Forget MacBook Pro 2021: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro stuns in new leak

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro
(Image credit: Evan Blass/Voice)

Last week, a leaked roadmap revealed Samsung’s planned rollout of products over the next few months, and while our main focus was on the Galaxy S21 FE slated for August, there’s also an intriguing PC Unpacked event planned for next month. 

Now Evan Blass, the well established leaker who shared the original roadmap, has returned with information on two of the products set to debut next month: the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro and Pro 360. These systems look quite sleek and powerful, and could steal some of the attention away from the upcoming MacBook Pro 14-inch

As the naming conventions suggest, the difference between the two appears to be the form factor rather than the internal specifications. While the Galaxy Book Pro is a straightforward laptop and a follow up to the Galaxy Book Ion, the Pro 360 includes a 360-degree hinge, allowing the screen to be flipped around and turned into a Windows based tablet. In other words, it seems to be closer to the Galaxy Book Flex in terms of its design. 

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360

(Image credit: Evan Blass)

From the limited specs available, it does appear that the internal DNA is largely shared, though. Both will come in 13- and 15-inch sizes, with 11th generation Intel processors and a choice embedded graphics, or something discrete in the form of Nvidia’s MX450 GPU.

The screens – both of which support Samsung’s S Pen – are full HD AMOLED panels, and the devices are said to include Thunderbolt 4 support and optional LTE connectivity. (Why not 5G?) Apparently, the regular Pro model will come in blue or silver options, while the Pro 360 will be available in navy or gold.

While not mentioned by Blass here, when the Galaxy Book Pro was first shared by WalkingCat last month on Twitter, the leaker also revealed a third laptop: the Galaxy Book Go.

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This, as you can see from the embed above, promises “the fastest Qualcomm processor ever in G.Book,” assuming you get the top-tier model with a 8cx processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB of UFS SSD storage. An entry level model is planned with the 7c processor, 4GB RAM and a 128GB UFS SSD.

WalkingCat wrote that both the Galaxy Book Pro and Go are “coming in May." This is slightly later than the roadmap Blass shared, albeit not dramatically so. It’s also entirely possible that while the devices will get unveiled on April 14, they may not be available to buy until the following month. 

Apple is expected to hold an Apple Event in April, at which the company is expected to unveil a new iPad Pro 2021, the AirTags and possibly a new iMac 2021 with Apple Silicon, but a new MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021 may not appear until later. 

In any case, it doesn’t look like we have long to wait to see more details like pricing, availability and whether Samsung has any Chrome OS based devices to accompany these Windows machines.

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.

  • TGO
    "Forget MacBook Pro 2021: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro stuns"
    Uh, does it also run Mac OS?
    Reply
  • AndreX86
    "the top-tier model with a 8cx processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB of UFS SSD storage." - Their top tier laptop has the same specs as a $999 M1 MacBook air, Apple's lowest end laptop. So how is any mac user going to "forget the macbook pro 2021" with M1X which is supposed to outperform AMD's fastest desktop CPU and has a GPU that should be comparable to a 1050ti. And the samsuns RUNS WINDOWS, just saying.
    Reply