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Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver Laptop Review: Great 15-inch Ultrabook with driver issues

A great problem child. After its 13-inch Modell Samsung has now introduced a 15-inch version of its ultra light-weight Ion laptop. We took a look at it to find out whether the larger model has the same issues as its smaller brother (loud fans) and whether the Galaxy Book Ion really can be considered a decent alternative to the ultra light-weight LG Gram.

We already reviewed the 13-inch version of the new Galaxy Book Ion series in July. The smaller model had to take a fair amount of criticism for its loud cooling system. Today, we want to find out whether the larger device does a better job at keeping the cooling fans in check.

The Galaxy Book Ion is Samsung's response to the LG Gram. The Ion is only minimally heavier, but even features the dedicated GeForce MX250 (optional) in its 15-inch model. Samsung has also tried to score points with its QLED display and the device's fancy design. The touchpad's QI support is a very unique feature - it means that you can charge your smartphone ( if it supports Qi) simply by laying it onto the touchpad.  

We will find out whether this is enough to beat the LG Gram 15 in our direct comparison. As there aren't a lot of ultra-thin light-weight 15-inch notebooks around, we will also be comparing our test unit with the 13-inch version and with the Huawei MateBook D 15, equipped with AMD hardware, as well as the Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T, equipped with an older Whisky Lake CPU.     

Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver (Galaxy Book Series)
Processor
Intel Core i7-10510U 4 x 1.8 - 4.9 GHz, 51 W PL2 / Short Burst, 24 W PL1 / Sustained, Comet Lake-U
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce MX250, Geforce 442.62
Memory
16 GB 
, soldered on, Dual-Channel
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 141 PPI, BOE0889, QLED, glossy: yes, HDR, 60 Hz
Mainboard
Intel Comet Lake-U PCH-LP Premium
Storage
WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB, 512 GB 
, NVMe (PCIe 4x, 8.0 GT/s), 380 GB free
Soundcard
Intel Comet Lake PCH-LP - cAVS
Connections
3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 Thunderbolt, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: combined audio jack, Card Reader: MicroSD & UFS, 1 Fingerprint Reader, Brightness Sensor
Networking
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (a/b/g/h/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/ax = Wi-Fi 6/), Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 15 x 356 x 228 ( = 0.59 x 14.02 x 8.98 in)
Battery
70 Wh Lithium-Ion, Battery runtime (according to manufacturer): 21 h
Charging
wireless charging, fast charging / Quickcharge
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 720p HD Webcam
Primary Camera: 1 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
1.253 kg ( = 44.2 oz / 2.76 pounds), Power Supply: 228 g ( = 8.04 oz / 0.5 pounds)
Price
1250 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Rating
Date
Model
Weight
Height
Size
Resolution
Best Price
81.7 %
10/2020
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
i7-10510U, GeForce MX250
1.3 kg15 mm15.60"1920x1080
83.8 %
07/2020
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
i5-10210U, UHD Graphics 620
970 g12.9 mm13.30"1920x1080
84.8 %
07/2020
LG Gram 15Z90N
i5-1035G7, Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU)
1.1 kg16.8 mm15.60"1920x1080
85.2 %
03/2020
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
R5 3500U, Vega 8
1.5 kg16.9 mm15.60"1920x1080
87.1 %
02/2019
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
i7-8565U, UHD Graphics 620
999 g15.9 mm15.60"1920x1080

Case - thin case, thin materials

the lid opens to around 140 degrees
the lid opens to around 140 degrees

Except for its bezels the Galaxy Book Ion is almost entirely made of silver-gray magnesium, which is how it can weigh so little. However, the material is so thin that the base unit can easily be compressed. The design itself is attractive - with one possible exception. The blue plastic runner on the back could either be considered fancy or cheap. We can't quite decide. 

The workmanship appears to be of high quality with no large gaps anywhere. The long hinge enables an opening angle of around 140 degrees. However, the hinge becomes looser as the angle widens. This could still do with improvement. The bezels are very narrow but still manage to contain a webcam with two microphones along the top. Air is sucked in from below and then blown out onto the display via the hinge. 

The dimensions of the Ion and the Gram are very similar. The former is actually a little thinner and less wide, but deeper instead. It weighs 150 to 200 grams more than the Gram, which is probably due to the dedicated GPU. The similarly sized Swift 5 has an iGPU and weighs another 100 grams less while the MateBook weighs 200 grams more despite its iGPU. The Ion configuration with an integrated GPU probably weighs about the same as its two main competitors. In general, it's a very light 15-inch device.

Size Comparison

357.8 mm / 14.1 inch 229.9 mm / 9.05 inch 16.9 mm / 0.665 inch 1.5 kg3.36 lbs357.6 mm / 14.1 inch 225.3 mm / 8.87 inch 16.8 mm / 0.661 inch 1.1 kg2.41 lbs358 mm / 14.1 inch 230 mm / 9.06 inch 15.9 mm / 0.626 inch 999 g2.2 lbs356 mm / 14 inch 228 mm / 8.98 inch 15 mm / 0.591 inch 1.3 kg2.76 lbs305.7 mm / 12 inch 199.8 mm / 7.87 inch 12.9 mm / 0.508 inch 970 g2.14 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity - no LAN but Thunderbolt instead

Despite its larger dimensions the Ion 15 inch does not offer a wider port selection than its little 13-inch brother. While the selection is not particularly diverse, the most important ports are there. The USB C port supports Thunderbolt 3. Apart from that the only thing noteworthy is the microSD card reader which can only be opened with the help of a SIM tool. Users have to do without a LAN connection (there is no adapter either) and we would have been pleased to have a fourth USB port.

The few ports are well positioned towards the back of the device with sufficient space on either side. This means that they shouldn't get in the way of a physical mouse. 

