Author using Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 16
When Qualcomm and Microsoft launched the Copilot+ platform with Snapdragon X Elite processors, the SKU I was most excited about out of all the participating OEMs was the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 16. Because it was the only SKU that shipped with the fastest version. Snapdragon X Elite. Well, I spent a few weeks testing this laptop using normal everyday workloads.
We found the Book4 Edge 16 to be as good as other Copilot+ PCs running Snapdragon Ta. Using the first three Snapdragon X Elite laptops we reviewed as a baseline for comparison, we’ll detail our thoughts on this laptop’s design, performance, and battery life.
Galaxy Book4 Edge 16 design and specs
The Book4 Edge 16 shares the same design language as the 14-inch model. It also recently got a smaller 15.6-inch sibling with a Snapdragon X Plus processor. Our review model featured a gorgeous 16-inch 3K AMOLED display with the exact same resolution as the 14-inch model. However, the 15.6-inch model comes with a 1080P LED display. This version has a battery life of 27 hours, compared to 22 hours for the 16-inch and 20 hours for the 14-inch.
The Book4 Edge 16 has a battery capacity of only 61.8 Wh, but that’s because the laptop has a huge 16-inch OLED display and a faster-clocked processor than other Copilot+ PCs released to date. I was surprised. Combining these two factors, you would think that Samsung would use the largest battery of all Snapdragon It’s 10% smaller. I think this may be this laptop’s biggest weakness, but it may be a limitation caused by its ultra-thin design, which is certainly noticeable. This laptop also lives up to its ‘Edge’ name, and I once cut my hand on one of the speaker grills while trying to quickly remove it from my backpack in the Heathrow security line. .
Considering Samsung is the world’s leading memory manufacturer, they’ve made some other questionable decisions with this laptop. The CPU upgrade increased storage to 1TB, but RAM was kept at 16GB, which feels like a missed opportunity to differentiate itself from the competition by offering 32GB of RAM. Unsurprisingly, the Book4 Edge 16 also comes with connectivity features like a full-size HDMI port that no other laptop we’ve tested has had. There are three USB ports: one USB-A 3.2 and two USB-C. My only complaint about these is that both USB-C ports are on the left side of the laptop, so there’s no way to charge the laptop on the other side. This is useful in some cases. This machine also has a microSD card slot, but it has limited usability for me and I wish it had a regular SD card slot instead. (MicroSD only applies to drone pilots and people filming with action cameras like GoPro or Insta360.)
The keyboard is also unique among the Copilot+ laptops we’ve reviewed so far, being the only one large enough to accommodate a numeric keypad for easy data entry. This is important for some users who do a lot of numerical processing, and can be a problem for some users. This laptop lacks the features I was hoping for: Windows Hello camera and presence detection. The lack of a Windows Hello camera may put some people off, as Samsung uses a combo fingerprint power button instead. This button is not in a very good place, so I prefer facial recognition. That said, I think both recognition methods are necessary, since the button is useful if you’re wearing a mask.
In addition to the full-sized keyboard, it also has an actually huge touchpad. Too big. I had a really hard time getting the left click to work because my hand was on the right side of the touchpad and not in the center. One of the great design features that I appreciate is being able to open the laptop with one finger. This is an amazing feat of engineering that many other OEMs have yet to achieve. This laptop also ships with Wi-Fi 7, making it somewhat future-proof considering most routers today still use Wi-Fi 6E.
Performance of Galaxy Book4 Edge 16
When benchmarking laptops, I certainly expected this to be at the top for single-core performance on tests like GeekBench, and that’s exactly what happened. However, multi-core performance is lower than Surface Laptop 7, indicating that it may have some limitations. We were hoping to see even higher numbers with the Book4 Edge 16, but the performance gains are marginal at best and may not be worth the battery life impact for some users. This laptop, like other Snapdragon X Elite machines, limped around in gaming, but was still very powerful for creative workloads. The laptop’s thermals were surprisingly good. The large chassis and fan seemed to do a good job of keeping temperatures cool, even during gaming.
Battery life is long, but not as good as other Copilot+ PCs
I think this is the Snapdragon X Elite Copilot+ PC with the shortest battery life I’ve tested. I did notice that the battery was draining when performing high-performance tasks, but I’d say so considering it lasted through a 10-hour flight without any issues. After enjoying such breakthrough battery life with other Copilot+ PCs, I was a little surprised to see this laptop fall a little short. I believe a larger battery would have closed that experience gap, even at the cost of additional weight and higher dollar cost. One way to significantly improve battery life is to make sure your laptop is running in “Balanced” mode rather than “Performance” mode. You can easily toggle this using the well-placed performance button at the top of the keyboard. Standby power is amazing, like most other Snapdragon X Elite notebooks.
