After making a great impression with last year’s Galaxy Book Pro series, Samsung is back with the Galaxy Book Pro 2. The new model is similar to last year’s in many ways, and seeing as that’s one of the best lightweight laptops around, that’s not a bad thing. It has the same great Full HD AMOLED panel and lightweight design, but now it comes with improved specs for even better performance.

If you want to know everything there is to know about the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro series, we’re here to help. We’ve rounded up all the information about specs, release date, and what’s new in this year’s models. In the meantime, you may also want to check out our hands-on impressions of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro series.

Specs

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro release date

While Samsung has already announced the new Galaxy Pro 2 series, availability is still a few weeks away. Samsung says it will open pre-orders for the new models on March 17th on Samsung.com, with general availability on April 1st. That’s not too long of a wait if you’re interested in Samsung’s latest lightweight laptops.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360

There’s one thing that needs to be noted, however: The United States will not receive the 5G-enabled models, at least for the time being. While Samsung did announce a 5G version of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro, it will only be coming to select markets, which don’t include the US.

Aside from that, it’s not completely clear if all configurations will be available at launch. Samsung laptops tend to have fairly streamlined configurations, though, which could help ensure that stock is available for all the existing configurations.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro price

Alongside the announcement, Samsung also revealed pricing information for the Galaxy Book 2 Pro series, though we don’tyet know the full details. The Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro will start at $1,049.99, which presumably applies to the 13.3-inch model, with the 15.6-inch version likely being a bit more expensive. There will also be configuration options that increase that price, including some new options we didn’t get last year, such as 32GB of RAM or Intel Arc graphics, so prices will likely reach much higher levels in the top-tier models.

As for the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360, pricing will start at $1,249.99, with that premium being owed to the more versatile design and a touch-capable display. Again, that price will increase depending on the configuration and size, so expect this to go significantly higher.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro: What’s new

With Samsung coming back for seconds with the Galaxy Book Pro lineup, it’s also interesting to look at what’s been improved or changed compared to last year’s models. The original Galaxy Book Pro series was great, but Samsung has upgraded some internals to make it that much better and more modern. Sadly, that doesn’t include a taller 16:10 or 3:2 display, but there’s still a lot to look forward to here.

The first and – to some –most noteworthy upgrade is that the Galaxy Book 2 Pro series comes with Intel’s 12th-generation P-series processors. That’s a big upgrade on two fronts. First, it’s new generation of Intel CPUs, and one of the best evolutions yet for Intel. These new processors have a hybrid architecture with high-performance cores and more efficient cores, resulting in much higher core and thread counts. That, in turn, means you get more overall performance, but also more efficiency when you don’t need all the power.

But it’s also a big upgrade in terms of raw power. The P-series is a new addition to Intel’s lineup, and it has a 28W TDP, compared to the 15W rating of the U-series we had seen before. There are 12th-generation U-series processors, but Samsung decided to upgrade to the 28W models, and that should bring a major performance boost. Samsung hasn’t said the specific models used here, but we could be looking at up to 14 cores and 20 threads, while the U-series models would max out with 10 cores and 12 threads.

This upgrade also brings along support for newer technologies like LPDDR5 RAM, which should help reduce overall system latency with its significantly higher speeds. Likewise, Samsung is using faster PCIe Gen 4 SSDs for storage. On that note, you can now get up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, while last year’s models maxed out at 16GB and 512GB, respectively.

Another noteworthy upgrade is that the 15.6-inch model of the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro (the 360 model isn’t included) now has the option for discrete graphics. Specifically, you can add an intel Arc GPU if you want a bit more graphics power for things like gaming.

Intel Arc is still a somewhat mysterious GPU, so just how powerful it is remains unknown. Regardless, it should give you a much better experience than integrated graphics, and it’s nice to have the option.

Despite releasing well into the pandemic that started in 2020, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro still came with a 720p webcam, which was unfortunate for a premium laptop. Granted, many other laptops did the same, but Samsung learned the lesson for 2022. Both the Galaxy Book 2 Pro and Pro 360 come with a Full HD webcam, so you’re bound to look that much better during calls.

In addition to the higher resolution, the webcam also has a wider field of view so you can get more in the frame at once. And Samsung’s Studio mode feature now has things like auto framing so the camera can keep you in view even if you move around a bit. The built-in microphones also have noise cancellation.

Samsung has also made the display brighter, now reaching up to 500 nits in HDR mode, making content look that much more lifelike. The built-in speakers also now hit up 4W of power on the 13.3-inch models and 5W on the 15.6-inch versions. Samsung never specified the wattage of last year’s models, but these should be louder.

The original Galaxy Book Pro lineup only offered 5G support if you wanted to get the convertible model, specifically the 13.3-inch size. That was the only version that supported any kind of cellular connectivity, but now, things were basically reversed.

With the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro, if you want 5G, you’ll need to buy the 15.6-inch clamshell model. The convertible version does not support any kind of cellular connectivity. On top of that, the 5G-enabled version of the Galaxy Book Pro won’t be available in the United States. Samsung will continue to sell last year’s model Galaxy Book Pro 360 5G if you need cellular connectivity.

Finally, the colors of the laptop have changed for this year. The Galaxy Book 2 Pro comes in two color options: Silver and Graphite. Silver has a silver lid, but the keyboard base and keys are white, similar to last year’s Mystic Silver option. Graphite replaces last year’s Mystic Blue, and this time, it’s all black. With the original Galaxy Book Pro, you’d get a dark blue lid with a black keyboard base.

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 touchpad

If you prefer the convertible, your options this year are Silver, Graphite, and Burgundy, with that last one seemingly inherited from the Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone. In this case, the entire chassis is burgundy, though the keyboard keys are black. The Silver option is the same as last year’s Mystic Silver, but different from the clamshell version. Instead of a white keyboard, the entire chassis is silver and the keys are black. Finally, Graphite is similar to the clamshell version, except it’s more of a dark grey than black.

Where to buy the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro

Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro are already open, and you can get them below. On April 1st, it’ll start being available in retail stores, and that’s when it should also start shipping if you pre-ordered it. We’ll update this page with pre-order links as soon as they’re available. In the meantime, you can check out the best Samsung Galaxy laptops you can buy right now, or consider looking at the best laptops overall if you want to explore more options.