Left: AC, HDMI, USB-C with Thunderbolt 3, 3.5-mm audio jack
Left: AC, HDMI, USB-C with Thunderbolt 3, 3.5-mm audio jack
Right: microSD, 2x USB-A 3.0
Right: microSD, 2x USB-A 3.0
Back: blue plastic runner, smart or cheap?
Back: blue plastic runner, smart or cheap?

SD card reader

As many subnotebooks (Swift 5, MateBook) don't even include an SD card reader, we are very pleased that it is there. However, the fact that you need a SIM tool to open the microSD slot kind of dampens the pleasure. The reader is just as fast as that of the LG Gram and corresponds to the industry average.

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
LG Gram 15Z90N
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB)
84.1 MB/s +5%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB)
80 MB/s
Average of class Subnotebook
  (19.5 - 193.9, n=16, last 2 years)
69.6 MB/s -13%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB)
89 MB/s
LG Gram 15Z90N
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB)
88.8 MB/s 0%
Average of class Subnotebook
  (23.6 - 239, n=16, last 2 years)
84.3 MB/s -5%

Communication

The Ion positions itself on top in our Wi-Fi ranking and is a little faster than we would have expected from its Intel AX201 module with WiFi 6. It is faster than the LG Gram by 38 to 62 percent. 

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
1614 (1316min - 1783max) MBit/s
Average Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
  (49.8 - 1775, n=324)
1161 MBit/s -28%
Average of class Subnotebook
  (606 - 1339, n=3, last 2 years)
1056 MBit/s -35%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Realtek 8822CE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCI-E NIC
690 (335min - 729max) MBit/s -57%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
638 (582min - 695max) MBit/s -60%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
615 (571min - 655max) MBit/s -62%
iperf3 receive AX12
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
1408 (1262min - 1435max) MBit/s
Average Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
  (136 - 1743, n=324)
1261 MBit/s -10%
Average of class Subnotebook
  (623 - 1690, n=3, last 2 years)
1258 MBit/s -11%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
876 (819min - 901max) MBit/s -38%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Realtek 8822CE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCI-E NIC
653 (593min - 667max) MBit/s -54%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
647 (493min - 679max) MBit/s -54%
0501001502002503003504004505005506006507007508008509009501000105011001150120012501300135014001450150015501600165017001750Tooltip
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201; iperf3 receive AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø1407 (1262-1435)
LG Gram 15Z90N Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201; iperf3 receive AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø875 (819-901)
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6 Intel Wireless-AC 9560; iperf3 receive AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø646 (493-679)
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201; iperf3 transmit AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø1614 (1316-1783)
LG Gram 15Z90N Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201; iperf3 transmit AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø615 (571-655)
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6 Intel Wireless-AC 9560; iperf3 transmit AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø638 (582-695)

Webcam

The 720p webcam is positioned along the top display bezel. Unfortunately, the famous smartphone manufacturer has missed out on their chance to put their expertise to good use and create a new unique selling point. Instead, we just get the usual average laptop webcam with a slight blue cast.

ColorChecker
26.4 ∆E
23.7 ∆E
26.5 ∆E
23.3 ∆E
30.6 ∆E
18.1 ∆E
20.1 ∆E
30.7 ∆E
20.5 ∆E
23.1 ∆E
13.6 ∆E
19.5 ∆E
24.6 ∆E
18.1 ∆E
23.8 ∆E
9.5 ∆E
25 ∆E
23.5 ∆E
2.3 ∆E
11.8 ∆E
24.9 ∆E
25.4 ∆E
24.7 ∆E
10.5 ∆E
ColorChecker LG Gram 15Z90N: 20.85 ∆E min: 2.33 - max: 30.73 ∆E
ColorChecker
17.9 ∆E
17.4 ∆E
19.8 ∆E
15.3 ∆E
18.9 ∆E
14.5 ∆E
14.5 ∆E
26.5 ∆E
18 ∆E
17.2 ∆E
11.8 ∆E
11.2 ∆E
23.4 ∆E
16 ∆E
22 ∆E
5.9 ∆E
19 ∆E
19.1 ∆E
2.3 ∆E
11.9 ∆E
18.4 ∆E
18.7 ∆E
16.7 ∆E
7 ∆E
ColorChecker Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver: 15.98 ∆E min: 2.33 - max: 26.47 ∆E

Security

The fingerprint reader with its unusual blue design is positioned between the right shift key and the number pad. The sensor works well and lets you log in via Windows Hello. TPM 2.0 is also available thanks to the Intel chip, but the Ion does not feature a Kensington lock.

the fingerprint reader
the fingerprint reader

Accessories

The package contains the essential: the laptop, an AC adapter and the SIM tool that is needed to open the SD slot. We would have appreciated a USB-to-LAN adapter at the very least. 

Maintenance

The screws are hidden under the rubber feet
The screws are hidden under the rubber feet

At first glance it doesn't look like you can open the Ion. However, we then found a screw beneath each of the four rubber feet. Lifting the cover off the base unit after removing the screws isn't easy and the thin metal bends worryingly in some areas, plus there is a narrow adhesive strip on the inside towards the back that makes opening the device even more difficult. Once that is done, you have access to the dual fans, the two M.2 2280 storage slots (one of them is free) and - in theory - the RAM module. Getting to the latter requires removing the battery first. 

Warranty

According to the Samsung homepage, the manufacturer offers 12 months warranty for this device. This can be extended and expanded to include accident protection for an additional charge.

Input Devices - good keyboard layout, average feedback

Keyboard

keyboard
keyboard

The main keys are nicely sized (16.5 mm) and the lettering is easy to read. The single-color three-tier backlighting helps read the keyboard in dark surroundings. There's a number pad with slightly smaller keys on the right side of the main keyboard. The layout is clear and orderly. Unfortunately, the arrow keys are significantly smaller and the enter key is unusually narrow - all that in order to make space for the number pad. The Pos 1 and End keys are second functions on the number pad and only work when this is deactivated.

