brighter (300 nits vs. 250 in last year's model) and you also get a regular HDMI port this time, as opposed to a micro-sized one. As you can imagine, the addition of the touchscreen, plus that slightly larger footprint, means the ATIV Book 9 is a good deal heavier -- four pounds and 0.63 inch thick, versus 3.5 pounds/0.58 inch on last year's model. The battery size is the same as ever, but thanks to Intel's newfangled Haswell processors, runtime is now rated at 14 hours, up from 10. Samsung hasn't revealed pricing yet, but we do know there will be at least two configurations: a Core i5 model with a 128GB SSD, and a Core i7 version with 256GB of storage.
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus review
When Samsung first released the Series 9 in 2011, it quickly became one of our favorite laptops of the year. Then, once Intel threw its marketing weight behind Ultrabooks, it became our favorite Ultra. But the Series 9 was born in the Windows 7 era, and it became harder and harder to recommend as touchscreens became the standard. Now, though, we have the ATIV Book 9 Plus, the first truly flagship-level Ultrabook Samsung has released since Windows 8 came out. As you'd expect, it trades in the Series 9's matte, anti-glare display for a touchscreen. What's more, though, Samsung also cranked up the resolution, retiring that old 1,600 x 900 panel in favor of a 3,200 x 1,800 one. And, of course, it steps up to a newer Haswell processor, which promises not just faster performance, but also longer battery life (not that endurance was a problem on the original). So is it still our favorite Ultrabook? Pretty much.
Samsung shipping ATIV Book 9 Plus and ATIV Tab 3 in the coming weeks, promises business-minded variants this fall
B&H may have jumped the gun a bit, but here's the word from the proverbial horse's mouth: Samsung's high-specced ATIV Book 9 Plus will be available for pre-order in the United States beginning August 18th, with shipments of the $1,399 laptop to commence shortly thereafter. For those in need of a brief recap, the 13.3-inch rig packs a QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) touchpanel, a Core i5 4200U processor, 128GB SSD, a battery good for 7.5 hours and a copy of Windows 8. Meanwhile, that ATIV Tab 3 that we handled back in June is getting a proper ship date of its own, with Sammy assuring Americans that they'll be able to snap one up starting on September 1st for $699.99 -- thankfully, that tally does include a Bluetooth keyboard / cover combo. It's said to be the planet's thinnest Windows 8 slate at 0.31-inches thick, with a proposed 7 hour battery, preloaded Office Home & Student and one of those always-lovable S Pens. For whatever it's worth, it appears that Samsung's distaste for Windows RT in the States hasn't carried over to tablets with Windows 8 onboard... yet, anyway. Oh, and for the enterprising individuals in attendance? Samsung has promised "to introduce versions of both products specialized for business use in the fall." Nifty!
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite launching on July 28th for $800
Last month, Samsung gave us a look at two new ATIV Book 9 Ultrabooks, both of which will replace the company's famed Series 9 lineup. While the ATIV Book 9 Plus, with its QHD+ display and brand-new Haswell chip, may be a tad more exciting than the Book 9 Lite with its unspecified quad-core processor, it's the latter machine that's getting US pricing info today. At the end of the month, Samsung will offer the Book 9 Lite for $800. That relatively affordable sum gets you a 13.3-inch, 1,366 x 768 capacitive touchscreen, 128 gigs of SSD storage, AMD Radeon graphics and up to 5.5 hours of battery life (according to Sammy's Mobile Mark 12 tests, that is; the company saw 8.5 hours on Mobile Mark 7). In our brief hands-on time, we found both the Plus and Lite models to be comfortable; the main differences are the Plus' superior processor, higher-res display and slightly sleeker design. While both machines seem like solid options, we'd be remiss not to mention that the Plus will likely get a US launch date of its own very soon -- and its higher-end specs could make it worth the wait. If you're already set on the ATIV Book 9 Lite, though, you can get your pre-order on now at Samsung's site, or look for the machine in stores starting on July 28th.
Samsung intros ATIV Book 9 Plus flagship Ultrabook, ATIV Book 9 Lite
We haven't heard much about Samsung's Series 9 Ultrabooks for a while, barring a resolution bump late last year. Today, though, the company announced the follow-on to that product. Two follow-on products, actually. The company just introduced the ATIV Book 9 Plus, a 13-inch flagship laptop that appears to be the direct replacement to the old Series 9. In addition, the company announced the ATIV Book 9 Lite, another 13-inch ultraportable that doesn't quite rise to the level of flagship status. Starting with the Plus, it steps up to Haswell processors (Core i5 and i7), as well as a 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen. Sammy also made improvements to the old Series 9's backlit keyboard and trackpad. (Think: the sort of excellent touchpad found on the recent ATIV Book 7). The new display, meanwhile, is coated in Gorilla Glass and has a 72 percent color gamut. The Plus offers two hinge positions -- one at about 105 degrees and another all the way down to 180 degrees. Additionally, the company's opted for OCR bonding this time around, which should offer an improved touch experience, say company reps. With the touchscreen, the weight is up to 1.39kg (3.06 pounds) -- definitely not the lightest 13-inch touchscreen Ultrabook we've seen, but still plenty portable. As for battery life, you're looking at 12 hours, according to Samsung. And given the performance of some other Haswell machines we've already had a chance to test, we're inclined to believe it. Meanwhile, the ATIV Book 9 Lite has up to 256GB of solid-state storage and an unnamed quad-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz (it's an AMD chip, we hear). As a slightly lower-end device, it has a 1,366 x 768 display, and also comes in a more playful gamut of colors, including white, red and the usual black. Battery life is rated at 8.5 hours, compared with 12 for the Plus. Likewise, you get 4GB of RAM, versus eight gigs on the flagship model. Also, it will be available in both touch and non-touch versions, with the non-touch model weighing in at 1.44kg (3.17 pounds) and the touch one tipping the scales at 1.58kg (3.48 pounds). The Book 9 Plus and Lite will launch globally in Q3, but in the meantime we've got a hands-on post on ready for your perusal.%Gallery-191947% Mat Smith contributed to this report.
