Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB laptop review: Insanely lightweight
Samsung has been making Ultrabooks for years focusing on portability and thinness more so than most competitors. In fact, the Samsung Book 9 series in particular shipped with narrow display bezels on all three sides before Dell popularized the concept with its XPS 13 series a few years later. The new Galaxy Book series is a much needed shot in the arm for Samsung's laptop division as it introduces both brand new chassis designs and a new name that should be familiar with just about anyone.
The South Korean maker introduced a whole range of Galaxy laptops earlier this April. This review will focus on the 15.6-inch Galaxy Book Pro 15 clamshell equipped with a 1080p AMOLED display, 16 GB of LPDDR4x RAM, 512 GB NVMe SSD, and an 11th gen Core i7-1165G7 CPU for approximately $1300 USD retail. Lesser SKUs with reduced storage and RAM and a slower Core i5-1135G7 are also available, but all configurations come with the same signature 1080p AMOLED panel.
Note that there are several differences between the cheaper Galaxy Book 15 and our more expensive Galaxy Book Pro 15 from the chassis to the display which will be detailed in this review. Competitors to the Galaxy Book Pro 15 include other high-end prosumer or multimedia 15.6-inch laptops like the Dell XPS 15, Lenovo Yoga series, HP Spectre x360 15, LG Gram 15, or the MSI Summit series.
More Samsung reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87.3 % v7 (old) | 12 / 2021 | Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.1 kg | 11.7 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84.8 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2020 | LG Gram 15Z90N i5-1035G7, Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) | 1.1 kg | 16.8 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.8 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2020 | Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 i5-10300H, UHD Graphics 630 | 1.8 kg | 18 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1200 | |
| 83.5 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2021 | Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 R5 5500U, Vega 7 | 1.7 kg | 19.1 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 89.2 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2020 | Apple MacBook Pro 15 2019 i9 Vega 16 i9-9880H, Radeon Pro Vega 16 | 1.8 kg | 15.5 mm | 15.40" | 2880x1800 | |
| 85 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2020 | HP Spectre X360 15-5ZV31AV i7-10510U, GeForce MX250 | 2.1 kg | 19.3 mm | 15.60" | 3840x2160 |
Case — One of the Lightest in the Market
With the exception of one very specific model, Samsung has always been great at designing thin and attractive laptops. The Galaxy Book Pro 15 is no different with its smooth aluminum alloy base, flat outer lid, and sleek aesthetic that is arguably just as visually appealing as an XPS or Spectre.
Unfortunately, the Galaxy Book Pro 15 suffers from many of the same drawbacks as the LG Gram 15 since both models are aiming to be as light as possible even if it means sacrificing chassis rigidity. The aluminum skeleton is very thin especially when compared to an XPS or Spectre alternative meaning both the base and lid can twist much more readily. Furthermore, the hinges are noticeably weaker and so the lid tends to teeter more often when moving or adjusting angles. Pushing down on the keyboard center causes slight but noticeable flexing. Though it's still a high-end and luxurious chassis with minimal creaking, it's definitely more prone to damage than most other flagship laptops.
The first thing users will notice when handling the unit is how light it is. At just 1.1 kg, the Galaxy Book Pro 15 is lighter than the Galaxy Book and XPS 15 by 500 grams and 700 grams, respectively. It is just as light as the competing LG Gram 15 while being thinner at the same time. We suspect that Samsung purposefully omitted Gorilla Glass in order to keep both weight and thickness as low as possible. Such a feature would have strengthened the aforementioned flimsy lid.
Connectivity — Thunderbolt 4 is Here
Port options are more varied than on the Dell XPS 15 or MacBook Pro which have nothing but USB-C ports. Keep in mind that only one of the two USB-C ports here is compatible with Thunderbolt 4. Otherwise, either port can be used for charging the system or outputting to an external monitor.
Thunderbolt 4 is supported unlike on the Galaxy Book.
SD Card Reader — Embarrassingly Slow
The integrated spring-loaded MicroSD card reader is disappointingly slow for a flagship laptop. Moving 1 GB of pictures from our UHS-II card to desktop takes almost 50 seconds compared to just 5 seconds on the Dell XPS 15.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| HP Spectre X360 15-5ZV31AV (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
| LG Gram 15Z90N (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| HP Spectre X360 15-5ZV31AV (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
| LG Gram 15Z90N (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Communication
The Intel AX210 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. We experienced steady performance when paired to our Netgear RAX200 test router.
Webcam
The integrated webcam is the usual 720p affair. Samsung offers no physical privacy shutter or Windows Hello support, either. There is instead a key switch (Fn+F10) to disable the camera electronically.
Maintenance
The bottom panel is secured by four Philips screws hidden underneath the rubber footing. Fortunately, the rubber pads are easy to remove as they are not glued to the laptop unlike on most other laptops. Servicing is therefore relatively easy especially when compared to the LG Gram 15.
Accessories and Warranty
There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter and paperwork. The usual one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies.