Typing takes a little getting used to as the keys have a fairly soft travel for an Ultrabook and also lack feedback, which is too soft and imprecise. The noise from typing is rather low due to these soft keys. The power button is not integrated into the main keyboard area, luckily enough, but sits above them in the top right corner.

Touchpad

The touchpad is well dimensioned at 12.15 x 7.9 cm and also offers good gliding capabilities, even during slow movements. The integrated mouse buttons offer good feedback, but aren't as quiet as the keyboard keys.

The clickpad features a unique selling point. It lets users recharge their smartphones and other devices that support wireless Qi charging. All you need to do is place your smartphone on the touchpad and hit fn + F11 and the phone will be wirelessly charged via the laptop.

The touchpad ...
The touchpad ...
... with a Qi charging function
... with a Qi charging function

Display - colorful FullHD QLED panel

Samsung has chosen a reflective FullHD QLED panel from BOE (BOE0889) for its Galaxy Book Ion. The panel offers an average brightness of 437 cd/m², which is very good and easily beats the competition including the LG Gram (342 cd/m²). The brightness distribution is very good and even at 91 percent. Thanks to the reflective display, screen content is very sharp and clear. The manufacturer does not offer any alternatives such as 4K options, higher refresh rates or touchscreens for this series.

We did not perceive any backlight bleeding on our test unit.

Clear subpixel array
Clear subpixel array
No noticeable backlight bleeding
No noticeable backlight bleeding
438
cd/m²
458
cd/m²
425
cd/m²
434
cd/m²
467
cd/m²
429
cd/m²
430
cd/m²
429
cd/m²
425
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
BOE0889 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 467 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 437.2 cd/m² Minimum: 29.8 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 91 %
Center on Battery: 399 cd/m²
Contrast: 1730:1 (Black: 0.27 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.39 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2.17 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
100% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
78% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
87.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.9% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.1% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.45
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
BOE0889, QLED, 1920x1080, 15.60
LG Gram 15Z90N
LP156WF9-SPN1, .2 IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AU Optronics AUO28ED, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
LG Philips LP156WFA-SPG2, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
BOE087A, IPS (QLED), 1920x1080, 13.30
Display
-20%
-50%
-19%
Display P3 Coverage
99.1
66
-33%
40.49
-59%
66.8
-33%
sRGB Coverage
99.9
96.4
-4%
60.9
-39%
98
-2%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
87.3
66.8
-23%
41.84
-52%
67.8
-22%
Response Times
26%
2%
18%
2%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
49 ?(22, 27)
36 ?(18, 18)
27%
43.6 ?(20.4, 23.2)
11%
38 ?(19, 19)
22%
47 ?(22, 25)
4%
Response Time Black / White *
29 ?(15, 14)
22 ?(12, 10)
24%
31.2 ?(18, 13.2)
-8%
25 ?(14, 11)
14%
29 ?(18, 11)
-0%
PWM Frequency
Screen
-8%
-36%
-6%
-19%
Brightness middle
467
366
-22%
271
-42%
341
-27%
467
0%
Brightness
437
342
-22%
256
-41%
319
-27%
437
0%
Brightness Distribution
91
88
-3%
90
-1%
87
-4%
88
-3%
Black Level *
0.27
0.28
-4%
0.15
44%
0.31
-15%
0.29
-7%
Contrast
1730
1307
-24%
1807
4%
1100
-36%
1610
-7%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
3.39
2.68
21%
4.7
-39%
2.01
41%
4.73
-40%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
6.27
5.25
16%
20.4
-225%
4.74
24%
6.07
3%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
2.17
2.4
-11%
1.6
26%
2.01
7%
4.33
-100%
Gamma
2.45 90%
2.25 98%
2.17 101%
2.52 87%
2.34 94%
CCT
6488 100%
6474 100%
6649 98%
6704 97%
6954 93%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
78
61
-22%
38.5
-51%
63
-19%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
100
96
-4%
60.6
-39%
98
-2%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *
1.08
4.6
1.11
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-1% / -6%
-28% / -34%
-2% / -5%
-9% / -15%

* ... smaller is better

The contrast ratio is very good at 1730:1 (only the MateBook does slightly better) despite the black value being rather average. The latter is compensated by the panel's full sRGB coverage and 78 percent coverage of the AdobeRGB color space. None of the competitors can offer similar values. This makes the laptop potentially interesting for people working in the creative industry. The calibration is acceptable ex-works, although there is still room for improvement.  

sRGB: 100%
sRGB: 100%
AdobeRGB: 78%
AdobeRGB: 78%
grayscales
grayscales
saturation
saturation
ColorChecker
ColorChecker
grayscales after calibration
grayscales after calibration
saturation after calibration
saturation after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration

The high brightness makes the device suitable for outdoor use, although this is somewhat counteracted by the reflective surface. Overall, the Ion can be used outdoors; we would recommend finding a spot in the shade, however. 

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
29 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 15 ms rise
↘ 14 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 73 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
49 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 22 ms rise
↘ 27 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 82 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

The viewing angle stability is very good as expected, with brightness and colors only reducing under extreme viewing angles.

Performance - Good performance, big latency issues

The Galaxy Book Ion is equipped with a GeForce MX250, the energy-efficient Intel Core i7-10510U with 4 cores and 8 threads, 16 GB of RAM and an SSD with 500 GB capacity. This makes it a real all-rounder, suitable for content creators and business users alike. Particularly the dedicated GPU is a great feature for an Ultrabook to have. We ran all benchmarks in the Samsung performance mode for the best results.  

