Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra review: A sub-4 pound powerhouse

After delivering one of our favorite laptops of 2022 in the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360, Samsung is coming out of the gate hard in 2023 with the super-charged Galaxy Book 3 Ultra.

As the name suggests, this laptop takes everything that we like about the recent entries in the Galaxy Book line and then adds an Intel 13th Gen H-Series CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-series GPU, while keeping the laptop below 4 pounds. 

This is the thinnest and lightest RTX 40-Series laptop that we’ve reviewed so far this year, which explains one of our only qualms about the laptop — the 9-hour battery life. It’s not bad enough to kill our enthusiasm for the laptop, but it would have been outstanding if it cleared 10 hours.

The only other hurdle you need to clear is the pricing, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra starts at $2,199, which is the price you pay for this kind of performance in a chassis this thin-and-light. If an extra pound in your laptop bag doesn’t bother you then you can get stronger performance or a cheaper price from one of our other best laptops.

For content creators or power users that value portability, but still want a 16-inch display, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is hard to beat.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra price and configurations

The Galaxy Book 3 Ultra starts at $2,199 for the base model with an Intel Core i7 CPU with an RTX 4050 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. 

Bumping up to an Intel Core i9 CPU with an RTX 4070 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage comes in at $2,799. 

Add $200 to either model if you want to double your storage to 1TB, which is what brings our otherwise base review model up to $2,399.

If you purchase directly through Samsung, you can save up to $600 off with an eligible trade-in.

It’s a premium price, but a sub-4 pound 16-inch laptop with a discrete GPU is a bit of a unicorn, so that’s to be expected. Follow along with the rest of the review and we’ll help you determine if it’s worth it for you.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra design

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is what would happen if the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro stepped up to the Zoltar machine alongside Tom Hanks and made a wish to be “Big.” It retains the same wedge shape and recycled aluminum build of its siblings that gives off an unmistakably premium look. 

It remains improbably thin and light considering its discrete GPU, 76Wh battery, and quad AKG speakers, but it doesn’t have quite the same “Did they remember to put the laptop parts in here?” feel of the Book 3 Pro or Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360. 

You’ll appreciate the size and weight savings compared to many of its competitors, as the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra comes in at 14 x 9.86 x 0.65 inches and 3.95 pounds. That’s almost a pound lighter than the MacBook Pro 16 M2 Max (14 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches, 4.8 pounds), the  HP Envy 16 (14.1 x 9.9 x 0.78 inches, 5.1 pounds) and the Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (14 x 9.88 x 0.67 inches, 5.3 pounds). While not exactly thin-and-light, it’s worth considering if you need a laptop this powerful, and you’ll be hauling it back and forth to work or school in a laptop bag.

Opening the lid, you are greeted by a matte black deck and that gorgeous display that I’ll address later. Below it is a full-size chiclet keyboard with a number pad. The fingerprint sensor is integrated into the power button at the top-right. The massive touchpad dominates the lower half of the deck (more on that later).

That 16:10 aspect ratio display gives the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra a slightly stretched-out feel if you are accustomed to a more traditional 16:9 or 3:2 display. But the extra horizontal real estate certainly comes in handy for multitasking or just getting engrossed in watching content.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra ports

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra mirrors its siblings' collection of ports with an HDMI 2.0 port and a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports on its left, while the right side includes a USB 3.2 Type-A port, a 3.5mm headphone/mic jack, and a microSD card slot. 

The only problem is that I’d expect a bit more from this creator-focused laptop. A full-size SD card slot rather than microSD is the bare minimum, but I wouldn’t mind one more USB-C or USB-A port either. As it is, you may need a USB-C hub or a docking station to bolster your port collection.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra display

I can’t lavish enough praise on the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra’s 16-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with its 2880 x 1800 pixel resolution and 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. As a long-time Samsung phone user (presently I’m on the Galaxy S23 Ultra), this is no surprise, but seeing the company’s superlative display tech at this size is still a site to behold. 

