Samsung's Snapdragon 8cx-powered Galaxy Book S is finally shipping

We’ve been waiting a long time for a Windows on ARM (WoA) Snapdragon 8cx laptop and the first one to hit the market is finally here (yes, the Surface Pro X is powered by a custom 8cx variant, but it isn’t a laptop). The Galaxy Book S first revealed by Samsung back in August at its Unpacked event which featured the launch of the Galaxy Note 10. The Galaxy Book S caught the eye, however, because it is exceptionally light for a 13.3-inch laptop at under 1 kg and promises 25 hours of video playback.

It comes in a single configuration with its Snapdragon 8cx mated to 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256 GB of solid-state storage. This can be topped up to 1 TB with a suitable microSD card. It can achieve its incredible battery life thanks to a fast charging-capable 42 Wh battery while it also sports always-on LTE connectivity in addition to standard MU-MIMO support for Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 5.0. Its 1080p 13.3-inch TFT LCD panel has an aspect ratio of 16:9 and includes 10-point multitouch support.

Of course, as a WoA device its support for x86-based Windows apps is limited to 32-bit versions limiting its ability to be a useful only device. However, as a secondary ultra-light mobile productivity companion for light weight Office-style tasks, web browsing and entertainment it could be exactly what a lot of people are looking for. It will retail in Australia for AU$1,699 and will come in Earthly Gold and Mercury Gray variants. We will update this article when we have details of the Galaxy Book S availability in other markets.