Processor

The Intel Core i7-10510U is an efficient quad-core 10th generation Intel chip (Comet Lake). Its clock rate is very flexible and ranges from 1.8 to 4.9 GHz. Performance therefore offers a similarly wide range of possibilities that depend on the effectiveness of the cooling system and on the manufacturer's specifications. 

Our CineBench R15 loop positions the Ion on the top of our comparison list - it is equipped with the nominally fastest CPU, after all. The LG Gram that we tested was only equipped with a Core i5 with lower clock rates. Our Galaxy Book Ion takes a 20 - 30 percent lead in multi-thread performance while the MateBook, equipped with a Ryzen 3500U has similar results as the Ion. The Ion's performance only drops by about 5 percent over time, although its performance and clock rates fluctuate strongly. This indicates that the system continues to adjust the core speed depending on the current temperature, which seems to fluctuate just as quickly in this thin case. Overall, the processor's results are where we expected them to be. 

Performance is hardly impacted on battery with the difference probably coming down to measurement uncertainty that could also be connected to the missing performance mode.

03570105140175210245280315350385420455490525560595630665Tooltip
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver Intel Core i7-10510U, Intel Core i7-10510U: Ø656 (607.23-685.84)
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3 Intel Core i5-10210U, Intel Core i5-10210U: Ø460 (452.11-479.49)
LG Gram 15Z90N Intel Core i5-1035G7, Intel Core i5-1035G7: Ø414 (401.76-534.64)
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6 Intel Core i7-8565U, Intel Core i7-8565U: Ø441 (424.51-542.46)
Cinebench R20: CPU (Single Core) | CPU (Multi Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core)
Average of class Subnotebook
  (216 - 738, n=64, last 2 years)
602 Points +33%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
452 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (362 - 497, n=37)
437 Points -3%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
418 Points -8%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
380 Points -16%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
364 Points -19%
Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core)
Average of class Subnotebook
  (810 - 6314, n=64, last 2 years)
3825 Points +140%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
1597 Points
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
1525 Points -5%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (1015 - 1897, n=38)
1412 Points -12%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
1182 Points -26%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
1043 Points -35%
Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Subnotebook
  (91.8 - 280, n=62, last 2 years)
234 Points +23%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
191 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (113 - 202, n=42)
178.4 Points -7%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel Core i7-8565U
173 Points -9%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
164.1 Points -14%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
153 Points -20%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
144 Points -25%
Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Subnotebook
  (514 - 2581, n=70, last 2 years)
1705 Points +148%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
688 (575.7min - 685.84max) Points
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
678 (671.21min - 677.84max) Points -1%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (482 - 856, n=45)
666 Points -3%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel Core i7-8565U
543 Points -21%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
539 Points -22%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
480 (452.11min - 479.49max) Points -30%
Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
1075 Seconds * -60%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
954 Seconds * -42%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (628 - 1051, n=31)
796 Seconds * -19%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
680 Seconds * -1%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
671 Seconds *
Average of class Subnotebook
  (201 - 1600, n=66, last 2 years)
397 Seconds * +41%
7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1
Average of class Subnotebook
  (2197 - 6403, n=58, last 2 years)
5278 MIPS +6%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
4981 MIPS
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (3747 - 4981, n=31)
4591 MIPS -8%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
4225 MIPS -15%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
4091 MIPS -18%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
3536 MIPS -29%
7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4
Average of class Subnotebook
  (16223 - 67444, n=57, last 2 years)
43017 MIPS +120%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
19566 MIPS
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (12196 - 21298, n=31)
17704 MIPS -10%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
16901 MIPS -14%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
14717 MIPS -25%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
13921 MIPS -29%
Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core
Average of class Subnotebook
  (672 - 2350, n=66, last 2 years)
1677 Points +35%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
1245 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (977 - 1287, n=31)
1197 Points -4%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
1163 Points -7%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
1078 Points -13%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
895 Points -28%
Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core
Average of class Subnotebook
  (4213 - 12580, n=66, last 2 years)
8762 Points +151%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
3960 Points +14%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (2474 - 4484, n=31)
3687 Points +6%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
3486 Points
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
3157 Points -9%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
2713 Points -22%
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset
Average of class Subnotebook
  (1.5 - 19.4, n=56, last 2 years)
11.5 fps +123%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
5.15 fps
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (3.41 - 6.04, n=31)
4.65 fps -10%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
4.14 fps -20%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
3.61 fps -30%
LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
67.9 s *
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (50.7 - 77.8, n=27)
59.9 s * +12%
Average of class Subnotebook
  (40.1 - 120.5, n=57, last 2 years)
53.6 s * +21%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
49.58 s * +27%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
32.26 s * +52%
R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Core i5-1035G7
0.811 sec * -26%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
0.745 sec * -15%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U
0.724 sec * -12%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U
  (0.637 - 0.81, n=28)
0.68 sec * -5%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U
0.646 sec *
Average of class Subnotebook
  (0.4397 - 1.236, n=57, last 2 years)
0.528 sec * +18%

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
191 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
688 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
105.1 fps
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Help

System Performance

The Ion's system performance is slightly below average. It is about 4 - 14 percent slower compared to other notebooks with the same CPU/GPU combination. While everything runs smoothly in everyday use, we did have some issues with strong latencies and unusually high CPU utilization. You can read more about that in our section on latencies.