There’s something about the vibrancy, refresh rate, and resolution that combines to leave me feeling more like I’m looking through a window at things actually happening just on the other side, rather than being displayed on the panel itself. We saw a number of 3D laptops at CES 2023 and while there is no actual 3D component here, it has that feel to it at times.

I watched the trailer for Paint, because what better way to test the color, sharpness, and accuracy of a display than a movie about a Bob Ross-esque painter played by Owen Wilson? From the first frame, I knew I’d chosen well; a paintbrush covered in bright orange paint moves smoothly down an exquisitely detailed woven canvas. Everything from the subtle variations in the paint on the canvas to the flecks of yellow paint still dotting the brush from blending on the palette, and the tiny imperfections in the canvas, are readily visible and beautifully rendered.  

The colorimeter in the lab was somewhat less enthusiastic about the vibrancy of the display at 86.2% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. That was enough to beat the MacBook Pro 16 (83.7%), but the HP Envy 16 (138.1%) blew it away, and the Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (90.2%) along with the premium laptop average (88.8%) eclipsed it as well. It’s worth noting this was on the default settings for the Book 3 Ultra, like Samsung’s phones you can tweak the display settings to boost the vibrancy.

The brightness test similarly saw the Book 3 Ultra perform well with the right settings. By default, it hit 378 nits of brightness. That was behind the MacBook Pro 16 (447 nits) and the category average (393 nits). However, under HDR brightness it surpassed them both at 509 nits. Either was enough to overtake the HP Envy 16 (361 nits) and Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (345 nits).

Content creators take note, the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is the most accurate laptop display that I’ve ever seen. It delivered an outstanding 0.15 on our Delta-E color accuracy test (lower is better). The MacBook Pro 16 (0.21) came closest, but even that’s a reasonable gulf on this test. The ZenBook Pro (0.23) and premium average (0.24) are slightly further back, while the HP Envy (0.29) is distantly behind.

This laptop is a pleasure to watch content on, but more importantly given its content creator focus, its blend of color accuracy, brightness, and solid vibrancy makes it a dream for crafting content.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra keyboard and touchpad

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra makes the most of its expansive chassis with a full-size chiclet keyboard and number pad. Below them you’ll find a touchpad that rivals even that of the MacBook Pro 16 in size at 6 x 4.2-inches, offering ample room for your fingers to navigate you around Windows 11 or make use of Windows gestures. 

Turning to 10fastfingers.com for a typing speed performance test, I was just below my typical average at 86 words per minute with 96% accuracy. It’s the price you pay for that thin and light form factor, but there’s minimal key travel and bounce, which would make this laptop less ideal for someone like me that spends most of the day typing. For content creators or productivity workers that are dealing with a lower volume of typing, it is more than adequate. I’d connect up my Logitech MX Mechanical Keyboard when I was at my desk, if I were to use this laptop permanently. 

Perhaps making up for any disappointment in the keyboard is the vast open range of the trackpad below it. While I love a good mouse, it’s easier not to travel with one and I’d have no qualms about leaving mine at home when on the go with the Book 3 Ultra. It’s responsive and sufficiently clicky that, unlike many trackpads, I don’t feel like it’s slowing me down.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra audio

The Galaxy Book 3 Ultra features quad AKG speakers with Dolby Atmos support, which are located above the keyboard and offer surprisingly robust sound from the relatively diminutive laptop. It’s not going to blow you away, but if you set your expectations properly, it’s a solid experience given the size constraints. 

I listened to “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins because I needed a pick me up and I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist the compulsion to air drum along with Phil. The synthy pop hit easily filled my medium-sized (12’ x 18’) testing room. His soft vocals and gentle percussion built to the satisfyingly frenetic drum solo that I’d been waiting for, and even at full volume it held crisp and clear with no distortion. 

Looking to test the bass performance I turned to a familiar favorite, “Time” by Hans Zimmer from the Inception soundtrack. The speakers on the Book 3 Ultra handled the swirling and overlapping rise and fall of the orchestra effectively, again without distorting as it peaked. I was even more impressed by its reproduction of the subtle reverberations of the strings as it pulls you back out of the dream.

