Samsung recently introduced the Galaxy Book 2 Pro series, which is its lineup of premium lightweight ultrabooks. Those are likely to get most of the attention, but if you don’t want to spend over $1,000 on a laptop, the new Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360 might be a better option for you.

This is a more mainstream convertible, and it’s interesting because it’s a follow-up to last year’s Galaxy Book, which wasn’t available as a convertible. This year actually seems to be going in the opposite direction. Samsung has only really announced the Galaxy Book 2 360 in the US, though there is a typical clamshell model coming to some markets.

If you want to know everything there is to know about the new Galaxy Book 2 series, you’ve come to the right place. We have the specs, release date, and pricing information to help you out. Keep in mind that available configurations may vary by market.

Specs

While Samsung has listed these specs on its global websites, there’s no indication that the Galaxy Book 2 is coming to the US. Additionally, only the Intel Core i5 or i7 models of the Galaxy Book 2 360 have been announced for the US.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 release date

Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360 opened on March 17th and it’ll begin shipping on April 1st. This applies to the United States, so the dates may vary for other markets. This also only includes the Core i5 and Core i7 models, as mentioned above.

As for the standard Galaxy Book 2, Samsung hasn’t really mentioned it at all for the United States. There’s no clear indication of when and where it will be available, though we’d expect it to launch alongside the convertible model.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 price

If you want to be one of the first to buy the new Galaxy Book 2 360, you can expect to pay at least $899.99 in the United States. That’s the price for the base configuration, which should include an Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. There will be upgrade options, but we don’t know exact pricing for each configuration just yet.

Again, the situation with the standard Galaxy Book 2 is unclear. There’s no indication of availability and pricing in the United States – or other regions, for that matter. It will likely be much cheaper, though, especially with some configurations including HDDs for storage and just 4GB of RAM.

What’s new in the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 series

The new Samsung Galaxy Book 2 is naturally a successor to last year’s Galaxy Book, so it comes with some upgrades. The biggest news is for the Galaxy Book 2 360, which is a new form factor and has some more notable upgrades. The standard Galaxy Book 2 really only has newer processors and even cheaper models with an HDD. We’ll focus on comparing the Galaxy Book 2 360 to the original Galaxy Book.

The original Galaxy Book come in a clamshell form factor, and that was the only option you had unless you opted for the Pro models. With the Galaxy Book 2 series, the clamshell form factor has actually been pushed to the side somewhat, with it barely being mentioned anywhere.

Instead, the focus is now on the Galaxy Book 2 360. This is a convertible laptop, meaning the hinge can rotate 360 degrees. You can use it as a normal laptop, but you can also rotate all around to use it as a tablet, or use it in “tent mode” to watch movies and videos, for example.

The display on the Galaxy Book 2 360 is also a very noteworthy upgrade. It now uses a Super AMOLED panel, giving you bright, vivid colors, true blacks, and high contrast ratios compared to last year’s model. The display is also smaller now, at 13.3 inches, which is actually more suitable for the Full HD resolution of the panel. Plus, the smaller size makes it more manageable as a convertible, so you can more easily switch to tablet mode.

The standard Galaxy Book 2 is using an identical display to last year’s model. It’s a 15.6-inch Full HD panel, and while Samsung hasn’t shared specifics, it’s likely a TFT panel again.

The last of the big upgrades is in the processors, which have been upgraded to Intel’s latest. 12th-generation Intel processors use a hybrid architecture, with P cores focused on high performance and E cores designed to be more efficient. In total, you get up to 10 cores and 12 threads with 12th-generation processors, compared to the maximum 4 cores and 8 threads of 11th-generation CPUs.

Unlike the Pro series, the Galaxy Book 2 is still using U-series processors with a 15W TDP, not the 28W units. Still, this is a significant upgrade if you care about performance, and it should also help deliver much better battery life.

While these new processors would support LPDDR5 RAM, Samsung is sticking with LPDDR4x here. Additionally, the Galaxy Book 2 360 doesn’t have the option for discrete graphics, which you could get in last year’s Galaxy Book.

Where to buy the Samsung Galaxy Book 2

If you’re interested in buying the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360, you can pre-order it below, and shipping will begin on April 1st. The clamshell Galaxy Book 2 is not planned to launch in the US. You can always check out the best Samsung laptops you can buy right now if you don’t want to wait. We also have a list of the best laptops in general, if you’re not committed to Samsung devices.