PCMark 8 Home
PCMark 8 Home
PCMark 8 Work
PCMark 8 Work
PCMark 10
PCMark 10
PCMark 10
Score
Average of class Subnotebook
  (4384 - 7428, n=56, last 2 years)
5810 Points +49%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (3861 - 5409, n=11)
4243 Points +9%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, SK Hynix BC501 HFM512GDJTNG
4006 Points +3%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i5-1035G7, SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
3906 Points 0%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
GeForce MX250, i7-10510U, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
3891 Points
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
UHD Graphics 620, i5-10210U, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB256HBHQ
3855 Points -1%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Vega 8, R5 3500U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
3743 Points -4%
Essentials
Average of class Subnotebook
  (8890 - 11168, n=56, last 2 years)
10202 Points +27%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (8021 - 9764, n=11)
8892 Points +11%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, SK Hynix BC501 HFM512GDJTNG
8493 Points +6%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
UHD Graphics 620, i5-10210U, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB256HBHQ
8336 Points +4%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i5-1035G7, SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
8272 Points +3%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
GeForce MX250, i7-10510U, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
8021 Points
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Vega 8, R5 3500U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
7600 Points -5%
Productivity
Average of class Subnotebook
  (6213 - 10279, n=56, last 2 years)
7803 Points +11%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (6625 - 7972, n=11)
7331 Points +4%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, SK Hynix BC501 HFM512GDJTNG
7050 Points 0%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
GeForce MX250, i7-10510U, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
7016 Points
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
UHD Graphics 620, i5-10210U, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB256HBHQ
6791 Points -3%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i5-1035G7, SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
6417 Points -9%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Vega 8, R5 3500U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
5603 Points -20%
Digital Content Creation
Average of class Subnotebook
  (4093 - 9749, n=56, last 2 years)
6758 Points +138%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Vega 8, R5 3500U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
3344 Points +18%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (2621 - 5547, n=11)
3225 Points +14%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i5-1035G7, SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
3047 Points +7%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, SK Hynix BC501 HFM512GDJTNG
2915 Points +3%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
GeForce MX250, i7-10510U, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
2841 Points
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
UHD Graphics 620, i5-10210U, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB256HBHQ
2727 Points -4%
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Average of class Subnotebook
  (4730 - 5285, n=3, last 2 years)
5030 Points +57%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, SK Hynix BC501 HFM512GDJTNG
4093 Points +27%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Vega 8, R5 3500U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
3641 Points +13%
Average Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (3214 - 3958, n=8)
3594 Points +12%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i5-1035G7, SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
3497 Points +9%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
GeForce MX250, i7-10510U, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
3214 Points
Work Score Accelerated v2
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, SK Hynix BC501 HFM512GDJTNG
5181 Points +2%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
GeForce MX250, i7-10510U, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
5069 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (4599 - 5443, n=8)
5026 Points -1%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i5-1035G7, SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
4772 Points -6%
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Vega 8, R5 3500U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
4699 Points -7%
Average of class Subnotebook
  (2972 - 5271, n=3, last 2 years)
3805 Points -25%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3214 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
5069 points
PCMark 10 Score
3891 points
Help

DPC latencies

The Ion seems to have some difficulties when it comes to latencies. Even just opening several browser tabs leads to first driver latencies. Usually, our YouTube test runs smoothly nonetheless. This is not the case for the Galaxy Book: The CPU was maxed out at 100 percent when displaying a 4K/60fps video, according to the task manager, with 883 dropped frames. Apparently the CPU is not supported by the GeForce chip when displaying videos. We ran the test in the Edge browser from Microsoft in its standard settings. Activating performance mode did not offer any improvements. The issue is mainly connected to the Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime process. The 13-inch model did not seem to have these problems, which means it might be an individual issue of our test model.

LatencyMon: Main
LatencyMon: Main
LatencyMon: Drivers
LatencyMon: Drivers
Youtube: Dropped Frames, 100% capacity
Youtube: Dropped Frames, 100% capacity
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
GeForce MX250, i7-10510U, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
2817 μs *

* ... smaller is better

Storage Device

The included SSD from Western Digital has a capacity of 500 GB and is positioned on rank 77 in our list of top SSD/HDD storage devices. It reaches fairly good results compared to its competition and seems to offer the best overall performance. Only the access times while reading are unusually high and somewhat cloud the very good transfer rates. 

Benchmark Comparison Plugin: ERROR, Layout "0" not supported!
WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
Sequential Read: 2527 MB/s
Sequential Write: 2153 MB/s
512K Read: 673 MB/s
512K Write: 1025 MB/s
4K Read: 44.85 MB/s
4K Write: 187 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 552 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 297.7 MB/s

Dauerleistung Lesen: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8

No graph data

Graphics

The Ion is equipped with two GPU options. The integrated, fairly slow Intel UHD Graphics 620 and the dedicated Nvidia Geforce MX250. Games are displayed smoothly using the latter, although you will want to stick to minimum settings. The chip is ideal for streaming 4K videos as well as for editing photos and videos, but rather less so for gaming. Alternatively, users can also purchase the configuration without a dedicated graphics card.

The 3DMark test results of the MX250 fulfil our expectations, which means that its performance is 30 - 60 percent better than that of the LG Gram. The MateBook with its Vega 8 GPU from the last Ryzen generation (Zen 2 offers a better performance) lags behind by 10 - 30 percent.

The Samsung performance mode cannot be activated on battery. This represents a slight loss in performance of 6 percent according to 3DMark 11, which is not too noticeable.

