Construction
The Samsung Galaxy Book2 15 is adorned with a sober anthracite gray dress simply adorned with a shiny logo on the hood. The coating, however, tends to easily retain fingerprints and is quickly covered with fingerprints.
The Galaxy Book2 15 sports a charcoal gray coating. © The Digital
Opening the screen reveals a piano in the same color as the cover, with a keyboard with black keys. The screen borders are relatively narrow.
Keystroke quality is decent. It is especially the grainy coating of the keys and the somewhat coarse screen printing that gives it a low-end appearance. The biggest downside is the lack of backlighting, all the more annoying for an almost tone-on-tone keyboard. Note in passing the lack of consistency of the keyboard, with terms translated into French (“Enter” key on the classic keyboard) and others left in English (“Enter” key on the numeric keypad). We also regret that the start button (at the top right of the keyboard) is not noticeable better than that. One could also believe that it is equipped with a fingerprint reader, but it is not; forget the session unlock from the end of the index finger.
The keyboard has no backlight. © The Digital
The sliding of the touchpad is for its part comfortable and the gestures of Windows are well taken into account. Left and right clicks tend to sink a little too much, however, and the click in the center of the pad is particularly stiff and makes one-finger selection or drag-and-drop impractical, especially on the upper part of the pad. touchpad.
Samsung has not skimped on the connection and houses no less than two USB-C 3.2 ports, an HDMI port and a USB 3.2 port just on the left side of the laptop. The other side has a second USB 3.2 port, a microSD reader and a mini-jack socket. It is therefore a no-fault on this side.
Two USB-C 3.2 ports, an HDMI port and a USB 3.2 port just on the left side (a second USB 3.2 port, a microSD reader and a mini-jack socket are on the right side). © The Digital
Wireless connectivity is entrusted to the Intel AX201 chip, which allows the Galaxy Book2 15 to benefit from Wi-Fi 6 at 2400 Mb / s and Bluetooth 5.2. On the other hand, the webcam is less festive with its 720p sensor. The rendering is just correct for videoconferences in good light; the lack of detail is obvious and the digital noise is particularly present in low light.
The cooling of the Galaxy Book2 15 is provided by a single fan accompanied by a radiator and a heat pipe. The whole is correctly sized to cool the Core i7-1255U which, let’s remember, is a low-power 15-watt processor.
Under our thermal camera, after a processor-intensive encoding, we recorded 42°C on the hottest point of the keyboard. The touchpad and the right half of the keyboard stay cool and have been measured at less than 30°C. However, you should avoid placing your fingers on the right part of the hinge where the hot air extraction is located.
The noise pollution emitted by the Galaxy Book2 15 is controlled (34.1 dB measured in our new audio laboratory). In use, the Galaxy Book2 15 is discreet, but its fan tends to activate frequently.
The Galaxy Book2 15 heats especially above its processor and at the hinge, at the level of the hot air extraction. © The Digital
The dismantling goes without any particular problem. Just remove four pads to access the chassis opening screw. Unclipping the hull is more delicate and you have to be patient so as not to break the retention clips.
If access is easy, the possibilities of evolution and repair remain meager. Only the battery and the SSD are removable, the wifi card and the RAM being welded. Good surprise however, the second free M.2 slot allows you to add an SSD. Samsung announces a repairability index of 8.7/10 for our model under test.
A second M.2 slot allows you to add an additional SSD. © The Digital
Performances
Samsung has provided us with a Galaxy Book2 15 equipped with an Intel Core i7-1255U processor accompanied by 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD. As a reminder, the Intel Core i7-1255U uses the architecture hybrid Alder Lake with 2 hyperthreaded performance cores and 8 efficient cores. The manufacturer has respected Intel’s recommendations for its thermal envelope: 15 watts with a very punctual boost to 32 watts.
Processor performance index (the bigger the better). © The Digital
The Samsung Galaxy Book2 15 thus equipped obtains a performance index of 89. It is slightly behind MSI’s Modern 15 (95), but the latter boosts its processor with an envelope of 45 watts which requires very regular frequency reductions. . The Honor MagicBook 15 equipped with its AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor is very slightly behind with an index of 87. Obviously, the Core i7-1260P and Core i7-12700H which respectively equip the Galaxy Book2 Pro and the MateBook D16 are well ahead.
