Samsung Galaxy Book Go
A budget 14in Windows laptop with a Snapdragon CPU, a 4G modem and a few too many flaws
SCORE ★★★☆☆
PRICE 4GB, £333 (£399 inc VAT) from samsung.com/uk
The pitch for the Galaxy Book Go is straightforward: this is a cheap, 4G, 14in laptop built around a Snapdragon chip that runs Windows 10 on ARM. It has superb battery life, lasting for 14hrs 17mins in our video-rundown test – a feat only matched by the latest MacBooks with their own ARM processors. And it really is cheap, with the 4GB version costing £399. Its 8GB sibling costs £499, which is a mysterious hike when they both have 128GB of storage. No wonder it’s the cheaper model that Samsung sent us to test.
Windows 10 on ARM can run
32-bit x86 apps under emulation, but not 64-bit apps (although this is possible in developer preview builds). As such, I couldn’t run
PC Pro’s usual speed test, but Geekbench 5 does have a native app and the results weren’t bad: 556 for single-core and 1,617 for multicore processing. To put that into context, a Microsoft Surface Go 2 ( see issue 311, p52) using a Core m3 8100Y chip scored 874 and 1,637 in Geekbench 5 and 32 in our benchmarks.
But that doesn’t really tell you how fast this laptop feels, which boils down to whether your favoured apps run natively. Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox both do so, but Google Chrome doesn’t. If you use Firefox or Edge, you’ll think the Galaxy Book Go is pretty slick; use Chrome and it feels underpowered. For example, Edge scored 61 in the JetSteam2 test while Chrome returned 29.
It’s a strange experience because Windows 10 runs smoothly, so you’re continually moving between a quick OS and leaden, emulated software. It’s only when you stumble across ARM64 apps – which include VLC, Zoom, Adobe Photoshop, 7-Zip, Microsoft Teams, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video – that the Galaxy Book Go springs back to life. And you can forget gaming: only Dirt: Showdown of our usual test suite would run under emulation and its 14fps score at 720p will win you no races.
Qualcomm also takes care of connectivity, with Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1, but the Go’s party piece is the 4G modem. Pop open the tray on the right side of the body, slip a nano SIM inside and you’re good to go. There’s also a microSD card slot, 3.5mm audio jack, a slow USB-A 2 port and two USB-C 3.1 ports, one on either side: you can charge via both, but only the one on the right supports video output.
You may well decide to use it, because the Galaxy Book Go’s display is atrocious. A peak brightness of 232cd/m² is just about acceptable when indoors, but the contrast ratio was a dismal 431:1 and the Delta E colour accuracy an apocalyptically terrible 11.7. Coverage of 53% of the sRGB colour space meant our test YouTube HDR video of Costa Rican wildlife looked more like Skegness in November. It also has narrow viewing angles: move your head a touch and chromatic shift becomes obvious.
At least the Dolby Atmos sound system performs credibly. There’s not much bass but there’s plenty of volume and no distortion, even at maximum volume. There’s even a Dolby Access control panel to fine-tune the sound for sources such as music, films and games. Above the screen lies an equally solid 720p webcam, which produces muted colours but performs much better in low light than I expected, and the dual microphone array picked up my Zoom chatter without fuss.
The Go’s sleek, silver design makes it appear more expensive than it actually is. Despite the chassis being made of plastic, the laptop passed MIL-STD-810G tests that covered high and low temperatures, vibration, low pressure and humidity. It feels solid, and I’m not going to complain about a 1.38kg weight or 14.9mm depth on a 14in laptop. Another nice touch: the lid opens up to 180°, which is handy if you want to use it on your lap while on the sofa, though the absence of a touchscreen limits its versatility.
The one design feature to reflect the Go’s low price is the width of the screen bezels. The amount of cheap black plastic you’re forced to look at – 13mm at the top, 24mm at the bottom and 6mm at the sides– gives the game away. There’s no whiff of cheapness about the keyboard, though: it’s solid, spacious and the keys have a nicely damped action. The well-sized 120 x 75mm trackpad works reliably too.
What to make of the Go, then? It delivers on its two promises of great battery life and always-on connectivity, but its awful display is impossible to overlook. That’s a shame, because the keyboard is great and Windows 10 runs beautifully on the Qualcomm chipset. However, until Microsoft solves the inconsistent app compatibility, it feels like a poor man’s MacBook Air.
SPECIFICATIONS
8-core 2.55GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 ARM SoC 4GB LPDDR4x RAM Adreno GPU 14in non-touch TN display, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution 128GB eUFS storage 720p webcam 2x2 Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth 5.1 4G modem microSD card slot 2 x USB-C 3.1 USB-A 2 3.5mm jack 42.3Wh battery Windows 10 Home (ARM) 324 x 225 x 14.9mm (WDH) 1.38kg 1yr limited warranty
“53% coverage of the sRGB colour space meant our test YouTube HDR video of Costa Rican wildlife looked more like Skegness in November”