Input Devices — Shallow and Nothing Special
Keyboard
Both key feedback and travel are more similar to the XPS 15 than say an HP Spectre or Lenovo ThinkPad. The keys are shallow with light-moderate feedback and generally quiet clatter. Users who are accustomed to typing on consumer-class laptops will find no surprises on the Galaxy Book Pro when it comes to the typing experience.
A white backlight comes standard unlike on the older Samsung Book 9 series where the keyboard backlight was teal or light green instead. All keys and symbols are illuminated when the backlight is active.
The Caps Lock key has a dedicated white LED when toggled. However, the light is not very bright and so it is difficult to even see if the Caps Lock is engaged or not.
Touchpad
The clickpad isn't as large as the one on the XPS 15 9500 (13.3 x 9 cm vs. 15.1 x 9 cm), but clicking definitely feels firmer, louder, and with more satisfying feedback. Traction is smooth and with very little sticking even when gliding at slower speeds.
Display — OLED Not Always Better Than IPS
Naturally, Samsung manufactures the 1080p AMOLED panel for its own laptop. What's interesting is that the panel name 'ATNA56YX02' is slightly different from the panel name on the Asus VivoBook 15 Pro or VivoBook 15 K513 (ATNA56YX03) which also ship with 1080p AMOLED Samsung displays. Nonetheless, both response times and black levels remain significantly faster and deeper, respectively, than any IPS alternative. Colors, video, and images pop in such a way that only IPS laptops can dream of.
There are some drawbacks to be aware of. Firstly, the maximum refresh rate of 60 Hz is starting to look dated when IPS laptops like the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro are beginning to move to 90 Hz or faster. Secondly, pulse-width modulation is present on all brightness levels (490 Hz from 0 percent to 58 percent brightness, 59 Hz from 59 percent to 100 percent brightness) which may impact users sensitive to screen flickering. And lastly, text is not as sharp as on most IPS displays due to the unique AMOLED subpixel layout. Though these minor disadvantages aren't enough to drag down the excellent viewing experience, they collectively prevent AMOLED from being unanimously superior to regular IPS.
One thing we can appreciate about all OLED-type displays is that they can reach much lower minimum brightness levels than a typical IPS or TN panel. The Galaxy Book Pro 15 is therefore easier on the eyes if working in darkened environments.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 98 %
Center on Battery: 296.8 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.07 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91
ΔE Greyscale 2.6 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
99.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
87.6% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.26
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US Samsung ATNA56YX02-0, AMOLED, 1920x1080, 15.6" | LG Gram 15Z90N LP156WF9-SPN1, .2 IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 Sharp LQ156N1, IPS, 1920x1200, 15.6" | Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 Lenovo LEN156FHD, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | HP Spectre X360 15-5ZV31AV AU Optronics AUO30EB, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.6" | MSI Summit B15 A11M Chi Mei N156HCE-EN1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -21% | -9% | -52% | -20% | -23% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 87.6 | 66 -25% | 81.5 -7% | 68.3 -22% | 65.7 -25% | |
| sRGB Coverage | 100 | 96.4 -4% | 100 0% | 59 -41% | 94.3 -6% | 90.6 -9% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 99.3 | 66.8 -33% | 79.6 -20% | 38 -62% | 68.4 -31% | 66 -34% |
| Response Times | -1348% | -1660% | -1072% | -2322% | 13246% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 1.9 ? | 36 ? -1795% | 42 ? -2111% | 29 ? -1426% | 56.8 ? -2889% | 40.4 ? -2026% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 2.2 ? | 22 ? -900% | 28.8 ? -1209% | 18 ? -718% | 40.8 ? -1755% | 32.4 ? -1373% |
| PWM Frequency | 59 | 25510 ? 43137% | ||||
| Screen | 8% | 20% | -75% | -11% | -66% | |
| Brightness middle | 296.8 | 366 23% | 592 99% | 376 27% | 284.6 -4% | 341.3 15% |
| Brightness | 298 | 342 15% | 565 90% | 341 14% | 285 -4% | 310 4% |
| Brightness Distribution | 98 | 88 -10% | 85 -13% | 78 -20% | 85 -13% | 81 -17% |
| Black Level * | 0.28 | 0.46 | 0.66 | 0.25 | 0.45 | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 3.07 | 2.68 13% | 3.19 -4% | 6.4 -108% | 3.52 -15% | 6.17 -101% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 5.29 | 5.25 1% | 5.45 -3% | 20.45 -287% | 5.56 -5% | 11.75 -122% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.6 | 2.4 8% | 3.9 -50% | 4.59 -77% | 3.2 -23% | 7.1 -173% |
| Gamma | 2.26 97% | 2.25 98% | 2.25 98% | 2.26 97% | 2.28 96% | 2.2 100% |
| CCT | 6904 94% | 6474 100% | 6522 100% | 6819 95% | 7070 92% | 6842 95% |
| Contrast | 1307 | 1287 | 570 | 1138 | 758 | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.08 | 2.03 | 3 | 3.3 | ||
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 61 | 71.6 | 38 | 61.1 | 58.7 | |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 96 | 100 | 59 | 93.8 | 90.1 | |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -454% /
-246% | -550% /
-293% | -400% /
-270% | -784% /
-433% | 4386% /
3273% |
* ... smaller is better
Color space encompasses both sRGB and AdobeRGB entirely and approximately 88 percent of DCI-P3 as well. Strangely, setting the color profile to DCI-P3 via the Samsung Settings app would actually cause the color space to drop to 75 percent of DCI-P3 instead. We're unsure if this is a bug with the color behavior of the AMOLED panel or software, but overall color range is much wider than on most IPS laptops regardless. For what it's worth, Samsung advertises 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage for the Galaxy Book Pro 15.
