Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 review: long battery life and a tablet mode

To make sure you can actually use the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360’s touchscreen, Samsung’s included its S Pen with this notebook. Although too large to use as a tablet in the long run, the notebook does boast a seriously long battery life, plenty of power and a display that handles colours impressively. The device is currently out of stock, but it’s expected to be available again from 7 February.

360-degree touchscreen: more than your garden-variety notebook

The main reason to buy the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is its screen. Capable of rotating 360 degrees, it proves handy in two particular situations. Firstly, you can arrange the notebook into a tent shape, allowing you to watch films or TV series on a narrow surface. Secondly, you can pop the screen on top of the keyboard and use it as a tablet, boosting productivity. Don’t worry though – the keyboard’s deactivated from an angle of around 180 degrees.

However, in tablet form, the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360’s better suited for use at a desk than on the go. With a screen diagonal of 16 inches, it’s simply too unwieldy – and too heavy. That being said, 1,683 grammes is light for a notebook of this size. If you put the notebook on your desk, it’s easy to draw or write on it. Personally, I don’t do that enough on a day-to-day basis. That means the most important purpose of the large, movable screen for me is watching streams.

The S Pen, which allows you to write or draw on the AMOLED touchscreen, comes included with the notebook. When you’re not using it, you can magnetically stick it to the laptop lid, where it also charges wirelessly.

The AMOLED display has an aspect ratio of 3:2 – less narrow than 16:9 or 16:10. If you ask me, that’s more pleasant to work with. At 2880 × 1800 pixels, the resolution makes the display razor-sharp.

According to Samsung’s specs, the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 has a brightness of 400 nits in SDR mode. When I take my own measurements, I get a maximum brightness of 387 nits. You could actually use it outdoors, albeit in the shade.

The AMOLED display’s colour space coverage is very good. I measure 100 per cent for sRGB, 95.9 per cent for Adobe RGB and 98.4 per cent for DCI P3.

Performance is good, but not top-tier

Samsung’s fitted the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 with the Intel Core Ultra 5 226V. Side note: you can only get the Core Ultra 7 version in other countries. The processor’s supported by 16 gigabytes of RAM, and the integrated Intel Arc 130V GPU’s responsible for graphics computation. The system apparently has 40 TOPS available for AI computing. This will be key for tools from Samsung’s Galaxy AI and the Copilot+ functions Microsoft’s set to gradually roll out for Intel chips from December onwards.

I pitted the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 against three computers in three benchmarks. The [Huawei Matebook X Pro (2024)](/page/matebook-x-pro-im-test-leichtes-und-leistungsstarkes-notebook-35230 contains the Ultra 9 185H, a higher-end chip from Intel’s previous generation. Meanwhile, the [Asus Zenbook S 16](/page/amd-ryzen-ai-300-im-test-so-gut-schneidet-das-asus-zenbook-s-16-ab-34237 is equipped with the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, the latest CPU generation from AMD. Serving as a comparison, I also ran benchmark tests on the [Galaxy Book4 Edge](/page/galaxy-book-4-edge-im-test-der-snapdragon-x-elite-im-vergleich-mit-intel-und-amd-35127, which sports the mid-range Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100.

The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360’s CPU and GPU make it well equipped to take on office work and similar tasks. Video calls, complex Excel files and simple image editing are no problem for this notebook. However, if you continuously work with large files or data volumes, you’ll have longer waiting times than with other chipsets. This effect could be mitigated by programs that take advantage of the NPU, i.e. the AI part of the chipset.

Looking at the CPU, the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360’s Core Ultra 5 fares reasonably well in single-core mode tests. If several computing cores are required – as is now standard – the differences become significantly greater. Still, this is to be expected, given the Samsung notebook’s chipset is mid-range, while the Matebook’s and Zenbook’s are top-of-the-line. The Snapdragon X Elite in the Galaxy Book4 Edge is also a step above the Core Ultra 5.

When it comes to the GPU, which is responsible for graphics computation, the differences are more minor. Even so, the Core Ultra 5 still lags behind the higher-class chipsets. The only chip the Intel outperforms is the Snapdragon, whose poor graphics performance has been striking in the past.

The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 does better in the office-based PCMark 10 test. This benchmark measures and evaluates everyday tasks such as launching applications, web browsing, spreadsheets or photo and video editing for the entire system. Although the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360’s trumped by other notebooks in this test as well, its competitors aren’t as far ahead as they are in tests purely measuring CPU or GPU performance.

Another everyday measurement I recorded on the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 was how long it took to unzip Cinebench 24. It took three minutes and ten seconds, but without any figures to compare it with, I can’t really put that measurement into perspective. However, you’ll be able to compare it to your computer.

Seriously long battery life

The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360’s battery has a capacity of 76 watt hours (Wh), so it lasts a really long time. Using the PCMark 10’s Office battery test, I get a measurement of 18 hours. The Matebook and the Zenbook can only hold out for about 12 hours with their 78-watt-hour batteries.

The Office battery test isn’t yet available for the Galaxy Book4 Edge because of its ARM chip. When it comes to video playback, however, PCMark 10 records 13 hours, 36 minutes. The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360, on the other hand, lasts 20 hours, six minutes. For comparison, the Zenbook holds out for 14 hours, 23 minutes.

The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360’s long battery life can probably be chalked up to its AMOLED display and new-generation Intel chip.

Soft typing feel and large touchpad

The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is large enough to accommodate a backlit keyboard, complete with number pad. Its individual keys are large enough and not too close together. The key travel’s very short and the pressure point’s really soft – too soft for my liking. I prefer to get clear haptic feedback when I’m typing.

Following criticism levelled at the predecessor model, Samsung’s improved the touchpad. When using the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360, I don’t notice anything out of the ordinary. The touchpad’s large and responds consistently. Basically, it does exactly what I expect it to do.

Samsung has made the notebook’s speakers considerably bigger. Previously measuring 18 millimetres, the drivers now measure in at 38 millimetres. They sound good for a notebook.

Numerous ports

Samsung’s managed to fit more than just USB-C ports into the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360’s slim housing. In addition to two Thunderbolt 4 ports (USB-C), the notebook also has an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 3.2 port (type A) and a 3.5 mm port. A microSD card reader rounds off the range of physical interfaces. Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7 allow for wireless connections.