During our encoding to simulate practical use, the Core i7-1255U’s P-cores operate at an average of 2.66 GHz and its thermal envelope was raised to 15.6 watts. Expected behavior and low consumption that confirm our impressions of the cooling system.
The SSD integrated by Samsung is an in-house model, the PM991a. In the Galaxy Book2 15, it reaches 2.2 GB/s in reading and 1.21 GB/s in writing. These speeds are slightly below average, but more than enough to ensure the responsiveness of the operating system and short boot times.
Screen
The screen of the Galaxy Book2 15 offers a modest technical data sheet. The 15.6-inch PLS panel displays 1920 x 1080 px at 60 Hz and has a matte finish.
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy Book2 15 is not very sensitive to reflections. © The Digital
By default, our probe reveals a panel that lacks fidelity (delta E measured at 4.2, with a particularly marked drift on blue). The contrast is weak, at 855:1, while the average of the panels tested recently is around 1200:1. The color temperature is too high and is at 7493K, far above the video standard (6500 K), which results in a somewhat cold rendering.
The maximum brightness of the panel is 329 cd / m², a value in the average of the laptops tested and which allows you to take full advantage of the Galaxy Book2 15 indoors. In addition, the low reflectance of the slab (22% of reflected light) eliminates unwanted reflections.
Samsung offers software that allows you to slightly correct the colorimetry. To do this, open Samsung Settings and select the “Photography” profile, then lower the temperature to a minimum in the advanced settings. This achieves a delta E of 3.8 and a temperature of 6859 K. However, the contrast suffers seriously and drops to 432:1.
1. Delta E by color
2. Color temperature curve
3. Gamma Curve
Audio
The audio rendering of the Galaxy Book2 15 is provided by two speakers located under the chassis. The sound quality therefore depends on the surface on which the laptop rests and the positioning of the hands on the keyboard.
In the foreground, the left speaker; in the background, the two M.2 slots. © The Digital
Listening reveals a sound volume large enough to watch series even a few meters from the Book2 15. The sound reproduction is on the other hand very cavernous, with a flagrant lack of bass and midrange.
The headphone output will be able to compensate for the shortcomings of the speakers, the measurements on the latter being quite honorable, apart from the somewhat low output power. Headphones with high impedance are therefore to be avoided.
| Samsung Galaxy Book2 15 | Average PCs tested | |
|---|---|---|
| Output level | 94 mVRMS | 156 mVRMS |
| Distortion+Noise | 0,021 % | 0,014 % |
| Dynamic range | 103 dB | 100 dB |
| Diaphonie | -58 dB | -64 dB |
Mobility / Autonomy
The Samsung Galaxy Book2 15 occupy an area of 35.6 x 22.9 cm contained in a thickness of 1.55 cm. Its weight is of the same ilk (1.55 kg, to which must be added 148 g for the 45 W charger). Above all, it will be necessary to find a bag capable of accommodating this large format.
The 45W charger is compact and the USB-C cable detachable. © The Digital
It’s a cold shower after the autonomy measurement: with its low-power processor, the Galaxy Book2 15 did not exceed 6 hours of video playback on our usual protocol (screen at 200 cd / m², Netflix under Chrome). Admittedly, its 54 Wh battery does not offer the best capacity, but the Honor MagicBook 15 reaches almost 8 hours with a comparable battery and a Ryzen 5 5500U processor. You will therefore have to think about taking the charger on board if you are leaving for the day.
The Samsung Galaxy Book2 15 lasts almost half as long as the Pro version. © The Digital
Points forts
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Connectors provided.
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Discreet ventilation.
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Compact charger.
-
Emplacement M.2 libre.
Weak points
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Autonomy.
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Non-backlit keyboard.
-
No biometrics.
Conclusion
How does grading work?
The Samsung Galaxy Book2 15 displays extensive connectivity and great performance. Unfortunately, they are achieved at the cost of a barely satisfactory autonomy, far from that of the Pro version of the laptop. The lack of backlighting and fingerprint reader are also a bit stingy, especially when your name is Samsung and you sell smartphones almost all equipped with this accessory.