3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark Cloud Gate
3DMark Cloud Gate
3DMark 11
3DMark 11
3DMark 11 Akku
3DMark 11 Akku
 
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Average of class Subnotebook
  (2979 - 16904, n=55, last 2 years)
8016 Points +84%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (3585 - 4942, n=29)
4404 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
NVIDIA GeForce MX250, Intel Core i7-10510U
4352 Points
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
3837 Points -12%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), Intel Core i5-1035G7
2914 Points -33%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i7-8565U
1866 Points -57%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-10210U
1674 Points -62%
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Average of class Subnotebook
  (13768 - 65911, n=40, last 2 years)
29002 Points +40%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (13805 - 23863, n=25)
21491 Points +4%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
NVIDIA GeForce MX250, Intel Core i7-10510U
20725 Points
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
18491 Points -11%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i7-8565U
10795 Points -48%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), Intel Core i5-1035G7
7024 Points -66%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Average of class Subnotebook
  (2837 - 12349, n=59, last 2 years)
5881 Points +69%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (2939 - 3885, n=29)
3531 Points +1%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
NVIDIA GeForce MX250, Intel Core i7-10510U
3485 Points
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
2557 Points -27%
LG Gram 15Z90N
Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), Intel Core i5-1035G7
1418 Points -59%
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i7-8565U
1323 Points -62%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-10210U
1092 Points -69%
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
Average of class Subnotebook
  (811 - 4773, n=58, last 2 years)
1981 Points +85%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
NVIDIA GeForce MX250, Intel Core i7-10510U
1071 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (881 - 1169, n=22)
1070 Points 0%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-10210U
353 Points -67%
3DMark 11 Performance
4625 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
14840 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
3235 points
3DMark Time Spy Score
1200 points
Help

Gaming Performance

More demanding games such as Witcher 3, Far Cry 5 or Battlefield 5 can be played - but only at the absolutely lowest resolution and graphics details. Anything above that is no longer displayed smoothly. Less demanding titles such as DOTA 2 or Rocket League can even reach FullHD resolution, if only with reductions in terms of details. Occasional gamers might be quite pleased with what the device has to offer. If Samsung's performance mode is deactivated, the device loses around 13 percent of performance. 

Of course the Ion has a clear advantage over the LG Gram, which is only equipped with an integrated graphics chip and therefore is slower by 60 - 70 percent while gaming. The Ion is the obvious winner in terms of graphics, which also makes it suitable for creative applications (3D, editing, etc.).

The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing
Average of class Subnotebook
  (37 - 249, n=53, last 2 years)
99.5 fps +80%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (47.4 - 70, n=24)
60.8 fps +10%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
55.4 fps
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel Core i7-8565U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
16.9 fps -69%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
Intel Core i5-10210U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
16.16 fps -71%
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing
Average of class Subnotebook
  (29 - 264, n=46, last 2 years)
63.2 fps +111%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (30 - 40, n=27)
35.3 fps +18%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
30 fps
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel Core i7-8565U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
10.9 fps -64%
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off)
Average of class Subnotebook
  (11.2 - 92, n=57, last 2 years)
34.4 fps +91%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (16.3 - 23.1, n=27)
20.1 fps +12%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
18 fps
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel Core i7-8565U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
6.1 fps -66%
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
Average of class Subnotebook
  (8 - 44.2, n=58, last 2 years)
18.5 fps +76%
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX250
  (9 - 16, n=24)
11.6 fps +10%
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
Intel Core i7-10510U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250
10.5 fps
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
Intel Core i7-8565U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
3.1 fps -70%
low med. high ultra
GTA V (2015) 123.9 96.7 38.4 18.6
The Witcher 3 (2015) 55.4 30 18 10.5
Dota 2 Reborn (2015) 115.3 92 64 57
X-Plane 11.11 (2018) 60.1 48.2 44.4
Far Cry 5 (2018) 45 19 18 16
Battlefield V (2018) 40.4 24 18.6 13.8

Emissions - comfortable fans in the Galaxy Book Ion

System Noise

The Ion's system noise is impressive particularly when it comes to idle and low loads. The fans often remain turned off in these situations while our comparison devices all already ramp up to 31 dB(A). While the Ion's cooling fans do turn up under high loads, at least the device also has more to offer than its competition thanks to its dedicated GPU. We did not notice any coil whine or similar noises coming from the device. Fan noise is very uniform - even under full load. The fans also slow down very quickly once the device is no longer under load. We would generally describe the cooling system as pleasant, although the fans to tend to turn on for about 2 seconds at a time after being put under load.

Noise Level

Idle
24.9 / 24.9 / 24.9 dB(A)
Load
39 / 39.2 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 24.9 dB(A)
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
GeForce MX250, i7-10510U, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
UHD Graphics 620, i5-10210U, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB256HBHQ
LG Gram 15Z90N
Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i5-1035G7, SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Vega 8, R5 3500U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, SK Hynix BC501 HFM512GDJTNG
Noise
-10%
-12%
-7%
-11%
off / environment *
24.9
30.7
-23%
30.7
-23%
29.6
-19%
30.5
-22%
Idle Minimum *
24.9
30.7
-23%
30.7
-23%
29.6
-19%
30.5
-22%
Idle Average *
24.9
30.7
-23%
30.7
-23%
29.6
-19%
30.5
-22%
Idle Maximum *
24.9
30.7
-23%
31.9
-28%
29.6
-19%
30.9
-24%
Load Average *
39
36.6
6%
34
13%
30.6
22%
34.9
11%
Witcher 3 ultra *
38.9
35.8
8%
Load Maximum *
39.2
36.3
7%
34.2
13%
33.8
14%
35
11%

* ... smaller is better

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2032.12330.232.12540.928.334.340.93140.124.831.340.14025.319.524.625.3502521.523.9256320.718.62020.78017.215.619.117.210018.318.216.318.312517.716.920.217.716015.415.414.715.420015.51514.215.525015.314.812.515.331515.214.911.915.24001819.111.1185002021.1112063021.222.110.521.280023.523.710.823.5100025.625.911.125.6125026.926.811.326.9160027.62811.627.6200031.131.311.931.125003030.112.53031503030.312.730400027.727.813.427.7500024.724.913.624.763002222.213.922800018.818.914.218.81000017.417.214.617.41250015.715.614.815.7160001514.714.715SPL3939.224.839N2.62.70.62.6median 20median 21.1median 12.7median 20Delta5.55.61.75.5hearing rangehide median Fan NoiseSamsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver

Temperature

Our temperature measurements paint a similar picture. The device remains cool while idling despite the fans being turned off while the thin case heats up a little more under load. The hot spots on the surface are in the middle towards the back (ventilation slots) where we measured up to 50 °C. Fortunately, the wrist rests remain comfortable at all times. This maximum of 50 °C only occurs in real stress situations. Considering that the device only reaches around 35 °C while playing the Witcher 3, the temperature development can really be considered very good. We still would not recommend using the Ion on your lap under high loads as the necessary fresh air is sucked in from the bottom, which means that you could easily accidentally block air supply with your legs.