Good as the speakers are on the Book 3 Ultra, you’re still well served by a pair of wireless headphones, which will deliver a better audio experience and help shut out any competing noise. 

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra performance

The Intel Core i7-13700H processor in the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, paired with the 16GB of RAM in my review unit, is enough to handle almost any conceivable task that you might choose to throw at this laptop.

I loaded up 36 Google Chrome tabs with two YouTube videos running simultaneously at 4K, another playing my favorite film score playlist on YouTube Music, and then proceeded to work on this review in Google Docs, which involves jumping between tabs and windows for test results and various other bits of data. I even added a Galaxy S23 Ultra into the mix via Samsung’s Multi Control. None of it phased the Book 3 Ultra, I experienced no hiccups or slowdowns throughout. 

This was borne out by the Geekbench 5 overall performance test in which the Book 3 Ultra notched a score of 12,212. That was enough to overtake the HP Envy 16 (11,621), the Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (11,974), and the premium laptop average (10,621). Not surprisingly, the MacBook Pro 16 M2 Max was the victor here though at 15,044.

Our Handbrake test, which involves the Book 3 Ultra transcoding a 4K video to 1080p was solid, but not quite as successful at 6 minutes and 6 seconds. That was well ahead of the category average (8:33) and narrowly beat the HP Envy 16 (6:10), but the Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (5:51) outpaced it and the MacBook Pro 16 (3:59) watched them all from the finish line.

The Galaxy Book 3 Ultra gets to celebrate one big performance win with its SSD speed. It completed our 25GB file transfer test in just 13 seconds, for a speed of 2,076Mbps. Only the HP Envy (1,656Mbps) came close, while the premium laptop average (1,288Mbps) and the Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (1,130Mbps) were well behind.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra graphics and gaming

The Galaxy Book 3 Ultra doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to a gaming laptop, but with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU with 6GB of VRAM inside, it’s powerful enough for content creation and 1080p gaming.

The former is far more its intended usage, and as we covered in the display section, its stunningly accurate AMOLED is as well suited to the task as its internals. Looking at the raw graphics performance in our 3DMark Fire Strike test the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra hit 14,307. That was vastly superior to the 8,413 premium laptop average, but behind its competitors with the Zenbook Pro 16X OLED notching 15,722 and the HP Envy 16 an impressive 17,349. 

Time Spy produced similar results with the Book 3 Ultra (6,208) easily beating the category average (3,513), but coming in behind the Zenbook (7,128) and the Envy 16 (7,669).

You won’t be playing the best PC games at max settings, but if you’re a more casual gamer (or you’re open to fiddling with graphics settings) the Book 3 Ultra will keep up with you. Older titles like Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm were no trouble at all at 1080p (95 fps). Only the Zenbook Pro (103 fps) came out ahead, with the Envy 16 (76 fps), MacBook Pro 16 (58 fps), and the category average (51 fps) all well behind.

Testing it on more demanding titles like Assasin’s Creed Valhalla, it still delivered 54 frames per second. In a reverse of the previous section that was behind the premium laptop average (68 fps), the Envy 16 (63 fps), and the Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (61 fps).

Anything above 30fps is acceptable, so if you are a more casual gamer that’s looking to get to some games you might have missed over the last several years the Book 3 Ultra has you covered. If you are looking to play the latest and greatest at top settings, or kick off your streaming career then you’ll want to turn to one of the best gaming laptops.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra battery life

Thin and light with a discrete GPU and a gorgeous 120Hz AMOLED display are all outstanding features for a laptop, but they have to come at some price and that’s battery life. With that said the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra didn’t completely fall down in our Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. At 60Hz the screen winked out at 9 hours and 3 minutes, while utilizing its full 120Hz setting only dropped that to 8:48.