All in all, this is not the Snapdragon X Elite Copilot+ PC for the best battery life. This is what will give you the best performance. That said, I’m not sure how it compares to comparable models using AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series or Intel’s Lunar Lake processors. Both are scheduled to be released soon, so I’m looking forward to comparing them.
Galaxy Book user experience
One of the reasons I wanted to review this laptop was because I wanted to see how deeply Samsung integrated the Galaxy ecosystem with the PC for a better user experience. I went through and tried all the applications in the suite, but only a few were useful. The rest may not have been necessary.
First, it’s convenient. If you already use a Galaxy smartphone, the Notes app is very useful. As well as a screen recorder that allows you to easily record your own videos. MultiControl is an interesting app, and I feel like it will be more useful if you’re deep into the Samsung ecosystem and own a tablet, PC, and smartphone, but if you just have a smartphone and a laptop, it’s better to use the Phone. It feels less powerful because Link allows it. You do the same. The most useful application is the Share Copy and Paste feature, which automatically saves the screenshot you take on your phone or PC, allowing you to share it between either. I think I enjoyed this feature the most and got the most out of it.
As for all the other apps (Samsung Account, Quick Search, Samsung Gallery, SmartThings, Live Wallpapers, Samsung Studio), I found them either completely unnecessary or unnecessary with better free software. I think it would be better for Samsung to allow you to choose which apps you want to keep during setup rather than having all of these selected by default.
Galaxy Book4 Edge 16 competition
Obviously, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge will be competing with other Snapdragon X Elite laptops and Apple’s MacBook at the same time. It’s an ultra-thin and ultra-light notebook at just 3.4 pounds, so you’ll have to compare it to Apple’s 15-inch M3 MacBook Air (3.33 pounds). The easiest comparison is with the $1,700 16GB model. The Book4 Edge 16, on the other hand, starts at $1,449 and costs $1,749 as tested. However, Samsung has 1TB of storage, while MacBook only has 512GB of storage. Additionally, Samsung has a 16-inch OLED display, whereas the MacBook Air’s display is not only an inch smaller, but is LCD-only. The two displays have roughly the same resolution, but the Samsung OLED has a 120 hertz touch screen, while the MacBook Air remains in touchless 60 hertz territory. Interestingly, even Apple included an even bigger battery in the M3 MacBook Air (66.5 Wh). This makes me wonder if Samsung actually underestimated putting a 61.8 Wh battery in this laptop.
Overall, the Book4 Edge is more competitive than the MacBook Air 15 in both performance and features, but rather than splurging on the absolute top SKU, you might want to opt for the 16GB + 512GB version with a slightly slower processor. Recommended. I think this model will probably perform about as well as the MacBook Air, have longer battery life, and save you hundreds of dollars.
Compared to other Snapdragon X Elite notebooks, the Galaxy Book4 Edge is definitely one of the more premium designs with an incredibly thin form factor and the largest display. There are other OLED displays (Dell’s XPS 13 and Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 7x), but OLED touch panels still impact battery life. I find this comparison a little difficult since many of the competing models are 14-inch notebooks. That said, the 14-inch version of this notebook from Samsung is and should be the lightest of all the Snapdragon X Elite notebooks currently available. Even with a smaller battery, it is very competitive in terms of performance and battery life.
Who should get this laptop?
This laptop is a 16-inch model, but I think it’s perfect for people who travel, as it fits perfectly into a 15-inch laptop slot in a backpack. It’s surprisingly portable for a 16-inch machine and has all the performance characteristics you’d expect. Yes, the Arm processor inside has some software compatibility issues, but it’s getting better with each passing month. During the month I tested this model, I only encountered one software conflict with Adobe Premiere Rush. Otherwise, it’s a reliable and long-lasting notebook in most scenarios, and it held up well during my 10-hour flight back from Europe for work. Even though it’s a 16-inch notebook, it fits comfortably on a tray table and thanks to its gorgeous OLED screen, it’s a great content consumption device.
If you’re looking for a laptop that’s lightweight, long-lasting, and has a beautiful display, look no further than the Galaxy Book4 Edge 16. However, it’s probably not the highest-spec model with the fastest CPU and 1TB of storage.