Max. Load
 42.9 °C
109 F
50.1 °C
122 F
43.1 °C
110 F
 
 41.5 °C
107 F
44 °C
111 F
32.6 °C
91 F
 
 32.2 °C
90 F
30.5 °C
87 F
29.3 °C
85 F
 
Maximum: 50.1 °C = 122 F
Average: 38.5 °C = 101 F
42 °C
108 F
42.4 °C
108 F
50.2 °C
122 F
30.5 °C
87 F
37.5 °C
100 F
38 °C
100 F
29 °C
84 F
31.4 °C
89 F
32.2 °C
90 F
Maximum: 50.2 °C = 122 F
Average: 37 °C = 99 F
Power Supply (max.)  49 °C = 120 F | Room Temperature 24.2 °C = 76 F | FIRT 550-Pocket
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 38.5 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 30.7 °C / 87 F for the devices in the class Subnotebook.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 50.1 °C / 122 F, compared to the average of 35.9 °C / 97 F, ranging from 21.4 to 59 °C for the class Subnotebook.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 50.2 °C / 122 F, compared to the average of 39.4 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.9 °C / 75 F, compared to the device average of 30.7 °C / 87 F.
(+) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 30.1 °C / 86 F, compared to the device average of 30.7 °C / 87 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (32.2 °C / 90 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.3 °C / 82.9 F (-3.9 °C / -7.1 F).
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
GeForce MX250, i7-10510U, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
UHD Graphics 620, i5-10210U, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB256HBHQ
LG Gram 15Z90N
Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i5-1035G7, SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
Vega 8, R5 3500U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, SK Hynix BC501 HFM512GDJTNG
Heat
4%
9%
7%
4%
Maximum Upper Side *
50.1
41.8
17%
38
24%
39.3
22%
44.4
11%
Maximum Bottom *
50.2
43
14%
38.6
23%
45.6
9%
45.7
9%
Idle Upper Side *
24.8
26.6
-7%
26.5
-7%
25.2
-2%
25.4
-2%
Idle Bottom *
25.5
27.2
-7%
26.5
-4%
26.1
-2%
25.8
-1%

* ... smaller is better

Stress test

The clock rates drop right after the start of our stress test, as soon as the core temperature reaches over 80 °C, which happens almost immediately in this tight case. The clock rate stabilize at around 1.8 GHz (base rate) after less than 5 minutes and stay at that level for the remainder of the one-hour test. However, the temperature does rise from 75 °C to a hot 92 °C during this period. The GPU clock rates remain stable between 1.4 and 1.5 GHz. 

Another round of 3DMark 11 directly after the stress test shows no difference in performance, which means that the Samsung laptop recovers quickly.

Stress test Start
Stress test Start
Stress test after 5 minutes
Stress test after 5 minutes
Stress test after 10 minutes
Stress test after 10 minutes
Stress test after 1 hour
Stress test after 1 hour
Idle top
Idle top
Load top
Load top
Witcher 3 top
Witcher 3 top
Idle bottom
Idle bottom
Load bottom
Load bottom
Witcher 3 bottom
Witcher 3 bottom

Speakers

The stereo speakers are positioned near the front along the sides. They cause the wrist rests to vibrate while not reaching a decent volume and lacking in bass. Highs and mids are OK. The speakers sound tinny and too quiet in general. External devices can be connected via HDMI or a combined audio jack for headphones and a microphone.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs202430.2242528.134.328.13134.731.334.74029.224.629.25026.823.926.86322.92022.98017.819.117.810022.216.322.212532.820.232.816038.114.738.12004014.24025053.412.553.431559.111.959.140060.211.160.250060.21160.263061.110.561.180066.910.866.9100064.111.164.1125064.311.364.3160063.411.663.4200066.811.966.8250062.612.562.6315062.312.762.3400064.313.464.3500064.413.664.4630065.313.965.3800063.214.263.21000055.814.655.81250052.414.852.4160004714.747SPL75.924.875.9N38.10.638.1median 61.1median 12.7median 61.1Delta8.31.78.335.335.132.931.831.83236.535.132.428.93328.936.328.848.32761.52752.924.860.92462.822.763.32269.521.267.82174.82075.919.472.718.97117.770.117.86917.671.817.668.117.671.417.673.717.670.417.571.617.671.617.669.617.459.717.583.630.662.51.5median 69.6median 17.84.72.4hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseSamsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura SilverApple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver audio analysis

(-) | not very loud speakers (66.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 20.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.7% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 49% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 44% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 36% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 57% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Energy Management - latency issues mess with battery life while browsing

Power Consumption

Consumption is very efficient while idling and lower than that of the MateBook or the Acer Swift 5. Light browsing and typing does not demand a lot of power. Once the MX250 is turned on under load, consumption increases to more than what our iGPU competitors require but still remains average for laptops that are equipped with an MX250. 

The AC adapter is compact with a rated output of 65 Watt. As the maximum consumption we measured was 64 W and this was only temporary, the AC adapter should easily be large enough to cover all charging needs. However, the cable is a little short as the transformer is directly plugs directly into the socket rather being connected to a second cable as is the norm. Then again, this makes the charger more handy. 

