Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360

3.5/ 5 Good

pros and cons

Pros

• Solid performance
• Battery life
• Fantastic display

Cons

• Too much Samsung software
• Touchpad is almost too big
• Number pad isn't big enough to be helpful

$1,699.99 at Samsung $1,699.99 at Best Buy more buying choices

When Samsung recently announced atrio of Galaxy S23 phones , the company also announced a line of Galaxy Book 3 Windows laptops. For the last few weeks, I've been testing the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360. Its name is a mouthful, I agree.

 Die-hard Samsung fans will appreciate the access and tight integration with Samsung's overall platform.  

This 2-in-1 laptop has a 16-inch display that rotates nearly 360 degrees (thus the name!), to pull double duty as a tablet. It even comes with Samsung's iconic S Pen stylus in the box, so you can jot down notes or sketch directly on the beautiful display.

There's a lot to like about the Book 3 Pro 360, at least when it comes to the hardware. It's the software where Samsung's laptop experience starts to fall apart. Let me explain. 

Specifications

Operating system	Windows 11 Home
Display	16-inch, 3K AMOLED touchscreen, 2,880 x 1,800-pixel resolution
Processor	Intel Core i7-1360P
Graphics	Intel Iris Xe
Storage	512GB, 1TB
Memory	16GB
Ports	1 x HDMI, 2 x Thunderbolt 4, 1 x USB-A 3.2, 1 x microSD, 1 x 3.5mm audio
Connectivity	802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1
Dimensions	13.99 x 9.93 x 0.5 inches
Weight	3.66 pounds
Price	Starting at$1,699.99 ($1,899.99 as tested)

Jason Cipriani/

Design

Arguably, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360's headlining feature is its 16-inch display. It's the first thing you notice when opening the lid, and for good reason. It's big, bright, and crystal-clear. Samsung used a 3K 16-inch AMOLED touchscreen display here -- that's the same kind of screen tech used in all of Samsung's high-end smartphones. AMOLED displays are known for deeper blacks and more precise color saturation, and the Book 3 Pro 360 delivers on those promises.

My lone complaint about the display is just how reflective it is. I fought bright overhead lights the entire time I was testing it. 

Also: Galaxy Book 3 Ultra vs MacBook Pro: A premium laptop showdown

The bezels surrounding the Book 3 Pro 360's display are thin, leaving just enough room on the top for a 1080p webcam that looks like a typical laptop webcam. It's good enough for business and personal video calls, but you're not going to hear anyone make comments about how great your feed looks.

Similarly, the speakers are all right for video calls, but when listening to music or watching YouTube, they sound almost hollow. They just don't have any oomph to them.   

Below the display, on the laptop's deck, is a full-size keyboard with chiclet-style keys, with a massive touchpad that's centered with the keyboard, not the laptop's housing. The keyboard is easy enough to type on, requiring only minor adjustments to get the lay of the land. I don't particularly care for the very small number pad on the right side, however. It's too small for any real key punching that a number cruncher would want. I prefer just using the number row at the top of the keyboard. 

The touchpad is great to use, if you ever adjust to its size and off-center placement. I found it frustrating because I'd reach for where I thought the middle of it should be, but end up right-clicking almost 100% of the time.   

Jason Cipriani/

Just above the number pad, in the top right corner of the keyboard's footprint, is the power button that also houses the fingerprint sensor that works with Windows Hello to unlock the laptop or sign you in to apps, such as a password manager. Setup and use of the fingerprint sensor was effortless; that's something Samsung has perfected on its smartphones, and now its laptops. 

The Book 3 Pro 360 has a handful of ports: On the right side of the housing are a microSD card reader, a USB-A 3.2 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. On the left side of the deck are two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports that are also used to charge the laptop, along with an HDMI port. There's also a small indicator light showing the laptop's charging status. 

Also:The best laptops for every kind of person and budget

An S Pen is included in the box with the Book 3 Pro 360, though Samsung doesn't give you anywhere to store the pen when you're not using it. Well, technically, you can magnetically attach the S Pen to the lid of the laptop, but it doesn't feel very secure and is easily knocked off. 

The Book 3 Pro 360 measures 13.99 x 9.93 x 0.5 inches and weighs 3.66 pounds. It's not a huge laptop, by any means, even though it has a large display. And its weight is in line with other laptops of this size -- the 16-inch MacBook Pro, for instance, weighs 3.6 pounds. It's a laptop you'll feel comfortable putting in a backpack to take across campus or on a work trip.

Overall, the design of the Book 3 Pro 360 is good, if not a little boring, with no features that really blow you away or let you down.

Jason Cipriani/

Performance

When it comes to picking out a Book 3 Pro 360, you can choose between two storage amounts -- there's a 512GB model for$1,699.99, and a 1TB model for$1,899.99, giving you double the storage. Either way, you get an Intel Core i7