Samsung introduced the Galaxy Book 2 Pro at MWC 2022, and it’s a follow-up to one of the best lightweight laptops of last year. It keeps the same thin and light design and the great Full HD AMOLED display, but there are some upgrades this time around. Most notably, of course, the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro comes with new processors from Intel.

Specifically, you can get the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro, as well as the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360, with up to a 12th-generation Intel Core i7-1260P. That’s a powerful laptop processor with 28W of power, and it’s worth looking closer at what it brings to the table. There’s also an Intel Core i5 version available, at least for the clamshell model.

As for the regular Galaxy Book 2 360, which seems to be the only non-Pro model coming to the United States, it comes with up to an Intel Core i7-1255U, and there’s also a model with a Core i5-1235U.

Explaining the processors inside the Galaxy Book 2 and Book 2 Pro

Intel’s 12th-generation processors, also known by the codename Alder Lake, are pretty different from what we’ve seen in the past. First and foremost, they’re using a new hybrid architecture. Instead of having a few cores that are all the same, these new processors have a mix of performance (P) cores and efficient (E) cores. As the names suggest, that results in better overall performance, but also better battery life when that performance isn’t as necessary.

Intel’s 12th-generation mobile processor lineup

The Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro’s processors are noteworthy for even more reasons though. They come with the new Intel P-series, while last year, they were using U-series CPUs. The U series line has a 15W TDP, but the new P series goes up to 28W, and that results in significantly better performance (at the cost of some battery life). Meanwhile, the Galaxy Book 2 360 (non-Pro) is still using U-series processors, but they’re still 12th-generation models. Let’s take a closer look at them.

The Intel Core i7-1260P is a CPU with 12 cores – four P cores, and eight E cores – making for a total of 16 threads. P cores support hyperthreading so they have two threads per core, while E cores only have one. Additionally, it can reach speeds up to 4.7GHz on its P cores, and 3.4GHz on the E cores. The Intel Core i7-1260P also has integrated Iris Xe graphics with 96 execution units (EUs), and clock speeds up to 1.4GHz. Overall, that gives you plenty of performance for day-to-day tasks, and it could even handle some (very) light gaming.

If you opt for the lower-end Intel Core i5-1240P, you’re still getting 14 cores (4P+6E) and 16 threads, but speeds are a bit lower. It can hit 4.4GHz on the P cores and 3.3GHz on the E-cores, which is still far from bad. The bigger downgrade is in the integrated Iris Xe graphics, which only have 80 EUs and are clocked at 1.3GHz. It can still handle some light GPU tasks, but it’s naturally not as good as the Core i7.

Samsung tells us the Core i5-1240P processor will only be available in the clamshell version of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro, with the Book 2 Pro 360 only offering the Core i7 variant. However, the official spec sheets still mention Core i5 models for the convertible, so it could depend on what market you’re in.

If you opt for the more mainstream Galaxy Book 2 360, the top-tier configuration comes with an Intel Core i7-1255U. As we’ve mentioned, this is a 15W processor, but it still has a hybrid architecture. It comes with 10 cores in total – two P cores and eight E cores – and it has 12 threads. The P cores can boost up to 4.7GHz, while the E cores can go up to 3.5GHz, though they’ll be a bit more constrained by their TDP during long periods of use. It also includes Intel Iris Xe graphics with 96 EUs and clock speeds up to 1.25GHz, which is a little slower than what you get on the P-series processors.

If you want, you can go with the cheaper Intel Core i5-1235U model. It also has 10 cores (2P+8E) and 12 threads, and it can boost up to 4.4GHz on the P cores and 3.3GHz on the E cores. Again, it includes Intel Iris Xe graphics, but only with 80 EUs and clocked at up to 1.2GHz.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360

Those are the only models known to be coming to the US, though Samsung has also mentioned Celeron, Pentium, and Core i3 models may come to other markets. We don’t know the specifics of those models, but one thing you can expect is that they won’t include Iris Xe graphics and they’ll have fewer and slower cores. They still have a hybrid architecture, though.

Samsung has also listed a typical clamshell version of the Galaxy Book 2 in some pages, but again, it doesn’t seem to be coming to the United States. Regardless, it should include the same CPUs as the convertible model.

Those interested in buying the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro can pre-order it right now. General availability is planned for April 1st. You can always check out the best Samsung laptops you can buy today, or stop by our list of the best laptops overall to see what other brands are offering.