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.3 / 1.6 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 2.9 / 7 / 9.9 Watt
Load midlight 53 / 64 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
i7-10510U, GeForce MX250, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-512GB, QLED, 1920x1080, 15.60
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
i5-10210U, UHD Graphics 620, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB256HBHQ, IPS (QLED), 1920x1080, 13.30
LG Gram 15Z90N
i5-1035G7, Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG), .2 IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
R5 3500U, Vega 8, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
i7-8565U, UHD Graphics 620, SK Hynix BC501 HFM512GDJTNG, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX250
 
Average of class Subnotebook
 
Power Consumption
24%
13%
-12%
10%
-16%
-17%
Idle Minimum *
2.9
2.2
24%
2.9
-0%
5.2
-79%
3
-3%
4.1 ?(2.16 - 7.4, n=29)
-41%
4.9 ?(1.77 - 11.8, n=63, last 2 years)
-69%
Idle Average *
7
5.9
16%
7.7
-10%
8.8
-26%
7.7
-10%
7.91 ?(4.2 - 12.4, n=29)
-13%
8.4 ?(4.6 - 17.4, n=63, last 2 years)
-20%
Idle Maximum *
9.9
8.9
10%
11.4
-15%
10.2
-3%
11.6
-17%
10.4 ?(7 - 16.2, n=29)
-5%
10.4 ?(5.1 - 22.4, n=63, last 2 years)
-5%
Load Average *
53
46
13%
31.5
41%
37.5
29%
34
36%
58.6 ?(29 - 84, n=29)
-11%
46.1 ?(19.1 - 83.3, n=62, last 2 years)
13%
Witcher 3 ultra *
39.3
25.5
35%
Load Maximum *
64
34
47%
32
50%
50.9
20%
35
45%
68.9 ?(38 - 131, n=29)
-8%
66.2 ?(24.2 - 121.2, n=63, last 2 years)
-3%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

The Ion managed to display our H.264 encoded FullHD film for almost 11 hours on battery. Unfortunately, it only managed around 7 hours of our Wi-Fi test, which is possibly due to the latency issues and full CPU utilization when playing YouTube videos, which are part of our Wi-Fi test. This means that there are ways to optimize this result on the software side. It is difficult to make a general statement on the device's battery life compared to its competitors. The Swift 5 manages to keep going for almost as long as our test unit with its 54-Wh battery while our Ion is equipped with 70 Wh. Of course you must take into account the more demanding dedicated GPU, which plays a role in load scenarios. The LG Gram offers a significantly longer battery life with its 80-Wh battery. 

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
16h 07min
WiFi Websurfing
6h 52min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
10h 47min
Load (maximum brightness)
2h 13min
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver
i7-10510U, GeForce MX250, 70 Wh
Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3
i5-10210U, UHD Graphics 620, 66.9 Wh
LG Gram 15Z90N
i5-1035G7, Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), 80 Wh
Huawei MateBook D 15-53010TUY
R5 3500U, Vega 8, 42 Wh
Acer Swift 5 SF515-51T-76B6
i7-8565U, UHD Graphics 620, 53.9 Wh
Average of class Subnotebook
 
Battery Runtime
48%
57%
-15%
-5%
21%
Reader / Idle
967
1890
95%
1536
59%
970
0%
1197 ?(581 - 2550, n=10, last 2 years)
24%
H.264
647
674
4%
434
-33%
778 ?(426 - 1153, n=30, last 2 years)
20%
WiFi v1.3
412
568
38%
728
77%
470
14%
430
4%
623 ?(303 - 1144, n=64, last 2 years)
51%
Load
133
146
10%
252
89%
75
-44%
145
9%
115.4 ?(61 - 197, n=47, last 2 years)
-13%

Pros

+ narrow bezels
+ smart design
+ small and light considering the available hardware
+ Thunderbolt 3
+ fast Wi-Fi
+ touchpad with Qi support
+ good FullHD display with high color space coverage
+ no GPU throttling despite the slim case
+ good cooling system
+ moderate surface temperatures

Cons

- few ports
- microSD reader has to be opened with SIM tool
- thin and weak chassis material, warps easily
- big latency issues, CPU maxed out when on YouTube
- high core temperatures under high load

Verdict - Great Ultrabook with driver issues

The Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver. Test unit provided by notebooksbilliger.de
The Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver. Test unit provided by notebooksbilliger.de

The Samsung Galaxy Book Ion is a particularly smart-looking, light and powerful Ultrabook - something that is hard to come by in this large 15-inch format. It ticks a lot of boxes and also offers a good display and cooling system (despite its thin build). A particularly unusual feature: It offers wireless charging for smartphones that support Qi via its touchpad. 

Of course, there are some points of criticism, such as the disadvantage of the thin material (easy to compress and warp) and the high core temperatures under load, although these aren't particularly noticeable on the surface. Overall, we would really recommend the Galaxy Book Ion if it weren't for the significant latency issues and unusually high CPU utilization when playing YouTube videos (4K/60fps) which also results in a lower battery life while browsing.

Should Samsung manage to get the latency issues and high CPU utilization under control, the Galaxy Book Ion would be an attractive 15-inch Ultrabook that we could fully recommend. Its display, performance, system noise etc. are really good, after all. It isn't particularly cheap at a recommended retail price of $1300, either.

Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver - 10/05/2020 v7
Christian Hintze

Chassis
82 / 98 → 83%
Keyboard
81%
Pointing Device
95%
Connectivity
64 / 75 → 86%
Weight
72 / 20-75 → 95%
Battery
81%
Display
86%
Games Performance
60 / 78 → 76%
Application Performance
86 / 85 → 100%
Temperature
90%
Noise
94%
Audio
56 / 91 → 62%
Camera
36 / 85 → 42%
Add Points
-5%
Average
70%
82%
Subnotebook - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Samsung Galaxy Book Ion Aura Silver Laptop Review: Great 15-inch Ultrabook with driver issues
Christian Hintze, 2020-10-14 (Update: 2020-10-14)