The display comes decently calibrated out of the box with average grayscale and color deltaE values of just 2.6 and 3.07, respectively. Pure primary and secondary colors are reproduced very accurately to indicate that the panel can adhere to DCI-P3 quite closely.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1.1 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 1.1 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 9 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 1.9 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.9 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 6 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.8 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 59 Hz |   | |
The display backlight flickers at 59 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 59 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8705 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Outdoor visibility is a mixed bag. The OLED panel suffers from a slight purple hue that impacts colors and can be difficult to ignore especially if viewing from an angle. The glare from the glossy overlay can also be overwhelming when not working under shade.
Performance — Impressive For The Size
Testing Conditions
Our unit was set to 'Best performance' mode via Windows and "High performance' mode via the Samsung Settings software for the highest possible performance prior to running our benchmarks below. Owners should absolutely become familiar with both the Samsung Settings and Samsung Update applications as important system-specific features and patches can be found here.
Processor
After testing over 70 different PCs with the same Core i7-1165G7 CPU, our Galaxy Book Pro 15 falls right in the middle when it comes to multi-threaded performance. There are certainly faster options available like the ADATA XPG Xenia Xe or MSI Summit B15, but such alternatives are typically heavier and thicker than our Samsung. We're just glad that the processor isn't underperforming or exhibiting poor Turbo Boost sustainability simply due to the low chassis weight. Overall performance is comparable to the competing LG Gram 16.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 G3-20YG003UGE | |
| HP Pavilion Aero 13 be0097nr | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1165G7 (2525 - 6862, n=64) | |
| Dell Latitude 15 9520 2-in-1 | |
| Asus ExpertBook B1 B1500CEAE, i5-1135G7 | |
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1165G7 (1110 - 1539, n=59) | |
| HP Pavilion Aero 13 be0097nr | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US | |
| Dell Latitude 15 9520 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 G3-20YG003UGE | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Asus ExpertBook B1 B1500CEAE, i5-1135G7 | |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
System Performance
PCMark results are where we expect them to be relative to other laptops with the same Core i7-1165G7 CPU and integrated GPU.
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 15 2019 i9 Vega 16 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1165G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (4531 - 5454, n=50) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| HP Spectre X360 15-5ZV31AV | |
| LG Gram 15Z90N | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1165G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (8997 - 11505, n=50) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 15 2019 i9 Vega 16 | |
| HP Spectre X360 15-5ZV31AV | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| LG Gram 15Z90N | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 15 2019 i9 Vega 16 | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1165G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (5570 - 7136, n=50) | |
| HP Spectre X360 15-5ZV31AV | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US | |
| LG Gram 15Z90N | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 15 2019 i9 Vega 16 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1165G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (4083 - 5550, n=50) | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| LG Gram 15Z90N | |
| HP Spectre X360 15-5ZV31AV | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 4963 points | |
Help | ||
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals minor DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs on our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is otherwise smooth and without any dropped frames.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| LG Gram 15Z90N | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices — Supports up to Two Drives
The system can support up to two internal SSDs (M.2 2242 + M.2 2280). Our specific test unit comes with the M.2 2242 Samsung PM991a PCIe3 NVMe SSD for read and write rates of up to 2400 MB/s and 2000 MB/s according to CrystalDiskMark. Performance sustainability is also better than expected with no dips in transfer rates due to thermal soak when running DiskSpd in a loop.
At least one of the two M.2 SSD slots can support PCIe4 x4 speeds according to HWiNFO.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15 NP950XDB-KC5US | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 15 2019 i9 Vega 16 -11! | |
| HP Spectre X360 15-5ZV31AV -8! | |
| LG Gram 15Z90N | |
| Dell XPS 15 9500 Core i5 | |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
Graphics performance is excellent with 3DMark results that are 10 percent higher than the average laptop equipped with the same integrated Iris Xe 96 EUs GPU. Consequently, the system boasts higher sustained frame rates when running games. These results are quite surprising considering how much thinner and lighter the Galaxy Book Pro 15 is for its screen size.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 6960 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 18383 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 4960 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1793 points | |
Help | ||
| X-Plane 11.11 | |
| 1280x720 low (fps_test=1) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen2-20T9S00K00 | |
| HP Pavilion Aero 13 be0097nr | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 G3-20YG003UGE | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (13.4 - 88.4, n=212) | |