Both fall short of the premium laptop average (9:55), and less than half what the MacBook Pro 16 (18:56) managed to deliver. The HP Envy 16 (9:22) just barely outlasted it, while the Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED was distantly behind them all at 5:51. 

The M2 Pro/M2 Max MacBooks continue to be outliers here. If battery life is your primary concern it’s going to be hard to steer you elsewhere. But if portability in a 16-inch chassis is at the top of your list then slashing a pound off most of the alternatives and still keeping roughly 9 hours of battery life may be worth it.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra webcam

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra features a 1080P webcam that is adequate, but far from outstanding. Even in a well-lit environment, there is a haze to the entire image and visible noise. In my test shot, you can see the fuzz I’m talking about on the items on the cabinet behind me — noise is present on the wall to my side, and there’s a slight blur to my face.

On the plus side, it does render colors well and I was impressed by its auto-tracking, which is handy if you are someone that tends to move around a bit during video calls. Unfortunately, the other add-on features were less effective, the background blur couldn’t come close to separating me from my environment and the eye contact feature didn’t seem to work at all.

Overall, while it will get the job done, if video calls are a regular part of your laptop usage I would recommend picking up an external webcam. 

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra heat

The Galaxy Book 3 Ultra manages to mostly keep its cool despite the powerful components in its small chassis.

Our heat test involves running a 1080p video for 15 minutes in full-screen mode and checking the temperatures at key points on the laptop. The touchpad (78.8 degrees) and the keyboard measured at the G and H keys (88.5 degrees) were both well under our 95-degree comfort threshold. Only the underside of the laptop topped that mark at 96.6, which isn’t scorching, but probably avoid using it in your lap for extended periods.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra software and warranty

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra ships with Windows 11 Home installed. Depending on your definition of bloatware, things aren’t too bad with the typical McAfee Security, Solitaire Collection, and Microsoft apps on board. However, Samsung then throws on 15 of its own apps, only some of which you will likely end up using. The good news is that you can uninstall the vast majority of them immediately if you know you’ll never use them, but beyond utilities like Samsung Settings and Samsung Update, we’ll highlight some of the others you might want to keep. 

Some of Samsung’s apps replace built-in apps like Samsung Gallery or Samsung Notes. Others are handling warranty and device care like Samsung Care+, Samsung Device Care, and Samsung Update.

However, if you own other Samsung devices, that opens you up to a number of the most useful apps that allow all of your Samsung products to work together. For example, if you own a Samsung phone then Multi Control is a feature that you will love. It lets you easily control your phone from your laptop and seamlessly drag and drop content between the two devices. 

This is in addition to the Microsoft Phone Link app, which offers a more extensive feature set for Samsung users. Rather than installing Android apps separately on your laptop, you can simply run the apps from your phone directly on your laptop.

For Samsung tablet owners the Second Screen app allows you to use your tablet as a portable monitor. Samsung Flow is the company’s equivalent to Continuity for Apple, allowing you to switch tasks between devices seamlessly. All in all, it looks like a lot of bloatware on first impressions, but give these apps a go before you hastily delete them.

The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra comes with a one-year limited warranty. For a closer look at what to expect from Samsung, you can take a look at our Tech Support Showdown and Best and Worst Brands special reports.

Bottom line

The Galaxy Book 3 Ultra breaks new ground for the Galaxy Book line with a vastly increased performance ceiling that opens it up to a new category of buyers.

It’s a fairly unique blend of size and power that should appeal to anyone that needs to juggle a wide variety of tasks or handle some content creation on the go. It’s a particularly compelling package for anyone that is bought into the Samsung ecosystem, whether that’s a phone or a tablet, you now have a seamless user experience between those devices and your laptop.

The roughly 9-hour battery life and the $2,199 starting price are the two biggest stumbling blocks for the Book 3 Ultra. But the former should be enough for most users to make it through a day on a single charge, and the latter is unavoidable when you are getting this kind of performance in a laptop this thin and light.

If you are looking for a Windows laptop that can keep up with a heavy workload without weighing you down, the Book 3 Ultra is hard to beat right now.