Samsung is revamping its Notebook 7 laptop lineup with an all new clamshell 13-inch and 15-inch version, as well as the Notebook 7 Force, which boasts an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card that’s designed to target creators.
Samsung Notebook 7 and Notebook 7 Force price and availability
Both the Samsung Notebook 7 (13-inch) and Notebook 7 (15-inch) start at $999 and $1,099, respectively, while the Notebook 7 Force will start at $1,499. You’ll find the latest Samsung laptops available for preorder starting July 12, and they’ll officially launch on July 26.
Samsung Notebook 7 (13-inch / 15-inch) and Notebook 7 Force Specs
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Samsung Notebook 7 (13-inch) | Samsung Notebook 7 (15-inch) | Samsung Notebook 7 Force |
| Starting Price (Availability) | $999 (July 26) | $1,099 (July 26) | $1,499 (July 26) |
| Display | 13.3-inch: 1920 x 1080 | 15.6-inch: 1920 x 1080 | |
| CPU | Up to Intel Core i7-8565U | ||
| RAM | Up to 16GB | ||
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics or Nvidia GeForce MX250 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 |
| Storage | Up to 512GB SSD | Up to 512GB SSD and HDD | |
| Ports | One USB Type-C, two USB 3.0, HDMI, microSD, headphone jack | One USB Type-C, two USB 3.0, HDMI, microSD, headphone jack, security slot, RJ45 | |
| Size | 12.2 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches | 14.1 x 9.4 x 0.6 inches | 14.2 x 9.4 x 0.7 |
| Weight | 2.84 pounds | 3.73 pounds (3.95 pounds w/ Nvidia GPU) | 4.08 pounds |
Samsung’s Notebook 7 lineup will feature up to an 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8565U processor, which is disappointing, considering 10th Gen is practically here at this point. The Notebook 7s will also be configurable with up to 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
The 13-inch Notebook 7 will get Intel UHD Graphics, while the 15-inch version has the option for an Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU. The Notebook 7 Force is outfitted with a GTX 1650 GPU.
The MX250 Notebook 7 gets an expandable SSD slot, while the Notebook 7 Force will get two.
Design
Samsung laptop designs have been ho-hum in recent years,, and that doesn’t really change here--at least based on the initial photos. At the very least, Samsung outfits the Notebook 7 lineup with solid metal frames, but the silver on the regular 7 and the black on the 7 Force look straight up bland.
To Samsung’s credit, each laptop has slim bezels, but the only noteworthy feature about the design is the blue fingerprint reader that sits between the Shift key and numpad on the 15-inch laptops.
They’re all slim and light in their own right as well. The 13-inch Notebook 7 weighs in at 2.8 pounds and 12.2 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches while the 15-inch comes in at 3.7 pounds (4 pounds with Nvidia GPU) and 14.1 x 9.4 x 0.6 inches. The Notebook 7 Force is slightly bigger and heavier than the normal 15-inch, measuring 4.1 pounds and 14.2 x 9.4 x 0.7 inches.
The three Notebook 7 laptops feature one USB Type-C port, two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, a microSD card slot and a headphone jack. However, the Notebook 7 Force will exclusively have an RJ45 Ethernet port.
Display
Each of the Notebook 7’s panels are capped at 1920 x 1080, which is disappointing in light of the slew of 4K OLED laptops being announced or released this year. It would have been nice to see some higher refresh rates or even just regular 4K on the Notebook 7 Force.
It’s hard to imagine the Notebook 7 Force satisfying creators, especially when other premium laptops, like the Gigabyte Aero 15 and the Dell Inspiron 15 7000, we announced to do the same but with higher-res panels.
Keyboard
The images released alongside the news of Samsung’s latest Notebook 7 lineup reveal a keyboard that looks akin to the Notebook 9 Pro. If that’s the case, then the keys will be reminiscent of MacBook’s butterfly keyboard, and measure for roughly 0.9 millimeters of travel.
While that’s outside of our 1.5 to 2.0 mm of key travel, the Notebook 9 Pro’s keyboard wasn’t bad. The 15-inch Notebook 7 and Notebook 7 Force will feature a full size numpad, while the 13-inch Notebook 7 does not.
Battery life
There’s no word on estimated battery life as of yet, but we do know that the Notebook 7 (13-inch and 15-inch) have a 55Wh battery, while the Notebook 7 Force features a 43Wh battery. Combine that with a GTX 1650 GPU, and the Notebook 7 Force’s battery life will likely be much shorter than that of its siblings.
Outlook
Despite the Notebook 7 lineup lacking a few features that other upcoming premium laptops have, we’re interested to see how Samsung’s revamped line performs when we get these systems into our lab. We're especially interested in the Notebook 7 Force, considering it has a GTX 1650 GPU. Stay tuned for the full reviews and benchmarks.
